Constellation Energy, the company that owns and operates the Conowingo Dam, will donate 300 acres of land near the dam to the state of Maryland.
The donation announced this week will “expand Susquehanna State Park and local parks in Havre de Grace and Port Deposit,” says Chesapeake Conservancy president and CEO Joel Dunn. “It is a dream come true for local communities and park enthusiasts.”
Chesapeake Conservancy is among several nonprofit organizations that worked with Constellation and the state, including Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and Park Service, Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Inc., Port Deposit, Havre de Grace, the Harford Land Trust and Cecil Land Trust.
A ribbon-cutting for the new land donation took place at the trailhead of Wildflower Trail on Shure’s Landing Road in Darlington, Harford County.
“The Susquehanna River is part of our identity in Harford County. It brings us tremendous joy to know that the riverfront will remain undeveloped forever,” said Kristin Kirkwood, Harford Land Trust’s Executive Director. “A land donation of this size and significance is truly remarkable and we thank Constellation for this forward-thinking gift.”
The property is near the Conowingo Dam, which operates 11 turbines that produce the majority of Maryland’s in-state renewable energy, enough to power 165,000 homes on average.
Between the Conowingo Dam in Darlington, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Station in Lusby and three wind projects in Garrett and Alleghany Counties, Constellation produces over 90 percent of Maryland’s in-state clean, zero-emission electric generation.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
