Welcome low tides signaling the conclusion of the rainy season brought in focus a bright picture of success along Anne Arundle's southernmost stretch of Chesapeake Bay.

Here, along exposed flats in Rose Haven, more than 40 volunteers with boots or muddy toes gathered at low tide on two mornings last week to set in 4,000 water plants.

The gathering of neighbors plus students from Anne Arundel Community College and Southern High School marked the latest chapter in a successful partnership that has, out of sheer force of will, created a two-acre park where a batch of Bayfront houses would have been planted.

Sloshing volunteers laughed and played as they embedded the roots of spartina, bayberry and panic grasses. But panic had been the reaction in the community five years ago at the prospect of three or more houses subverting one of the finest Bay views around.

The owner of nearby Herrington Harbour South Marina, Steuart Chaney, was entertaining the idea of selling the valuable, north-facing land that looks out on Herring Bay.

But a razor-sharp organizing campaign saved the valuable land and provided a textbook example of partnership.

First, the purposeful folks of Rose Haven persuaded Chaney that there was another way. And Chaney understood the value of operating a green business.

Next, as in any preservation battle, the landowner or developer had to be compensated. That happened when Anne Arundel County agreed to buy the land for $326,000.

Then, you've got to have workers. The County Department of Parks and Recreation has stayed with the project, providing workers to prepare the land and $800 for plants. Stephen Ailstock, who runs Anne Arundel Community College's environmental center, put together the seeding plan. Plants were grown by developmentally disabled at Provident Center in Arnold. Ray Ciupeck of Southern High School provided a batch of volunteers. The Chesapeake Bay Trust contributed $4,000 to the project.

"What makes this project unique is the type of partnerships involved," said Ailstock, as he supervised the crew.

Chaney did not take his money and run. He has been a key adviser, contributing thousands of dollars in assistance by arranging a marine contractor to haul in tons of rip-rap for a breakwater.

It isn't over. A late spring storm may yet wash away the tender grasses, requiring more planting. Over the summer, poison ivy and phragmites must be kept under control. In the fall, once the shoreline is stabilized, Ailstock will direct the planting of indigenous shrubberies along the slopes leading down to the water.

The Concerned Citizens Committee of Rose Haven will sponsor fundraisers along the way to construct paths, benches, bird houses and duck houses, all of which will shape a passive park. On this sensitive land, saved by an uncommon partnership, you won't see barbecue pits and magnets for rip-roaring partiers.

As committee secretary-treasurer Susan Wills put it: "This won't be a party platform. The habitat we want to attract is wildlife."