In Southern Maryland, creek facing rough road -- Natural Resour...

This would not be smart growth. Our natural resources have to be protected. Once gone, they cannot be retrieved. I hope that Setzer and his agency do the right thing.

The ONLY reason this "development corridor" is being pushed is to accommodate MORE DEVELOPMENT.

8,000 here, 10,000 more in St. Charles, 3,000+ in the Town of LaPlata, and all the while Charles County is facing a looming water shortage crisis in the next couple of decades.

The county will be full of houses that will be worth virtually ZERO because the underground aquifers, from which the county obtains 100% of its potable drinking water, will be depleted!

Developers and builders are the real environmental threats. Terrorists can just wait it all out, we will destroy this country from within.

I hope & pray that the Charles County Commissioners will realize that once this pristine area is gone, it's gone forever! This is one instance where I believe my state tax dollars would be wisely spent to buy up as much of the land in the watershed as possible to protect & preserve it for future generations.

It is critical to change the County's development plans and preserve the Mattawoman-the Bay's most productive aquatic area.

It would be a shame to assault this area with all the runoff from this project. It is contrary to the state and federal plans to protect the bay. Charles Co. must think that they are excluded from clean water regulations.

This Creek's fertile spawning grounds are vital to the Largemouth Bass fishery that has brought National prominance to the fishing opportunities on this Potomac River tributary.

Charles County has to be aware of the tremendous economic impact that bass fishing has brought to the county that would be directly impacted by a loss of spawing habitat and water quality degradation to Mattawoman Creek.

Wow, I'm surprised to read this many favorable comments. I'm glad that people support protecting the environment. I hope that Charles County citizens will support those who want to protect their environment, rather than develope it. Building new homes is acceptable, but building a new highway for them doesn't make sense. More roads will only mean more traffic. Just take a look at Houston.

Roads are conduits for sprawling development which will kill the creek. If we are truly serious about saving the Bay we MUST protect tributaries like the Mattawoman. It's time to reevaluate our priorities and save what's truly precious in our environment.

This is an excellent article. It is deeply researched. I have never seen an article on this topic as good as this one, in the local newspapers or in the Post.

is there anything we can do about this, because its happening everywhere and destroying our country. we need to take action as people and ot just let it happen

Route 3 already goes over the creek plus numerous other roads. Lets not scare the public about progress.

It amazes me how short-sighted these plans are. In the long run, preservation of green areas and fresh water are the key to off-setting climate change and will actually inrease the economic worth for their communites. A new suburban growth mantra should be "Green is Gold."

I find it interesting that in light of how large this project is and the negative impact it will have on the Mattawoman that the Maryland Environmental Protection Agency is not requiring the Army Corp to do an Impact Survey before they allow the permits. The State ruled years ago that they would not fund this project due to the environmental concerns and yet the County Commissioners are determined to saddle the residents of Charles County with the bill along with the pollution and negative impact to the quality of life to Charles county Residents.

There's no excuse for ignorance, and it seems the Charles County commissioners are, either, ignorant or in the pocket of developers. Their blase attitude regarding "the land around the Mattawoman will be developed anyway so why not a road?" is about the most short-sighted blurb I've heard in a long time. Don't they realize the Mattawoman IS the future of Charles County if preserved in a pristine state?

I fish the Mattawoman regularly. It's amazing it's as clean as it is. I can tell there has been some degradation though as the Hydrilla is up to the Rt 225 bridge. Never used to see much of that, and now it's spreading. That tells me a road with more houses would 'bout finish it off. What a loss that would be. Once the Mattawoman's ruined, there ain't no repairin' it.

Corps of Engineers says this highway would cause "dire consequences" to the life in Mattawoman Creek. And Charles County prints brochures boasting of Mattawoman Creek fishing as one of the main tourist attractions in the County. Planning Director Beall says if this road isn't built, other roads will be built to accommodate traffic. But the real point of the road is to open up wooded areas in the Mattawoman Watershed for intense development, and that will result in far more cars on the road. Some people get rich off this harmful approach to development, but all of the people are harmed by it. This conflict is a perfect example of the real cause of global warming -- that our political habits empower politicians who serve the short term economic interests of a few, against the long-term interests of everbody. Just as with the global warming problem, the saving of Mattawoman will only happen if people speak up and make it politically impossible for elected officials to steal our common natural heritage in order to deliver the wealth of it to those who fund our elections.

Great article! Please keep your finger on the pulse as this unfolds. There is too little coverage of BIG picture in local papers, but citizens complain all the time in letters-to-the-editor. This monstrosity has been hashed and rehashed at several public hearings over the past decade and more, and in each instance the attendees rail against this connector but to no apparent good. You know what they say about getting the attention of an ass ... you smack him across the forehead with a 2 x 4 ... and you've done it again!! Thanks ...

Thank you Tom Pelton and the SUN for covering this issue. State and local officials claim to support Saving the Bay, yet the Bay and its supporting streams and watersheds are still in decline. It's time to change course and Governor O'Malley should intervene to stop this road. There are alternative growth scenarios for Charles County that do not destroy sensitive environments like the Mattawoman. Stewart, Coalition for Smarter Growth

We can't keep killing our streams due to urban sprawl.