The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) is excited to announce a new conservation easement in Dorchester County. The property, owned by Ed “Biff” Burns, protects 589 acres of land southeast of Cambridge. The permanent protection of the property helps to secure the agricultural and natural resources of the region, with approximately 227 acres planted in grain and 363 acres held in woodlands, with many qualifying as forested wetlands. The woodlands are especially important, as they provide significant habitat for Forest Interior Dwelling Species (FIDS), including woodpeckers, thrushes, and nuthatches, as well as Delmarva fox squirrel.

Mr. Burns grows grain in Dorchester and Wicomico Counties. Dr. Candy Burns, Biff’s late wife, was a driving force behind conserving the farm, a goal that Biff remained steadfast in honoring even after her passing in 2021. He hopes that the farm will continue to be enjoyed as a great place for farming and hunting for he and his family.

ESLC would like to thank the Burns family for its contribution to regional conservation. We’d also like to recognize and thank our partners in this endeavor: the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (via the North American Wetland Conservation Act; NAWCA). Their technical and financial assistance was key to securing this beautiful farm for generations to come.

To learn about conservation easement programs, including whether your property may qualify, please contact ESLC’s director of land conservation, David Satterfield, at [email protected].

To learn more about the U.S. Navy Conservation Program in Maryland, check out the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program page at: https://www.repi.mil/. To learn more about the NAWCA program, check out their home page at: https://www.fws.gov/program/north-american-wetlands-conservation.

On Thursday August 17, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) and Skip and Barbara Watson hosted U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen for a tour of Waterloo Farm in East New Market, Maryland. Several bay conservation partners also attended, including representatives from Choose Clean Water Coalition, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Waterloo Farm’s conservation and wetland protection efforts (including impoundments, native plantings, protected woodlands, and vegetative buffers) will be replicated across Dorchester County by ESLC and essential partners through Chesapeake WILD funding, which includes $500,000 in federal funding that the Senator fought to secure to protect habitat migration corridors between Blackwater and the Nanticoke River Watershed. 

Through strategic landowner outreach, ESLC and the Chesapeake WILD project will permanently protect 300 acres, benefiting the long-term resilience of wildlife populations and critical ecosystems throughout Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.

“What this shows is that this requires a team effort,” said Senator Van Hollen. “It does require everybody working in the same direction. If we’re going to address all the issues and if we’re going to protect the Chesapeake Bay, which is a global treasure, we have to make sure here in the bay, which is an extra sensitive area ecologically, that we have a program specifically targeted on the Bay and that’s what Chesapeake WILD is all about.”