Last night’s storm created some unprecedented flooding in areas of Harford County including our Wildlife Center in Darlington. We want to share our heartfelt condolences for the tragic loss of life and destruction of property that occurred in our wonderful community. Our team is here to help any of you in need so please don’t hesitate to reach out. While wildlife is generally adaptable to natural changes in their environment such as that from storms, we ask all of you to also look out for any displaced or injured wildlife that may need our assistance.
As for our Wildlife Center, we were there to watch our tranquil little Hopkins Branch rise and expand with a force we didn’t think was possible – uprooting and moving trees, boulders, concrete and even our steel beam bridge. Our Baltimore Checkerspot restoration area and elements we worked hard to build over the last few years near our stream channel were hit particularly hard by the landscape changing waters. It was a powerful reminder to respect Mother Nature and its unpredictability.
In the coming weeks we will be assessing the damage and planning on how to rebuild even stronger, now with a fuller understanding of what our watershed is capable of. We want to thank our incredible partners Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Ecotone, Inc., Chad Shrodes – County Councilman and our Harford County GovernmentExecutive Barry Glassman who have already reached out to us to offer their help. We appreciate all of you in the community who have already shared your concern and offers for assistance. We will keep all of you informed of our needs once we have a better idea of the damage, costs and a plan to move forward. Please be safe out there!
