SHORE
LAND STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Outreach to Critical Area Stakeholders
on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
SHORE LAND STEWARDSHIP
COUNCIL (SLSC), an initiative of Adkins Arboretum, is a partnership
with nonprofit organizations, businesses and government agencies.
Its purpose is to inform and empower individuals, businesses, communities
and local governments in the mid-Shore counties of Caroline, Kent,
Queen Anne’s, and Talbot, to use more environmentally sound
land stewardship practices in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, the
1,000 foot-wide area of land around the Bay and its tidal tributaries.
The organization’s overall goal is to have a positive impact
on water quality and the health of the Chesapeake Bay in keeping with
the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area law.
This program addresses
an urgent environmental need by providing an on-the-ground, direct,
grassroots approach to reach those who make the decisions about the
care of private lands. The SLSC helps landowners solve the environmental
problems that the Critical Area Commission and the local municipalities
are charged with addressing through enforcement of Critical Area laws.
Members of the Council,
including contractors, state and local regulatory agencies, realtors,
developers, conservation-oriented nonprofits, and private landowners
in the Mid-Shore meet regularly to discuss these best landscaping
practices and to identify strategies for communicating them to Critical
Area property owners. The first goal of the group is to engage Critical
Area landowners, through the organization’s First Stop Campaign.
The First Stop Campaign
directs property owners to contact their local planning offices first
to determine which permits they need before embarking on any landscaping
changes, such as removing trees or altering their shoreline. Targeted
Critical Area property owners receive a First Stop pewter blue crab
key chain and an information card about the Critical Area. A traveling
display is used at fairs and community events throughout the mid-Shore
region. A speakers’ bureau provides speakers to a variety of
organizations.
SLSC also provides landowners
with the knowledge to implement stewardship practices that meet and
exceed the requirements of the Critical Area law through a guidebook
on how to care for their properties in the Critical Area. The
Green Book for the Bay: An Illustrated Guidebook for Chesapeake Bay
Critical Area Property Owners Living on Maryland's Eastern Shore
is available free of charge through the four County Planning Offices
and Adkins Arboretum.
Shore Land Stewardship
Council is working to create a stewardship ethic among Critical Area
property owners, so that water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its
tributaries can improve for generations of families to come.
For further information
about the Shore Land Stewardship Council -- projects, meetings, or
to arrange for a speaker or exhibit at your event -- contact Adkins
Arboretum at (410) 634-2847, ext 0, or by email at info@adkinsarboretum.org.
Representatives from the
following organizations have contributed their knowledge and expertise
to the Shore Land Stewardship Council:
Adkins Arboretum
Aloft Aerial Photography
Bartlett Tree Experts
Bay Area Association of Realtors
Benson and Mangold Realty
Blue Heron Realty
Caroline County Planning and Codes
Chesapeake Bay Program
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
Eastern Shore Resource Conservation and Development Council
Elm Street Development
Environmental Concern, Inc.
Kent County Department of Planning, Housing, and Zoning
Kent Soil and Water Conservation District
Mid-Shore Board of Realtors
Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education
Maryland Coastal Program
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Critical Area Commission
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Restoration Division
Maryland Department of Planning
Maryland Department of the Environment, Water Management Administration
Maryland State Department of Education
Queen Anne’s County Department of Land Use, Growth Management
and Environment
Sassafras River Association
South Fork Studio Landscape Architecture
Talbot County Planning and Zoning
Talbot River Protection Association, Creek Watchers
Tree Keepers
University of Maryland Extension, Queen Anne’s County Master
Gardener Program
University of Maryland Extension, Talbot County Master Gardener Program
