A new poll commissioned by ESLC shows 63% of likely voters across the Midshore support the construction of a new Chesapeake Bay Bridge, with 72% of those citing improved traffic flow and reduced delays as the primary reason for their support. But the poll shows an even stronger majority of respondents, 95%, believe prioritizing farmland and open space protection as part of the new Bay Bridge is important.  

ESLC has worked for months with conservation partners, county governments, and state agency officials to ensure any effort to build a new Bay Bridge includes dedicated funding for land conservation; it is important to note this new poll reveals that 85% of the residents in the most-impacted counties support the creation of just such a fund.

Composite top line results and results for each county are linked below.

This scientific poll was sponsored by Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research, with interviews of 1,250 likely voters from Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot County between September 7-20, 2026. The margin of error is +/- 2.77% at the 95% confidence level.

Since 1990, ESLC has helped to conserve more than 67,000 acres of land on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Our second largest land use (more than 22,000 acres) is forest. But the same amount of forest acreage it took 36 years to protect is now lost to other uses every year in Maryland. Healthy forest stewardship is essential for wildlife, outdoor recreation, climate resilience, water quality, and forestry—a 3.3. billion dollar sector in the state of Maryland (100 times bigger than the seafood industry). Watch our video to learn more!

It can be easy to take water for granted, especially in a place where it seems like we could never run out. But the truth is—we can. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, our drinking water does not come from the rivers we see every day—it originates below ground in aquifers. Those aquifers are limited. Sprawl, droughts, pollution, and saltwater intrusion threaten both the quality and quantity of our clean water. But conserving land can help to protect the water we all share. Responsible wastewater treatment paired with sustainable development can protect it even further.

Thanks to generous funding from the Wallace Research Foundation, ESLC is excited to share two new conservation explainer videos about aquifers and wastewater treatment! Each about one minute long, these quick videos are a great resource for residents, students, local leaders, and professionals who want to better understand the water we use every single day.

Although the Eastern Shore constitutes only 37% of Maryland’s land mass, it produces 74% of all Maryland agricultural sales. And every day residents and visitors of the Eastern Shore drive past countless farm fields wondering what’s blooming, what’s being harvested, and what’s being planted. This year, ESLC is helping to dispel some of those mysteries with the help of local farmers. From multi-species cover crops to crimson clover, barley, wheat, and more, join along to learn more about the Eastern Shore’s productive and ever-changing landscape.

In 2024, ESLC partnered with Urban3 to study land use patterns across eight counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Their analysis uses a “value per acre”  measurement, which contrasts public investment in infrastructure and services with property tax revenues. Urban3 resources, data, and modeling maps will be made available here for the use of local leaders and community members.