Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Martha Williams joined partners and community members to celebrate the establishment of Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge as the 573rd and newest unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
The 31-acre parcel near Nanjemoy in Charles County, MD, is the first of several intended donations by The Nature Conservancy that over the next few months will permanently protect and conserve more than 300 acres of interior forest and riparian wetlands habitat, supporting northern long-eared bats, forest-interior songbirds, box turtles, and several species of salamanders that are of conservation concern. The service will continue working with partners and willing sellers to secure voluntary conservation of up to 40,000 acres of important wildlife habitat within four watershed-based focus areas in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties.
Following the announcement, Chesapeake Conservancy president and CEO Joel Dunn issued this statement: “Chesapeake Conservancy is proud to be a contributing partner in the creation of the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge. Nearly 15 years in the making, this is the first national wildlife refuge established in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in more than 25 years and the first in Maryland in over 60 years.
“This is one of the most pristine landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s Western Shore, and it faces many threats. Our forests continue to be converted at a rate of about 54 acres a day, and more than six million acres of the forest and wetland resources in our watershed remain vulnerable to development. We are losing our iconic landscapes.
“This new refuge offers an opportunity to halt and even reverse biodiversity loss in this important place, and in a way that fully integrates and respects the leadership and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities.”