NASA Transfers Maryland Forest to Wildlife Refuge, Bypassing Developer Sale

NASA completed a no-cost transfer of 105 acres known as Area 400 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 7, extending the Patuxent Research Refuge. The federal-to-federal handoff resolved a five-year disagreement over the parcel's fate; conservation advocates had warned that a private sale would fragment critical habitat, while USFWS lacked funds for outright purchase. The land sits adjacent to the 13,000-acre refuge established by FDR in 1936 for scientific research.