AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
Chatting with Magothy River Association president Paul Spadaro about the organization’s upcoming 80th Anniversary Celebration on September 20th, we asked him about its beginnings.
“Right after the Second World War in 1946, the Navy got the idea that they wanted to build a naval air station on Cape St. Claire. For a seaplane base, it seemed like an ideal spot with the Naval Academy nearby…but the residents didn’t want to hear that,” said Spadaro. “So, the residents organized, took on the government and prevailed. That organization became the Magothy River Association (MRA).”
The Association has continued its long history of opposing and preventing commercial interests that threatened the watershed.
From the outset, MRA has been a traditional all-volunteer organization which Spadaro feels has contributed to its success. During the 30 years he’s been president, he’s made it a priority to seek out volunteers who are professionals and follow the directions in which those volunteers lead him.”
Recently, he read MRA’s letters of incorporation and discovered that members’ number one issue at the time was fishing.
“Looking back, I’ve observed that many of MRA’s environmental efforts have, indeed, been centered on fishing – from our multi-year Yellow Perch Project to our current Seining Project using large nets to determine the various species of fish in the river.”
We first learned about MRA’s Yellow Perch Project while talking with Spadaro and MRA volunteer Lise Crafton who’d been attending a meeting at The Big Bean in February of 2024. Crafton normally works with MRA’s SAV and water monitoring programs but was then working with Spadaro to monitor the yellow perch spawn.
“The Yellow Perch Project, one of our most important initiatives, came about through our partnership with Anne Arundel Community College. Having seen the Magothy’s yellow perch population decrease during the 1970’s, we were originally going to collaborate with AACC to restock the fish,” Spadaro said. “But the college students came up with an interesting concept. Instead of buying fish to stock the river, they took yellow perch from the Sassafras River, spawned them in Magothy River water, and then transported them to Lake Waterford where they were set free. ”
Because the yellow perch is one of those salmon type fish that go back to the waters in which they were born, the project succeeded and perch you see in the river today are direct descendants of them.”
Between their more notable initiatives, MRA’s president and volunteers came up with a multitude of successful projects including inventing new games based on the Magothy and launching the Magothy River Water Trail.
MRA has also made several award-winning films about local history, sharing them with the public through YouTube. One of them is about Mt. Misery, a peak that overlooks Round Bay and is designated a Critical Area. Mt. Misery is historically significant as it was the sight of a Union fortification during the Civil War. The fort was later used as a camp for local Boy Scout Troops. (The MRA was unsuccessful in its battle to prevent the building of a private residence on the site.)
An especially important project the Magothy River Association participated in was Master Watershed Steward and Berrywood Restoration Project Leader Molly LaChapelle’s massive effort to restore Cattail Creek to its original state after six years of hard work and persistence on Earth Day 2019.
Spread out along the banks of the creek, over 130 volunteers worked side by side that day to plant 1,000 trees, shrubs and plants. It was the last step in a three-stage construction effort by Annapolis-based Underwood & Associates that began with the creation of a regenerative stream channel that required raising the stream bed to increase flood plain connectivity and creating multiple weirs to slow down stream flow and reduce erosion.
The volunteers included 88 adults and children from Berrywood, the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards, Magothy River Association members, Bay Wise Master Gardeners, members of Girl Scout Troop 10294 and Boy Scout Troop 99, DNR representatives, and county and state government officials.
assistant restoration project leader Bob Royer.
An ongoing MRA project partnering with the PEARL Foundation and Morgan State University began as a study on fish but shifted to raising oysters on a reef off Dobbins Island. The university students are currently working on developing a low salinity reproducing oyster which is something needed for sustaining a population in the Magothy.
“Our river’s salinity is not ideal for the Virginia type of oyster currently grown here,” Spadaro said. “Our divers have documented that our oysters survive for several years filtering water, but their lifespan is relatively short. They need to reproduce in numbers that are self-sustaining but, at present, we have to fundraise to buy oysters to replace the population.”
We’ve mentioned just a few of the MRA’s many efforts focused on preserving the Magothy River and its watershed. As the organization celebrates its 80th birthday and moves forward, its president points out that the Magothy River Association is one of the last organizations made up entirely of volunteers.
“I hope we’ll continue to be an all-volunteer organization for the next 80 years as it brings a different perspective to what we do,” said Spadaro. “People are more dedicated. For instance, we’ve always had a very robust dive program over the years which appeals to a lot of the membership. At present, they’re involved in a project called Shipwrecks of the Magothy. The diversity of our projects continues to attract youth to become involved with the river, the Magothy watershed and the MRA.”
The organization’s participation in community events is well-known and widespread. The latest example was the appearance of the “Magothy Queen” float in Severna Park’s Independence Day Parade celebrating America’s 250th birthday with Paul Spadaro at the helm.
Lastly, as the Magothy River Association celebrates its volunteers’ long history of opposing and preventing commercial interests that threaten the watershed, Spadaro feels certain they will continue just as forcefully into the future. Observing that MRA volunteers have managed to defeat plans for several major marinas to be constructed along the river, he cited an important win from the past.
“For many years, there was an amusement park called Mago Vista in Arnold,” he said. “In the 1980’s, there was a plan to tear it all down and build a 1,000-slip marina. The MRA said no and fought it. They won. If it had gone through, the area would be entirely different.”
“Communities that push back win back. Every inch of county code has been compromised by development. Sadly, we haven’t fought back as much as we should have but, hopefully, we’ll continue. It’s never one and done.”
The Magothy River Association is holding a Happy 80th Birthday Party to which the public is invited on Sunday, September 20th from 3 to 6 pm. Tickets are still available. To order them, visit Facebook.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. Jing Ying also offers a homeschool Kung Fu program this fall. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
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