Throughout our history, and especially through the last 25 years, Baltimore County has been one of the top counties in the nation when it comes to preserving open space and natural habitat.
We do that because by keeping some areas protected, we make all of our communities better. We preserve plants and wildlife, we help keep the air cleaner and Bay free from pollution, and it gives our citizens the opportunity to enjoy the natural world right in their own neighborhood. But simply preserving land is not enough. The Dundee Saltpeter Creeks Park is a unique resource for our community, a resource that should be available to as many people as want to take part.
We need to use these natural areas to educate our young people about the natural world that surrounds them, teach them about the life cycles of plants, animals and land, and show them how to protect this planet when they become its caretakers. Thanks to the hard work of our legislators in Annapolis, particularly Senator Norman Stone and Delegate Sonny Minnick who introduced the legislation, Baltimore County has secured a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar bond from the State, which when coupled with county funds will allow us to make our parks more accessible and create a more valuable educational tool.
The new Marshy Point Nature Trail is the beginning of a network of wheelchair accessible trails that will connect this park to Eastern Regional Park and Gunpowder State Park. Our parks department and our school system are working together to provide locations for the outdoor education component of our fifth grade environmental education program, ensuring that every Baltimore County child will have a meaningful, hands-on environmental education.
Thanks to the new trails and special all-terrain wheelchairs, the opportunity to explore will not be limited, every child will be able to participate. With so many miles of waterfront and so many different ecosystems here in our back yard, Baltimore County is blessed with a unique collection of natural beauty. We have an opportunity to learn from it, and an obligation to protect it.
I believe this trail and the enhancements to this park will help our citizens, even those who have moved past the fifth grade, better understand and better enjoy our natural resources. I thank all our senators and delegates, as well as the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management for the effort they put in to enhancing this park, and I hope more county residents take the opportunity to visit this great resource.
Revised November 3, 2004
Courthouse 