GLENN DALE, Md. — There’s some land in Prince George’s County that leaders there say developers would love to get a hold of.
This issue involving 104 acres in Glen Dale, Maryland, puts the spotlight on the development pressures facing the neighboring U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Patuxent Research Refuge and National Wildlife Visitor Center.
The acreage is a former rocket propulsion testing site owned by NASA called Area 400 near the intersection of Good Luck Road and Springfield Rd.
The majority of the property is regarded as a natural gem because of a fenced-in hardwood forest that hasn’t been touched for generations, according to environmentalists.
Housing developers would love to get their hands on the property, according to Prince George's County Council members who would rather see the place preserved, according to a letter they sent to the US government agency in charge of selling off excess land.
County leaders, along with members of Maryland's Congressional Delegation believe Area 400 should be added to the wildlife refuge next door, the neighboring 13,000 acre Patuxent Research Refuge and National Wildlife Visitor Center and the USDA’s 6,500 acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
The two properties combined are nearly as large as all of Arlington County, Virginia, and is among the largest continuous open-space areas available for wildlife in the metropolitan region, according to refuge managers.
Patuxent Research Refuge is critical habitat for species ranging from rare insects and threatened Monarch butterflies to birds that migrate to and from South America.
The refuge has also become a second home of sorts to Bowie State students studying to be environmental educators, according to senior India Barnett who is conducting studies of turtle species on the refuge.
Barnett calls the refuge a magic place.
“It's kind of unimaginable how much life is going on in the refuge itself because its such a large place," Barnett said.
Refuge manager Jennifer Greiner says the refuge is no stranger to development pressure including a proposal to route a mag-lev bullet train through part of the property.
“It’s a large open green space in the middle of two big cities which is pretty unique," Greiner said.
"Development pressure right at the edge of the refuge can impact the wildlife and the habitat as well as the people that recreate here."
Greiner pointed out that noise and light pollution from the fringes of the properties can have a significant impact on some species that seek refuge on the site.
While county leaders and Maryland’s Congressional Delegation are urging the government to transfer NASA’s Area 400 to the refuge, there is potential environmental contamination on the NASA property could complicate the transaction, according to federal documents.
If the agencies cannot come to terms, government rules dictate that the property should be auctioned off on the free market.
The transaction could take until 2024.