Sassafras Rural Legacy Focus Area

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The Sassafras RLFA is a partnership between Cecil and Kent Counties and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. The centerpiece of the RLFA is the magnificent Sassafras River. From its tremendously steep banks, views of the Chesapeake Bay and the Sassafras River are breathtaking. Land within this focus area exhibits a rolling topography resembling a piedmont physiography.

The Sassafras Natural Resource Management Area anchors the northern boundary of the RLFA in Kent County. This 1000 acre former farm features open land, forest, marshes, tidal ponds and sandy beaches below its dramatic bluffs. Nesting on the property are bald eagles. Adjacent to the NRMA is the 147 acre Turner Creek Park, which offers water access, historical structures, and a pre-Civil War granary.

Exceptional habitat areas are abundant in the Sassafras RFLA. These areas include Pond Creek, Cox Creek Cove, Money Creek, Grove Neck Natural Heritage Area, Frenchtown Shores and the Lloyd Creek Marshes, as identified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The Cecil County portion of the Sassafras RLFA features numerous historical sites along the Sassafras River dating from the 18th Century. Historic sites located near the RLFA include Rosehill and Mount Harmon Plantation, all of which are protected through conservation easements with the Maryland Environmental Trust.

As important as its dramatic waterfront and topography, the Sassafras RFLA features prime agricultural land and productive farming operations. Over 75% of the area is defined as prime agricultural soils. Likewise, significant investment has been made through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation in both counties to preserve these agricultural and natural resources.

ESLC is working with landowners in the Sassafras RLFA to protect large, contiguous blocks of land between existing anchors of protected land through conservation easements.