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November 2021 | Land Trust eNews
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Maryland Environmental Trust Spotlight |
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Land Trust Monitoring Reports
It's that time of year again. The deadline to submit your co-held easement monitoring reports to Maryland Environmental Trust for CY2021 is January 31, 2022. For more details contact Michelle Grafton at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov.
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Land Trust Roundtable Success
On November 9, Maryland Environmental Trust held its third virtual Land Trust Roundtable, Beer, Brides, Brawls and Brussel Sprouts - Part 2!. Forty four representatives from Maryland land trusts, governmental agencies and other conservation partners joined the event for an interactive panel discussion on events on protected lands with each panelist providing background and policy from each agency. For more information on this and other Roundtables visit MET's event page.
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Lower Shore Land Trust Preserves 270 Acres in Wicomico County
The Lower Shore Land Trust is excited to announce the protection of a 270-acre farm on Rewastico Creek in Wicomico County. The property is a family-owned farm that includes approximately 70 acres of agricultural land and 200 acres of forest and forested wetlands. The protection of this property adds to an extensive area of protected lands in and around the Quantico Creek Rural Legacy Area. The landowners were among the first to show support for the expansion of the QCRLA in 2017, which added lands north of Cherrywalk Road including Rewastico Creek, most of the Paleochannel to the north and west of the City of Salisbury, and lands in the vicinity of, but not including, the Town of Hebron. Read more.
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Scenic Rivers Land Trust Protects 24 Acres in Arnold
Scenic Rivers Land Trust has permanently protected 24 acres of forest and wetlands in the Severn River watershed. Two Arnold families partnered to donate a conservation easement on their adjoining properties to the county-based land trust, protecting vital wildlife habitat from development forever. The recently conserved property is mostly located within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. In addition to forest and wetlands, the property includes a pond and stream. The area is also known habitat for Forest Interior Dwelling Species, such as Pileated Woodpeckers. Read more.
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Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust Protects Property in Mechanicsville
The Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust acquired a conservation easement on a 65.88-acre property in the Mechanicsville area. The transaction was made possible by funds provided by the Rural Legacy Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which will co-hold the easement with land trust. The property on Flora Corner Road consists of three parcels of farmland totaling approximately 12 acres and another 54 acres of forested land, six of which are environmentally important wetlands. The wetlands drain into Persimmon Creek, a tributary of the Patuxent River. Read more.
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Gunpowder Valley Conservancy Receives Small Watershed Grant
Gunpowder Valley Conservancy announces that their National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Small Watershed Grant has been funded. This funding helps GVC provide substantial discounts on rain barrels and conservation gardens to homeowners, businesses, and organizations within targeted sub-watersheds of the Gunpowder. NFWF announced more than $10 million in grants to protect and restore vital wildlife habitats across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. GVC's Clear Creeks Project was one of 49 funding recipients. Stay tuned for more details in early 2022 on how to get involved with the Clear Creeks Project. Learn more.
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MPT's Outdoor Maryland Series
Starts November 2021
Maryland Public Television's 33rd season of Outdoors Maryland, produced in cooperation with DNR, is airing this fall. New segments airing in the coming weeks cover Brood X cicadas, Wolf Den Run State Park, and the Maryland Bird Atlas. Episodes of Outdoors Maryland air Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on MPT-HD and are available for live and on-demand viewing via MPT's website and the PBS Video App. Learn more.
2021 Rural Summit
December 1-2, 2021 | Registration Fee
The Rural Maryland Council will host its biennial summit, "Redefining Resilience and Recovery" in Annapolis, MD. This two-day conference will cover topics on Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry, Community Development, Economic Development, and Health Care. Other sessions include hearing from our State Legislators. Learn more.
Request for Proposals for the 2022 Maryland Land Conservation Conference
Deadline: December 20, 2021
Forever Maryland is looking for speakers for the 2022 Land Conservation Conference. This year's conference, Celebrating Success. Planning for Change, will be held on June 1-2, at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, on Kent Island. The conference will examine the current state of Chesapeake Bay restoration, smart growth, and conservation successes, while discussing how to plan for climate change, fiscal uncertainty, and emerging environmental challenges. Please fill out this 2022 MLCC Request for Proposals to submit a sketch of your proposed session. Learn more.
Smart Growth Webinar
Recorded Webinars | Free
The Smart Growth Information Clearinghouse is a project of the Smart Growth Network and is partially funded by the U.S. EPA, Office of Community Revitalization, and managed by the Maryland Department of Planning. The project includes, webinars, blogs and other online resources. Learn more.
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Tools, Tech and Tutorials
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 New Online Tools for Landowners Considering Conservation
Landowners considering conservation in Maryland’s Frederick and Washington counties; Virginia’s Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Frederick, Page, and Warren counties; and West Virginia’s Jefferson and Berkeley counties have access to new online tools to better understand their options. These tools help landowners better understand the importance of the environmental and cultural features of their properties.
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 BlueTechMD: Creating a Hub for Innovation and Collaboration
The goal of BlueTechMD, comprised of for-profits, universities, and non-profits, is to attract more of the myriad of climate tech investors and blue tech entrepreneurs to Maryland, and create more collaborative opportunities and solutions to solve our climate change problems. The new consortium hosted its inaugural event on November 16 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
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 Using Social Media to Track Visits
A team of U.S. Forest Service researchers, resource managers, and external partners developed and tested a social media-based model that offers a cost-effective way to enhance the National Visitor Use Monitoring Program and may be especially useful for areas without traditional monitoring programs. The team also created the Visitors Count! Program, a fun way for recreators to engage by contributing additional details about their visit.
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Share Your News
If you would like to share relevant conservation news, success stories, announcements or events with Maryland's land trusts and conservation partners through this publication, please contact Michelle Grafton by the first of each month at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov.
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