Plummers Island Threatened by proposed Expansion of American Legion Bridge
The Washington Biologist Field Club (WBFC) was founded in 1900 by professional field biologists living and working in the Washington, DC vicinity (Perry 2007). The members are all professional biologists. Plummers Island, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Montgomery County, Maryland, has been the WBFC research station and meeting place since 1901.
Plummers Island is located immediately downstream from the ALB. The Island covers 12.2 acres of land, the widest part of of which is adjacent the American Legion Bridge.
The current American Legion Bridge Expansion proposal would cut across the Island, move or destroy the channel that separates the Island from the mainland, clear the trees and level a substantial part of the Island, clear the significant healthy native beech tree forest on the mainland side, destroy the wetlands associated with the island and mainland, and result in major infestations of invasive plants. If implemented this DEIS project would jeopardize future research on trends in biodiversity on the Island. One can see from the image below that the impact zone for the proposed expansion would cover half of Plummers Island.
Please read the WBFC Comments and Testimony to the DEIS from November 2020
Information on the Proposed Beltway Expansion
