Conservancy group honors Murphy for preservation

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Greenweigh was built in 1919 and Murphy (D-Charles) said his grandfather, John Orem, purchased it as a weekend place many years ago. It was originally known as Greenweigh Rod and Gun Club when it was owned by the Smoot family, he said.

The house and land are surrounded by trees and water and it didn't take a lot of thought to decide to place the 60-acre property in a perpetual conservation easement with the Conservancy for Charles County, Murphy said, adding that he moved to the property in 1976.

Murphy, one of the founders of the nonprofit organization in 1996 who served on the first board of directors, was awarded the conservancy's Charles County Heritage Award during the group's annual meeting in September for his efforts to preserve and protect the environment.

The organization is the only nonprofit land trust dedicated to the preservation of special landscapes in Charles County by working to save open space, farmland, forests, wetlands, natural habitats and historic assets, said Vivian Mills, the organization's president.

"Peter has contributed so much to the community," Mills said. "He stands out. He has demonstrated a real dedication to the conservation of land through his personal actions by donating a perpetual conservation easement of his land. He also speaks publicly about the importance of land conservation at workshops and conferences."

"I really wanted to preserve this place," Murphy said. "It's a beautiful spot. With the tremendous development pressure in the county I thought this would be the best way to preserve this land."

Hal Delaplane, who serves on the organization's board of directors, said Murphy has long been an advocate of land preservation.

"Peter has always been an active supporter of land conservation," he said. "He dedicated one of the first conservation easements. And he always makes himself available to speak to groups as an easement donor at our outreach events. That gives an added weight when people hear it from someone who has gone through the process."

"I've known Peter for a couple of years and he's such a strong environmentalist," said Ellie Cline, the owner of the historic Araby property in Mason Springs and a member of the conservancy's board of directors. "He was an ideal choice for the Heritage Award."

Other county residents who have received the award are Bryans Road residents George Wilmot and Carol Ghebelian for their efforts to preserve land in the county, Mills said.

During the annual meeting the organization, which has granted conservation easements on nearly 1,700 acres in the county, elected Phil Angle, Robert M. Burke and Christine M. Parker to serve on the board of directors, Mills said.

Angle is a retired biologist who has done field work in the Antarctic and South Pacific, Mills said. Burke is an estate planning and real estate attorney in Waldorf, and Parker is a certified financial planner and the president of Parker Financial in La Plata.

In addition, Newburg resident Lloyd A. Bowling Sr., Cline and Delaplane were re-elected to serve on the organization's board of directors, Mills said.

Also during the meeting, the group expressed special appreciation to retiring board of director members Ernest Wallace and George Wilmot. Wallace contributed to expanding the conservancy's community outreach program and Wilmot is a founding member and a champion of environmental protection, Mills said.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com