Maryland's Blackwater Refuge Gaining 825 Acres
VIENNA, Md. (AP) -- The Eastern Shore's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is growing.
Sen. Ben Cardin plans to announce Monday that 825-acres are being added to the refuge near Cambridge. One parcel is along the Nanticoke River near Vienna and the other is on Marshyhope Creek near Brookview. Cardin's office says the Vienna tract will allow protection of about a mile of riverfront along the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
The refuge known as the "Everglades of the North" has a third of Maryland's tidal wetlands. Cardin's office says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the additions as prime habitat for migratory waterfowl, bald eagles and possibly the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. The service bought the land for $1.4 million from The Conservation Fund, which bought it from Tideland Ltd.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
