ANNAPOLIS—The Maryland Environmental Trust accepted three conservation easements in 2013 that will permanently protect 211 total acres of important woodland and scenic views in St. Mary’s and Charles counties from the creation of public roads.
A 25-acre forested site in the environmentally critical McIntosh Run watershed has been permanently preserved thanks to Vivian Marek, who donated a conservation easement on the St. Mary’s County property to MET and the Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust in December.
Marek has loved the property on Newtowne Neck Road near Leonardtown ever since her parents bought it in the early 1950s. “I always wanted the place to remain as it was, especially after the development around it,” she said.
By donating a conservation easement to the land trusts, the Marek family’s legacy will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
Also in St. Mary’s County, Parlett Family, LLC donated a 136-acre conservation easement to MET in Mechanicsville in December. The easement preserves important farmland, woodland and wetland, and protects a portion of Killpeck Creek, a tributary of the Patuxent River, which flows through the property.
In Charles County, MET partnered with the Conservancy for Charles County to accept a 50-acre conservation easement donated by Horsehead Property, LLC in December. The property is home to agricultural land, woodland and pasture, as well as a portion of Devil’s Nest, a perennial tributary of Zekiah Swamp Run.
The easements protect the properties from development, and preserve large unbroken blocks of woodland that provide habitat for many species of forest interior-dwelling birds and other wildlife. Scenic views of the properties will remain undisturbed and will continue to be reminders of the timelessness of Southern Maryland’s historic landscape.
The Maryland Environmental Trust was established in 1967 by the Maryland General Assembly as a charitable organization and serves as the statewide land trust. MET currently holds more than 1,050 easements totaling approximately 129,000 acres. Governed by a citizen board of trustees, MET is affiliated with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and promotes the permanent protection of land through its Conservation Easement, Stewardship and Land Trust Assistance Programs. MET also provides grants to environmental education projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful Program.
Source: Md. Dept. of Natural Resources