ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources ignored considerable evidence and warnings that a new road and bridge in Garrett County would threaten an area that includes the largest hemlock and white pines recorded in the state, according to a court decision Tuesday.
The 28-page ruling, from the Appellate Court of Maryland, follows a nearly three-year battle over a decision made by DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz to allow development in the Youghiogheny Wild River Scenic Corridor.
Kurtz in August 2023 granted a conditional exception for Garrett County to construct a new bridge on Swallow Falls Road in the state-protected area.
The exception was “consistent with the legislative intent of the Scenic and Wild Rivers Act and, is not injurious to the scenic and wild character of the river,” Kurtz stated at that time.
The county, which wanted to keep the existing bridge open while a new span and road were built nearby, needed DNR’s approval to sidestep environmental protections aimed to prevent development of the area.
Opponents of the conditional exception argued the plan would destroy centuries-old trees, threaten a fragile ecosystem and violate laws written to protect the Wild Yough, and requested the new bridge be built in the existing span’s footprint, which would require the road to be closed during construction.
J. Dirk Schwenk of Annapolis-based Baylaw, LLC, in October 2024 filed a nearly 700-page document to undo the Kurtz decision.
Tuesday, he said the legal win vindicates what his clients — The Old Growth Forest Network, and Yough Farms, LLC, owned by Steve Storck — have said all along.
“If the DNR did the review that it was supposed to do, it would replace the bridge in its current location instead of authorizing clear cutting of old growth hemlocks right along the banks of the river,” Schwenk said.
“One of the DNR’s most unsupported claims was that a new bridge and new road in a different location was a ‘continuation of an existing use,’” he said. “By making that claim, the DNR tried to avoid the fact that the entire area was designated an Irreplaceable Natural Area in which all development was banned.”
The court ruled that the only continuation of an existing use is a replacement bridge built on the existing site, and held that DNR did not adequately address numerous “red flags.”
It states that a July 5, 2023, memorandum to Kurtz from Mary Owens, former DNR manager for the proposed bridge project, said “some impacts to the Scenic and Wild River Corridor and to Swallow Falls State Park are unavoidable.”
Now, Schwenk said, DNR is required to start over in its assessment of how to replace the bridge.
Tuesday, DNR Director of Communications A.J. Metcalf said the agency granted the exception to the county “after working to minimize construction impacts on the surrounding natural resources and to address the significant public safety and transportation concerns raised by first responders and county leaders if the bridge were to be out of service during construction.”
DNR “will continue to review the opinion and evaluate our options before choosing a path forward,” he said.
A request for comment from Garrett County officials was not returned Tuesday.
At that time, Storck said he was grateful for the win.
“I can’t thank Dirk Schwenk enough for learning about this natural wonder, building a strong case and seeing it through the appeal,” he said. “Mary Owens spoke truth to power, which may have contributed to her ‘early retirement,’ but her words were heard by those that mattered in the end.”
Storck said he was “ecstatic” that the former Local Youghiogheny River Advisory Board’s recommendation to replace the bridge in its current location “was recognized as a key element” in the court’s decision.
Old-Growth Forest Network Founder Joan Maloof said the organization “is pleased to stand for the protection of this forest, where ancient trees provide habitat for a rich web of life.”
As Maryland’s population grows, “and more of our natural land gets covered by infrastructure and other development, it becomes especially important to preserve our precious natural areas,” she said.
Frostburg resident and former Maryland Sen. John Bambacus is a longtime active and outspoken advocate for the Wild Yough area.
The court of appeals recognized “the arbitrary and capricious actions of (DNR) and the Garrett County commissioners” in refusing to hold a public hearing on the issue, he said. “Secrecy and backroom deals by our state and local elected representatives have finally been recognized by the court.”