Save Charles County's Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Prothonotary Warbler, courtesy Bill Hubick/Maryland Biodiversity Project
Target: 

Mr. Peter F. Murphy
President, Charles County Commission
200 Baltimore Street, P.O. Box 2150
La Plata, MD 20646
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Mr. Gilbert Bowling Jr.
Chair, Charles County Planning Commission
200 Baltimore Street, P.O. Box 2150
La Plata, MD 20646
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cc:
Charles County Commission
Charles County Planning Commission
Charles County Administrator Michael D. Mallinoff

Signatures:

 125

125
140
We've got 125 signatures, help us get to 140

Petition

Dear Mr. Bowling,

I urge you to substantially scale back the amount of land consumed by the draft Charles County Comprehensive Plan. In its current form, Charles County proposes to allow 45 square miles (27,000 acres) of new development. Based upon Charles County growth projections and on other counties, around 8,000-9,800 total acres is more appropriate.

Charles County retains a high degree of biological diversity and is nationally known for its birdlife. The County is home to...

Dear Mr. Bowling,

I urge you to substantially scale back the amount of land consumed by the draft Charles County Comprehensive Plan. In its current form, Charles County proposes to allow 45 square miles (27,000 acres) of new development. Based upon Charles County growth projections and on other counties, around 8,000-9,800 total acres is more appropriate.

Charles County retains a high degree of biological diversity and is nationally known for its birdlife. The County is home to four Important Bird Areas – a special designation Audubon Maryland-DC gives to places in the state supporting significant populations of vulnerable birds. Charles County's IBAs support three bird species that are at-risk nationally: Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and Wood Thrush. Birders from across Maryland visit the County to see these and other birds.

Because of its growth patterns, Charles County has the highest forest loss per housing unit in Maryland and the third lowest percentage of land preserved. But Charles County can change this trajectory with conservation zoning outside of existing infrastructure and by increasing density and mixed use directly adjacent to and within existing developed areas. It is important to resist the temptation to associate quantity of growth with quality. There is no correlation between economic opportunities and the amount of land consumed. Please consider these changes to do what’s best for the entire county rather than a select few.

Petition background

Please sign the petition to save birds and Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Charles County, Maryland. Audubon Maryland-DC has worked with Charles County stakeholders to create four IBAs, the second-highest number in the State of Maryland, and home to the increasingly at-risk Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler and Wood Thrush. The current draft of the Charles County Comprehensive Plan calls for 27,000 acres to be developed, which will damage the integrity of the Mattawoman Creek, Zekiah Swamp, Nanjemoy and Chapman State Park IBAs.

​We know we can't save every wild acre in Maryland, but the IBAs represent the areas most essential for sustaining native bird populations, and the best chance we have for bird conservation in the State. To learn more, visit http://md.audubon.org/important-bird-areas-2.

​Sign now, and please forward this to your friends. We must have all petition signatures in by October 2, 2015, in time for the public hearing on the Charles County Comprehensive Plan on October 5. We hope to see you there.

Thank you!

Audubon Maryland-DC

 

Help spread the word about this petition!

We signed: Save Charles County's Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Laura
Morgantown, WV
Thu, 2015-09-24 20:15
#45
Johnnie
Baltimore, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 19:09
#44
Dorothy
Bowie, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 16:16
#43
michael
SHARPSBURG, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:54
#42
Marilynn
Aberdeen, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:49
#41
Hannah
Baltimore, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:43
#40
Laura
Woodstock, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:39
#39
Kathy
Adamstown, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:23
#38
Susan
Ellicott City, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 15:23
#37
Amy
Boyds, MD
Thu, 2015-09-24 14:00
#36
Thank you for your interest in this issue. This petition has expired and is no longer accepting signatures.
Thank you for your interest in this issue. This petition has expired and is no longer accepting signatures.