A formidable woman

The Baltimore Sun

Ilia J. Fehrer of Snow Hill may not have been widely known to the general public, at least not outside Worcester County, but she was as stalwart and highly regarded a defender of the environment as could be found in Maryland. She died last week at age 80, but her legacy continues.

From the beaches of Assateague Island to the shores of the Pocomoke River, Ms. Fehrer manned the front lines of preserving nature, particularly on the Lower Eastern Shore. She was a conservationist before conservationism was fashionable. She was likely a developer's worst nightmare - a perfectly pleasant, intelligent and rational woman who came armed with the facts and couldn't be ignored.

For decades, she was Worcester County's tireless watchdog on behalf of places such as the fragile coastal bays that have been threatened by Ocean City-related development. Elected leaders and planning commissions came and went. Ms. Fehrer was a constant.

One of her greatest accomplishments was turning aside a proposed dam at Nassawango Creek, one of Maryland's most pristine waterways. Thanks in large part to her efforts, 41,000 acres around this Pocomoke tributary were set aside to form the state's largest private nature preserve.

The struggle between conservation and growth is seldom more pitched than in places such as Worcester County, where Ms. Fehrer's efforts were not always appreciated by those who stood to profit from development. Her death (as well as the death last year of her husband, Joseph W. Fehrer, also a longtime advocate for the environment) leaves a conspicuous and unfortunate void.

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