Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.
Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is at the forefront of Maryland state policy decisions. Last week alone, ESLC testified in front of the Maryland Senate Budget and Tax Committee, and served as a host for the "Taste of the Eastern Shore" legislative reception, interacting with hundreds of leaders from across the state. Join the ESLC policy advocates weekly email group and stay informed with our weekly policy update. This past Wednesday, ESLC testified in support of SB 294- Family Farm Preservation Act; a bill designed to help soften the financial burden for family farms and ensure the next generation inherits agricultural property without excessive costs. This bill would limit the estate (inheritance) tax on agricultural land and support Maryland family farms during a very vulnerable time. This week ESLC will testify in support of SB 236 - Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012, which could effectively combat one of the most damaging forces facing the Eastern Shore's landscape and economy: rural sprawl. This bill establishes four tiers of development areas that increasingly limit the type of development that can occur with a goal of reducing the number of acres of land converted to development and the number of polluting septic systems. ESLC wants you to join the process. Be an advocate for change and join ESLC in speaking up for a vibrant Eastern Shore. For more information, please contact ESLC Policy Manager Josh Hastings at 410-827-9756 Ext.169 or jhastings@eslc.org.
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is accepting applications for the Howard Wood Memorial Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship honoring a founding board member of ESLC – Howard Wood – who was committed to maintaining the Eastern Shore’s rich rural and agricultural legacy. The Howard Wood Scholarship was established by the family of the Mr. Wood to honor his lifelong commitment to youth, conservation and the Eastern Shore’s rich rural heritage. ESLC is currently accepting applications for the 2012 scholarship. The scholarship application is open to anyone looking to pursue a career in agriculture, land use planning alternative energy planning or other conservation related field. The competition is open to those who are residents of the six counties ESLC serves – Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. Applications are available via ESLC’s website. To apply, applicants should fill out an application, provide a high school or college transcript and submit a 500-word original essay describing their response to the following question: Consider the Eastern Shore in the next 25 years – what is your vision for the Shore? What will you do to ensure the Eastern Shore remains the rural gem and special place that it is for the future? Please include your academic plans, career aspirations and future goals when responding to this question. Scholarship applications are due by March 31, 2012. Applications will be judged by a panel and one scholarship recipient will be selected and announced in May. Download the application. About Howard Wood Howard Wood spent summers at his grandmother’s farm crabbing, sailing and swimming – if the jellyfish weren’t too thick. He helped with chores and learned to drive her Model T pick-up. After college and law school, Howard decided to live year round at Indiantown – the farm next door to his grandmother’s – and opened his law office in Centreville. He soon
The following letter to the editor was published December 24, 2011, in The Star Democrat, and December 28, 2011, in The Record Observer. We are bombarded daily with news of economic volatility, hostile politics, lawsuits, a polluted Chesapeake Bay, our warming climate, and this year even hurricanes and an earthquake. Thankfully, the holiday season is here to remind us of the abundance in our lives of things that really matter. Here on the Eastern Shore, development is down, but so is sprawl. It was a wild weather year for farming, but good prices and good soybeans may save the day. Although oysters are down due to high rainfall, the rockfish young-of-the-year (YOY) survey indicated the highest reproduction ever. The Frederick Douglass statue was completed this year and stands proudly on the Talbot County Court House green. Chesapeake College enrollment is up, school ratings are up, we have new medical facilities underway, and wind and solar energy projects are springing up everywhere. Perhaps most importantly, our Eastern Shore communities have pulled together strongly in the most difficult times with new homeless shelters, multiple food pantry drives, and even several new community park projects in our towns. I am confident that the Eastern Shore will emerge from this current recession stronger and more resilient than when we entered it. Enjoy your family and friends, be thankful for the great abundance we have here on the Eastern Shore, and remain hopeful that the future is bright for this region and this nation. ROB ETGEN Executive Director Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
QUEENSTOWN – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy today announces the preservation of 919.51 acres on five properties on the Mid-Shore. Each property is unique and adds to the beauty, health and productivity of the Mid-Shore. “Today, we are thrilled to announce the preservation of nearly 1,000 acres in Talbot, Caroline and Queen Anne’s counties,” said ESLC Executive Director Robert J. Etgen. “The gift of conservation benefits the entire community. By preserving these properties, the landowners have helped to improve our water quality, provided habitat for wildlife, and protected these properties from costly sprawl. We are grateful for the generosity of these landowners and all who seek to preserve our beautiful Eastern Shore.” Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is committed to preserving and sustaining the vibrant communities of the Eastern Shore and the lands and waters that connect them. Our vision in 2050 is an Eastern Shore where towns are vibrant and well defined; farms, forests, and fisheries are thriving and scenic; historic, natural, and riverine landscapes are maintained. ESLC helps save land and promote sound land use planning from the C&D Canal in Cecil County all the way to the Nanticoke River in Dorchester County. We work in Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s Caroline, Talbot and Dorchester Counties. Yorktown Farm A 439.269-acre donated easement in Talbot County on Skipton Creek near the village of Longwoods. The easement covers about 245 acres of active farmland and waterfowl impoundments and about 185 acres of woods. The property is home to a large population of the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel that will be protected by the easement with a forest management plan. The easement also permanently retires all of the development rights on 122 acres of the property zoned Village Center for the village of Longwoods, as well as all but two development rights on the remainder of the property. The easement also
ANNAPOLIS – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), announced today that it is hopeful the Maryland General Assembly will take action on and accept the recommendations of the Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal. The Task Force is finalizing its meetings and voted today on recommendations that could lead to significant changes in residential subdivision development, as well as changes that would reduce the amount of nutrients that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. The Task Force was developed after HB 1107 and SB 846 (Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2011) legislation stalled earlier this year during the Maryland General Assembly’s regular legislative session. With the Task Force’s recommendations, counties can define minor subdivisions as having as many as eight lots instead of the five lot cap proposed last year. This means farmers can develop as many as eight lots on their land without having to build a community sewage treatment facility. Above eight lots a property must either have access to a sewage treatment plant or build a community treatment facility. Additionally, all new individual septic systems must have best available technology for removing nutrients from the effluent. “This is a significant compromise and we are greatly supportive and impressed,” said Rob Etgen, ESLC’s Executive Director and member of the Task Force. “A diverse group of individuals with many competing ideas and interests came together to help find a compromise; one that will help curb cornfield developments, lower the State’s nitrogen load to the Chesapeake Bay, and still provide latitude to local decision makers.” The Task Force recommendations also include an increase of the state's Bay Restoration Fund (“flush fee”), to $60 per year, compared to the current amount of $30 per year for property owners. The fund pays for sewage treatment plant and septic system upgrades as well as cover
Title: Kids Art and Essay Contest entries dueLocation: QueenstownLink out: Click hereDate: 2011-11-03
Miss ESLC's Essay and Art Contest deadline in the Halloween rush? We understand! We’re extending the deadline for entries to Monday, November 21. All public, private and home-school students enrolled in grades 5 to 8 in Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties are invited to enter ESLC’s Kids Essay Contest. The ESLC’s Kids Art Contest is open to students in Pre-K to grade 8 in the same counties; they will be judged by age group. The theme for both contests is “What is your favorite park or place to play on the Shore?” Tell us about your favorite parks and open spaces on the Eastern Shore. What makes them great? Do you have any dreams for future parks and open spaces? What would they look like? Make sure to follow all the rules! (Click below for the documents.) Essay Contest Rules Art Contest Rules
Sunday brought blue skies, crisp fall air and tall ships on the Chester River for Downrigging Weekend, where ESLC volunteers had the pleasure to mingle with those who attended. Thanks to our talented volunteers, Lynn Dolinger, Nancy Neely, Jane Scott and Bob Stanley, many more people on the Eastern Shore have a better understanding of what ESLC does to preserve and sustain our vibrant communities and the land and waters that connect them. New additions to our information table were well received. A challenge to match leaves with their name and a game to guess the correct weight of two giant pumpkins made for interesting conversation and fun calculations. The pumpkin weights were 96 pounds and 64 pounds with guesses ranging from 43 to 650 pounds. The great pumpkin was quite large but not as great as some imagined! Look for ESLC staff and volunteers Nov. 11 to 13 at Waterfowl Festival in the Waterfowl Chesapeake Pavilion, a new exhibit highlighting all things green in 2011. We're looking forward to seeing you there.
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