Baltimore County officials Wednesday dedicated a new and improved Marshy Point Nature Center, but wildlife lovers who visit the Chase facility to enjoy sightings of great blue herons, ospreys and bald eagles said they are already looking forward to another round of expansion slated for next year.
Lawmakers, including County Executive Jim Smith, celebrated the $2.4 million project that features a canoe launch, parking lot expansion, overlook deck and pedestrian bridge that will eventually connect the 500-acre park to the Hammerman area of Gunpowder State Park. The improvements were welcome, staff said, but a tease of more to come.
“We opened in 2000 and basically had half the building and half the parking lot,” said James Frank, a naturalist at the center. “We?ve started to create a paved bicycle path including the bridge, but there are no trails on the other side yet. It?s a bridge that goes to nothing, basically.”
The center hosts more than 10,000 visitors each year, including every fifth-grader in the county?s public school system. Dundee Creek is home to 11 species of submerged aquatic vegetation, minnows and fish. Muskrats, raccoons and river otters live in the miles of wetlandsleading to the Chesapeake Bay, officials said.
Planned next is a $1 million, 2,500-square-foot addition for classrooms in the main building, which county Department of Recreation and Parks Director Bob Barrett said could take about 18 months to complete. A network of trails will come later.
“We?ve got a lot planned for Marshy Point,” Barrett said.
The county spent $725,000 local funds, $1.43 million in state open space funds, $250,000 in state bonds and $10,000 in state waterway improvement funds on the latest renovations.
IF YOU GO
» What: Park and Nature Center
» Where: 7130 Marshy Point Road, Chase
» When: seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p. m.
» Cost: Free
