maryland; eastern shore land conservancy: 2009 annual report

8/3/2019 Maryland; Eastern Shore Land Conservancy: 2009 Annual Report

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snapshotsoftheshore

eastern shore land conservancy

FY2009


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From the Director

Board of Directors

Caroline CountyJodi Griffith Elliott

Mark Powell

James M.Voss

CeCil CountyWendy Moon,

TREASURER

Jack Sentman

Randall Taylor

DorChester CountyRussell Brinsfield

Deborah Herr Cornwell

David Harp

SECRETARY

Joanna Lloyd Tilghman

Richard L. Willey

Kent CountyJames M.Anthony

Hon. Wayne Gilchrest

Francis J. Hickman

Alexander P. Rasin, III,

PRESIDENT

Charlotte StaelinQueen annes CountyMary Campbell

Mark Sultenfuss

Benjamin C. Tilghman

James Wood

talbot CountyBarbara Padden

Charles W. Petty, Jr.

Langley Shook

Alfred H.Taylor,

VICE PRESIDENT

Joe Trippi

Advisory

CommitteeLouisa C. Duemling

Hon. Harry Hughes

Hon. John C. North II

John Roberts

Henry H. Spire

B. Francis Saul

Russell Train

StaffRobert J. Etgen,

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joanna Braswell

Megan DArcy

Jacob Day

Morgan EllisSandra Edwards

Kristine George

Vikram Krishnamurthy

Amy Owsley

Jared Parks

Jennifer Pollard

Laura Sanford

Robin Telepchak

Nina White

The past year or so has been a difcult one for many onthe Shore - the economy, the environment, the war, newhealth concerns - the list goes on and on. At EasternShore Land Conservancy, we believe that with greatcrisis comes great opportunity. And with your help, ware choosing to embrace opportunity with the intentioand hope of affecting real and tangible success. We havworked to educate Eastern Shore citizens and plannerwe have continued our efforts to advocate for good

planning, including advocating against a new auto-oriented Bay Bridge, and we havecontinued to reach out to broader segments of the community in our daily work. Aswe look ahead to the coming weeks and months, we are excited by the opportunitiesbefore us! Next year we will be several important milestones including our 20 yearanniversary, 250 properties protected and 50,000 acres of Eastern Shore lands savedforever from development. Below are a few highlights from the past year. Last December, the state announced $13.5 million in 2009 Rural Legacy grants toMaryland counties and land trusts - including $1 million to ESLC. This investment ofState funds leverages thousands of private dollars for protection of the Eastern Shorerural landscape. ESLC completed a land use poll, which surveyed 1,500 Eastern Shore residentsregarding growth and development and conservation needs and factors affecting theiquality of life. The poll found that residents feel the single most important problemfacing the Eastern Shore is growth, development and sprawl. ESLC saved a 392-acre riverfront property that is home to the globally rare Wadessavanna ecosystem and that was under threat of becoming a mining operation thanksto a unique partnership between the Boy Scouts, Dorchester County, MarylandDepartment of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, National Oceanic andAtmopsheric Administration and ESLC. ESLC transferred the property to DorchesterCounty and the property is now leased by Boy Scouts of America, which operates theRichard A. Henson Scout Reservation on an adjacent property. Our work is shifting along with the need in the region. We have hired a townplanning manager who is focused on learning from towns what they need for smartplanning. This work, which is starting to broaden to community design workshopsand our big annual conference opens up a door into a whole new spectrum of ideas,people, and issues that is very exciting - and gives ESLC the opportunity for a deeperreach and greater effectiveness in land use planning. Working with Kids programs have kicked off - as part of our efforts to workwith the whole community, ESLC kicked off its rst kids art and essay contest.

Approximately 300 entries were received from across the Eastern Shore.

Thank you for being there for ESLC today so that we all may have a healthy EasternShore tomorrow. Thank you again for your loyal support we look forward tocelebrating our successes over the coming year with you!

Front Cover Photography Courtesy of Maggie Sentman


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ESLC recently received re-certication forthe Maryland Association of NonprotOrganizations (MANO) Standards forExcellence program. ESLC was the rstconservation or environmental organizationin the country and the rst nonprot onDelmarva to be certied in this program.Each award recipient is required to reapplyat least every ve years to maintain currentcertication and to verify that they areadhering to the guidelines of the program.

ESLC originally received certication in2000, a re-certication in 2003 and receivednotice of its most recent accomplishment lastNovember.

We work very hard to maintain the highestlevel of excellence as a nonprot and gettingthis re-certication is a great validation ofthat effort, said Nina White, ESLCs Director

of Administration and coordinator for ESLCsapplication. The rigorous application process

provides an important learning process for ourorganization as we continue to improve ouroperations and work toward our mission.

According to MANO, the Standards forExcellence program is designed to promote excellence and integrity in Marylands nonprot organizations. Inan effort to improve the work of nonprots, the program provides an array of services to help organizationsimplement the standards. As part of the certication program, organizations submit to a voluntary, rigorousreview of each part of their programs operations.

Striving for excellence in ethics and accountability is an essential building block toward

the mission of protecting our Eastern Shores land and waters, said Rob Etgen, ESLCsExecutive Director. We are so pleased to receive this re-certication and commendthe Maryland Association of Nonprot Organizations for setting the gold standard onnonprot excellence.

The Standards of Excellence certication is based on 55 criteria, including values suchas honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and accountability. Anorganizations programs, services, management, fundraising and nancial practices areexamined in depth before certication is awarded. For more information on MANOs Standards for Excellenceprogram please visit www.mdnonprots.org.

Continuing to work toward excellence...

ESLC Executive Director Rob Etgen and Nina White. ESLCs Directorof Administration celebrate receiving the Maryland Association ofNonprot Organizations Standards for Excellence re-certication.


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Wide Open SpacesIt was another busy year for ESLC as we worked to protect approximately 3,500 acres on 15 Eastern Shoproperties. A few of the highlights of the year include:

East End nEighborhood associations (EEna) community gardEnin Easton has been the site of acommunity garden since 1992. ESLC was approached by EENA about purchasing the garden located at 2South Street in Easton and turning the lot over to the Town of Easton for continued use as a communitygarden. The lot was being sold off from estate holdings for $15,000. Upon acquisition of the property,ESLC conveyed the property for no consideration to the Town of Easton with restrictions requiring thatthe property be used only for community open space in the form of a conservation easement. The Townof Easton will be the ultimate owner of the property, and will lease the property to the EENA. While theCommunity Garden project does not t ESLCs high priority as approved in its 2005 strategic plan, it doet into the Boards mid-term evaluation of the strategic plan recognizing the need for ESLC to assist withprojects that improve important community spaces.

also in talbot county, anEasEmEnthasbEEndonatEdonlandnEar EastonownEdby n & E invEstmEPartnErshiP. N & E Investment Partnership has furthered its commitment to land preservation bygenerously donating a conservation easement on a 140+ acre scenic property known as the Ziegler Tractlocated on MD Route 662 in Talbot County to the ESLC and the Maryland Environmental Trust. Thisis the second contribution to land preservation that the Partnership has made in the past two years. Theeasement permanently protects over 90 acres of productive agricultural soils, as well as approximately 45acres of riparian forest and wetlands that help sustain the water quality of the Miles River and providehabitat to the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel.

in dorchEstEr county, 229 acres of land located along the Honga River have been protected forever,

thanks to the donation of a conservation easement by Mallard Haven, LLC. The Mallard Haven property,owned by Jerrold Harris, is located less than a mile from the west edge of Blackwater National WildlifeRefuge. Located in the Critical Area, the property has over half a mile of water front on the Honga River aover 3 miles of creek frontage on Spicer and Wallace Creeks, and also consists of 75 acres of tillable grounand 145 acres of tidal wetland and woodland. Used primarily for hunting waterfowl, over 60 acres of theproperty are part of a system of water regulated waterfowl impoundments that are used for hunting durithe hunting season and as migratory waterfowl staging areas during the spring and fall. The impoundmeare harvested in the fall, then ooded in the late fall through early spring. The other tillable acres areplanted in crops such as sunowers to attract upland game species.

PhotoCredit:MaggieS

entman


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in KEnt county, two easements have been donated on farmsbelonging to Herman and Trey Hill and the Wilmerding family.The Hill property, 139 acres of 100% tillable ground, is locatednext to other lands protected by ESLC and the MET, as well aslands protected by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation

Foundation. It is also located within the Sassafras Focus Area ofthe Agricultural Security Corridor Rural Legacy Area. The RuralLegacy Program is a State program designed to protect large blockof important resource lands both habitat and working lands.The 181-acre Wilmerding property, known as Ash Point Farm, islocated at the end of Broad Neck Road and has nearly one mile offrontage along the East Fork of Langford Creek. It is also situatedwithin ESLCs Chester River Corridor Conservation Priority Area an area where ESLC focuses its land protection efforts. PeterWilmerding, whose family has owned the farm since the 1950s,stated, This fullls a goal my wife and I thought about from the

time we purchased what we considered irreplaceable land from mfamily. We now celebrate our childrens enthusiasm in sharingour hope to conserve Ash Point Farm as we know it today.

n cEcilcounty, ESLC proudly celebrated the permanent protection of a farm it has worked for years to protect:Browning Creek Farm. Situated north of Cecilton and south of the Bohemia River on Route 213, the 355-acre farm isocated across the road from a block of approximately 1,600 acres of protected land, including Anchorage Farm, which

ESLC helped protect in 2001. The quest to protect Browning Creek Farm began in 1997 when a developer gainedcontrol of the property. The farm was permanently protected earlier this month thanks to widespread communityupport and the willingness of the landowners, brothers Felix and Mark Rutkoske, to sell a conservation easement

at below appraised value and to allow ESLC time to nd a conservation buyer for the farm someone to buy it after

he easement was purchased. Fortunately, local farmers and conservationists Jack and Charlotte Loller stepped up topurchase the farm so that their grandson Danny could begin a career in farming. The story of the Lollers relationshipwith the farm will span several generations when it is all said and done Jacks parents lived on the farm at oneime, too. While it took a long time to nd the right match for the farm, ESLC is proud of the efforts its staff and the

community made to get to this point.

Good Luck Farm

Mallard Haven

Mallard Haven II

Dorchester County

TaylorHill

Wilmerding

High Meadow Farm

East End Neighborhood Association

N & E Investment

Singleton/Whipple

Fifty-Six Ventures, LLC

Chesapeake Wildlife Heritag

Passano

Singleton/Whipple

Land protected

1435.70 acres in Dorchester



392 acres in Dorchester

89.077 acres in Dorchester 139 acres in Kent

181.69 acres in Kent

212.31 acres in Queen Annes

1 acre in Talbot

140.187 acres in Talbot


102.67 acres in Caroline




As part of our new Stewardship Initiative, inFY2009 ESLC made major strides in improving oureasement monitoring and stewardship outreach: For the rst time, ESLC staff monitored everypreserved property in a single year

(FY09 total of 238 preserved properties); ESLC stewardship staff responded to 51landowner outreach/stewardship requests; Completed a risk assessment for easementviolations, with the vast majority qualifying aslow-risk; Developed a monitoring plan to keep the risk ofviolations low; & Made quarterly visits to ESLC-owned preservesto uphold our ownership responsibilities.

Photo Credit: Maggie Sentman


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ESLCs Land Use Planning department works to expand its organizational inuence, enlistnecessary partnerships, and address needed resources and education so that the goals ofEastern

Shore 2010 are achieved and ESLCs Vision for the Eastern Shore realized. Eastern Shore 2010 isa regional land use agreement containing four goals: 1. Rural land protection; 2. Economicdevelopment support for working landscapes; 3. Improved growth management; and 4. Regionaltransportation planning. By establishing and implementing general advocacy policy, annualadvocacy priorities, and related activity tracking systems, ESLC has made great gains to helpadvance the goals ofEastern Shore 2010. The second part of ESLCs Land Use Planning capacitycenters around meeting the land use planning education and resource needs for local governmentand community leaders.

Planning for a bright future...


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EnsuringstrongruralzoningQueen AnneCounty Rural Land Protection. ESLC worked inthis County toward a potentially historic step inprotecting the rural land from encroaching subdi-vision sprawl. Within the public dialogue aboutpolicy solutions, ESLC focused on providing robus

research and a steady conservation perspective.

EmPowEringrEgionallEadErshiPintransPortation.a looKinto sustainablE EastErn shorE transPortation. To better un-derstand how the region can effectively shape andinuence transportation decisions, ESLC launcheda probe into transportation issues and planning onthe Eastern Shore. Starting with coalescing a net-work of transportation leaders/practitioners, ESLC

led a research effort and organized a transportatiosummit in the fall focusing on better answers forthe Eastern Shores biggest transportation and lanuse problems.

EngagingcommunitiEs.Chestertown GatewProject. ESLC partnered with ofcials from Ches-tertown and Kent County Governments to develop

a vision for the future of this 487 acre property adjacent to Chestertown. A week long community charrette generattremendous community input and standing room only crowds at the opening and closing sessions. The master planfor the project as envisioned by the community has been incorporated in Chestertowns comprehensive plan. Any

future development on the property will be guided by the vision set forth by citizens during the charette process.

influEncingsmartlocaldEcisionsEngaging in local advocacy issues. ESLCs land use planning staff were apart of 3 county and 9 municipal comprehensive plan reviews, opposed 5 annexations, engaged in development planning processes for 3 communities, opposed 1 rural subdivision and helped advance TDR and PDR programs at thecounty and town level. We also held a series of planning education workshops across the region and hosted our 10thannual land use planning conference, the only regionally-focused educational venue of its kind on the Eastern Shore.

focusonvibrantcommunitiesNew Town Planning Work. ESLCs collective conservation work has resultedin major accomplishments in the rural countryside including strong agricultural zoning in several counties, signi-

cant investment in protection of important lands, and a staving off of rural subdivisions. Many of our counties havereversed growth trends from a majority of development in the countryside to a majority in and around existing town the way growth is supposed to happen to prevent sprawl development. The hard work to protect our Eastern Shorheritage has not ended, though it has expanded in focus. Our job now is to ensure that the growth now targeted foour towns comes in the best type, scale, and pace for each community.

This work is an exciting entry into parts of the Eastern Shore community weve not had the opportunity to get to know yet. From workingdirectly with these population centers, we want to learn how conservation can enrich more lives whether it be through more parks andgreen spaces in our town centers, better planning so our schools and roads are not choked with crowds, to ensuring a housing that is bothappealing and affordable for the local population.

Photo Credit: Maggie Sentman


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giftsof consErvation EasEmEntsA conservation easement is a legal agreement betweena landowner and ESLC permanently protecting realproperty. It limits development but leaves ownership inprivate hands. You have the opportunity to specify theprecise terms and ESLC will monitor the property and

enforce the easement in perpetuity. Conservation ease-ments can take effect now or through your will.Benet: A gift of a conservation easement may generatesavings in income tax, estate tax and property tax foryou and your heirs as well as assure that your wish forthe lands permanent protection is fullled. A well-planned gift may avoid future conict over a family-owned property.

giftsof landConsider leaving your family lands or other real estateto ESLC to further its mission. ESLC will ensure all

conservation values are protected in perpetuity.Benet: A gift of land may generate tax savings for youand your heirs. You also get the satisfaction of knowingyour land will not be adversely developed and will bepermanently protected.

bEquEstsIn your Will, you can leave a specic dollar amouna percentage of your estate, or a specic asset of yestate to ESLC. Bequest provisions in a Will allowto control the distribution of your estate and presas much of the estate as possible through judiciou

of tax-saving opportunities.Benets: A bequest allows you to retain full controlyour estate during your lifetime, yet gives the satisfaction of knowing it will ultimately benet ESLCbequest is not subject to state or federal estate taxinheritance taxes and can provide signicant savinfor heirs.

charitablE rEmaindEr trustsCharitable Remainder Trusts allow you to transfestock, cash, securities, or other assets to a trust. Ttrust pays income to you and/or spouse, or any pe

you choose who is living at the time of transfer. Wthe trust ends, the assets come to ESLC to help saland on the Eastern Shore. Transfer of assets to a tremoves them from your estate. By reducing your size, you lower estate taxes for your heirs.

Creating a Legacy for the Future...Your family farm. The waterfowl that give you such pleasure to watch. The scenic vistas of the Chesapeake Bay. Three centuriof agrarian economy. Do you want your children and grandchildren to have the opportunity to enjoy these pleasures? Do youwant to be see it preserved? Are you busy planning for your own future? Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) can help. O

Planned Giving Program and our land preservation programs offer arrangements through which you can strengthen your ownancial future and that of your descendants. At the same time, you protect your family lands and help to maintain farmlandwoodlands throughout the Eastern Shore. Some of the ways to ensure this are:

Photo Credit: Dave Harp, Chesapeake Photos


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N em wa b geeratn ha os i al.

- Crper Tiga

unitrustsf you create a Unitrust, a xed percentage (not lesshan 5%) of the net fair market value of the asset is

determined annually, and then received by you or an-other individual. The percentage you receive each year

will not vary, but the actual dollar amount will changerom year to year depending on the fair market valuef the trusts assets revalued annually. When the trustnds, the assets come to ESLC to help save land on the

Eastern Shore.enets: Trusts supply you or another whom you en-rust with a stream of income for life or a set numberf years. A charitable income tax deduction is taken inhe year the gift is made, and you avoid capital-gainsaxes on the transferred property. In addition, a portionf the trust assets are excluded from state and federal

state taxes and the trust assets are removed fromrobate.

mEmbErshiPGiven the current state scal crisis, the ability of vari-

us programs to protect land will be severely limited.Therefore, the future of conservation will dependargely upon land conservancies with the resources toct independently and immediately. Membership con-ributions are vital to our resources! Visit our websitet www.eslc.org to see what membership option suitsou and your family!

thEgiftof yoursElfDonating your time to help us with our programs is awonderful way to help advance our mission! We are

urrently building our volunteer program to providemore opportunities and projects for our volunteers. If

youre an individual, church group, school group, or anyother group interested in volunteering, please contactour Volunteer Maryland Coordinator, Joanna Braswell,[email protected] will be organizing several fun outdoor and indoor

events in the near future, and could use all the help youcan give us.

ESLC has information and expertise to assist youin whatever way you would like to support us in ourmission. Contact us at one of our three ofces for moreinformation about membership opportunities, volun-teerism and planned giving options.Queenstown Ofce: 410.827.9756Southern Ofce (Cambridge): 410.901.9988

Northern Ofce (Galena): 410.648.5840


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easternshorelandconservancy, inc.

statementsoffinancialposition: march 31, 2008

currentliabilities

Accounts Payable

Accrued Payroll Taxes

Accrued Compensation Absences

Notes Payable, Current Portion

Total Current Liabilities

noncurrentliabilities

Liability under Charitable Remainder Unitrust

Notes Payable, Net of Current Portion

Total Noncurrent Liabilities

Total Liabilities

netassets

Unrestricted

Undesignated

Board Designated

Total Unrestricted

Temporarily Restricted

Total Net Assets

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

2008

$ 2,339

1,889

19,528

3,092,315

3,116,071

16,400

1,813,465

1,829,865

4,945,936

5,518,672

739,784

6,258,456

1,274,862

7,533,318

12,479,254


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e mission of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is to sustain the Eastern Shores rich landscapes through strategic la

nservation and sound land use planningInviting the Whole Community...

A true

conservationist

is a man who

knows that the

world

is not given by

his fathers but

borrowed from

his children.

John JamesAudobon

ESLC is a private, nonprot landconservation organization dedicated to

the preservation of farmland and habitaton the Eastern Shore. Funded by member

contributions, ESLC helps landownersto discover, evaluate and implement

any of the voluntary land preservationoptions available. Since its inceptionin 1990, ESLC has helped landowners

to protect more than 47,000 acres offarmland and important habitat on

251 Eastern Shore properties. For moreinformation, please visit www.eslc.org

maryland; eastern shore land conservancy: 2009 annual report

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