eastern shore maryland farmland conservation

Author: ESLC

February 25, 2014

Program Open Space funding

Help protect Program Open Space by telling your legislator to follow the law and add bond funding back into the budget. The future of Maryland’s precious farms, open spaces, and priceless ecological resources depends on you! Find your Maryland State Legislator here:http://1.usa.gov/1h6rWKI Maryland can't afford to lose open space funding – especially now! We’ve already lost $1 billion that was intended for buying land, at a time when land prices are low. Now the state legislature may vote to divert more funding away from protecting the land we need for our future. Maryland taxpayers pay to preserve land for parks, recreation and farmland across the state through Program Open Space, funded by a dedicated portion of the real estate transfer tax. In previous years, when the economy was tough, some DIRECT FUNDING was DIVERTED but replaced with bond funding. In this year's proposed budget, however, the direct funding is being diverted WITHOUT the necessary bond repayment, putting future funding in jeopardy.

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February 24, 2014

Leigh family preserves a piece of Betterton

BETTERTON — Rob Leigh thinks often about his grandmother, Lillie Leigh, and the walks they took together when he was a child. They would walk from the Leigh house along the beach in one direction and return through the woods. “I think about that fairly often — the walks we used to have and the help grandparents can be to their grandchildren,” he said. Lillie Leigh would tell her grandchildren, “You’re worth a waterfront farm.” With that phrase, Rob Leigh said, Lillie Leigh put the conservation bug in the ear of her grandchildren. They put value in that property, but Rob Leigh never dreamed he would own it. Years later, his sister would introduce him to his future wife, Linda, on that beach. In the early 1970s, a developer asked Betterton to annex the farm property adjacent to the Leigh family home. Rob and Linda Leigh opposed the development, which would have included a golf course and about 200 houses. The development never came to fruition, and the farm was auctioned in 1997. Rob and Linda Leigh bought the property with the encouragement of the extended Leigh family, in the hopes of preventing another developer from building something not in line with the Leighs’ vision of Betterton. The Leighs immediately evaluated the property, which has been farmed since the 17th century, Rob Leigh said. They worked with Kent County Soil Conservation and the Department of Natural Resources. They put in five waterways to help control erosion, restored a 1-acre pond, planted about 1,800 trees to help absorb runoff, and planted some warm season grasses. In December, the Leighs placed on the property a conservation easement held by Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Maryland Environmental Trust. “We go up there as a family, and we camp on the farm,” Rob Leigh said. “We do a lot of hiking and fishing,

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February 21, 2014

Complete Streets

Last week we posted about neckdowns (or “sneckdowns” in the snow), but that's just one part of the “complete streets” concept. Complete streets are those that provide a range of benefits, both to the environment and the surrounding community. Specifically, complete streets often incorporate green infrastructure elements such as bioretention islands, permeable pavements, street trees, and vegetated swales (just to name a few!). These features effectively capture stormwater runoff and prevent it from reaching and thus polluting the Bay. As if that’s not exciting enough, they also add beautiful aesthetics to an otherwise boring street! Complete streets also revolve around the idea of reclaiming more road space for pedestrians instead of cars. Often times, streets are dominated by automobiles, making it dangerous for people to cross and a hindrance for neighbors that want to get to know each other and build a sense of community. Many complete streets include bike lanes and traffic-calming devices (such as curb bumpouts), so that residents feel more encouraged to bike and less inclined to drive, and also so that cars travel through more slowly. A shining example of a complete street is in Edmonston, MD where, through the help of grants and EPA funds, the community turned a derelict street into a thriving neighborhood asset. Read the full story. Are there any streets in your neighborhood that you think could use a complete street makeover? Design your own street using www.streetmix.net and share your creation with ESLC using the hashtag #eslccompletestreets on Facebook or Twitter. Or leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts! - Kara Nave

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February 12, 2014

Show Us Your Sneckdowns!

"Sneckdown" is a portmanteau of the words “snow” and “neckdown.”If you’re unfamiliar with exactly what a neckdown is, it’s simply an extension of the curb (also called a “bumpout”) around corners where cars are turning. Neckdowns often are used as a traffic-calming feature and to provide more space for pedestrians on the sidewalk. These areas can be landscaped (vegetated curb extensions) and serve as a stormwater management tool to capture runoff. For more information on green infrastructure practices, check out this useful fact sheet: EPA Green Streets. After a bout of winter weather (that the Eastern Shore has been all too familiar with this year!) and when streets are covered in snow, it’s easy to spot areas of the road that cars don’t use—and you’d be surprised at how much space that is! Untouched snow surrounding a corner curb or in the middle of the street displays to transportation officials and planners a perfect illustration of unused road space. And instead of keeping that wasted extra footage, sneckdowns show the ideal spot for more pedestrian-friendly development. Photo courtesy of This Old City As the Eastern Shore braces for yet another winter storm, ESLC wants to see where you are spotting sneckdowns in your town. How much road space could be reclaimed for pedestrian use? So once the snow starts falling, be sure to send us your photos via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, with the hashtag #shoresneckdowns and tell us what town is shown. Or if you’d rather e-mail us your pictures, send it to info@eslc.org with the subject line “Shore Sneckdowns.” Stay warm and be sure to spot those sneckdowns!

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January 24, 2014

ESLC Releases 2014 State Legislative Agenda

ANNAPOLIS — Today, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy released its 2014 State Legislative Agenda calling for major investments in rural Maryland, robust land conservation funding, and continued support for locally produced renewable energy projects. Some of the items in the agenda include support for continued conservation program funding, support for the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund, support for a Cross-Bay Travel Alternatives Study bill, and support for the 2014 Community Renewable Energy Generation bill. ESLC’s agenda points out that conservation monies support much more than farms and scenic landscapes and that these funds help support hunting grounds, parks, bike paths, public access sites and more. “We need to support our farms and resource-based industries here on the Shore, and we can do that through the support for Rural Legacy, Program Open Space, and Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation funding”, said ESLC Policy Manager Josh Hastings. In addition to support for expansion of Maryland Wildlands, the agenda calls for the Maryland General Assembly to pass a Cross-Bay Travel Alternatives study bill which its says could help alleviate Bay Bridge traffic congestion while evaluating options for private investment in cross bay travel. ESLC’s white paper on transportation is available under Public Policy Resources at eslc.org. “How we travel in our rural region is a critical piece of our quality of life,” said ESLC Deputy Director Amy Owsley. “We hope to help focus attention on how best to make the most of our infrastructure through investments in transit and transportation policy innovations. Creativity and partnerships would go a long way to easing some of our most pressing transportation challenges.” ESLC also supports the 2014 Community Renewable Energy bill, which is said to allow Maryland farms and other rural businesses to install renewable-energy-generating devices such as solar panels or a wind turbine and share the energy credits among neighboring subscribers. These

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Author: ESLC

Program Open Space funding

Leigh family preserves a piece of Betterton

Complete Streets

Show Us Your Sneckdowns!

ESLC Releases 2014 State Legislative Agenda

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