Category Archives: South Shore Trail
Trail Tale Trilogy, III — Still Sidetracked on the South Shore
One of the great Maryland visionaries in land preservation, conservation, and trail development is O. James Lighthizer — Anne Arundel County Executive from 1982-90 and MDOT Secretary from 1990-94. An avid outdoorsman and passionate historian, he now works his magic acquiring endangered Civil War battlefields, sparing them from development.
While County Executive, Jim established a county farmland protection program preserving over 2,500 acres. He also embarked on an aggressive waterfront park acquisition effort resulting in the purchase of over 900 acres and 7 miles of waterfront in the county. One of his crowning achievements was the creation of Quiet Waters Park on the South River in Annapolis.
Bit by Bit – more tales of the trails
There was a small notice in the Baltimore Sun for a community meeting about improvements to Robert E. Lee Park, which straddles the City-County line above Lake Roland.Only by reading between the lines is it apparent another segment of the Jones Falls Trail is taking a small step forward. This portion, which incorporates some old railroad property (seen above,) will eventually connect a beautiful natural resource area with downtown Baltimore. Like the now-popular Gwynns Falls Trail which passes through Camden Yards, it has been many years and numerous setbacks in the process. Budget cuts, environmental concerns and NIMBYism impede progress, but the care and consensus that go into these trails make them worth the wait.
Tales of the Trails (where money’s not the only object)
When Arlene and I were returning from Cumberland we stopped in Hancock, a lovely town on the Western Maryland Rail Trail. Like Allegheny Highland, the Western Maryland follows the eponymous railroad that hauled coal through the mountains of Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the last century. In some places, the bed followed the C&O canal as it weaved along the Potomac. In others, it cut through the mountains and over the river to avoid the rival B&O line.
It is this part of the rail bed that piqued my interest. While the 23 mile existing route is beautiful (especially during fall foliage) and historic (Fort Frederick dates to the French and Indian War,) the proposed 14 miles extension from the Pearre terminus into West Virginia and back to Little Orleans is stunning in its scope. It consists of six trestles across the Potomac and three tunnels under the Alleghenies. I picked up a brochure produced a citizen advocacy group and decided to check on the progress of this proposed rail trail. The pictures are truly breathtaking and I could just imagine what an asset this would be for outdoor recreation in Western Maryland.
I checked the website, where the most recent news dated to a commitment for funds from the Ehrlich Administration. Before delving any deeper into the status of a rail trail on the other side of the state, I decided to check on the one nearest to my heart (not to mention my home) in Anne Arundel County – the South Shore Trail between Odenton and Annapolis.
As mentioned previously, the South Shore has been on the county’s to do list since the prior millennium. A notice on their advocacy group’s website indicated there was to be some kind of groundbreaking this summer. Since this is August and I haven’t seen any shovels, I called to inquire. Ken Alban, director of capital projects for the rec department, gave me an update.
Like the Potomac, the status meanders — between good and no so much with mountains in between. Good news is Mr. Alban’s enthusiasm for trail construction. First thing he mentioned was the completion of a long awaited portion of the WB&A trail between Odenton and Bowie that will eventually (that word again) connect to Washington. As for the South Shore, (here comes the discouraging part) the information about the summer groundbreaking was erroneous. That wasn’t going to happen. But the good news (just around the bend) is that the engineering and design are continuing and money is available if it can be transferred from one segment of the trail to another. It seems that the portion scheduled to be completed first encountered a little difficulty (back to the bad news) with wetlands. (Oh, dear. I know what that means) that might require more property acquisition ($$$$) to work around.
There are tougher obstacles in Anne Arundel County than wetlands (like maybe an Indian burial ground) and worse things than environmental permits (the Corps of Engineers comes to mind.) So the current challenges facing the South Shore Trail are not deal breakers, not even in this economy. After talking with Mr. Alban, I felt a lot better about the South Shore Trail. It wasn’t happening this year, but the tedious groundwork – permits, design, easements, purchasing – is underway. It is a work in progress, not a dead issue.
So what happened to the Western Maryland trail extension? It seems money has been committed, and support from the community is ongoing. Where are we there?
A call to the DNR office overseeing the existing trail was certainly the most interesting of the day. It seems the project has encountered an obstacle more daunting than the mountains or river (or even the Corps of Engineers.)
During an environmental impact survey of the proposed trail, scientists learned the Indigo Tunnel – built in 1904, abandoned in 1975 and nearly a mile long – is now the premiere winter quarters for several species of bats. Hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands, of bats. In fact, the Indigo Tunnel is the one of largest hibernaculums in the East.
Why don’t they just go to Florida for the winter? (No, I didn’t say that.) I did, however, politely inquire if perhaps the bats could find a nice cave in nearby West Virginia or Pennsylvania to hole up if they didn’t want to migrate to warmer digs.
That’s where the story takes a turn for the worse. It seems that not only is the linear shaft of the Indigo tunnel a convenience, it is also a sanctuary from the dreaded White Nose Syndrome responsible for killing hibernating bats throughout East Coast caverns. Maryland, with its lack of caves attracting spelunkers (one theory is humans spread this fungus on their equipment) has thusfar managed to avoid contamination of White Nose Syndrome. Bats who winter Chez Indigo emerge healthy in the spring.
Adding to the urgency of this hibernation haven is that two of the species identified in the survey (that’s right – they took a bat census during nap time) are endangered. The Eastern Small-footed bat is on Maryland’s list and the Indiana bat is a federal endangered species.
I have great sympathy for the plight of the bats. They are good environmental citizens (really tough on mosquitos) and don’t deserve terminal White Nose Syndrome. But can’t they share? Do they have to have all the tunnel all the time?
Evidently, they do. In addition to snoozing, they also propagate in the intimacy of the Indigo. Baby bats cling to their mothers, who get very skittish when disturbed (I remember those days.) Problem is, bats don’t have nests to park their young. If they fall off mom, it’s over for the already-endangered next generation. So protecting the privacy of mother bats is another reason to keep humans out of the tunnel.
The nice lady told me the Feds were expected to have their environmental study completed this fall. At that point they should have a better idea about minimizing disruption to the bat community — if possible.
Until then, the much anticipated Western Maryland Trail extension will just have to wait. Some obstacles are even higher than mountains and more convoluted than the Potomac.
Desperately Seeking — South Shore Trail
Heck, I’d be thrilled just to see them START the South Shore Trail. But other than declarations of “it’s coming soon” on various websites (some several years old) there is no evidence SST is shovel (forgive the cliché) ready.
South Shore is one of the long forgotten segments of the Baltimore Annapolis interurban electric railway. Its cousin on the other side of the Severn, now known as the B&A Trail, has enjoyed great popularity since the Lighthizer years. Some short spurs of the connector, running through Piney Orchard, have been complete for several years and others are in some stage of construction or litigation (or both.) The South Shore line, running 13 miles between Odenton (aka BRAC-world) and Annapolis, connecting schools, ballfields, parks, fairgrounds and neighborhoods, has been languishing on the drawing boards forever, despite receiving federal (don’t call it earmark) funding in a major transportation bill several years ago.
Sure, times are tough and $$$ for recreational amenities is tight, but why is the South Shore Line – a significant Washington-Annapolis-Baltimore link in the East Coast Greenway — always the caboose in the budget process?
This wonderful connector is more than a linear park and recreational asset. It will also provide safe alternative transportation for those living, working, attending school, or participating in activities in this rapid growth corridor.
So if anyone out there sees shovels actually moving, please let me know.
