NASA wants to sell 105 acres of wood it owns in greenbelt; next-door USWR says it can't afford

NASA WANTS TO SELL 105 ACRES OF WOODS IT OWNS IN GREENBELT; ENVIRONMENTALISTS, CARDIN, HOYER OPPOSED ; NEXT-DOOR U.S. WILDLIFE REFUGE SAYS IT CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has used its orbiting satellites to help scientists understand the value of forests in fighting climate change. Closer to home, though, the space agency is moving to sell a woodland it owns in Maryland, putting the trees there at risk of being bulldozed by a developer.

NASA has used Area 400, a mostly wooded 105-acre tract near Greenbelt, MD, for cryogenics and rocket propulsion testing. NASA is poised to sell the land, but others are calling for preservation, preferably by making it part of the neighboring wildlife research reserve.

The proposed sale of the 105-acre tract by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Greenbelt, MD, has drawn protests from conservationists and expressions of concern from state and even other federal agencies. They note that the woods surround a headwaters stream of the Anacostia River, providing wildlife habitat, soaking up nutrients in rainfall runoff and capturing climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“I just think it’s a travesty to lose this 100 acres, especially a forest in an urban area,” said Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. “For reasons of water quality, climate change, environmental education, emotional sustenance, we need to protect this.”

Read more: https://marylandreporter.com/2022/01/25/nasa-wants-to-sell-105-acres-of-woods-it-owns-in-greenbelt-environmentalists-cardin-hoyer-opposed-next-door-u-s-wildlife-refuge-says-it-cant-afford-to-buy/