Add your name to the petition to Save Greenbury Point, a treasure of the Chesapeake Bay!

A petition organized by Severn River Association and Chesapeake Conservancy

12/14/23 Please Read This Important Update

https://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/2023/12/14/ndaa-provision-helps-protect-greenbury-point-conservation-area/

8/16/22 Please Read This Important Update

https://www.change.org/p/save-greenbury-point/u/30836945

_______________________________________________________

Greenbury Point Conservation Area, one of the last remaining natural areas at the mouth of the Severn River on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis and a popular public destination for nature lovers, runners, anglers and dog walkers, faces immediate risk for development into an exclusive golf course. Such a development would cause serious and irreparable damage to the environment.

There is already a Navy golf course on the Greenbury Point peninsula and several golf courses in the Annapolis area. There is nothing else like Greenbury Point, designated a conservation area under the Naval Support Activity Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan required under federal law, available here. Greenbury Point is one of the few places in Annapolis where residents and visitors can recreate and experience nature along the Chesapeake Bay, and it should be preserved unimpaired for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. It is also fully within the boundary of the Maryland Critical Area, designated by the state of Maryland as crucial to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

While many details remain unclear, the process by which the Naval Academy Golf Association submitted the golf course proposal to the Navy for consideration and approval has not clarified the issues for the public. Despite several contacts with Navy personnel by the Severn River Association and others, no specifics on the project have been offered to the public. The one meeting previously scheduled for community input was abruptly canceled after concerns about the proposal were raised in the press and on social media (Facebook Save Greenbury Point).

Since 2011, an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan has been in effect for the property; the most recent version was shielded from public view until the requirement of public online posting was pointed out to personnel from Naval District Washington by investigative reporter Donna Cole. With a long history as a critical partner in myriad important conservation initiatives in and around Annapolis, this proposal risks jeopardizing the Navy’s important legacy if it moves forward as described. 

Developing Greenbury Point Conservation Area into a golf course is a bad deal for the Chesapeake Bay. Such a development would necessitate cutting a number of trees at a time when Maryland is trying to plant more trees both to reduce erosion and nutrient runoff to the Bay and combat climate change. Along with tree removal and habitat destruction, development would increase runoff of contaminated soils into the Bay’s waters, further challenging efforts to clean up and restore the health of the Bay. As Severn River Association Executive Director Jesse Iliff states, “The maintenance needs of a golf course in terms of their fertilizer and pesticides is very intensive land use that could have significant detrimental impacts on the [Severn] river.” 

We need YOUR help to stop this proposal! Please sign this petition and share it with your networks to show that Annapolis treasures Greenbury Point Conservation Area and is united against converting it into a golf course and curtailing public access to this ecologically and recreationally invaluable property. 

Before this natural public treasure at the mouth of the Severn River on the Chesapeake Bay is permanently transformed into fairways and sand traps for the privileged few, as well as a major new source of nutrient pollution to the Severn River, we must stand up and act now to Save Greenbury Point!

This petition will be sent by letter to:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, III

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro

Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, Chair, USNA Board of Visitors

Senator Ben Cardin, USNA Board of Visitors

Congressman Anthony Brown, USNA Board of Visitors

Congresswoman Elaine Luria, USNA Board of Visitors

Congressman Rob Wittman, USNA Board of Visitors

Senator Chris Van Hollen

Congressman John Sarbanes

 

 

***Photo Credit by David Sites***