Success on Mattawoman Creek

December 20, 2011 | Clean Water, Greening Water Infrastructure, Most Endangered Rivers, Protecting Rivers, Small Streams & Wetlands

Jessie Thomas-Blate
Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers

Mattawoman Creek | Credit: Mattawoman Watershed Society

Do you know what really makes my day here at American Rivers? I just love it when someone sends me a note telling me that we have had a success on one of America's Most Endangered Rivers®. It is often a long rough road for these rivers, so when we have success, WE CELEBRATE!

Today, the cheers are for the Mattawoman Creek in Maryland. WOO HOO! Thanks to our partners at the Mattawoman Watershed Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Sierra Club Maryland Chapter, and the Maryland Bass Federation Nation for all of their hard work in making this story a success. Below is a recap of the news from Jim Long of the Mattawoman Watershed Society:

"Thrilling news for Mattawoman Creek arrived the first week in November when the Maryland Department of the Environment denied wetland-destruction permits for the proposed Cross County Connector. This county highway led to Mattawoman's listing as one of America's Most Endangered Rivers in 2009 because it would have killed the waterway with runoff from sprawl development. Fisheries scientists have long heralded the river and its freshwater-tidal estuary on the Potomac River as "the best, most productive tributary to the Chesapeake Bay," but also warned of its vulnerability to overdevelopment. Within a year of the listing, these scientists discovered Mattawoman's prized fish community was in steep decline because of watershed urbanization. The highway would have made recovery impossible.

This highway epitomizes the threat to our waterways by the sprawl-friendly growth policies of many local governments held under the sway of development interests. Following the permit denial, Maryland's Department of Planning wrote to Charles County that the highway not only would have adversely affected Mattawoman, but also contrasted with the state's Smart Growth initiatives. The letter affirmed the premise that prompted over twenty regional, state, and local organizations to form the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County to fight the highway.

The story retains a loose thread, as the Charles County Board of Commissioners has held open the possibility of re-applying for permits after a cross-departmental review. Because the previous application was unable to address the many environmental impacts, and because the costs of ignoring Smart Growth are increasingly clear, the folly of pursuing the highway should be obvious. Toward this end, the many organizations and individuals who fought this project are also engaged in promoting smart growth in Charles County's ongoing revision of its comprehensive land-use plan, with the goal of better protecting the county's aquatic resources, and especially Mattawoman Creek."

American Rivers is glad to see this success in Mattawoman Creek, and appreciate the hard work of our partners in making it happen. No doubt their diligent watch will continue if future iterations of this project emerge down the line.

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