Maryland Environmental Trust

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Photo by Jim Highsaw

“Conservation is sometimes perceived as stopping everything cold...

the choice is not between people or wild places;

it is between a rich or an impoverished existence for man.”

–Thomas Lovejoy

The past few years have been extraordinary onesfor land conservation in Maryland. Land trusts andconservation agencies have seen the annual totals ofacreage preserved increase to unprecedented levels.The rate of land preservation for the last few yearshas outstripped the rate at which land is developedand subdivided.

In large part, this is due to liberal state andcounty funding for the purchase of easements.Through the Department of Natural Resources’Rural Legacy, Open Space, and GreenPrintprograms, and the Maryland Agricultural LandPreservation Program (MALPF), run by theDepartment of Agriculture, many thousands ofacres of valuable land have been saved.

It is also worth noting that many public-minded landowners have sold easements for less thanthe full value determined by appraisal. In so doing,they have generously allowed funds to be made

available to a larger number of landowners. These“bargain sales” have also allowed the sellers ofeasements to take advantage of tax deductions thatshelter the income they receive for their easements.

Finally, aided in part by the recently-enactedIncome Tax Credit for donation of easements to theMaryland Environmental Trust (MET) andMALPF, the number of acres of easements METpreserved this year is a record.The Tax Credit greatly increases the financialincentives for easement donation by middle-incomelandowners. For husband and wife, up to $160,000may be returned to the landowner in the form ofincome tax credits when an easement is donated.

Although the current state budget shortfallmeans that funding for easement purchase will bemuch tighter for the foreseeable future, we lookforward to many more years of successful landpreservation.

John BernsteinDirector

Letter from the DirectorAmending and Improving MET Easements

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The mission of the Trust isfound in Natural Resources Article3-201, subtitle 2 of the AnnotatedCode of Maryland:

There is a MarylandEnvironmental Trust established toconserve, improve, stimulate, andperpetuate the aesthetic, natural, healthand welfare, scenic, and culturalqualities of the environment, includingbut not limited to land, water, air,wildlife, scenic qualities, open spaces,buildings or any interest therein, andother appurtenances pertaining in anyway to the State. Through educationaland other means, the Trust shallencourage and motivate the populace ofthe State and others to do so and shallpromote the continuing interest in andthe study of these matters. The purposeof the Trust is of general benefit to thecitizens of the State, and it is charitablein nature.

Mission

Conservation Easement Program

The primary focus of the Trust is the protectionof land from development through donatedconservation easements. A conservation easementis a perpetual legal agreement between a landownerand the Trust, ensuring that a property shall not bedeveloped (or subdivided) beyond a limit agreedupon by both parties. The land is thereby protectedand preserved; the landowner retains all rights ofownership and privacy. An easement is binding onall future landowners and may lead to significantincome, estate, and property tax benefits.

Description of Programs

Local Land Trust Assistance

The Trust assists citizen groups in the formationand operation of local land trusts by offering training,technical assistance, administrative and projectgrants, and membership in the Maryland Land TrustAlliance. Conservation easements may be jointly heldwith the Trust and a local land trust.

Keep Maryland Beautiful

Through such incentives as the Bill JamesEnvironmental Grant and the Margaret RoschJones Award, the Keep Maryland Beautiful(KMB) program focuses on environmentaleducation projects.

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Moses easement on Little Falls, Baltimore County

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Regional Reports

With 78 new easements protecting 10,556acres of land, fiscal year 2002 ( July 1, 2001 - June30, 2002) was the most active year ever for theMaryland Environmental Trust (MET). The to-tal acreage exceeded last year’s record of 10,250acres. Rural Legacy and other purchased ease-ments accounted for 63 percent of the total acre-age. Most of the new easements are held jointlywith local and regional land trusts. As of June 30,2002, MET’s cumulative total since 1972 was 660easements covering 89,006 acres. Baltimore, Tal-bot and Dorchester Counties continued to be theleading counties for easement acreage. Two high-lights of the year were 1,614 acres of Rural Legacyeasements in Caroline County, and a 405-acreeasement in Dorchester County accepted by a lo-cal land trust last year and now held jointly withMET.

Central Region Planner Jim Highsaw andother staff completed 12 donated easements pro-tecting a total of 620 acres. MET also accepted 10Rural Legacy easements purchased by local andregional land trust partners on 1,373 acres, one ease-ment resulting from the use of MET’s Land TrustGrant Fund to help protect a farm in Cecil County,and one easement purchased with private funds by

OVERVIEW

CENTRAL REGION

Conservancy to protect eight acres near Corbett.MET now holds easements on over 12,000 acresin Baltimore County, the most of any county inthe State. (See map on page 11.)

In Cecil County, MET received a donatedeasement on 176 acres of farmland northwestof Cecilton, which completed a two-phaseproject started in 1994 to protect a 279-acrefarm. On Herring Creek near Chesapeake Citythe owners of a 37-acre wooded property alsodonated an easement. The local land trusts inthe County used Rural Legacy funds to pur-chase easements on four farms totaling 836 acreswest of Cecilton, and on a 135-acre farm westof Fair Hill. To help acquire a farm north ofCecilton, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancyused MET’s Land Trust Grant Fund and do-nated an easement on 179 acres to MET as partof the transaction.

Donated easements in other counties in thecentral region include an easement on a 74-acrefarm on Swan Creek outside of Aberdeen inHarford County and a 34-acre farm outside ofManchester in Carroll County. In HowardCounty, a previous easement donor added a one-acre wooded parcel to his easement next to thewatershed protection land surrounding RockyGorge Reservoir.

a local land trust in Baltimore County.Baltimore County continues to be one of the

leading counties for new easements in the centralregion. The new easements in this county includeseven donated easements covering 298 acres, fiveRural Legacy easements totaling 402 acres, andone other purchased easement protecting eightacres. The new donated easements include a 94-acre farm with an historic house, located next tothe state-owned Soldiers Delight Natural Environ-mental Area; two properties totaling 69 acres inthe Worthington Valley Historic District; 25 acresof farmland and woodland to help protect the set-ting for an historic house on Old Court Road nearPikesville; an eight-acre property with an historichouse surrounded by a cluster of MET easementsin the Green Spring Valley Historic District; 68acres in the agricultural area east of White Hall;and 34 acres north of Monkton surrounding theNorthern Central Railroad Trail and Little Falls.The new Rural Legacy easements in the countyinclude two easements comprising 97 acres in thePiney Run watershed, a 33-acre easement alongthe Gunpowder Falls near Sparks, a 46-acre ease-ment in the My Lady’s Manor Historic Districteast of Monkton, and a 226-acre farm propertynorthwest of Jacksonville. MET also co-holds aneasement purchased by the Gunpowder Valley

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Pennterra, Frederick County

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Barbara Levin, Western Regional Plannersays, “fiscal year 2002 was a great year in the West-ern Region, which includes Frederick, Washing-ton, Allegany and Garrett Counties. A total of2,629 acres – 21 easements – were protected.

Maryland Environmental Trust, in partner-ship with Program Open Space and The Conser-vation Fund, protected 298 acres of Civil War his-toric properties in Washington County aroundAntietam Battlefield, and five small properties inFrederick County at South Mountain Battlefield.

The Frederick County Rural Legacy Programcompleted easements protecting 1,091 acres.Frederick County co-holds these easements alongwith the Mid-Maryland Land Trust and MET.

In Garrett County, John Hinebaugh donatedan easement on his 81-acre farm on theYoughiogheny River. Mr. Hinebaugh has ear-marked a portion of his property as a communitypark where his neighbors in the Sang Run Com-munity hold weddings and family reunions.

In partnership with the Catoctin Land TrustMET protected two farms in the Thurmont area– Anna Hall’s 164-acre farm, and Helga Colby’s91-acre farm.

On the Monocacy River, The ConservationFund saved the 200-acre historic Mathias Farmby purchasing the property and placing a conser-vation easement on it before selling it to a neigh-boring farmer. The Town of Emmitsburg acquired

a 510-acre property slated to be developed to addto their 700-acre watershed, and have also pro-tected the property with a conservation easement.

One of the easement highlights of the regionis on the banks of the Monocacy River wherebeauty and history blend together in Thurmontat Pennterra Manor. Pennterra stands on 308 acresof land composed of three historic tracts;Four Dividend, Long Looked For Come At Last, andResurvey on Paw Paw Bottom. Built in 1783 as aGeorgian stone house, it was remodeled in theGreek Revival period. George Ogle, son of Ben-jamin Ogle, tenth Governor of Maryland onceowned the property. Kathleen and Barry Luceypurchased it from Mr. Lucey’s father in 1978.Most of the farm is cropland with some pasture,and since Mr. Lucey’s retirement, is being farmedby his son-in-law. The pasture is a habitat forgrassland breeding birds that are disappearingfrom Maryland.

The Luceys have spent over 40 years on thisland and want to make sure their labor of loveremains as beautiful in 100 years as it is today. Toachieve this, the Luceys placed a conservationeasement on their property with Maryland Envi-ronmental Trust and Maryland Historic Trust asco-grantees. The two Trusts have a long historyof working in partnership to save our heritage –farmland and the historic structures that adorn it.

WESTERN REGION

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Southern Region Planner Diane Chasse andLocal Land Trust Coordinator Nick Williamsrecorded 11 conservation easements during fiscalyear 2002, protecting a total of 1,896 acres. With1, 147 acres protected, Charles County has pro-tected the most acreage during this time. PaulFacchina Sr. , and his family, protected nearly halfof this acreage, as an extension of their previousconservation achievements – two easements pro-tecting 400 acres. (See story in 2000 Annual Re-port.) This time, Mr. Facchina donated an ease-ment on 328 acres, known as Gunston Pointe, andthe Facchina Family Trust donated an easementon 233 acres, known as Audubon Woods. GunstonPointe is a haven for wildlife – bald eagles, turkey,deer, fox, fish, etc. and has an extensive wetlandcomplex on the Nanjemoy River. Audubon Woodsis also on the Nanjemoy River and is habitat forrare, threatened and endangered plant species, in-cluding the Small-fruited agrimony and theLarge-seeded forget-me-not. The forest bordersa marsh owned by the National Audubon Societyand is in the vicinity of other MET easements,creating a 1,000 acre-block of land protected byMET easements.

Also in Charles County, neighbors Dr. FrancisChiaramonte, President and C.E.O of Southern

Maryland Hospital, and Jay Adams, owner ofClinton Fence Company, donated easements ontheir farms that overlook the spectacularWicomico River. The combined area of these pris-tine farms is 350 acres. The protection of theseproperties contributes to maintaining the waterquality of the Chesapeake Bay by protectingstreams and wetlands that drain into theWicomico River. Dr. Chiaramonte says, “Con-serving Tulip Hill Farm means preserving an eco-logical wonder and fulfilling a legacy inspired bymy dad to give back each of the diverse speciesthis land hosts.” Jay Adams says the easementenables “a beautiful, scenic view to forever remainthat way.”

Elsewhere in Charles County, four easementswere donated to both MET and the Conservancyfor Charles County. The Posey Family (Thomas,Verna, David, and siblings) donated an easementon 78 acres of the family home, Cool SpringsFarm. The easement protects forest, open fields, alake, and Kerrick Run, a tributary to ZekiahSwamp. The same David Posey and partners JimLorenzi, and Wayne Wilkerson donated their sec-ond easement as members of Keystone Associ-ates, LLC. This 74-acre easement preserves pro-ductive farmland that is part of a larger agricul-

SOUTHERN REGION

tural preservation district, woodland and streams.Along the Potomac River, Peter Murphy donatedan easement on 58 acres that includes bald eaglehabitat, forest and open fields. Along theMattawoman Creek , James and Linda Dysongranted an easement on their 24-acre forestedproperty close to state-protected lands.

In Anne Arundel County, MET worked withBeverly Looper, County officials, the Trust forPublic Land and the Magothy River Land Trustto protect 368 acres of forested land containingseveral unique plants and bog communities. (Storypage 13.)

Also, in Anne Arundel County, MET ac-cepted an easement with the Bay Ridge Trust ona 79-acre riparian forest on the Bay Ridge penin-sula in Annapolis. The easement was a conditionof a loan from the Land Trust Grant Fund thathelped the Bay Ridge Civic Association to buythe property. (See more information on page 16.)

In St. Mary’s County, with funding providedby Program Open Space, Ms. Lee Petty sold a300-acre easement. The Maryland Environmen-tal Trust and the Patuxent Tidewater Land Trustare the co-holders of the easement that protectsthe viewshed of the historic Sotterley Plantationand 200 acres of forestland. This property alsoconnects Sotterley with Greenwell State Park.

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Through donations, the Trust’s ConservationEasement Program protected over 60% of the 1,033total acres preserved on the Eastern Shore. Sevenlandowners donated conservation easements on 655acres in four eastern shore counties. Talbot Countyled the way with 470 acres protected – including apost-mortem donation to Eastern Shore LandConservancy and MET by an estate on 260 acresalong Bollingbrook Creek and the ESLC’s Con-servation Reserve Enhancement Program/METcombined easement overlay on 81 acres, which werethen conveyed to the Town of St. Michaels for pub-lic use. In addition, MET protected 20 acres alongLaTrappe Creek and then with the ESLC, 109acres along Harris Creek. In Dorchester County,the Trust accepted its first easement along BriaryCove on 24 acres, then coordinated with theESLC to protect 94 acres southeast of Preston. InWicomico County and in cooperation with theLower Shore Land Trust, MET Board member K.King Burnett and his wife Esther Burnett preserveda 68-acre woodlot. With this second easement do-nation, the Burnetts have protected 93 acres, in-cluding their 25-acre home farm. Through theRural Legacy Program’s purchased conservationeasement program, and also in cooperation withthe ESLC, 292 acres of prime farmland and wood-land buffers were protected in the MarshyhopeRiver Rural Legacy Focus Area.

EASTERN REGION

Smith Cove off little Choptank River, Dorchester County

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Since 1986, the Keep Maryland Beautiful(KMB) program, funded by the State HighwayAdministration, has been active in funding volun-tary activities and achievements by school groups,civic and community organizations that addressenvironmental issues. “These projects have signifi-cantly benefited Maryland’s natural envi-ronment,” says Ellen Kelly, Committeechairperson. As part of the KMB pro-gram, the Maryland Environmental Trustannually accepts applications for the Mar-garet Rosch Jones Award and the BillJames Environmental Grant for projectsthat focus on environmental education.

The Margaret Rosch Jones Awardgrants a sum of up to $2,000 to voluntarynon-profit groups or communities that show con-tinuing plans for a project demonstrating a basic un-derstanding and resolution of an environmental is-sue. Through this award, which is bestowed inmemory of the Executive Director and moving spiritof KMB for many years, the Trust hopes to remindcitizens of her devotion, energy, and ingenuity. Ap-

plicants must have been actively participating in edu-cating their community and/or succeeded in elimi-nating or reducing the causes of a local environmen-tal problem.

The 2002 winners of the Jones Award werethe Annapolis Tree Committee of Anne Arundel

County, Let’s Beautify Cumberland Committee ofAllegany County, and Stevensville Middle Schoolof Queen Anne’s County. Volunteers with thesegroups planted trees, conducted clean up and beau-tification projects.

The Bill James Environmental Grants provideup to $1,000 each to proposed environmental

Keep Maryland Beautiful Program

education projects by non-profit youth groups. Theobjectives of these grants, given in memory of Wil-liam S. James, who drafted legislation to create theTrust, are as follows: (1) encourage a sense of stew-ardship and personal responsibility for the environ-ment; (2) stimulate a better understanding of envi-

ronmental issues; (3) aid in the eliminationor reduction of a local environmental prob-lem; (4) encourage education regardinggrowth management - the protection of ru-ral areas and sensitive resources and discour-agement of sprawling development patterns.

The 2002 winners of the Bill JamesGrant were: the Alliance for CommunityEducation of Anne Arundel County andthe Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) of

Worcester County. The Alliance plans to educatearea residents in understanding trees, understory,birds, etc. on a 100-acre forested easement whichthey use for passive recreation. The ACT plans toexplore coastal bays’ processes and issues that af-fect animal populations and to discuss possible so-lutions with area students.

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853

822

12,228

31

2101

3321

8224831

49438703

6632

474

2830

1147

7856

2115

281

7001

3309

3242

9680

3927

1461

5046

MET EasementsAcross Maryland

Cumulative Number of Acres Per County

Cumulative Easement Acreage

Cumulative Number of Easements

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South Grays Bog, Anne Arundel County

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In February 2002, the Maryland Board of Pub-lic Works approved $2.5 million in the Departmentof Natural Resources’ Program Open Space (POS)funds for the purchase of a 388-acre parcel of landwhich preserved one of the last significant openspace corridors on the Chesapeake Bay’s westernshore between Annapolis and Baltimore.

“We must remain vigilant in our efforts toprevent unchecked development and the furtherdegradation of our precious natural resources,” saidGovernor Glendening. “This acquisition perma-nently preserves one of Anne Arundel’s most bio-logically-significant areas, providing an unparal-leled opportunity for wildlife protection and con-servation education, along with exceptional rec-reational opportunities.”

The approval by the Board cleared the wayfor the acquisition of the 388-acre, mostly for-ested property which forms the keystone of theproposed Magothy Greenway, designed to pro-tect water quality and natural habitats betweenthe Severn River and Patapsco River Greenwayprojects. The property consists of approximately375 acres of mature second-growth forest and 15acres of existing private athletic fields. AnneArundel County placed a Maryland Environmen-

tal Trust/Magothy River Land Trust conservationeasement on 368.95 acres of the property, with 20acres reserved for active recreational pursuits.

Located between Mountain Road and NorthShore Road, the Looper property is adjacent toand includes several unique and regionally signifi-cant bogs including the North and South Graysbogs, Blackhole Creek bog, the Eagle Hill bog,and Shady Pond, all of which are listed withinregulations as Wetlands of Special State Concern.The North Grays bog and South Grays bog werealso cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’sInventory of Natural Resource Areas within theChesapeake Bay region as excellent examples ofcoastal plain bogs and harbor several state-listedand rare plant species as do the other neighboringbog areas.

The Trust for Public Land negotiated the ac-quisition. The funding was a partnership withAnne Arundel County ($151,780), Departmentof Transportation/Transportation Efficiency Act21 ($2.35 million), and POS funds ($2.5 million)for a combined total of over $5 million.

“The Looper property, which is the crownjewel of the Magothy River Greenway plan, haslong been sought for preservation because of its

forests and trails, as well two bogs that offer uniqueecosystems which, once prominent in this area,have been all but lost to development,” said JulieEnger, project manager for the Trust for PublicLand. “Funding through Program Open Spacemade the protection of this property possible–without which, I have no doubt that the landwould have been developed.”

Future plans for the property include the cre-ation of multi-use/equestrian trails that wouldlink the property and its existing athletic fieldswith the nearby Lake Shore Elementary Schooland the Lake Shore Athletic Complex to thewest, as well as Bodkin Park and the MountainRoad library to the east. The deed for the prop-erty limits certain impacts or uses of the prop-erty to include any development other than pas-sive recreation or any impacts on wetlands orbogs. All development (other than trails) will beconfined to the twenty acres that already con-tains athletic fields.

DNR’s Program Open Space has preservedmore than 300,000 acres of open space and rec-reation areas. Most Maryland residents livewithin 15 minutes of an open space or recre-ational area funded by this program.

Anne Arundel County Greenway ProtectedPURCHASE OF THE 388-ACRE LOOPER PARCEL WILL BOLSTER PROTECTION OF FORESTS AND WETLANDS

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After the success of the Maryland Income Tax Credit fordonation of conservation easements successfully passed throughthe Legislature last year, this year has been a quiet one for MET-related legislation. The Tax Credit allows a husband and wife totake a credit of up to $10,000 per year against Maryland incometaxes owed. It can be “carried forward” for 15 years, allowing atotal tax credit of $160,000. In a typical example this tax creditincreased the net savings due to an easement donation from ap-proximately $57,000 to $110,000.

In the coming year, MET has several legislative priorities. How-ever, with current deficits, it is unlikely that the Legislature willentertain any proposal that creates a new drain on state resources.In that context, MET plans to explore the following:1) Expansion of the Maryland Income Tax Credit. Create an

alternative track for tax credits, increasing the maximum credit(to, say, $12,500 per year per taxpayer) but decreasing thelength of the carryforward so that the total tax loss to theState is not increased.

2) Transferability. Several states have enacted tax credits whichare transferable. This allows a landowner who cannot takeadvantage of the tax credit to transfer it to another taxpayerin return for a cash payment.

3) Property Taxes. Most MET easement donors are eligible for“agricultural use assessment”, which keeps their property taxesvery low. In addition, donors receive a 100% rebate of prop-erty taxes on the unimproved portion of their properties for15 years after donation. MET intends to propose legislationthat mandates that all MET donors receive the lowest agri-cultural assessment possible.

FY 2002 Legislation

Years 1-6 Years 7-16

Adjusted Gross Income Before Easement $90,000 $90,000

Annual Deduction for Easement Donation ($27,000) ($0.00)

Adjusted Gross Income After Easement $63,000 $90,000

Estimated Tax without Easement $24,227 $24,227

Method 1 -Estimated Tax With Easement $14,679 N/AUsing Federal & State Deductions

Method 2 -Estimated Tax Using $12,536 $20,096Federal Deduction & State Credit

Method 1 - Annual Tax Savings $9,548 N/A

Method 2 - Annual Tax Savings (Tax Credit) $11,691 $4,131

TOTAL ESTIMATED TAX SAVINGSMethod 1 - $57,288 (35% of donation) ORMethod 2 - $111,456 (74% of donation)In a typical example this tax credit increasedthe net savings due to and easement donationfrom approximately $57,000 to $110,000.

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General Fund50%Special

Fund 40%

Reimbursable 10%Fund

Number of Authorized Positions 10.70

Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits $529,715

Total Operating Expenses 412,202(includes grants, contractual services,communications, travel, equipment,supplies and materials)

Total Expenditure 957,942

FUND SOURCES

Net General Fund Expenditure 473,327

Special Fund Expenditure 387,293

Reimbursable Fund Expenditure 97,322

TOTAL 957,942

Appropriations Statement FISCAL YEAR 2002

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New land trusts continued to start up in dif-ferent corners of Maryland, including thePrettyboy Mason Dixon Conservancy (BaltimoreCounty), the Woodberry Land Trust (BaltimoreCity), the Greater Black Swamp Creek Land TrustGroup (Prince George’s County), the K&S Wild-life Land Trust (Frederick/Washington Counties)and the Southern Calvert Land Trust.

More established land trusts, especially theEastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) andthe Lower Shore Land Trust (LSLT), maintaineda brisk pace of joint conservation easement workwith MET protecting 2,189 new acres of farmand forest land in all counties on the eastern shore.Emerging land trusts in western shore countiesalso picked up the pace as they expanded theirnetwork of landowner contacts and brought in ad-ditional joint easement donations. For example,the Catoctin Land Trust in Frederick County gotoff to a good start with two donated easementsnear Thurmont; the Conservancy for CharlesCounty secured four easements; and Cecil LandTrust received a 37-acre easement on the Merrymanproperty.

On both shores of the Chesapeake Bay, manylocal land trusts focused their efforts on encour-aging private landowners to sell easements to state

easement purchase programs such as the RuralLegacy Program and the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Re-serve Enhancement Program (CREP). Localtrusts that had traditionally sought donations tookadvantage of these funding opportunities to teamup with national land trust partners, farmlandpreservation consultants, and the Department ofNatural Resources (DNR). These efforts have pro-duced a continuing flow of jointly held easements,especially with local trusts operating in designatedRural Legacy Areas such as ESLC, LSLT,the Land Preservation Trust (LPT), TheManor Conservancy, the Gunpowder ValleyConservancy (GVC), the Cecil Land Trust, andthe Mid-Maryland Land Trust Association.There were 82.5 acres of CREP easements by ThePotomac Conservacy during this period.

Some local land trusts also acquired gift ease-ments that they hold independent of MET or anygovernment agency; examples this year includedLPT, the Severn River Land Trust, the NorthCounty Land Trust, GVC, the Mt. WashingtonPreservation Trust, and the Bay Ridge Trust.

Three land trusts acquired land in order toprotect it from development. ESLC bought the180-acre historic “Anchorage Farm” on the edge

Local Land Trusts Extend their Conservation Reach

of Cecilton (Cecil County), restricted the landwith agricultural easements, and resold it to a pri-vate farmer. In a similar manner, the ChesapeakeWildlife Habitat restricted 220 acres of farm andwoodland it had previously purchased in KentCounty by selling an easement to CREP and do-nating an easement to MET and then selling thefarm to two private buyers. In March 2002, theBay Ridge Trust (BRT) and Bay Ridge Civic As-sociation settled on 115 acres of bay-side riparianforest land on the Annapolis Neck, for a price of$4.2 million. Most of that acreage is now underpermanent conservation easement held by METand/or BRT. All three of these transactions werefacilitated by land acquisition loans from MET’sLand Trust Grant Fund.

Local Land Trust Incentive GrantsUnder its land trust assistance program, MET

initiated four “incentive grants” aimed at givinglocal land trust members financial incentives toincrease their donated easement solicitation work.These small grants were targeted towards landtrusts with demonstrated easement solicitationskills operating in regions of significant land con-servation potential.

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Local Land Trusts

Maryland is currently served by 49 local land trusts (LLT) with six new ones emerging in the past year. MET serves as both mentor and partner to theseorganizations, working either together or independently on specific easements and overall conservation strategies. Many MET easements are co-held byLLTs, providing a dual layer of land protection. Contact the LLT in your area to discuss conservation opportunities.

American Chestnut Land Trust Peg Niland 410-586-1570Annapolis Conservancy Board Steve Carr 410-263-7949Bay Ridge Trust Dan Wells 410-626-0342Broad Creek Conservancy Marian DiLorenzo 301-292-6318Calvert Farmland Trust Susan Hance-Wells 410-414-5070Carroll County Land Trust Ned Cueman 410-848-8247Carrollton Manor Land Trust Nancy Bodmer 301-874-1940Catoctin Land Trust Sam T. Castleman III 301-271-2823Caves Valley Land Trust Mitchell Kolkin 410-244-7656Cecil Land Trust William Kilby 410-392-9667Central Maryland Heritage League Dean Considine 301-371-6971Charm City Land Trusts Jim Kelly 410-366-0922Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage Chris Pupke 410-822-5100Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary Dianne Pearce 301-390-7010Conservancy for Charles County Vivian Mills 301-283-2410Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust Mildred Kriemelmyer 301-372-8766Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Rob Etgen 410-827-9756Franklintown Land Trust Fred Worthington 410-448-3383Greater Sandy Spring Green Space Pam Saul 301-774-3333Gunpowder Valley Conservancy Charlie Conkin 410-661-1233Harford Land Trust David Miller 410-836-2103Harpers Ferry Conservancy Paul Rosa 304 535-9961Holly Neck Conservation Assoc. Jim Mitchell 410-238-2249Howard County Conservancy Elizabeth Stoffel 410-465-8877K&S Wildlife Land Trust Terry Kuhn 301-241-4747Kensington Land Trust Helen Wilkes 301-933-8756Land Preservation Trust Baltimore County Edward A. Halle Jr. 410-771-9900

Land Trust International Shantini Senanayake 301-345-1060Long Green Valley Conservancy John Canoles 410-592-6752Lower Shore Land Trust Nancy Whitlock 410-641-3019Magothy River Land Trust Tom Woodward 410-974-0756Manor Conservancy James Constable 410-659-1315Maryland Mountain Trust Marcia Simmers 301-746-8989Mid Maryland Land Trust Assoc. Paul Gilligan 301-834-7851Mt. Washington Preservation Trust Karin Brown 410-887-3480North County Land Trust Anne Arundel Rebecca Kolberg 301-594-2134Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust Gita van Heerden 301-373-5690Patuxent Watershed Land Trust Ray Puzio 410-418-5222Potomac Conservancy Matthew Logan 703-276-2777Prettyboy Mason Dixon Conservancy Mike Hollins 717 235-8426Prettyboy Watershed Preservation Society Sharon Bailey 410-239-3524The Restoration Conservancy Ned Tillman 301-362-8520Rockburn Land Trust Burnett Chalmers 410-467-7774Save Historic Antietam Foundation Tom Clemens 301-790-2800Severn River Land Trust Sandra Parks-Trusz 410-424-4000South County Conservation Trust Patricia Haddon 703-684-2470South Mountain Heritage Trust Phil Stanley 301-834-4337Southern Calvert Land Trust Kenneth R. Spring SPRING@DIRECTWAY.COM

Sugarloaf Countryside Conservancy Perry Kapsch 301-972-8979Tree-Land Foundation Frederick County Robert Martin 301-563-3407Western Shore Conservancy Pam Cooper 301-390-0797Woodberry Land Trust Janis E. Danforth 410-516-8853Woodland Committee Land Trust Leonard Kerpelman 410-367-8855

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TRUSTEESRoyce Hanson, ChairPerry Kapsch, Vice ChairMichael Hankin, TreasurerEdward A. Halle Jr., SecretaryDoris Blazek-WhiteGerald E. BrockK. King BurnettBrice M. ClagettDavid L. GreeneConstance LiederJohn C. MurphyHenry A. Virts

EX-OFFICIOGovernor Parris GlendeningDelegate Mary Dulany-JamesSenator Roy Dyson

TRUSTEES EMERITUSFormer Senator James ClarkAjax Eastman

AREA REPRESENTATIVESPeter VoracAnn H. Jones

MET Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of the MarylandEnvironmental Trust has 15 members, designatedby the enabling legislation, and several AreaRepresentatives, authorized by the bylaws. The AreaRepresentatives sit with the board and advise onconservation issues within their regions. Three ofthe Trustees are Ex-Officio. There are currently twoTrustees Emeritus and two Area Representatives.

ROYCE HANSON, ChairA political scientist and educator, he is a resident of Mont-

gomery County who joined the board in 2000. He is VisitingProfessor at University of Maryland at Baltimore Countywhere he is in the Policy Science Graduate Program, and In-terim Director of the Center for Urban Environmental Re-search and Education. He has been very active in his commu-nity and now focuses much energy on farmland preservationand watershed protection. He is Co-chair of the Legacy OpenSpace Committee in Montgomery County.

PERRY KAPSCH, Vice ChairJoined the board in 1998, after serving as an Area Repre-

sentative. A resident of Montgomery County, she is both anhistoric and environmental preservationist. She is an historicpreservation planner with the Maryland-National Capital Parkand Planning Commission, President of Historic Medley Dis-trict, Inc. and a founder of For A Rural Montgomery and ofSugarloaf Countryside Conservancy.

MICHAEL HANKIN, TreasurerAn attorney and financial manager, he is a resident of

Baltimore County. He joined MET in 1998. He is Presidentand CEO of Brown Investment Advisory and Trust Co. Hehas been active with the Valleys Planning Council and is formerChairman of the Board of Trustees of the Baltimore Zoo.

EDWARD A. HALLE, JR., SecretaryAn attorney from Baltimore County, he joined the board

in 2000. He has been personally active in preserving landthrough the Land Preservation Trust, Inc. and Piney Run RuralLegacy Area. He is with the law firm of Fowley & Beckleyand is an avid horseman. He has created several coalitions ofinvestors to purchase, protect with easements, and then resellmajor parcels of agricultural land threatened by intense devel-opment.

DORIS BLAZEK-WHITEAttorney and resident of Talbot County, she came to

MET in 1998 after serving on the Eastern Shore Land Con-servancy Board. A partner in Covington & Burling, she bringsexceptional knowledge and experience in land preservation,estates, and the environment. She is a graduate of GoucherCollege and Georgetown University Law Center.

GERALD E. BROCKA resident of Howard County, he joined the board in

1999. He is a consultant in community development. For morethan 30 years, he has worked as a senior executive for commu-nity master planning and development on two of the mostsuccessful new towns in the U.S.: Columbia, Maryland, andIrvine, California. He has demonstrated major concern forbalancing growth with respect for the natural environment.

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K. KING BURNETTFrom Wicomico County, he joined the board in 1971,

has served two terms as Chairman, and originally proposedthe conservation easement program. He is a partner in the lawfirm of Webb, Burnett and Jackson, in Salisbury and lives on afarm with an easement he donated to MET. For many years,he has been a leading proponent in Maryland for conserva-tion, farmland protection, land use management, planning andenvironmental stewardship. He also serves on the Board ofthe Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. and as Chair-man of the Executive Committee of the National Conferenceof Commissioners on Uniform State Laws on which he servesas a representative of the State of Maryland.

BRICE M. CLAGETTA lawyer who lives in Anne Arundel County, he is one of

the trustees with deep concern for both historic and environ-mental protection. He is senior counsel with Covington &Burling and has served with MET since 1978. He was METChairman from 1985-1989 and was Chairman of the Mary-land Historical Trust from 1972-1978. He brings a wealth oflegal expertise about easements balanced by extensive knowl-edge of Maryland, its history and politics.

DAVID L. GREENEA farmer from Baltimore County, he is a retired Univer-

sity of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural ResourcesCarroll County Extension Director. He has first-hand expe-rience in agriculture and the issues related to production, prac-tice and preservation. He has been a member of the CarrollCounty Land Trust and is currently on the Baltimore CountyAgricultural Land Preservation Board.

CONSTANCE LIEDERShe has been on the board since 1989 and served as Chair

from 1993-2001. She is a planning consultant, resident of Bal-timore City and for ten years served as Maryland Secretary ofState Planning, 1979-1989. She is Past President of the Ameri-can Institute of Planners and has been on the boards of Ameri-can Planning Association, National Housing Conference andWomen Executives in State Government. In addition to be-ing an ardent conservationist, she has focused much of hercareer on rebuilding urban areas, a necessary corollary to pre-serving natural resources.

JOHN C. MURPHYAn attorney who lives and practices in Baltimore City,

he is a longtime board member, since 1978, and he has servedas both Chairman and Vice-Chairman. He is a former Assis-tant Attorney General for Maryland and an activist for his-toric preservation, community conservation, neighborhoodplanning and farmland protection.

HENRY A. VIRTSNewly appointed to the MET board in 2002, he retired

in February 2001 as the Maryland Secretary of Agriculture.In this capacity he served with the Secretary of Natural Re-sources and the Director of Planning as the third member ofthe Rural Legacy Board since its inception. He now farms inSt. Mary’s County. The home farm, Trent Hall, was protectedby an MET easement in 1978, and a contiguous farm, Wash-ington Creek, is preserved by perpetuity in the MALPF pro-gram.

AREA REPRESENTATIVES

PETER VORACA management analyst and farmer from Frederick

County, he is active professionally in farmland protection. Heis a land preservation specialist with the County Departmentof Planning and Zoning and a member of the South Moun-tain Heritage Society and Mid-Maryland Land Trust. He isworking to increase funding and tax credits for county andstate land conservation efforts in order to maintain a strongagricultural resource industry.

ANN H. JONESA professional planner, she is from Howard County, is a

member of the Howard County Conservancy and works forthe Valleys Planning Council in Baltimore County as RuralLegacy Coordinator. Her concern is maintaining a viable ag-ricultural base, directing development to appropriate urbanareas and funding necessary infrastructure to accommodate it.

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Staff

Dorothy Smith, Secretary Lisa Holmes, Secretary

Shirley Massenburg, Administrator

Diane Chasse, Natural Resources Planner

Nick Williams, Local Land Trust CoordinatorJim Highsaw, Easememt Program Manager

Jonathan Chapman, Monitoring CoordinatorBarbara Levin, Natural Resources Planner

John Hutson, Natural Resources Planner

John Bernstein, Director

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MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST

100 COMMUNITY PLACE 1ST FLOOR

CROWNSVILLE, MARYLAND 21032-2023

www.conservemd.org410-514-7900 877-514-7900