ICYMI: ESLC Wraps-Up 2022 with Five New Conservation Easements
Easements closed in December preserve more than 700 acres across the Eastern Shore.
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) is thrilled to announce the closing of five separate conservation easements throughout the Eastern Shore in the final weeks of 2022. The five easements cover a total of 714.5 acres of land located in Kent, Talbot, and Dorchester counties. The easements ensure the permanent protection of woodlands, prime farmland, and wildlife habitat from development.
“December was a fantastic bookend to a successful year for ESLC,” said ESLC President, Steven Kline. “The 700 acres preserved in December brought our yearly total to more than 1,500 acres preserved in 2022.” Since its establishment, ESLC has settled 316 easements, providing permanent preservation for 54,832 acres of the Eastern Shore.
December’s first easement protected 170 acres of agricultural land in Dorchester County, including 108 acres of prime farmland with more than one mile of waterfront along the Marshyhope Creek, which provides critical habitat for the Atlantic Sturgeon.
Two easements closed in Kent County, totaling 293 acres of new permanent protection. Both easements are largely prime agricultural lands, but also include protections for 27 acres of woodlands along Mill Creek, which safeguard Chesapeake Bay water quality.
The final two easements of 2022 feature prime Talbot County farmland. Both properties contain important wildlife habitat: one with mixed deciduous woodlands and installed wildlife habitat, and the other with woodlands that support the declining group of birds known as Forest Interior Dwelling Species (FIDS). Both property owners also opted to remove development rights from their properties, providing additional security for the agricultural use of the property.
ESLC applauds the landowners who have sought out conservation practices for their properties, allowing us together to ensure a future for this beautiful place we call home.
For more information, please contact ESLC’s Communications Coordinator, Bethany Straus, at bstraus@eslc.org or (240) 608-5743.
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