The Choptank River region, which includes Dorchester and Caroline counties, has long been considered a national treasure because it recalls the cultural, historic, and natural landscape of Harriet Tubman and her Underground Railroad. However, a proposed electricity-transmission superhighway, residential growth, and rising sea levels threaten this landscape even as a proposal to create a Harriet Tubman National Historic Park is being considered by Congress.
The primary and most urgent threat to the area, says Krishnamurthy, who nominated the site along with members of Dorchester’s Department of Tourism, is the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP), which, if approved, would result in high-voltage power lines running across 27 miles of Dorchester County. At 150 feet tall, the pathway’s transmission towers would be twice the height of the surrounding forest canopy and be visible from miles around.
“What I think has the biggest impact to federal, state, and local recognition of Harriet Tubman is that the landscape itself is integrally tied to her work and how she went about achieving her success,” says Krishnamurthy. “Her skill set in navigating other slaves to freedom was based on her knowledge of the land, having grown up in Dorchester and Caroline counties. She had to know the farms, waterways, forests, wetlands, and the landscape itself, [as well as] where to find friendly, not risky, havens as stopover points after traversing through the night.”
While Krishnamurthy believes that the most urgent threat to the landscape is MAPP, he notes that pressure from developers, as well as the erosion of the land due to rising sea levels, are also factors. “We are not opposed to the project, we just want to make sure that the analysis is thorough, that there is a clearly established need, and that other solutions—like more localized, distributed generation of electricity, including renewable sources—are exploited,” Krishnamurthy says.
“Delmarva Power recognizes the historical importance of Harriet Tubman in Maryland,” says Matt Likovich, a spokesman for the company. “[We] have taken into account the proposed Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National and are committed to working with interested parties and government agencies in order to assess and address MAPP’s effect on the environment.” He adds, “Our priority is to protect the natural and cultural resources throughout the project.
To do this, all necessary approvals and permits will be acquired in order to construct the project. In addition to minimizing environmental impact, many different methods of mitigation will be considered, such as restoring wetlands and streams, providing buffers to water bodies or sensitive resources, tree replanting, habitat restoration, land conservation, and mitigation for impacts to cultural resources.”
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