Lynch, Daniel S.

Vice president of the Coalition to Preserve Black Marsh, an organization of environmental activists from Baltimore County, Maryland.

The Coalition formed in 1990 and remained active until 1996 when it became the Friends of North Point State Park. The group opposed development of North Point State Park which threatened Black Marsh, a Chesapeake Bay tidal marsh that was home to bald eagles and other endangered animals and plants.

Daniel S. Lynch was vice president of the Coalition to Preserve Black Marsh, Inc., (CPBM). In 1990, a group of concerned environmental activists formed this non-profit coalition in order to prevent development of North Point State Park (NPSP), part of the Gunpowder Falls State Park system in Baltimore County, Maryland. The other elected officers of CPBM were Richard C. Pollack, Sr., president; Vera D. Hinkelman, treasurer; and Cynthia Stitz, secretary. Polly Wirth served as president of the CPBM board of directors. By 1995, about 1,000 individual and fifty group members belonged to the coalition and supported its campaign to preserve and conserve Black Marsh.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposed several alternative plans for developing NPSP. Features of the plans included a golf course; a visitor's center; dining facilities; roadways; piers; and renovation of the historic, twentieth-century Bay Shore Amusement Park. The Coalition argued that the implementation of these plans would threaten the balance of the Black Marsh, which is a part of NPSP and a designated State Wildland and Natural Heritage Area. The 232-acre Black Marsh rests along the Chesapeake Bay and hosts an ecosystem that includes endangered plants and animals, such as the bald eagle.

CPBM sought to raise a public outcry about DNR's plans and state congressional bills that allowed for development of parts of NPSP. On September 25, 1991, CPBM sent a lawyer to represent them at a hearing held by the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission. The Commission decided in favor of DNR's draft plan for Black Marsh. On January 3, 1992, CPBM filed an appeal against the Commission's decision. Over a year later, the appeal was dismissed with prejudice (a final and binding decision that bars further prosecution of the same cause of action or motion). On October 4, 1993, the CPBM sued the Critical Area Commission for a writ of mandamus, which was dismissed on October 11, 1994.

After exhausting their formal options to challenge DNR's plans for NPSP, the CPBM changed its name to the Friends of North Point State Park. They continued to argue in favor of low-impact alternatives to elements of the DNR plan. At the invitation of DNR Secretary John Griffin, the group advised NPSP board members and officials through 1997.

As vice president of CPBM, Daniel S. Lynch contacted state officials, environmental scientists, and leaders of other non-profit environmental groups. He assisted other CPBM officers in organizing informational meetings for members and the public. The officers gathered information on the DNR's activities and plans, and they created alternative plans for the park that would have less impact on the marsh. CPBM members wrote reports, position papers, and letters to the editors of local newspapers about the importance of the marsh's ecosystem.

In a letter to the editor printed in the Baltimore Sun on March 13, 1991, Lynch articulated the aims of the Coalition. He explained, "In proposing the extension of natural-area protection to the 250-acre Shallow Creek peninsula, the coalition is looking toward the future. If the peninsula is allowed to fully restore itself through reforestation, the natural area of the park would become a nearly -mile-wide band of forest and marsh protected by four miles of water boundaries." This improved protection, Lynch and CPBM members believed, would ensure opportunities at Black Marsh "for people to enjoy wildlife, unspoiled natural scenery, archaeological sites, and the rich historical background of the area."

Lynch's leadership role in the Black Marsh campaign was part of his larger involvement as a Maryland environmental activist. He participated in several other preservation struggles as a member and supporter. Lynch contributed his time and attention to efforts to save Chapman's Landing, Brookview Farm, Oregon Ridge, Cromwell Valley, and other natural areas of central Maryland.