SNOW HILL The Maryland
Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) has
submitted a management plan to
Worcester County for a 441-acre
property located along Ayers Creek
that it hopes to name after a local
conservationist.
MCBP will now begin large-scale
restoration of the property, which
has been named the "Ilia Fehrer
Nature Preserve" in honor of a pop-
ular local conservationist and for-
mer Planning Commission member.
"What we would like to do with
the property is a few things," said
Dave Wilson, executive director of
MCBP. "We want to put some
nature trails on it, put some horse
trails on it and restore the hydrolo-
gy."The county reached a Memoran-
dum of Understanding (MOU) with
MCBP back in February of 2011 to
restore and manage the parcel,
which runs between Sinepuxent
and Assateague roads. As part of
the management plan, MCBP will
be diving into restoration efforts ov-
er the next few years.
"Essentially, the plan calls for the
harvest of portions of the property in
loblolly monoculture, restoration of
hydrology, reforestation," wrote Wil-
son in a letter to the commission,
"and providing public access. No
funds are requested from the coun-
ty in management activities."
MCBP hopes to find most of the
funding they need to restore the
land through grants. They will also
see a roughly $15,000 return when
portions of the land are cut for pulp.
The $15,000 will be put towards off-
setting other costs, which could be
significant.
"The water control structure and
installation is expected to cost ap-
proximately $2,000. Ground prepa-
ration and tree planting is expected
to cost $25,000 to $50,000," wrote
Wilson, "depending on tree species
and planting density. We anticipate
planting hardwoods and dense ar-
eas of Atlantic white cedar depend-
ing on grant funding and water re-
tention subsequent to ditch plug-
ging."Once restoration has progress-
ed, MCBP wants to open the area
for public use. The land should give
people an idea of the benefits of
conservation in preserving natural
landscapes.
"The use of this property for pas-
sive recreation is consistent," wrote
Wilson, "with the Maryland Coastal
Bays Policy Committee's desire to
create a passive recreation, conser-
vation-oriented nature preserve in
the coastal area."
In keeping with that the property
has been named after Ilia Fehrer.
Fehrer's work on Worcester's Plan-
ning Commission and in general
conservation is well respected in the
county and both the commissioners
and Director of Development Re-
view and Permitting Ed Tudor prais-
ed MCBP for the recognition.
"Considering the tireless efforts
of Mrs. Fehrer to raise environmen-
tal awareness in general, and to
protect our precious natural areas,
including Assateague Island, at a
time when those ideas did not nec-
essarily receive the attention they
do today, I think such recognition is
definitely appropriate," Tudor wrote.
Wilson underlined the impor-
tance of protecting the Ilia Fehrer
Nature Preserve into the future as it
is a "major part of the headwaters of
both Ayers and Trappe creeks," and
runoff on the property can feed into
Newport Bay.
"This restoration is expected to
take a number of years to restore
ecological function and will eventu-
ally further the ecological impor-
tance of the property while improv-
ing water quality for Newport Bay,"
Wilson said.
Once restoration has made some
progress, Wilson said that his
organization might look at allowing
some kind of tightly controlled hunt-
ing on the property.
Nature Preserve Eyed For Ayers Creek Land
January 24, 2014
Page 13
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
Real Estate Agents
Can Make Easy Money
Winters are historically tough times
for real estate agents, but it doesn't
have to be that way. If they have a
prospect who is looking for a beach
home with two bedrooms, two baths, on
the beach, they should preview it first
before showing, to make certain it is
direct oceanfront and with a large com-
pletely private balcony. Adjoining party
walls between neighbors must be of
thick solid concrete. Everyone knows
that location is of the utmost importance
but somehow many agents have forgot-
ten this simple rule. The location of the
unit location within the building should
also not be forgotten.
I have listed a great example of an
easy unit to sell once seen by the
prospective purchaser. Up above the
surf on the seventeenth floor, it is one of
the choice locations in the well-located
direct oceanfront Carousel Hotel/Con-
dominium. This building offers the best
of amenity packages with two outdoor
pools, indoor pool with fitness center,
game room, tennis, beach bar, food
court, plenty of convenient parking and
much more. Units in the Carousel earn
almost twice the rental income of oth-
ers. At $359,500 for Unit 1710 why
would anyone buy anywhere else?
For more information call Joe Garliss
Real Estate at 443-859-3210, or to pre-
view the Carousel Penthouse at
$559,000 online see www.ocwave-
watchers.com
Paid Advertisement
By JOE GARLISS
REAL ESTATE BROKER