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Holly Beach Farm Rapid Transportation Assistance Group Study - Washington, DC

Image of the Chesapeake Bay from the shoreline at the Holly Beach Farm site.

U.S. DOT Volpe Center

Total Project Budget: $40,000 (~240 Volpe) staff hours between four employees plus travel for one (1) site visit)
Project Timeline: March 2023 – September 2024
Project Partners: National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways, U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Project Deliverables: Rapid Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) Study Report (pdf iconHolly Beach Farm TAG Report)

Project Request and Purpose

National Park Service (NPS) Chesapeake Gateways (CHBA) partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Volpe Center (Volpe) to conduct a Rapid Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) study of the Holly Beach Farm (HBF) in response to a request received for technical assistance from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), who at the time held the property deed and managed the approximately 300-acre Holly Beach Farm site located in Anne Arundel County, near Annapolis, Maryland. The property ownership has since been transferred to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR). The Volpe TAG study summarizes challenges and opportunities related to establishing public access to the HBF site via water- and land-based transportation.

Project Purpose: To evaluate existing and potential water- and land-based access and circulation constraints and opportunities at the HBF site, which is adjacent to US Route 50 and the Bay Bridge. The focus of the evaluation was to consider whether access to the site could be primarily water-based, with limited land-based access and associated parking for visitors with accessibility and other needs. The evaluation considered many factors, most important being avoiding adverse impacts of crowding, traffic, or neighborhood disruption.

Image from the water looking at the existing dock located at the Holly Beach Farm site.

U.S. DOT Volpe Center

Project Background

The HBF site comprises approximately 300 acres of saltwater beach shorelines and freshwater ponds, Chesapeake marshes and coves, coastal woodlands, and wide Bay views on a peninsula along the banks of Meredith Creek, Whitehall Creek and Whitehall Bay, Goose Pond, and Moss Pond. A 9.17-acre freshwater pond is located at the southern end of the property known as Hackett Point. The site is accessed by Holly Beach Farm Road, an accessway running north-south of the peninsula and shared by neighborhood homes with driveways stemming from it. Several other internal mowed farm roads run throughout the property, most of which also serve as residential driveways to the various properties on-site.

General considerations and constraints for the HBF site include:
  • Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Agreement (2000): NPS provided the State of Maryland with $992,000 in LWCF funds for the site. The agreement stipulates that the State ensures the property is open to the public per LWCF guidelines.
  • Chesapeake Bay Gateways Agreement (2001): NPS provided the State of Maryland with an additional $1.496 million NPS Chesapeake Gateways funding for the site. The general agreement holds the State responsible in perpetuity for the public use, education, and enjoyment of the property.
  • Conservation Easement Restrictions (2001): The Holly Beach Farm site operates under a restrictive conservation easement established by the State of Maryland that aims to preserve the site’s natural, historic, and cultural resources, all which attribute to the property’s distinctiveness as an “ecological jewel.”
  • Neighborhood Context and Proximity to Sandy Point State Park: The previous steward of the site, CBF, worked hard over the years to build trust and positive relationships with the neighboring community and address their concerns over the site’s intended public purpose. Community members worry the Holly Beach Farm site will become “another Sandy Point State Park” – a heavily used state park opposite of HBF on the other side of Route 50 – bringing increased traffic, noise, and disturbance to the of the landscape.
  • Historic and Cultural Resource Protection: HBF has historically been composed of horse stables, agricultural crop fields, pasture, and forest. The site is included on Medusa, Maryland’s Cultural Resource Information System as part of the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (Architectural Inventory). The site is historically significant and includes (or is adjacent to) several historic sites that reflect the area prior to the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. A 1970s survey of the shoreline around the Holly Beach Farm site documented several inventoried archeological sites within the property. Funding is needed to restore the historic structures. However, documentation of these historic structures is needed to determine their significance prior to any removal or restoration.
  • Natural Resources and Habitat Protection: The natural resources at HBF are significant, contributing to its status as an “ecological jewel.” The site contains exquisite and fragile ecosystems with many different habitats, making it an ideal place for many species to call home. The property is limited to compatible agricultural uses under the Deed of Conservation Easement to lessen impact to the ecology. The site is designated as a “Resource Conservation Area (RCA)” within Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, [1] which requires local governments to address agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture uses through interagency coordination and the use of Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plans for farms, Timber Harvest and Forest Management Plans for forestry uses, and Water-Dependent Facilities regulations for fisheries and aquaculture.[2] Further, the Holly Beach Farm site is identified as a Sensitive Species Project Review Area.
  • Shoreline Erosion: The site contains about five miles of shoreline to include natural shoreline, bulkheads, groins, riprap, revetments, and a living shoreline on the west side of the property between parcels 45 and 66. Shoreline erosion, which is being exacerbated by sea level rise, continues to be a growing concern as much of the site is at a low elevation.
  • High Groundwater: The HBF site experiences high ground water levels, putting cultural and natural features at risk.
Holly Beach Farm is an important location for public access given that only about two percent of the Chesapeake Bay’s shoreline is publicly accessible. Due to its special coastal landscape and significant cultural and historic features, the Holly Beach Farm site was saved from development by a consortium of Federal, State, local, and non-profit partners in 2001 with the title transferred to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) in 2002, a non-profit organization focused on preserving the Chesapeake Bay. In 2024 during the development of the report, CBF then transferred the site to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR).

[1] “RCAs make up approximately 80% of the Critical Area and are characterized by natural environments or areas where resource-utilization activities are taking place. Resource-utilization activities include agriculture, forestry, fisheries activities, and aquaculture, which are considered “protective” land uses. … Within the RCA, the retention and increase of forested areas is extremely important to the health of the Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Coastal Bays, and all of their tributaries,” Development in the Critical Area (maryland.gov), accessed April 28, 2021.

Image of a grassy path through the woods at the Holly Beach Farm site.

U.S. DOT Volpe Center

Project Activities

The project team conducted a rapid Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) study, that included:

  • Review of existing resources relevant to the study to include previous and concurrent studies and planning documents (i.e., previous grant applications, funding agreements, etc.) to get a sense of prior research into the site.

  • Field investigations of the HBF site to identify public access challenges.

  • Discussions with CBF and MD DNR staff and leadership to aggregate individual experiences and insights with the site.

  • In-person documentation of observations and considerations to ground truth the research and stakeholder input.

The following key challenges to public access, both water-based and land-based access, were identified at the site:

Water-Based Access Challenges

Land-Based Access Challenges

  • Need for coastline stabilization

  • Lack of dock infrastructure for ferry service

  • Lack of water access opportunities for kayaks and other non-motorized watercraft

  • Lack of accessible trail access from the shoreline to key locations on-site

  • Traffic congestion on US Route 50

  • Narrow entrance road and driveway

  • Limited parking on the property

  • Lack of accessible (or any) bike/ped trails that connect to the HBF site

  • Lack of signage and wayfinding on the existing network of trails

[2] “The site is managed under an existing Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District Farm Plan, which has recently been updated to allow for various improvements and upgrades. Improvements are congruent with the conservation easement and include improvements to roads and trail network, non-native invasive plant management, management of early seral forest stands, creation of pollinator meadows, reconstruction of vernal pools, tidal shoreline restoration and erosion control, re-decking of existing piers and other farm wide enhancements,” (page 3, “Holly Beach Farm Natural Resources Report”, Environmental Systems Analysis, Inc., December 2022).

Project Outcomes

Expanding public access at the HBF site requires additional research and master planning for the site by MD DNR, a requirement of the Land and Water Conservation Fund used to acquire the property. The challenges defined in the TAG study convey an array of priorities and possible solutions that can be worked into the master plan. The study also highlights alternatives to the possible solutions that balance issues of historic and cultural resource preservation, natural resource preservation and environmental protection, parcel and road ownership, impact to neighbors, visitor experience and safety, and maintenance logistics.

Further studies are needed for evaluation of structures, archaeology, and the wetlands and coastline stabilization. However, the TAG study shows that improvements can be made to preserve and protect historical and cultural resources as well as to maintain and manage environmental and ecological resources (e.g., shoreline erosion mitigation to control further damage to the cemetery, continuing to pursue projects such as the Living Shoreline, removing invasive species, etc.).

The identified next steps in the TAG study include:

  • Master Plan for the site encompassing resource management and visitor experience objectives. A comprehensive master plan for the site should be developed by the State as required by the agreements with the NPS that addresses the current state of the site and the necessary improvements or opportunities to enhance access and use of the site. Such planning will necessitate community, partner, and stakeholder engagement.

  • Provide water-based public access to the site. Providing water-based public access to the site from Annapolis as the primary form of access could be a unique visitor experience opportunity. Primarily using water-based public access would also minimize any impact to traffic on Holly Beach Farm Road.

  • Cultural Resources and Heritage Documentation, in partnership with the NPS Heritage Documentation Program, to identify and define any eligible historic and cultural resources on the property for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), the Federal Government's oldest preservation program, the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and/or the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS).

  • Phase I Archeological survey, in partnership with Anne Arundel County and the Maryland Historical Trust, which serves as MD’s State Historic Preservation Office, to identify and define any archeological resources on the property.

  • Coastline (living shoreline and bulkhead) stabilization to stop the effects of erosion on the property shoreline.

  • Local community and public engagement to provide the opportunity for meaningful communication between MD DNR and the community, and to allow for the community’s input into decisions that ultimately affect them.

  • Provide improvements to land-based access to the site, such as for visitors with accessibility needs. This includes limited parking, traffic management, and trail network improvements and connections.

The transfer of the Holly Beach Farm site to the MD DNR presents an opportunity for the State of Maryland to initiate the site master planning required under the Land and Water Conservation Fund that will define the future public use of Holly Beach Farm, continuing to protect its fragile natural and cultural resources while allowing public access for the quiet recreational experiences the site affords. This document is intended to be a useful reference for MD DNR as the new stewards of the site.

Tags

Chesapeake Bay

Last updated: July 23, 2025