Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

Home

Land Conservation

Land Use & Policy

Ways to Give

Events

News / Blog

Shop

Staff

Board of Directors

Careers

Contact

Give

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

ExcellenceITAC Accreditation
eastern shore maryland farmland conservation

August 2012

Productive Dialogue with “Let’s Be Shore”

Please enjoy a guest blog from Maryland Humanities Council: Can Productive Dialogue Set the Tone for Solutions? The “Let’s Be Shore” Project Wants to Jumpstart Conversation by Michele Baylin, Maryland Humanities Council Communications Manager How can watching a video create better stewardship of our watershed?  The Maryland Humanities Council’s (MHC) Practicing Democracy project, “Let’s Be Shore,” is using the humanities to connect with Eastern Shore residents, inform them about their county watershed implementation plans (WIPs), and bring people with divergent perspectives together for civic discourse. In 2011, MHC’s Practicing Democracy program was honored with the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for using the humanities to tackle local critical issues such as hydraulic fracturing, cultural diversity, and land use.  In 2012, Practicing Democracy focuses its efforts on the Shore. “Let’s Be Shore” offers a space for dialogue and listening, so that residents may explore issues of land use and sustainability along the Shore. The EPA expects Bay jurisdictions to work with local leaders and partners to identify county Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) to meet interim water quality goals.  But as we all know, the Chesapeake Bay watershed is diverse and land use varies widely between Maryland’s upper, mid, and lower shore counties. Residents are keenly aware of their personal relationship to and responsibility for the area’s natural resources, but stakeholders are often at odds about how to move forward. “We seek to be a neutral convener, not to change people’s values or opinions, but rather to foster a respect and understanding, enabling communities to come together for civil dialogue,” says Executive Director Phoebe Stein Davis. Last fall, Beth Barbush, MHC’s “Let’s Be Shore” Project Manager, teamed up with award-winning documentary filmmaker Doug Sadler (“Swimmers”), conducting audio interviews on the subject of water quality along the Bay.  Audio transcripts were reviewed by a panel of Shore residents, who helped

Read More


Announcing Fall Bird Walks

Queenstown, Maryland – August 9, 2012 – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) will offer two bird walks this fall highlighting preserved, publicly accessible properties in Caroline and Dorchester counties. The first walk will be held at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at ESLC’s Lynch Preserve, near Preston. The property was donated to ESLC by Mary Lynch in 1998 and recently was enhanced with a welcome kiosk, improved trails, trail signs and benches. This 206-acre property is located at the confluence of Robins Creek and the Choptank River. The walk will take us through mixed upland forest and along riparian and forested wetland habitats where we will be looking for a variety of warblers, vireos, thrushes, flycatchers and other fall migrants. The middle of September promises a great variety of birds, often in great quantities. With luck, a nice northwesterly breeze will bring in many birds. The second walk will be held at 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, at a property preserved by ESLC in 2008. The 392-acre property is owned by Dorchester County, is preserved with an ESLC/MET easement and is managed in partnership with the adjacent Henson Boy Scout Reserve. The property rests on the banks of Marshyhope Creek and is best known for being home to a globally rare wetland complex known as Wade’s Savannah. Our walk will begin in mixed upland forest and will wind through old sand and gravel borrow pits, along riparian wetland forest, through dry forest associated with an ancient dune complex, and finally to Wade’s Savannah. The walk will be held right in the middle of the late fall migration period, when anything is possible -- from interesting local birds, such as the brown-headed nuthatch, to migrating warblers, thrushes, sparrows and hawks. The cost for each walk is $15 for non-members, $10 for members, and $5 for children

Read More


MAPP defeated

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, along with the Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth, successfully fought and won against the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway project. This transmission line requires a 200 foot right-of-way for the 140-150 foot high towers and would transect 27 miles of Dorchester County (27 miles) with large transmission towers. The rights-of-way required for these lines would consume 650 acres of Dorchester’s agriculture, forest and rural lands. There are many unanswered questions on the impacts to Dorchester’s economy, environment, and the possible alternatives and the MAPP Action Center was designed to provide visitors with resource information, the latest project news and links to ways you can make your voice heard on this project.

Read More



Recent Posts

  • Sponsorship Spotlight: PRS Guitars
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Carbon Emissions
  • Roots Monthly Giving Spotlight: Amanda Thornley
  • Big Changes on the Horizon for the CREP Easement Program
  • Trails Get a Boost Across the Shore
  • Seven Legislative Efforts That Could Impact Eastern Shore Land Use and Preservation
  • Land Protection for All
  • Board Spotlight: Jules Hendrix
  • New Regional Trail Map Shows Existing and Potential Trails for a Growing Network
  • Saving Maryland’s Tidal Salt Marshes
  • From the President: The Eastern Shore’s Most Urgent Conservation Need in 2024
  • Review: ESLC Forests and Forestry Workshop
  • Volunteer Spotlight: Roger Bollman
  • Where the Wood Drake Rests: Wetland Restoration & Conservation on the Eastern Shore
  • ESLC Partners with Urban 3 to Study Eastern Shore Land Use