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Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.

ExcellenceITAC Accreditation
eastern shore maryland farmland conservation

October 2009

October 9, 2009

ESLC Hosts Successful Town Planning Event

Nearly 200 elected officials and representatives of dozens of planning agencies, environmental groups, design firms, developers and community stakeholder groups convened recently for one of the first Eastern Shore based conferences dedicated to town planning. The conference, titled "About Town: A Gathering to Uplift and Invest in our Eastern Shore Towns" was hosted by the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC).  ESLC hosts a planning conference annually and this year’s About Town conference gathered experts, opinion leaders and citizens to discuss strategies, success stories, models and tools for investing in and revitalizing our beloved Eastern Shore towns. Featuring talks and information sharing from both national experts and local opinion leaders, About Town provided attendees a variety of educational opportunities ranging from informative keynotes, panel discussions and interactive workshop sessions. Speakers included nationally recognized experts Jess Zimbabwe, Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use and Ken Snyder, CEO of PlaceMatters. Maryland Secretary of Planning Richard Hall and various local leaders rounded out the roster of speakers.  "This year’s About Town conference represents a new approach to planning for a better Eastern Shore and as ESLC looks to expand its focus to towns and municipalities we are excited about the energy behind this approach from our local planners and decision makers," said Jake Day, ESLC’s Town Planning Manager. "We really wanted our attendees to walk away with an understanding of how we achieve sustainable, safe walkable town design and planning and engage our local communities in achieving this kind of desirable growth. We are grateful to everyone who attended – they made it a great conference!"  The winners of ESLC’s Eastern Shore 2010 awards were also honored at a special ceremony during the conference. This year’s award recipients include Muskrat Park, the Mid-Shore Regional Council, Habitat for

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October 9, 2009

ESLC Announces Eastern Shore 2010 Winners

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) recently announced the recipients of this year’s Eastern Shore 2010 Achievement Awards. The 2010 Eastern Shore 2010 Achievement Awards, inspired by the regional land use planning agreement that set the highest expectations for the care of the Eastern Shore landscape, distinguish outstanding leadership in the field of land use planning on the Eastern Shore. The purpose of these awards is to honor the projects, people and places that best define growth befitting the Eastern Shore.  The awards are presented annually at ESLC’s annual planning conference. This year’s conference, entitled "About Town: A Gathering to Uplift and Invest in Our Eastern Shore Town gathered experts, opinion leaders and citizens to discuss strategies, success stories, models and tools for investing in and revitalizing our towns. Nationally recognized keynote speakers Jess Zimbabwe, Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use, Ken Snyder, CEO of Place Matters and Maryland Secretary of Planning Richard Hall joined various guest speakers and local leaders to provide attendees with interactive workshops focused on both process - engaging community in desirable growth, and product - sustainable, safe, walkable town design and planning.  "We are very impressed with the 2010 class of award winners – there are so many great people and organizations working very hard to advance the goals of Eastern Shore 2010 and these five honorees are doing amazing work to preserve and protect the unique characteristics that make the Eastern Shore so special," said Rob Etgen, ESLC’s Executive Director. "It is truly an honor to recognize these groups and individuals who are so committed to protecting our Eastern Shore quality of life. This year’s Eastern Shore 2010 award recipients are: Goal One: Land Protection Muskrat Park: Marie Martin Located on 1.2 acres in the heart of St. Michaels, Muskrat Park

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September 2, 2009

500-acre Cordova Farm Protected Forever

Property to be farmed by Fifth Generation of Longtime Talbot County Farm Family  ESLC announced today that approximately 500 acres of Talbot County farm and forest land will be protected forever and in the hands of the next generation of a longtime farming family thanks to the approval of three conservation easements on the Doughty Farm. The easements on the Doughty property in Cordova –approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works today - feature 420 acres of tillable ground with the remaining acreage in upland forest and forested wetlands. The farm is located in ESLC’s Tuckahoe Rural Legacy Focus Area and is adjacent to 571 acres of land already protected with agricultural easements. The property is located on both sides of Lewistown Road, with the eastern 219+ acres almost entirely tillable ground. The western portion has approximately 52 acres of woodland that has been identified as FIDS habitat and also includes approximately 200 acres of tillable ground. There are also approximately 16 acres of wetlands on the entire property. FIDS (Forest Interior Dwelling Species) habitat supports a diverse population of bird species that need large forest areas to breed successfully and maintain viable populations. FIDS include songbirds, woodpeckers, hawks and owls. This project also helps two young farmers Kyle and Travis Hutchison along with Hutchison Bros. buy a piece of property from Doughty Farms, Inc. in order to continue the family farm operation by preserving the land. The Hutchison family has been farming in Talbot County for about 130 yrs, since the 1880’s. Kyle, Chad, Richard Jr. and Travis Hutchison are the 5th generation of Hutchisons to continue the farm operation. Doughty Farms sold the farm to ESLC to preserve, and ESLC will transfer the property in three tracts to conservation buyers Hutchison Brothers and Meadow View Farms while purchasing an easement

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August 30, 2009

Shore residents donate 235 acres to land preservation

ESLC's total for calendar year totals 3,905 acres  Eastern Shore Land Conservancy announced today that nearly 235 acres of land across the Eastern Shore have been protected forever from development thanks to four new donated conservation easements. This is in addition to the 2,894-acre Andelot Farm conservation easement donation by Louisa Duemling two weeks ago. These four new easements are co-held with the Maryland Environmental Trust and were approved today by the Maryland Department of Public Works. These four properties include the Jolly property in Kent County, the Michaels property, also in Kent, and the Pascal and Richards properties in Talbot County.  These donated conservation easements bring ESLC's land protection total for the 2009 calendar year to 3,905 acres.  A few highlights on each of the properties include the following:   Jolly: Located in Kent County northeast of Galena, this 100.349 acre property known as Rosehill Farm includes 43 acres of forest, 50 acres of tillable land and 3 ponds. The donation of this conservation easement by Charles "Chuck" Jolly helps further establish a protected greenbelt around the northern and eastern edges of the town of Galena since the farm is adjacent to the a 79-acre conservation easement co-held by ESLC and MET and is across Mill Creek from Kent County’s 37-acre Toal Park, a portion of which ESLC helped the County acquire in 2007. Rosehill Farm has approximately 1,600 feet of forested frontage along Mill Creek, a tributary to the Sassafras River, and 1,100 feet of scenic frontage along Gregg Neck Road. With a little over 43 acres located within the Critical Area and approximately 15 forested acres located within the 100-year floodplain, the protection of Rosehill Farm will have a positive impact on water quality. Michaels: Located in Kent County near Crosby 24.22 acre property southeast of Rock Hall, this property includes

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August 10, 2009

ESLC and Partners Kick Off Speaker Series

Speaker Series Launched in Dorchester "A Shore Worth Saving" Event Kicks off Aug. 13 at Dorchester Council Chambers Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, a private nonprofit land conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of farmland and habitat on the Eastern Shore, Dorchester Citizens for Safe Energy, Dorchester County Tourism and Dorchester County government have announced the first event in the "A Shore Worth Saving – Preserving Our Past, Protecting our Future" series. The first event in the series will take place on Thursday, August 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 at the Dorchester County Council Chambers and will feature Elizabeth Beckley, Eastern Shore Field Officer for Preservation Maryland and Harriet Tubman Byway Director Tonda Williams. The series will highlight the roots of Dorchester County and efforts to preserve and protect this critical landscape. Dorchester County is home to the birth place for Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman, and the shining environmental treasure Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to these critically important areas, Dorchester is home to a variety of agriculture operations, fishing and waterman industries, as well as fur trappers. Many people and organizations are working hard to ensure that this landscape is preserved, honored, and enjoyed for generations to come as threats to this landscape become more and more of a reality. Most recently, the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP) project poses a permanent and possibly detrimental change to Dorchester County. This project will threaten 27 miles of this County, this decision will permanently change this land, views, and the community which calls this place home. "We hope this Speaker Series will showcase the assets this County has to offer the Shore, State and Nation, and more importantly how threats like the MAPP proposal can jeopardize that" said Morgan Ellis, ESLC’s Land Use Planner. "We hope folks will walk away from these sessions better informed

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