Chapman Forest On the Potomac, near the Nation's Capital — expansive, unspoiled nature and history —

From 1989 until 1998, developers attempted to win approval for the "Chapman's Landing" development, which would have established a new edge city on the Potomac River -- destroying Chapman Forest as the spectacular natural and historical site it now is. On October 28, 1998, the state of Maryland listened to the many environmental and civic organizations that advocated preservation and acquired the site for its natural and historic values. With the State's purchase of Chapman Forest in 1998, we now have the opportunity of assuring that the integrity of Chapman Forest endures. Governor Parris Glendening was so pleased with the State's purchase, he made bumper stickers that said:

Mount Aventine and its surrounding land was nominated by both the State of Maryland and Ms. Bonnie Bick to be on the National Register of Historic Places. The two nominations included different amounts of land around the house (630 acres and 185 acres). During the registration process, Carol D. Shull wrote a letter to the State requesting that their nomination include the full 630 acres around Mt. Aventine. The nomination was revised and on April 18, 1996 Mt. Aventine's registration was approved.

People all over the US and the world wrote letters to encourage the preservation of Chapman Forest. Even such digitaries as E. O. Wilson, famed ecologist, supported keeping Chapman Forest free of development. One letter is particularly striking, as it is from children in Brazil who were equally concerned with the temperate forests of North America (i.e. Chapman Forest) as they were with their own Amazon rainforest.

After the state of Maryland purchased the Chapman Forest land, they needed to figure out what to do with it. In the year 2000, the State of Maryland initiated a process for determining how Chapman Forest would be managed. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources established a Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) of nine persons, some of whom had supported the development and others of whom had supported preservation. This committee held public meetings for two years while they prepared recommendations regarding Chapman Forest. DNR also established three Work Groups to advise the CAC: the Natural Resources Work Group; the Historical and Cultural Resources Work Group; and the Public Access and Use Work Group. You can read the report of the History and Cultural Resources work group.

At the beginning of 2003, the Maryland DNR presented its Land Unit Plan for Chapman State Park and the Governor Parris N. Glendening Natural Environment Area. Not everyone agreed with the plan, including the Charles County Commissioners (see their letter to Governor Levy - page 1, page 2).