Calvert County Homes Endangered by Beetles!
Here is our story aired last night on the three networks. ABC News 7, MyFoxDC 5, WUSA8. The Endangered Species Act take priority over human life, the right to protect your property and pollution of The Chesapeake Bay and it's watersheds. This 15 year battle to prevent our homes from sliding, human and animal fatalities as well as pollution of The Chesapeake Bay continues. It is getting more critical each day as the homes get closer to the edge. We have approximately 300 puritan tiger beetles (so they say) along Calvert Cliffs shoreline. Last count on our property, there were no beetles recorded. The The Endangered Species Act needs to be changed as well as the Critical Area Guidelines.
By JOHN HENREHAN/myfoxdc
CALVERT COUNTY, Md. 20657 - When Bill Carmichael built his bay side home at the Chesapeake Ranch Estates part of Calvert County 18 years ago, the house was about 60 feet from the edge of the cliff. But the cliff's edge is moving closer to the house-- fast.
"Well, Thanksgiving evening, here, there was about a 10-food (wide) hot tub, here. We had a deck, out here-- 12 foot. And were all out here Thanksgiving evening, the kids and everybody, just looking at everything, and went back in, and woke up in the morning, and its gone," said Carmichael. "A whole 12 feet of it at one shot."
The cliffs along the Chesapeake Bay are naturally eroding. Homeowners want to reinforce the base and tops of the cliffs, but federal regulations which protect the cliff-dwelling Puritan Tiger Beetle are preventing that reinforcement. About 300 of the beetles are believed to be living on the cliffs.
Homeowners think the state should consider moving the beetles to a safer area.
"We had 11,000 beetles in our area, shoreline, in that particular area was the count. Today, we have "300," said Carmichael.
Homeowners argue safety should come first. Part of the cliffs collapsed a few years ago, killing a 9-year-old girl walking on the beach below. And now, about 300 yards of a roadway have been closed because of nearby cliff erosion. Fire and ambulance response time is now much slower to much of the community.
It isn't just buildings and humans that are at risk at the edge of the bay.
"Ah, we finished Thanksgiving dinner, and my sister's dog was missing. He had fallen off the cliff. And she did pass away. And we went to the vet, and there were two other dogs, that week, that had fallen off and had died, also," said resident Monique Hailer.
Cliff-side homeowners here are having difficulty selling and even insuring many of the homes. They have been pressing the county, state, and federal governments for years for some kind of help. So far, no help has come, and the cliffs keep eroding.
Great post. I enjoyed reading thanks.
Posted by: Property For Sale in Turkey | 02/11/2010 at 03:50 PM