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

July 2013

July 26, 2013

Etgen Presents to Talbot Chamber

Last week, we were honored to attend the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Robert Morris Inn in Oxford.  Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Executive Director Rob Etgen gave a presentation about our work toward completing the Eastern Shore Conservation Center. We at ESLC are happy to be coming to Easton and becoming part of the community there. The luncheon was sponsored by Pier Pressure, which now is managing Easton Point Marina. The company also offers kayak rentals and other recreational boating services.

Read More

July 26, 2013

Response to Governor’s Climate Change Summit

I was encouraged to see Gov. O’Malley host the Maryland Climate Change Summit and to hear the discussions on the effects of climate change, but many questions still need to be answered if we want a more resilient and prepared region. Here on the Eastern Shore, we are seeing the effects of climate change faster than nearly any other area in the country.  According to the Governor, Maryland currently is losing 1.6 acres of land every day to sea-level rise.  584 acres a year may not seem significant, but what’s happening on that land is significant.  Holland Island, just one of the 13 major Chesapeake islands to forever be sunk into the Bay, was within the past 100 years a significant place that included a thriving community of 70 homes, over 350 residents, a main street, stores, a school, a church, a baseball team and more. It’s all gone. Lost land doesn’t immediately affect those that live inland, but what about the effects of rising temperatures on farming and human health?  Will fungi or other pests prosper, or will longer growing seasons significantly increase farm outputs?  Are our roads and bridges planned to serve us through rising sea levels and more powerful storms? The Eastern Shore and its people have been resilient throughout history, but in order for us to adapt to a warmer and wetter climate, we need to prepare.  The land and life here are precious and as the Governor said, “It’s not just about what we stand for; it’s about what we stand on.” Rob Etgen Executive Director

Read More

July 11, 2013

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor 7/11/2013: Recent news about climate change reveals big issues facing the Eastern Shore: a shrinking shoreline, more and bigger storms, more salinity in our lands and farms. According to the United States Geological Survey, the Chesapeake Bay will rise two feet by 2050. Every person in the region will be affected in some way, with Dorchester County especially vulnerable with submersion of region-defining landmarks such as the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and sites along the newly minted Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument. The sea is coming, and news isn’t good … so, what now? The Eastern Shore has faced adversity before. Our history is thick with challenges, which more recently include battles over development, shifting agriculture, and traffic clogging our roadways. Through all this, a fierce combination of ingenuity, regional identity, independence, and perhaps out-and-out stubbornness has kept the Eastern Shore together as a region, and as a place we are still proud to call home. Sea level rise is just one important trend to consider – our demographics, development patterns, and economic activity also are forecasted to shift greatly. Our Eastern Shore of tomorrow likely will look very different from the one we live in today. Rather than let these forces of change wash over the region, today is the opportune time to take control. How can we build resilience regionally to safeguard what’s most important? And, of equal importance, how do we find opportunity in the changes ahead? For this conversation about our region’s gameplan for what’s ahead, mark Thursday, Oct. 3 on your calendar for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy’s 14th Eastern Shore planning conference: The Unsinkable Eastern Shore – Regional Resilience and Prosperity. From this event, expect the details about these trends facing the region and a showcase of actions and planning already underway. Help build a strategy

Read More

June 25, 2013

The Eastern Shore Conservation Center

By Bill Thompson Editor’s note: The building known as Brick Row neighbors the former McCord building in Easton. Fire damaged Brick Row in 2012, and former owner Helaine White donated the building to Eastern Shore Land Conservancy late that year. The handsome yet unimposing brick structure at 130 South Washington Street in Easton, next door to the McCord building, has been known by several informal names. Lately, it is referred to as the “White Building” in honor of Helaine L. White, a longtime Talbot County Realtor who transferred the property to the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy in a deed dated December 28, 2012. For brief periods it was called “Lawyers Row” and, in the late 1800s, “Barrow’s Row” after the maiden name of Mary A. Hughes, who owned the building with husband William H. Hughes. But for most of its early life—it was erected in 1850 and possibly earlier—"Brick Row" was how local residents knew it and listed it in land records. The word “row” is significant in that what clearly today is a single two-story, multiple-unit structure with a shared façade may have been originally four separate buildings. In fact, a 1904 deed recording the sale of the property describes the premises as “four two story brick dwellings,” not one brick structure with four units. Whether the original Brick Row was one or multiple buildings, it is believed that it may have been designed as low-cost “factory dwellings,” according to a 1967 Maryland Historical Trust historic site report. That same report describes the building architecture as “a late Federal design” with “a gently pitched A-roof.” The report continues: “There are 4 entryways and each house is 3 bays wide. In the center of the row is an areaway with a rounded brick arch. This areaway permits access to the rear of the property. The windows are

Read More

Recent Posts

  • Harboring Plans for Cambridge
  • What is a Mosaic?
  • Q & A: Brad Rogers, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership
  • 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

    • Copyright © Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.
    All rights reserved.