As the date for deciding the fate of Woodland draws near, the environmental impact weighs heavy on those who would stay after the rezoning takes place and the bulldozers alter forever the ecosystem of the Patuxent Rive around Upper Marlboro. The proposal is to site a strip mall in the middle of at least three of the planned green areas for central Prince George’s County. The county’s current General Plan calls for the staging of the development of recreational facilities to be proportional to population growth in specific areas. Future needs for parkland were anticipated (in 1982 and 1992) for the northern, central, and southern portions of the county. The open space goals, established by the General Plan, are redefined by each Area Master Plan where achievable and measurable growth objectives are established. The county is an active participant in the state’s Rural Legacy Program[1], though active may be an ironic appellation if the re=zoning ofr Crain Corner goes through..
Collington Branch is a component of the Patuxent River watershed that originates near Bowie, runs southerly and connects to the Western Branch tributary in Upper Marlboro, which continues into the Patuxent River. The Collington Branch is also planned for a proposed multi-use trail that will connect Bowie with Upper Marlboro. The county owns much of the corridor and plans to fill in any gaps through acquisition and the development process. The Prince George’s County Bicycle and Trails Advisory Group recommended this trail as the number seven trail/bikeway priority in the county.
Patuxent Regional Greenway (Ecological Greenway)The Patuxent Regional Greenway is a partially established regional greenway that includes seven jurisdictions extending from central Maryland through southern Maryland. The Patuxent River serves as the spine for the greenway which runs through Howard, Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. DNR currently owns about 15,000 acres along the Patuxent River and isworking with local officials to extend protection along the mainstem. In Prince George’s County the Patuxent River forms the northern and eastern county boundaries. Public properties under the management of DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, M-NCPPC and WSSC make a substantial contribution to the Patuxent Regional Greenway. These lands provide many opportunities for nature study and outdoor recreation. Prince George’s County has adopted land-use and development regulations for the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area and the Patuxent River Primary Management Area to channel development away from sensitive areas in the Patuxent corridor. Public acquisition of the Patuxent Regional Greenway will continue, and these policies will provide a mechanism for protecting water quality and riparian resources on non-public lands.
The Western Branch is a stream valley greenway that originates near Glenarden and connects into the Patuxent River south of Upper Marlboro. Major tributaries of the Western Branch are Bald Hill and Folly and Lottsford branches. Connections will occur with Collington Branch, Southwest Branch, and the Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail corridor. M-NCPPC owns sections in all of these corridors. The Western Branch Greenway is second in size only to the Patuxent Greenway in Prince George’s County. The corridor is under continuing acquisition and will have the longest trail system of any Patuxent tributary in the county.
[1] http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/download/greenways/atlas/pg_TEXT.pdf
2 comments:
We are Prince George’s County. Yet many people who live in other nearby Counties just don’t know what makes us who we are and why being from Prince George’s is a great and wonderful thing to be proud of. Ignorance and bias too often steers people away from seeing our illustrious qualities because our distinct heritage has presented us with some unique challenges in terms of how we chart the future of the County… for good (not worse).
People don’t know about the rural and farm heritage of the County that is struggling to re-invent itself in the post tobacco buy-out era, how we are in the grips of a local economy for too long dominated by real estate interests seeking only to tear down trees and put up new and often unsustainable growth, or to enshrine conspicuous consumption and real estate foreclosures. They are indifferent to how cynical “redlining” has deferred the dreams of many of our citizens seeking no more than a better life for themselves and their families. We inherit the short term profits and long term liabilities as a result. People not from here simply don’t know about the robust and proud established neighborhoods we have, dating back in some cases to a pre-colonial era and quite a few of those places were fundamental to the dawning of the United States of America. No, people are instead dazzled by the high tech corridors in Montgomery or the giant waterfront “Mcmansions” in Anne Arundel or the nationally lauded schools in Howard. Do we have blemishes? Sure but so do they. Yet many are too star struck by comparing apples and oranges to recognize that the comparisons themselves are insulting on their face. The best future for us Prince Georgians is to be the best we are, and not to try and be what others would make us. Too few of our detractors not from Prince George’s know nothing of the legacy of court mandated bussing, or the rocky and triumphant road to racial parity, nor alternately of the vast areas of preserved parkland that rival anything like what our neighbors have, and the nationally significant historic destinations within our borders or even the enormous fund of talent, human capital and decency that we have in surplus here.
Sadly one of the biggest barriers we must overcome is our own failure as Prince Georgians to celebrate much of what is greatest about ourselves. In our headlong rush to embrace “growth” for its own sake we often cheat ourselves of a wonderful birthright instead of celebrating and investing in the best that is already within us. Our elected officials and others, in their zeal to “upscale” our economy are quick to try and saddle us with popcorn growth, like retail centers and giant expanses of warehouse concrete and oh yes… that shrine of would-be gambling known as National Harbor. To hear some talk, perhaps we should build ten more just like it? But we are all too slow to share the promise of a bright and optimistic future with our areas elsewhere in the County so desperate for renewal and reinvestment and a fair share of the bright future that we all have a right to expect (what of the many and not just the few). What of the unrequited dreams of our hardest working residents, our proudest stewards and our most dedicated citizens falling flat sometimes on an expanse of macadam and fractured earth bleeding mud into our waters? These are not always dreams of big houses but also of jobs close to home, of safe communities, or of desirable neighborhoods or services that can sustain the rapid growth in our midst. These are not unreasonable dreams at all and there is more that can be made right than was ever wrong.
And what of the lost farms where blacktop is likely to be their last crop? But the brutal truth is that Prince George’s often struggles to hide its unearned shame over aspects of our County that really should bear no stigma at all. We just have growing pains and for that reason we just need to learn how to grow better because the standards for us are higher. Sadly and unfairly, our neighbors don’t expect much from us and so consequently we have to set the bar really high in order to prove to ourselves and to the rest of the world that yes, we matter, we have more to be proud of than anything else, we are important, and that we helped make it possible for the economic peaks that enriched our neighbors and that now it is our turn! We can be leaders and not followers or “wannabees”. It is our turn indeed, but not to devastate our waterways, our forested belts, our historic and treasured places, and our sacred spots. No, it our turn to shine and show all who would doubt our entitlement to greatness that we can be progressive, energy efficient, ecologically sustainable and full partners in the future of the National Capitol region.
Let’s not stand for haphazard growth, illusory promise of hollow “retail” riches. Let’s look beyond the quick fixes that seek to build a future on inhospitable soil populated not by residents who want to see us be greater, but instead by self interested merchants, salesman and speculators. That’s not who we are as Prince Georgians. We are a diverse, proud, hospitable commute with a bright future, if we play our cards right. And the time is now to stand up.
We are. WE ARE, WE ARE PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY. Let’s not forget it.
I'm not originally from this county, but I've learned a lot about it in my 26 yrs. here. In south county, I've known about Henson Creek and the parks along it. I'd heard about Mattawoman Creek, but thought it was primarily in Charles Co. I know about the Black Swamp Creek and the Schmidt Environmental Education Center but I've never heard of this greenway network before. I appreciate the information. Is there a map that shows it?
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