Patapsco River Steward Named ‘Volunteer of the Year’ by His Peers

Before an audience of 250-plus in Ellicott City, Friends of Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway (FPVHG) announced its volunteer of the year—Tim Titus—who brings unique expertise to the nonprofit group after a career with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“I spent 30 years as an administrative executive at EPA telling others to go forth and do good work; now that I’m retired, I finally get to get my hands dirty," said Titus.

As part of the award presentation, FPVHG Executive Director Betsy McMillion read a few glowing excerpts from papers written by Howard Community College students who were trained in stream maintenance by Titus.

“He is the one that probably taught me the most stuff. He seemed to know how to connect and talk with the younger kids .... Even after weeks at a time in between jobs, he would still remember my name,” wrote one student.

According to McMillion, Titus donated more than 200 hours of his time in 2010 to help improve programs like Stream Watch. "He is the first one to volunteer for any job," said McMillion. "In fact, he participated in a river clean-up project in Elkridge [April 3]. He is a great role model."

Guest speaker talks about mills

Following a short annual meeting that included elections of new board members, Dr. Henry “Hal” Sharp, an architectural historian and author of The Patapsco River Valley: Cradle of the Industrial Revolution in Maryland, gave a 45-minute lecture on the history of numerous mills and factories that were operated along the Patapsco over several centuries, including those in Ellicott Mills (Ellicott City) and Elkridge Landing (Elkridge).

After the meeting, Sharp stayed and signed copies of his book.

Group takes stock of accomplishments

During the meeting, several board members reviewed the group’s 2010 accomplishments.

• More than 1,140 volunteers participated in FPVHG-sponsored events in Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties, said McMillion.
• During 35 river/stream cleanups, volunteers removed more than 60 tons of debris from the Patapsco Valley, according to McMillion.
• More than 200 new trees were planted and 1,125 pounds of invasive garlic mustard were removed, McMillion said.
• The group added 37 new members in 2010, bringing its membership rolls up to 266, according to McMillion.
• There have been some recent improvements to the Patapsco River, according to Kit Valentine, president of FPVHG. Chief among them were the removal of Union and Simpkins dams (two of four dams that existed between Daniels, west of Ellicott City and Elkridge) and a successful petition to get the Thomas Viaduct (a curved, stone railroad bridge built in 1835 in Elkridge) added to Howard County’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites.

“In July, a plaque will be dedicated in a ceremony at the  designating it as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark as approved by the American Society of Civil Engineers,” said John Slater, FPVHG vice president.

Designation as an endangered site will enable preservationists to get funding for repairs to the viaduct's railings and other aesthetic improvements, said Slater.

The dams were removed by American Rivers under a $4 million economic stimulus grant administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was one of Maryland’s largest river restoration projects to date, according to a statement released by American Rivers.

“Removing the dams was environmentally important because it allows the river to flow freely and, more importantly, allows anatropous fish to pass up stream so they can spawn,” said Titus.

“Removal of the other two dams, Daniels and Bloede, is controversial because Daniels is a popular recreation area and Bloede is historically significant because it was the world’s first submerged electrical generating plant,” said McMillion.

The Patapsco River stretches for approximately 50 miles, from near Mount Airy where Carroll, Frederick and Montgomery Counties meet, to east of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, where it empties into Chesapeake Bay. The river forms Howard County’s northern boundary, separating it from Carroll and Baltimore Counties before exiting Howard County in Elkridge. A branch of the Patapsco forms Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Much of the river’s valley is part of , according to McMillion.