DRCN Strategic Planning Update

DRCN executive leadership has been reviewing proposals and interviewing consultants to find the best team possible to help us plot the future of a successful DRCN coalition. I am thrilled to let you all know that we have contracted with Due East Partners out of Annapolis for this work. Due East has worked actively for the better part of a decade with the Lancaster Clean Water Partnership to develop what they term their "collective agenda." After talking to Due East, and the Executive Director of the Lancaster Clean Water Partnership, we thought this was precisely what DRCN needed to move strongly into our next chapter of accomplishment and collaboration.

The executive leadership team is now working with Due East to plot a cadence of meetings and workshops that will play out over the Summer and early Autumn.

Thanks, and please reach out to me if you have any questions. 

Steve Kline (skline@eslc.org)

Chair, Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network

*FREE* Watershed Planning Technical Assistance

for Delmarva Towns

In partnership with Maryland Municipal League, Virginia Municipal League and the Delaware League of Local Governments, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is now providing free technical assistance to towns or municipalities interested in addressing local water resources concerns. The Alliance can work with participating towns to: access resource concerns on public lands, create a plan summarizing potential mitigation projects and next steps, provide a list of possible funding sources for green infrastructure implementation, connect towns with implementation partners and more. All Delmarva towns within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are encouraged to apply with this simple intake form.

Contact Tom Leigh (tleigh@allianceforthebay.org) for more information.

ESLC First in MD to Implement QuickReef Living Shorelines

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Native Shorelines, a Davey Tree Company, are excited to announce that we will be the first in Maryland to implement an innovative new living shoreline material called QuickReef! Our pilot project, managed by ESLC Enhanced Stewardship Manager Larisa Prezioso, will protect a beautiful expanse of tidal saltmarsh habitat fronting a 357-acre ESLC conservation easement in Dorchester County. This project is funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

QuickReef is comprised primarily of native coastal materials including limestone marl and recycled oyster shells, all sourced from North Carolina. This new material has the potential to make living shoreline projects on the Eastern Shore both quicker and more affordable, essential qualities considering the Chesapeake Bay can lose two million metric tonnes of sediment due to erosion in a single year. The Dorchester County pilot project will be utilized as a demonstration site for further transferability and scalability of QuickReef living shorelines. ESLC will lead an in-person living shorelines educational workshop later this year.

Contact Larisa Prezioso (lprezioso@eslc.org) for more information.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)

U.S. Standard Grants

NAWCA U.S. Standard grants are competitive, matching grants that support public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the U.S. that involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all wetlands-associated migratory birds. The NAWCA U.S. Standard grants notice of funding opportunity is now open (Funding Opportunity No. F26AS00004) with a deadline of July 10, 2025.

If interested in a potential collaborative proposal, reach out to

Land Protection Committee Chair, David Satterfield (dsatterfield@eslc.org)

Learn More

ESLC Conservation Classic

Join Eastern Shore Land Conservancy for our third annual Conservation Classic! This fun and competitive day will provide a morning of shooting followed by a pit beef lunch and awards. If target shooting and good food are your thing, please consider a sponsorship and bring your team of shooters along. We anticipate about 100 registrants for this event and non-shooters are welcome. Come support local land conservation while enjoying a beautiful summer day outdoors in Queen Anne’s County!

Register Today

Delaware Wildlife Action Plan Draft ‘Species of Greatest Conservation Need’ List Ready for Public Comment

"At the heart of the wildlife action plan is a list of Delaware’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)...DNREC is currently seeking public comment on the draft SGCN list..."

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Building on a Human Scale

"For each easement we create to protect our unique rural landscape in perpetuity, we calculate that value as justification for the easement and the return on that investment. But how do we calculate the value of our built environment like our towns and villages? How do we calculate the return on those investments?..."

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