Nearly 300 acres of Holly Beach Farm to be transferred to Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Dec. 20—By Dana Munro — dmunro@baltsun.com

PUBLISHED:December 20, 2023 at 1:54 p.m.| UPDATED:December 23, 2023 at 3:57 a.m.

Maryland's Department of Natural Resources will become the new owner of Holly Beach Farm in the greater Annapolis area after more than two decades of ownership by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the nonprofit announced.

The nearly 300-acre property is critical for the life cycles of migratory waterfowl, herons and bald eagles who reside on the tract abutting the Chesapeake Bay, directly south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

While the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has maintained and done restoration work at the mostly undeveloped peninsula since the early 2000s, after public funders purchased it for $8 million and deeded it to the nonprofit, foundation representatives said its team didn't have the expertise or resources to manage the onetime horse farm over the long term.

"We have done everything we can to reforest the agricultural lands, restore the eroding shorelines, and educate the next generation at the site," Hilary Harp Falk, the foundation's president and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday. "It is time for a new steward. This incredible jewel on the shores of the Bay has so much more to give."

The foundation started soliciting interest for a new owner in October and determined that the Maryland agency's financial stake in the property, its management of its conservation easement, and its experience with conservation made the department an "unparalleled choice," Falk said.

The state Board of Public Works will ultimately need to approve the no-fee transfer.

"Holly Beach Farm represents a fantastic opportunity to enable waterfront access and wildlife viewing in Anne Arundel County," Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said in a statement. "At the same time, the location near the Bay Bridge presents challenges that the agency intends to address by working closely with nearby residential communities."

The department expects to complete additional restoration work at the property and undertake long-term planning with input from neighbors and other stakeholders.

"We envision providing the public, in a scaled and prescriptive manner, a chance to experience Holly Beach in a way that teaches about and protects the unique habitats and natural communities on this remarkable peninsula," said Paul Peditto, the department's assistant secretary of land resources.

In a 2021 letter co-authored by Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman and Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, the two explained their vision for the park, which included making it part of the proposed Chesapeake National Recreation Area, a series of culturally significant spots along the bay that will be managed by the National Park Service if authorized by Congress.

Under the plan, the park would become a launch site for a network of electric ferries to shuttle visitors across the bay, they wrote.

Area residents expressed concern over the Chesapeake National Recreation Area plan this summer. In addition to traffic concerns, many fear their neighborhood, which they feel has been overrun by government projects in recent years, would be notably changed by becoming a tourist destination. Some Black residents believe their ancestors were enslaved at Whitehall, a nearby former plantation and proposed Chesapeake National Recreation Area site. Increased public access to Holly Beach Farm has been a long-standing concern of these residents.

"All these politicians coming to this area wanting to build in less than a 10-mile radius with no thought and no respect for us," Ann Green, a nearby resident, said in August. "The core of my issue is all of it — the Broadneck Trail, the Bay Bridge span, Sandy Point State Park, Whitehall and a proposed park at Holly Beach."

The department said it plans to honor public feedback regarding the waterfront parcel.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the state to acquire an iconic property for public benefit and ensure its natural beauty is protected," Kurtz added.

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