Jun. 13—FLINTSTONE — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is committed to open a local state park, but it’s too early to know exactly when that will happen, Paul Peditto said.

He is assistant secretary for DNR’s land resources, and spoke at a public meeting Tuesday evening to address questions about Cumberland’s Wills Mountain State Park, which has never had public access.

Roughly 50 folks, including climbers and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts, were at Rocky Gap State Park for the event.

“We will open this place,” Peditto said of Wills.

“Ultimately, you’ll be able to climb there again,” he said and added displacement of the activity will be temporary.

“We have to know what’s there for safety purposes first,” Peditto said. “We’re not dragging our feet.”

Wills will eventually have parking and be open for various activities, he said.

“We want to get hunters out there,” Peditto said and added the department wants to be responsible and legal in its approach to open the park.

DNR recently bought the former Artmor Plastics plant property adjacent to the park for $250,000.

The department wanted the site for its potential to provide access to Wills, he said.

“We targeted that intentionally,” Peditto said and added other parcels the department purchased over the years failed as entryways.

The former plastics plant “is a mess,” he said. “There’s no other way to describe it.”

Meanwhile, DNR has a “fair amount” of money for acquisitions, and is “looking very hard” for additional land that could provide the best route for public access to the park, Peditto said.

“There are definitely better ways to get in there,” he said.

Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw said an assessment of the new land is planned.

Not knowing whether the former plastics plant was cleaned or sealed prior to its closure “gives us pause,” she said.

Crenshaw said DNR staffers are passionate land stewards.

“We care,” she said.

Jonathan McKnight, DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service associate director of the Natural Heritage Program, talked of endangered species at Wills, including northern long-eared and tricolored bats.

The animals are threatened by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats in the U.S. over the past several years.

Also at the meeting were community leaders with various interests in Wills, including Jennifer Walsh, executive director of The Greater Cumberland Committee and associate vice president of regional development at Frostburg State University; Donnelle Keech, who leads The Nature Conservancy’s efforts in Western Maryland; Allegany County Commissioner William Atkinson; and local author and historian Al Feldstein.

Walsh said outdoor recreation “is a big priority” for the region.

Mountain Maryland Trails President Larry Brock talked of local volunteers who could help DNR complete the project “on a controlled process.”

Feldstein asked whether plans for Wills include a small museum or informational center.

Peditto said it’s too early to know definite plans for the park.

“I think there’s a lot more for us to learn there,” he said and added DNR hasn’t had time to fully understand requirements for the former Artmor addition to the park. “It is a really recent acquisition for us.”

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.