New Easement Expands Scenic Corridor Near Wye River

A new conservation easement in Queen Anne’s County marks ESLC’s 338th easement, protecting 43 acres forever, thanks to a generous donation from landowners Jeff and Beth Horstman. Tucked along Wye Island Road in Queenstown, the Horstmans’ land sits in a spot where quiet pasture, woodlands, and tidal marsh come together beside a tributary of the Wye River. 

“Beth and I have been working to create a scenic corridor that preserves our family’s old farm, Wye Plantation, in perpetuity,” Jeff explains. “The stretch of Carmichael Road approaching Wye Island, especially as it passes through the Black Angus farm, embodies a beauty and tranquility that deserves protection.” 

This newly protected property includes a mix of cattle pasture and forestland, with about 22 acres actively grazed as part of the University of Maryland’s Angus beef program. The Horstmans have long supported this agricultural work, having advocated and financially supported the protection of almost 600 acres in 2022, which is now part of the UMD Angus program. They intend to donate the farmland of this most recent easement to UMD for continued use as well.    

Beyond the open fields, the property also contains roughly 20 acres of coastal plain forest, containing a mature stand of trees such as loblolly pine, beech, tulip poplar, walnut, hickory, and sweetgum. Another small forest patch sits along steep streambanks where perennial streams wind through the property. In total, about 740 feet of stream corridor are now permanently buffered and protected, helping maintain clean water as these tributaries flow toward the Wye River and the Chesapeake Bay. 

The easement also strengthens a much larger network of conservation lands. The Horstmans’ property is surrounded by more than 3,300 acres of protected land, including 1,000 acres that have been protected under ESLC and the Maryland Environmental Trust, as well as the Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area just across the Narrows. Together, these conserved places create a critical corridor for migrating birds, deer, foxes, and other species that move through the Eastern Shore’s patchwork of forests and wetlands. 

Traveling Carmichael Road toward Wye Island, visitors immediately sense the openness and natural richness of the landscape. Thanks to the Horstmans, these scenes which are emblematic of Queen Anne’s County will endure. 

This project would not have been possible without the ESLC’s collaboration with the Maryland Environmental Trust, whose support was instrumental throughout the easement process.  

When asked why they chose to protect their land, Jeff emphasized, “Protecting land, especially sensitive land, is one of the most important things we can do!”