The University of Maryland, Baltimore County faces mounting criticism over its $27 million Spring Grove project that clear-cut nearly 3 acres of forest and bulldozed wetlands at the former hospital site in Catonsville. Local residents and environmental experts argue the project destroyed valuable natural resources, including the community-designated Spring Grove Arboretum where neighbors had planted 1,000 trees just three years earlier.

UMBC officials acknowledge they could have done better community outreach before starting the controversial project, which aims to restore portions of the Herbert Run streambed. The university says its plans include a multi-component tree-protection plan with a one-to-one replacement of cut trees and a five-year commitment to ensuring new trees' survival. However, environmental inspectors from the Maryland Department of the Environment have cited the project for more than 30 violations, including crushed silt fences, unstabilized slopes, and construction equipment parked within streambeds.

Retired forester Jim Himel and licensed forester William Rees argue the clear-cutting and valley flattening will actually degrade rather than stabilize the streambed. They contend the area was already stable, with massive trees whose root systems naturally armored the banks against erosion. The project has drawn particular ire for destroying wetland areas fed by an active spring, with critics noting such riparian forests are among Maryland's most valuable ecosystems for protecting the Chesapeake Bay from silt and nutrient pollution.

Quick Fact: UMBC purchased the Spring Grove Campus from Maryland for $1 in 2022.