Navy and partners conserve 318 acres in Dorchester County

On Jan. 5, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the United States Department of the Navy in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), The Conservation Fund (TCF), and Chesapeake Conservancy announced the successful conservation of 318 acres in the Nanticoke Rural Legacy Area on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the acquisition of this conservation easement from a consenting landowner, the Nanticoke Rural Legacy Area now contains over 24,000 acres of preserved land.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and The Conservation Fund (TCF) as joint Sponsors of the Nanticoke Rural Legacy Area, located in Dorchester County, negotiated with the landowner and presented the Eberspacher tract to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Rural Legacy Program and the U.S. Navy for acquisition of a conservation easement on the property. Funding to purchase the Eberspacher conservation easement was provided by Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program through the U.S. Navy, and was leveraged with the contribution of private funds secured by Chesapeake Conservancy from Mt. Cuba Center.