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Guest column: The best investment you’ll ever make

Monday, April 3, 2023

The following appeared in the spring 2023 Ocean Pines Report quarterly newsletter: /documents/20124/91011/OP_newsletter_v55no2_web.pdf/1c689745-6978-787a-9c5d-bcac2b1ff3c3

By Brenda Davis, Executive Director Assateague Coastal Trust

The Assateague Coastal Trust staff and board members were delighted to read the article by the Environment and Natural Assets Committee in the winter issue of the Ocean Pines Report about the wonderful natural environment of the Pines. We couldn’t have said it better.

We think the committee’s emphasis on “natural assets” dovetails perfectly with our mission. Assets have value, and value is what we work to protect, not just in the Pines, but throughout the county. Nobody wants to live in an oasis of beauty and health while the surrounding areas are nightmares of unbridled development.

Our goal is to protect the things we all value: quality of life, a healthy and productive environment, and, yes, the value of our properties.

We all know what happens when the natural world is degraded. Just look at some of the sprawling areas up north in Delaware. Unbridled growth and a compromised environment inevitably led to a lower quality of life and lower property values. 

Fortunately, Worcester County and the state of Maryland have some of the better environmental policies around, but it’s a constant battle to keep them that way and make them even better.

Everyone wants all the things that come with a healthy environment: plenty of open space, a productive fishery in the bays and offshore, abundant wildlife. These things are simple to say, but not so easy to maintain and improve.

It takes work. We examine every piece of legislation, whether from the state, the county or local jurisdictions. We comment; we inform; we advocate; we fight. Sometimes we hire lawyers.

We attend county commission meetings. We are there for zoning hearings, we keep tabs on all meetings of the planning commission. Our staff and volunteers monitor water quality throughout the bays.

It’s not easy. We spend a lot of time fundraising, time that could be better spent in the trenches.

So please, if you value the quality of your life in Worcester County, if you are happy with the value of your property, or if you enjoy all our area has to offer when you visit, think of us. Make a tax-deductible donation.

For more information, visit actforbays.org.

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Guest column: The best investment you’ll ever make

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