spring - summer 2009 land marks newsletter, maryland environmental trust

8/3/2019 Spring - Summer 2009 Land Marks Newsletter, Maryland Environmental Trust

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2008 ANOTHER YEAR OF GREAT ACHIEVEMENTFOR THE MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST

The Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) preserved3,464 acres of private farmland, woodland and scenic openspace on 29 properties during 2008, ensuring that thesesignificant properties will remain protected forever fromresidential and commercial development. To date METhas permanently protected 119,569 acres on 983 propertiesstatewide.

The 2008 easements include 967 acres in Dorchester County, 27 acres in Queen Anne’s County, 377 acres inTalbot County, 682 acres in Kent County, 30 acres inCharles County, 176 acres in Baltimore County, 53 acresin Frederick County, 579 acres in Anne Arundel County,

24 acres in Allegany County, 532 acres in Cecil County,and 17 acres in Harford County. Most of the conservationeasements are held jointly with MET’s local land trustpartners.

A wide variety of conservation values are representedby the protected properties. The largest easement donationof 2008 was the 579-acre Contee Farm in Anne ArundelCounty, which is co-held by the Scenic Rivers Land Trust.The property has since been purchased by the SmithsonianInstitute and added to the Smithsonian EnvironmentalResearch Center (SERC). The mostly forested Contee

Farm represents the largest area under a Forest StewardshipPlan in central Maryland and lies at the edge of rapidlyexpanding development southward from Annapolis. Inaddition to SERC’s existing properties, Contee Farm formsa contiguous watershed landscape that extends across some 4miles of fields, forests, and wetlands to Chesapeake Bay.

MET joined forces with the Eastern Shore LandConservancy to protect Riveredge, a 532-acre horse farmin Cecil County, which was previously on track to becomea 58-lot residential development. Riveredge lies on theeastern end of the Cayots Corner Preservation Area, thelargest contiguous block of protected agricultural land on the

Eastern Shore, now totaling more than 5,000 acres. Thefarm will be converted to a premier sporthorse operation toinclude training, breeding, and events.

In Kent County, MET worked with the Wilmerdingfamily to protect 181 acres of farmland and forest. Thefarm, which consists of nearly 100 acres of prime farmland,boasts approximately one mile of frontage on the East Fork of Langford Creek, a tributary of the Chester River. Peter

Wilmerding said of the conservation easement, “this fulfillsa goal my wife and I had from the time we purchased thisirreplaceable land from my family. We now celebrate our children’s enthusiasm in sharing our hope to conserve Ash

Point Farm as we know it today.”In Garrett County, MET partnered with the Allegheny

Highlands Conservancy to protect 24 acres owned by AnnieBristow Braitman and Kenny Braitman. Located at theheadwaters of the Savage River, the property is adjacent tothe Maryland Ornithological Society’s 180 acre Carey RunSanctuary and protects both Carey Run and the SavageRiver. In addition to the waterways, the property alsocontains deciduous and conifer forests, wetlands, and openfields. The Braitmans have been interested in preservationsince purchasing the land in 1987; however, it wasn’t until

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A conservation easement on the 181 acre Ash Point

Farm in Kent County permanently protects water quality

and prime farmland.

Land MarksSpr ing/Summer 2009



TRUSTEES

K. King Burnett

Chair

James R. O’Connell

Vice Chair

Charlotte Staelin, Ph.D.

Treasurer

Ann H. Jones

Secretary

Donald N. Briggs

James W. ConstableMr. David Greene

Edward A. Halle, Jr.

Ms. Constance Lieder

Honorable S. Jay Plager

Steven Quarles

Doris Blazek-White

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Senator Roy Dyson

Delegate Dana Stein

Meredith Lathbury

Director, Land Acquisition

and Planning,

Dept. of Natural Resources

AREA REPRESENTATIVES

Goodloe E. (Geb) Bryon, Jr.

Frederick County

V. David Grayson

Carroll County

ip R. Hager, Allegany County

TRUSTEE EMERITUS

Ajax Eastman

John C. Murphy

Ellen Kelly

Henry A. Virts

STAFF

Elizabeth Buxton Director

Adam Block

Central Region Planner

Jon Chapman

Monitoring and Stewardship

Program Manager

Ann Gutierrez Carlson

Eastern Region Planner

Lisa Holmes

Administrative Assistant

Rebekah Howey

Land Trust Assistance

oordinator, Keep Maryland Beautiful Coordinator

John Hutson

asement Program Manager

d Southern Region Planner

Joan Lally

Monitoring and Stewardship

Specialist

Megan Sines

Western Region Planner

Director’sNote By Elizabeth Buxton, MET Director

Spring is a time for new growth. Withthe coming of this season, the MarylandEnvironmental Trust board and staff recentlyparticipated in a “Planning Retreat” to review goals and set new priorities for increasing landconservation in Maryland. With a renewedcommitment, MET will continue to work

with land owners across the state to help them voluntarily conserve their lands and protect our region’s quality of life.

As one of the oldest and most successful

land trusts in the country, MET holds 983conservation easements preserving nearly 120,000acres statewide. From the Chesapeake Bayto the mountains of Garrett County, our landpreservation programcontinues to expand.Day after day, new opportunities toprotect the landscapecome to our attention.Landowners andpartners increasingly

value and solicit our participation in new projects and strategicacquisitions.

To accommodateour growing landprotection program,

we must increase our stewardship capacity.Established in 2006,the StewardshipFund helps cover the expenses related

to maintainingland-related records, tracking changes in landownership, monitoring properties, photo-documenting land uses, and interpreting and/or approving permitted activities. The StewardshipFund also helps pay for staff, transportation,computers and software, geographic andphotographic equipment, telecommunications, andimaging and mapping technology. We hope you

will consider supporting the Stewardship Fund.

While there is still much work to be done,Maryland’s landowners can take pride in knowing

that they have the power to protect our landresources from sprawl and development. Projectslike the 579-acre Contee Farm, the largesteasement of 2008, remind us of the importanceof our efforts. Located at the edge of rapidlyexpanding development in Anne Arundel Countythe Contee farm protects this ecologically sensitiveproperty in perpetuity; and Riveredge, situated

just south of Chesapeake City in Cecil Countyand originally slated for residential development,is now part of the largest block of protected

agricultural land on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As the new director, I look forward to

advancing MET’s mission of permanentlyprotecting and preserving Maryland’s natural

areas, forestland, productive farms, shorelines,and important wildlife habitats. While the newsof global strife weighs heavily on our minds, it canalso serve as a reminder that we live in a countryof tremendous wealth, opportunity and ingenuity.

We have the resources and tools available totranslate our vision into reality and help create amore sustainable future for our State.

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L to R: John Hutson, Lisa Holmes, Jon Chapman, Beki Howey, Joan Lally, Ann Gutierrez Carlson, Adam

Block, Megan Sines, Liz Buxton.



PROTECT YOUR LAND WITH ACONSERVATION EASEMENT!DON’T DELAY — FEDERAL TAX BENEFITS EXPIRE AT THE END OF 2009

MET and land trusts across the country have witnessed an unprecedented interest in donated conservation easementsin recent years, thanks to enhanced federal tax incentives available to landowners. Federal legislation enacted in 2006 now allows landowners who donate a qualified conservation easement to take advantage of the following benefits:

1. The law raises the maximum deduction a donor can take to 50% of their adjusted gross income, compared to just30% in previous years;

2. Qualifying farmers and ranchers are now able to deduct 100% of their adjusted gross income; and

3. The law extends the carry forward period for a donor to take tax deductions from 5 years to 15 years, allowingdonors to realize more of the value of their donations.

The law has been extended through December 31, 2009. There is no guarantee that Congress will act to extend thesebenefits again. All landowners who are interested in a conservation easement are encouraged to work with MET and/or your local land trust to complete projects in 2009. There has never been a better time to protect your land. For more informationplease call MET at 410-514-7900.

their involvement in the County’s 2008 ComprehensivePlanning process that they were motivated to seriously pursuethe conservation easement option. “Now that our land isunder conservation easement, we are very pleased that theland will remain as it is in perpetuity for protecting flora andfauna and for future generations of people to enjoy,” said theBraitmans.

In addition to its easement work, MET was busy in2008 satisfying its monitoring responsibilities. During thecourse of the year, 186 easements were monitored by METand its partners throughout the State. MET staff visited105 properties, assisted Local Land Trusts (LLTs) with

monitoring an additional 18 properties, and LLTs monitored13 properties on their own. MET trained another cohort of 20 monitoring volunteers in April, and together with existing

volunteers, they visited and verified compliance with easementrestrictions on another 50 properties. In total, compliance wasreviewed on 19,265 acres of open space land, correspondingto 16.1% of land area under easement and 19% of totaleasements held by MET.

“Since 1972 MET has been working to protect land inMaryland, one acre at a time” says Elizabeth Buxton, thenew Director of MET. “This was an incredible year for landconservation, marked by an increased interest from the publicin donating easements. This year, many environmentallysensitive areas were protected, as well as significant historic,cultural and scenic resources. There is still a lot to do, butMaryland should be proud to be a part of this growingconservation movement that is making a real and lastingdifference in the world,” Buxton says.

Enhanced federal income tax provisions continuedto play a large role in encouraging landowners to donate

conservation easements in 2008. Landowners donating aconservation easement may deduct 50% of their adjustedgross income for the year of the donation and for 15 yearsforward, up to the value of the donation. This tax benefitis available until December 31, 2009. Additionally,landowners may also be eligible for a Maryland state incometax credit, federal estate tax benefits, and a property taxcredit. For more information please see our website.

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MET hosted conservationprofessionals from land truststhroughout Maryland at theMaryland Land Trust AllianceConference on Friday, June 6,2008. The event, held at Mt.Pleasant Farm in Woodstock, homeof the Howard County Conservancy,

was attended by nearly 40 landconservation organizations thatparticipated in the all-day event on

the beautiful 300-year-old 232 acrefarm.

Participants attendededucational sessions on what itmeans to be a land trust boardmember, how climate change impactsthe land conservation movement,issues of stewardship, ways in which to interest diverse groups of people in environmental concerns, and how a land trustcan apply for and achieve accreditation from the Land Trust Alliance Accreditation commission.

Iantha Gantt-Wright, founder and president of the Kenian Group, a consulting firm, was the luncheon’s keynotespeaker. Winner of numerous awards such as the Department of the Interior’s Award for “Stellar Deeds in AdvancingDiversity,” Ms. Wright spoke of her experiences as an African American environmentalist, and the challenges of including

diverse groups and cultures within the environmental movement.MET presented Janice

Hollman Grants to seven landtrusts to further her vision of strong and vibrant local landtrusts. Janice Hollman helpedfound the Severn River LandTrust and Arundel ConservationTrust and also served on theSevern River Commission.Grants were awarded to thefollowing Land Trusts: the

African American Land trust;

the Allegheny HighlandsConservancy; Baltimore GreenSpace; the Harford Land Trust;the Howard County Conservancy;Neighborspace of BaltimoreCounty; and the Lower ShoreLand Trust.

MARYLAND LAND TRUST ALLIANCECONFERENCE — June 6th, 2008

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~ Save the Date ~

2009 Maryland land TrusT

alliance conferenceCreating an Environment for Conservation

Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center, Laurel, MD

May 19, 2009MET will once again host the annual Maryland Land Trust Alliance Conference. The all day conference

will be held on Tuesday, May 19 at the Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel.

The Patuxent Research Refuge is the perfect venue for the conference with over 12,000 acres devoted to wildliferesearch supporting a wide diversity of wildlife in forest, meadow, and wetland habitats.

Proposals for presentations are currently being accepted. The conference will offer 90-minute presentations,120-minute workshops, 30-minute “drop-in” sessions and is seeking to include field trips. For more information,please contact Beki Howey, Land Trust Assistance Coordinator ([email protected]) Online registration

will be available on www.conservemd.org in April.

Two annual awards for land conservation will be presented at the Maryland Land Trust AllianceConference. Nominations for the awards are currently being accepted. The categories are:

• The Dillon Award for Outstanding Conservationist Landowner is made to a landowner from thedonated easement program who shows exemplary commitment to land preservation, through promotionof land protection by inspiration and education. MET must be a party to the conservation easement.The Award is named in honor of sisters Alverta and Louise Dillon who donated a perpetualconservation easement and then bequeathed their entire Garrett County property to MET in 1984.

• The Aileen Hughes Award for Leadership in Land Conservation is given to an individual representinga Maryland land trust for leadership,partnership and innovation in aconservation project. The Awardhonors the late Aileen Hughes, aleader in the conservation movement

who was also a supporter of women’sand civil rights.

The 2008 recipients of the Dillon Award

were Kathryn Weise and Carol Bartram --for their easement donations at Deep Creek Lake, which preserve 125 mostly woodedacres near Thayerville, an integral part of thescenic landscape of Garrett County. The

Aileen Hughes Awards for Leadershipin Land Conservation was presented toMeredith Lathbury of the Eastern ShoreLand Conservancy and Ann Jones of theHoward County Conservancy.

L to R: Adam Block, MET; Kathryn Weise, Landowner; Mrs. Virginia Weise,

Legacy Property Owner; Mrs. Carol Bartram, Landowner; Liz McDowell, Allegheny

Highlands Conservancy.



Streams, forests, and wetlands are three of the mostimportant natural resources that MET protects. Landownersand recent easement donors Scott McGill and Jim Morriscouldn’t agree more. That’s why they’ve dedicated their professional lives to protecting those resources. McGilland Morris are co-owners of Ecotone, Inc., a locally-basedcompany that provides wetland design and construction,

stream restoration, and forest and wetland mitigation servicesin the Mid-Atlantic Region.

So, when McGill and Morris acquired a 55-acre farmin northern Baltimore County, protecting the property with aconservation easement was a natural fit. Taking advantage of a new policy approved by the MET Board in May 2008, thelandowners worked with MET and the Land PreservationTrust to craft an easement that would permit the property tobe used as a forest and wetland mitigation bank for BaltimoreCounty development projects. The arrangement allowsMcGill and Morris to harness market forces to restore andenhance woodlands, wetlands, and stream channels.

Scott McGill, a Baltimore County native, praised MET,saying, “we had a very specific vision for this property whichMET really took to heart. The easement expertly captures in

writing our goals for the property.” Morris added that, “theimproved federal income tax benefit really made the math

work for us. Combining our reforestation and mitigation work with the conservation easement has given us the unique

opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment andon our business.”

The property consists of approximately 1,100 linear feetof Deer Creek, a major tributary of the Susquehanna River,and 900 feet of scenic road frontage on Harris Mill Road. Itis adjacent to several hundred acres of protected lands andprovides critical habitat for forest interior dwelling birds,

which are in decline on the eastern seaboard.

To share your story, please call John Hutson at 410-5147910. For more information about Ecotone, please visit their

website at www.ecotoneinc.com.

The land conservation profession often revolves around statistics – number of acres protected, miles of shoreline preserved, value of development rights extinguished. At MET we try not to lose sight of the fact that behind every one of our easement properties is a land-owner. And each landowner has a story to tell. Landowner Spotlights is a new series that captures and shares those inspiring stories.

Jim Morris (L) and Scott McGill (R) placed this 55-acre

property in northern Baltimore County under easement in 2008.

They plan to use market forces to reforest the property and restore

degraded wetlands.

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LANDOWNER

SPOTLIGHT


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MET Board Member Will Be Missed

Brice McAdoo Clagett, 74, long-time MET Boardmember, historic preservationist, and Washingtonattorney passed away on April 8, 2008. A lifelong

advocate of environmentalprotection and historicpreservation, he served on the

Board of Trustees of METfrom 1978 to 2007, andas chairman from 1985 to1989. His passion for landconservation and attention todetail helped place thousandsof acres under protection duringhis tenure on the Board. Mr.Clagett also served as chairman

of the Maryland Historical Trust from 1972 to 1978and was a member of the Clagett Family Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

In 1968 Mr. Clagett bought Holly Hill, a housein Friendship that was built by his ancestors morethan three centuries ago. He lavished great care onboth the house and gardens. Born in the District, Mr.Clagett graduated from St. Albans School in 1950. Hegraduated summa cum laude from Princeton Universityand magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. TheClagett family remains ardent supporters of MET anddedicated to land conservation and historic preservationin Maryland.

a Gtz c joined MET as the EasternRegion Conservation Easement Planner in December 2007.Having worked for the Maryland Department of NaturalResources, the Trust for Public Land and Maryland’sNational Capitol Parks and Planning Commission, inaddition to a childhood spent in Maryland’s outdoors, she is

well acquainted with the landscape she now works to protect.Prior to her formal career in land conservation, Ann spentseveral years as a teacher and naturalist. Ann received anM.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Developmentfrom the University of Maryland, focusing her research on

ecologically strategic land conservation. Ann also holds a B.A.in Geography from the George Washington University. Sheresides with her husband in Annapolis.

Mg s is MET’s Western Region ConservationEasement Planner. Megan first came to MET in 2005-06as the part time Volunteer Coordinator and helped to revivethe Volunteer Monitoring program. She joined MET full-time in December 2007. As a native of Garrett County,she is delighted to serve the Western Region. Megan hasa background in program coordination and administration,and currently serves on the Board of the Baltimore Harbor

Watershed Association. Megan has a B.A. in Political

Science and Environmental Studies from St. Mary’s Collegeof Maryland and is finishing her M.A in Geography andEnvironmental Planning from Towson University. She lives iBaltimore County where she is working on the garden that shefinally has room to grow.

ezbth Bxt joined MET as the new Director inNovember 2008. Liz has more than 15 years of experience

working for non-profit conservation organizations and governmeagencies protecting and managing historic, cultural, scenic andnatural resources. “MET’s half-century leadership in protectingMaryland’s scenic landscapes will successfully continue withMrs. Buxton at the organization’s helm,” said Governor MartinO’Malley upon her appointment. Buxton previously worked asDevelopment and Communications Director for PreservationMaryland and also served as Executive Director of ScenicMaryland. Buxton plans to raise the profile of MET and ensurea broader understanding of its mission and expertise offered toproperty owners and local land trusts. She will also focus on along-range strategic plan to strengthen MET’s services to localland trusts in order to increase both the number and quality of conservation easements in Maryland. Liz is a graduate of theCollege of Charleston in South Carolina. She lives in BaltimoreCounty with her husband and two children.

MET Welcomes Three New Staff Members



As of January 2009, MET has protected nearly 120,000 acres on 983 properties statewide. MET is charged with

monitoring and stewarding these properties in perpetuity. Both monitoring and stewardship require considerable resources,

as MET must maintain the capability to perform these duties 10, 20, even 100 years into the future. Your contribution

to the Stewardship Fund will ensure that the conservation easements that we so carefully craft will be upheld long into

the future. The contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and will never be diverted to any other state

agency or any other fund of the State of Maryland. Please mail contributions to the Maryland Environmental Trust, Attn:Stewardship Fund, 100 Community Place, Crownsville, Maryland 21032.

MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MET STEWARDSHIP FUND!

Scott and Carol Bartram

Margaret Bramble

Frederick and Nancy Brokaw

Mark and Victoria Collins

Wilson Coudon

Delaware Community Foundation

(Bill and Sarah D’Alonzo)

Martha Furman

Willard Hackerman

Barbara Hale

Dusty Huber

Edward Huber

Kilby’s Inc. (Bill and Phyllis Kilby)

James Lighthizer, Jr.

James O’Connell

Nelson and Karen Offutt

Henry Pitts

Dr. Richard and Elaine Raesly

B. Francis Saul II

Dr. W. Robert Shortall

Charlotte Staelin

Alan Stonebraker

William Susen

Cathy Tipper

Washington Brick & Terra Cotta

Company

Mareen Waterman

Marian Waterman

Dr. Kathryn Weise

Ward and Sheila White

Julia Jackson Young

Thank You to Our Recent Contributors

Maryland Environmental Trust

100 Community Place, First Floor

Crownsville, Maryland 21032-2023

Phone - 410-514-7900

Toll free - 877-514-7900

Fax - 410-514-7919

www.dnr.state.md.us/met

www.conservemd.org

This newsleTTer is prinTed on 100% recycled paper using soy based inks.

spring - summer 2009 land marks newsletter, maryland environmental trust

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