Captured on a monitoring visit to the island, over 300 Common Terns nesting on Maryland's Tern Raft take flight. Since the installation of this project in 2020, the local Tern population has grown exponentially. This raft and the subsequential partnership between DNR, Maryland Costal Bays Program, and Audubon Mid-Atlantic. (Photo Credit: Lauren Imhof) | | |
Upcoming Meetings
Steering Committee Monthly Meeting
Thursday, August 13th, 3:00PM - 4:00PM
DRCN Annual Meeting
Friday, August 21st, 2026, 9:00AM - 4:30PM, Salisbury University
2026 Events Schedule
| | Announcement: 2026 Annual DRCN Meeting | |
We hope you’ll join us for the Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network Annual Meeting on Friday, August 21,
from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM at Salisbury University.
This year’s meeting is designed to do more than bring us together. We want to use the day to incubate new collaborative initiatives that can move restoration and conservation work forward across Delmarva. The agenda will include lightning talks, networking, updates from across the network, and a new breakout session format built around member-driven ideas. Breakout topics will be shaped by the interests and project ideas submitted through the registration form and lightning talk sign-ups.
Lunch will be provided, and we encourage everyone to stay afterward for an informal happy hour and continued conversation. We are especially looking for members and partners willing to give short lightning talks highlighting projects, challenges, lessons learned, or ideas for future collaboration.
The soft deadline for lightning talk submissions is Friday, August 7, so please submit your idea soon if you would like to be considered.
Please register today! We cannot wait to see you there!
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Press Release:
Roots for Resilience Initiative Grants $4.5 Million
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A low marsh in Dorchester County (Photo Credit: Maryland DNR) | |
Roots for Resilience recently awarded seven grants totally over $4.5 million to protect healthy saltmarsh habitat. Saltmarshes are at risk from both sea-level rise and gradual sinking, and these habitats are critical to the Eastern Shore as they filter water pollutants, sequester carbon, and stabilize eroding shorelines.
The grant recipients include Maryland counties and nonprofit organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Lower Shore Land Trust, and more! Roots for Resilience living shoreline projects will take place across Dorchester and Somerset counties from 2026 to 2029.
Learn More
| | | NEW DRCN Tabling Information Sheet | Photo Credit: Claudio Garcia | |
Want to tell others about the DRCN, but not sure how? Download the sheet below for all the information you need!
Delmarva Restoration & Conservation Network has a new official information sheet for spreading the word about our great organization! Please use the sheet below for your next tabling events to spread the word about our upcoming annual meeting August 21st, and help others find more of our events.
Think we're missing something on this sheet? Let us know! Email delmarvarcn@gmail.com
| | | NEW NE Regional Terrapin Watch | |
Have you found a terrapin: By the side of the road? On your backyard? On your campground? When kayaking/boating? AND thought…to whom or how should I report it?- If the answer is YES!, we have a solution for you.
The NEW NE Regional Terrapin Watch! This short survey will provide us with key information about the distribution, number, activity, and conditions of terrapins throughout our Northeast region.
Traveling throughout the Northeast region?- No problem! Use the app from Virginia to Massachusetts.
For questions or more information please contact the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays' staff at volunteer@inlandbays.org
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MD Sea Grant Marshes, Swamps, & Wetlands Survey | Photo Credit: Maryland DNR | |
Have you noticed marshes, swamps, or other wetlands expanding onto your property or nearby?
Maryland Sea Grant is looking for residents to share their experiences. Your input will help us better understand what’s happening in your community and develop helpful resources for managing wetlands.
- Take our 5–10 minute survey to get started!
Survey
| | | Funding Opportunities & RFPs | | MD DNR: Greenspace Equity Program Appraisal Grant | Photo Credit: Maryland DNR | |
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2027 Greenspace Equity Program Appraisal Grant round.
This grant round is specifically to provide funds for obtaining independent appraisals in advance of the eligible applicant’s submission of an acquisition application for the FY 2028 Greenspace Equity Program Grant Application. The property proposed for acquisition must meet the general requirements of the Greenspace Equity Program. This is a competitive grant program. Applicants may request funding to cover costs for up to two independent appraisals. Applicants selected and approved for appraisal funding must procure and complete the independent appraisals in time to submit an application for the acquisition of the subject property in the upcoming FY 2028 Greenspace Equity Program Grant round, which will be made available shortly.
Learn More
| Chesapeake Bay Trust: Capacity Building Intiative | |
The Capacity Building Grant Program is an annual program of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network. It supports nonprofit organizations and local governments working at the intersection of natural resource protection and community well‑being across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Capacity building refers to work that strengthens how organizations function. When organizations are healthy, they are better equipped to sustain their missions and contribute meaningfully to environmental and community outcomes. Awards may strengthen an applicant’s internal capacity or, for Movement Building and Local Government applicants, support efforts that extend knowledge, tools, or infrastructure beyond the applicant organization.
- Deadline: July 15th, 2026
Learn More
| | | Events, Workshops and Conferences | | |
Maryland Naturalist Volunteer Training, Program & Certification on the Lower Eastern Shore
Have you ever had an interest in learning about nature and our natural world? Maryland Master Naturalist (MdMN) participants will obtain the skills of a naturalist, learn the importance of the environment and being better stewards of our planet, and learn how they can share information with the public. With so many topics of nature to learn about, this program will target the Lower Eastern Shore area of Maryland.
More Info
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Forever the Forest
What's the best way to stay cool during the Eastern Shore summer? Head to the woods!
The second best way? Head to ESLC's "Forever the Forest" plein air exhibition during the largest plein air festival in the U.S., right here in Easton, Maryland.
Thanks to the generous support of Bruce Wiltse and Bill Davenport, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Plein Air Easton (PAE) are collaborating once again for our third annual alumni invitational, "Forever the Forest," held during the 22nd Plein Air Easton Festival—the largest and most prestigious juried plein air painting competition in the country. Original studio works from PAE's best-of-the-best previous award winners will feature autumn scenes of wildlife habitat, sustainably harvested tree farms, pocket forests, campsites, and even ESLC’s own Jim and Mary B. Lynch Preserve—a 200+ acre woodland open to the public in Caroline County. Each of the forests illustrated in this competition is forever protected by ESLC in a perpetual conservation easement.
Please join us at the Tidewater Inn (101 East Dover Street) to take a break from the heat as you browse this year’s vibrant collection of new paintings, immersing yourself in the cool shady dappled woodlands of the Eastern Shore. Register for our opening reception below. Or join us for additional programming throughout the festival.
Learn More
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Community Meeting: Watershed Based Plan for the Lower Nanticoke River
Inviting all landowners, locals, and those who love the Lower Nanticoke Watershed! Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and Center for Watershed Protection need your help identifying local areas that suffer from flooding, erosion, or pollution. Come to the community meeting on July 20th to be a part of the planning process to improve these areas and learn more about the funding sources available for these issues.
For more information, please contact:
- John Sandkuhler, johnsandkuhler@nanticokeriver.org
- Caroline Kurtz, carolinekurtz@nanticokeriver.org
| | (Photo Credit: Maryland Coastal Bays Program) |
MCBP's 30th Anniversary Gala
Tickets for An Evening on the Estuary, MCBP's 30th Anniversary Gala, are officially on sale! Join MCBP on Thursday, September 17th from 5 - 9 PM at Assateague State Park's Boat Launch as we celebrate 30 years of conservation, restoration, and education. Tickets will sell out fast, so get them while you can! We are looking forward to sharing a night of fresh, local cuisine, great company, and fun!
- To purchase your tickets and learn more about An Evening on the Estuary event, click on the link to our 30th Anniversary Gala Homepage.
Tickets
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Party to Preserve
Held at a different iconic farm each year, Party to Preserve travels across the various counties served by Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, celebrating the unique character of each landscape along the way. This year it is held at beautiful 179-acre Dorsey Farm, set against the stunning backdrop of Leeds Creek in Talbot County.
Enjoy seasonal cocktails, a full dinner featuring the very best of Eastern Shore cuisine, toe-tapping live bluegrass music, an exciting live auction featuring one-of-a-kind experiences, and the company of friends, neighbors, and conservation champions all in celebration of ESLC’s lasting impact and leadership on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
- For more information, please contact Development Manager Sam Pugh at spugh@eslc.org or 410-227-8182.
Tickets
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Conservation Conversations: Meeting Maryland's Returning Terns
A floating island in Maryland's Coastal Bays region is the Common Tern a much-needed boost. Lauren Imhof presents this story as part of Conservation Conversations series.
Listen Here
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"Stories of Village Life", a mural in the Indigenous Peoples of the Pocomoke Paramountcy
The Native American Mural is one of the museum’s most meaningful cultural installations. This mural invites visitors to step into the daily life, traditions, and ingenuity of the region’s earliest inhabitants.
Read More
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The Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network (DRCN), formed in 2017, is a collaborative of local, state, and Federal government agencies and NGOs working with private and public landowners and local governments to identify the most important places to protect and restore, and to obtain support and funding for voluntary restoration and conservation.
The DRCN Mission is to restore and conserve Delmarva’s landscapes, waterways, and shorelines that are special to its people, fundamental to its economy, and vital for its native fish, wildlife, and plants.
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Submit to DRCN's Newsletter Form HERE
| Delmarva Restoration & Conservation Network | delmarvarcn.org | | | | |
