As they say, patience is a virtue and persistence pays off. Kate Patton, Executive Director of the Lower Shore Land Trust (LSLT), began working on a large conservation project in Somerset County nearly a decade ago with landowner Larry Leese. Thanks to her hard work and Larry’s unwavering patience, over 1066 acres has been permanently protected. On July 9th, LSLT and the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) finalized a conservation easement funded through a grant secured by Duck’s Unlimited (DU) from the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) to protect habitat for the American black duck. The black duck has been in precipitous decline over the past few decades leading to its designation as a species of conservation concern. The easement permanently protects approximately 36 acres of agricultural land, 330 acres of forest, 700 acres of emergent tidal wetlands , and thousands of linear feet of shoreline on Marumsco Creek and Pocomoke Sound.
“Even in Maryland, a state known for its land protection programs, a thousand-plus acre easement is a rarity. LSLT is grateful for the opportunity to work with conservation-minded landowners like Mr. Leese and our federal, state, and local partners to preserve important habitats and our iconic landscapes” said Jared Parks, LSLT’s Land Programs Manager.
Partnerships are often the only means to successfully complete large conservation projects. “The Maryland Environmental Trust is pleased to have worked with Mr. Leese and the project’s lead partners, LSLT and DU, to protect this incredible piece of Somerset County. It was a pleasure to work with a dedicated landowner and to have years of work yield the fabulous result of hundreds of acres of important waterfowl habitat protected” said Ann Carlson, MET’s Acting Conservation Easement Program Manager. Though DU, LSLT, and MET took the lead on this project, it could not have been completed without the generous support of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Rural Legacy Program, the U.S. Department of the Navy, Wicomico County, and the Chesapeake Conservancy who all contributed funding for other projects to match the NAWCA grant funds. In total this partnership has supported the preservation of nearly 1,510 acres in Somerset and Wicomico counties.
Of the easement Mr. Leese said, “This portion of Somerset County and the natural resources it supports have always been important to me, so I spent years piecing this property together to protect what I could. Though it was a long process, I greatly appreciate the hard work of Ducks Unlimited, Lower Shore Land Trust, Maryland Environmental Trust, and all the other partners who helped me realize my vision.”
The Lower Shore Land Trust is a nationally accredited land trust and works throughout Worcester Wicomico and Somerset counties. For more information about the Lower Shore Land Trust and conservation priorities for the Lower Shore, contact Jared Parks at jparks@lowershorelandtrust.org.
