CUMBERLAND — Plans are underway for a Maryland park that’s never had public access to welcome visitors.
For nearly three decades, Wills Mountain State Park was surrounded by private land and an almost vertical hillside that overlooks Cumberland.
Recently, however, the Maryland Department of Natural resources bought the former Artmor Plastics plant property, adjacent to the park, for $250,000, DNR Media Relations Manager Gregg Bortz said Tuesday.
The new land addition comprises 48.53 acres “and is now part of Wills Mountain State Park,” he said.
The former Artmor manufacturing facility, which has been vacant for several years, was vandalized and later set on fire in 2015.
In 2017, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved payment of $37,800 to Bacas Sisters LLC for 5 acres the park bordered on three sides.
That year, the board agreed to pay Ronald Brian Wildman $60,000 for 8 acres bordered on two sides by the park.
Program Open Space funds paid for the land.
“However our review did not find it suitable for an access point due to potential impacts on the nearby residential area and other issues,” Bortz said at that time. “The department continues to pursue opportunities to create access in a safe and ecologically sound manner.”
In 2020, Allegany County commissioners approved transfer of more than 100 acres of property from Allegany Holding Company/Aggregate Management to the state of Maryland for Wills Mountain State Park.
Today, Wills Mountain State Park includes 520 acres, and is officially closed, Bortz said.
“It has never formally been open as there is no legal access to the property via the single access road,” he said. “The Artmor property was acquired to address that issue. People have entered from adjacent private land but at this time we are reminding all to remain off the property until we are able to properly develop the access area.”
DNR is developing a voluntary site cleanup plan that will be submitted to the Maryland Department of the Environment along with wildlife surveys “and other due diligence,” Bortz said.
“That will all be completed before we can provide public access to Wills Mountain State Park through the newly acquired access site,” he said. “We do not yet have a time frame.”