Federal, State and Private Technical Service

• Pennsylvania Wetland Reserve Program Technical Assistance
  Conservation Lands staff in Pennsylvania work through contractual agreements with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) of USDA to deliver technical services related to the identification, development and implementation of projects through the Wetland Reserve Program. Currently CL is working with the state via a multi-year project to deliver these services in Western Pennsylvania. This project has proved to be highly successful as the partnership between CL and NRCS has yielded virtual exponential growth in WRP sign up and implementation of wetland restoration in the state of Pennsylvania. Currently, CL has more than 30 contracts underway in Pennsylvania working to restore over 1300 acres of wetland and associated upland habitat. To learn more about the Wetland Reserve Program in Pennsylvania questions should be directed to Chris Clouser at 814.312.6970 or via email at cclouser@conservationlandsllc.com.
  
  
• Partnership with Trust for Tomorrow - Technical Assistance for Pennsylvania
  The Technical Assistance for Pennsylvania Landowners Program (TA for PA)is partnership between Conservation Lands and a non profit partner Trust for Tomorrow. The partnership is designed to facilitate and expedite the protection and restoration of aquatic systems in critical watersheds in Pennsylvania. The purpose of TA for PA is to help garner funding to combine the resources of the most effective wetland restoration specialists in Pennsylvania to provide much-needed technical assistance, education, and outreach to landowners interested in restoring wetlands through the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and other restoration programs. To date since 2009 the Trust has matched $45,000 with $55,000 in direct cash match and $55,000 with in-kind funds for the enrollment of over 230 acres into WRP. Additional projects are underway to develop funding for the restoration of another 8 projects and restoration of another 349 acres of wetland and associated upland habitats. Our partners in the Technical Assistance for Pennsylvania Landowners Program have included the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife Program, USDA NRCS, BluAcres, LLC, Conservation Lands, LLC, Huntingdon County Conservation District, The Foundation for California University of Pennsylvania, and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. To learn more about this partnership visit www.trustfortomorrow.org or contact April Temple at aprtemple@trustfortomorrow.org.
  
  
• Maryland Conservation Program Technical Assistance
  Staff in Maryland work through a contractual agreement with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) of USDA to deliver technical services to the identification of projects for the Farm and Ranch Protection Program (FRPP), Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and Conservation Security Program (CSP). Through this cooperative partnership CL initiated 5 targeted workshops around the state, as well as, developed a specialized continuing education program through the Maryland Association of Realtors to provide increased knowledge about conservation measures of the Farm Bill to the real estate industry in Maryland. The outcome of this effort proved to be highly successful in yielding more than 70 applications primarily for the Wetland Reserve Program. Once implemented these applications will lead to significant gains in restored wetland acreage in key counties in Maryland. CL continues to work with landowners interested in the Wetland Reserve Program and other conservation programs available to landowners in Maryland. For more information about conservation programs in Maryland questions should be directed to Ben Alder at 443.865.1344 or via email at balder@conservationlandsllc.com.
  
  

Conservation Planning

• Highlands Farm, Queen Annes County – Easement Acquisition
  Highlands Farm is an inland farm consisting of the highest quality soils for agricultural production in Queen Annes County. Conservation Lands worked with owners of this 260 acre property with approved development entitlements and slated for residential development. The landowner engaged Conservation Lands to evaluate the options available to them through various conservation programs and CL worked to develop a matrix of options for the property owners to pursue. Through this work CL identified four partners interested in working towards assisting the landowner with a conservation easement on the property. Through the Farm and Ranch Protection Program (FRPP) and Queen Annes County a conservation easement was developed and purchased from the landowners removing the more than 100 development rights on the property restricting it to only three low impact residential lots. CL worked cooperatively with the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, USDA, Queen Anne’s County and Maryland Environmental Trust as the landowner’s representative through the process to negotiate and plan the details of the easement restrictions placed on the farm.
  
  
• Bayside Farm, Worcester County - Comprehensive Conservation Analysis
  Bayside Farm is nearly 400 acres oriented along the shores of Chincoteague Bay in the coastal bays region of Maryland’s Eastern Shore Conservation Lands investigated the full suite of conservation programs available in the Coastal Bays region of Maryland for Bayside Farm. The analysis focused on the review and comparison of which conservation programs would serve both the long term management goals of the farm by the landowner, as well as, the current financial sustainability of the farming operation. Additionally, the analysis reviewed permanent protection programs through state, federal and local land trusts with common goals to develop a strong set of partners committed to preserving this property. Conservation Lands produced a detailed report outlining various strategies to consider for the landowner to pursue and are currently engaged in the process of obtaining an easement for the property, as well as, the enrollment of more than 50 acres of land on the farm in conservation programs to restore grasslands and wetland habitat for migratory birds and the myriad of wildlife species endemic to the Coastal Bays region of Worcester County.
  
  

Ecosystem Services

• Kitty Creek Coastal Wetland Restoration Project
  In an effort to offset the affects of climate change on our Coastal Communities, CL is developing a program to implement Green infrastructure projects that provide transition buffers to protect agricultural lands from sea level rise, coastal storms and provide adaptation to climate change. This project will work with conservation partners to identify landowners within the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound watershed in North Carolina that have an interest in implementing projects on their property to mitigate the current and predicted impacts of sea level rise. A pilot project on the headwaters of Kitty Creek , a direct tributary of the Pamlico Sound, is being developed to demonstrate restoration and adaptation techniques. Conservation practices employed will serve to provide tidal connection or reconnection to estuarine systems, restore coastal wetland systems and upland transition buffers to protect farms, forests and communities from current and predicted sea level rise. We hope to show scalability for this type of program by demonstrating an interest in participation throughout the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed and an ability to incorporate this program into a regional project by including the neighboring Chesapeake Bay watershed. We feel that this program can become a national model on the use of conservation practices to provide soft protection and adaptation to climate change to coastal farms and communities.