A Southern Maryland legislator urged state lawmakers Tuesday to help homeowners on the eroding Calvert County cliffs overlooking Chesapeake Bay contend with an endangered beetle there that is hampering their efforts to save their homes from erosion of the bluffs. "We haven't lost any homes yet but ... it's just a matter of time," said Democratic Sen. Roy P. Dyson. The Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee heard two bills he had introduced. One would require the state under certain circumstances to let property owners destroy some Puritan tiger beetles living in the cliffs if need be to try to shore up their homes. The other would form a task force to study how to help the shorefront residents and still protect the beetles, which Dyson said might include seeking federal funds to buy out some of the most endangered homeowners.

- Timothy B. Wheeler