{"id":42952,"date":"2024-10-17T08:30:08","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T12:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=42952"},"modified":"2024-10-21T10:05:12","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T14:05:12","slug":"rural-legacy-farmers-and-partners-celebrate-25-years-of-preserving-marylands-bucolic-landscape-and-working-farms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/10\/17\/rural-legacy-farmers-and-partners-celebrate-25-years-of-preserving-marylands-bucolic-landscape-and-working-farms\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Legacy Farmers and Partners Celebrate 25 Years of Preserving Maryland\u2019s Bucolic Landscape and Working Farms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cows<\/a>

Cows at Rolling Stone Farm in St. Mary’s County. Photo by Rachael Pacella.<\/p><\/div>\n

Whether it\u2019s waterfront farmland , culturally important land where Harriet Tubman resided, a working farm in Baltimore County, or a stretch of quiet woodlands in Western Maryland, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Rural Legacy Program has been protecting it for a quarter century.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Maryland <\/span>Rural Legacy Program<\/span><\/a> protects the viability of agriculture while also conserving natural resources and wildlife habitat within designated Rural Legacy Areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rural Legacy Program uses perpetual conservation easements to protect properties from development. Landowners are paid to relinquish certain development rights and effect restrictions on their properties ensuring that these working landscapes and habitats remain undeveloped in perpetuity. Farmers have reported that these payments have helped them expand and enhance their farming operations, while allowing them to protect the rural character of their communities for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The easements are arranged by local sponsors, which include land trusts and county governments. These partners help to protect ecologically-important areas and working landscapes in the 36 designated Rural Legacy Areas that are spread across the state \u2013 there is at least one Rural Legacy Area in each of the state\u2019s 23 counties. To date, the Rural Legacy Program has invested $405 million to preserve more than 125,000 acres of land in conservation easements since its inception.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program <\/span>recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary<\/span><\/a>. To mark the occasion, DNR visited farms across the state and spoke with landowners about what the program means to them. Read their stories below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

St. Michael\u2019s Ridge and King\u2019s Ridge, Kent County<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Albert and Kristen Nickerson pose on their property. Photo by Rachael Pacella.<\/p><\/div>\n

Farm name:<\/b> St. Michael\u2019s Ridge and King\u2019s Ridge
\n<\/span>Farm owner:<\/b> Kristen and Albert Nickerson
\n<\/span>Location:<\/b> Kent County, Agricultural Security Corridor \u2013 Harvest Crescent Rural Legacy Area
\n<\/span>Total easement acreage:<\/b> 988 acres under their ownership\u00a0
\n<\/span>Year (most recent easement):<\/b> 2023
\n<\/span>Rural Legacy Sponsor:<\/b> The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the farm and farmers:<\/span><\/p>\n

Kristen and Albert Nickerson purchased their first farm in Kent County 24 years ago. Albert\u2019s family has lived on the Eastern Shore for six generations, and Kristen is a sixth generation farmer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any of this growing up. It was a dream,\u201d Albert Nickerson said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more than two decades now the family has grown corn, soybeans, and wheat on the property, as well as alfalfa hay. They have expanded their operation over the years to adjacent properties. Their two sons have helped with the farm throughout their lives, and the couple hopes future generations take the same pride in the property and its agricultural history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, the Nickersons were granted easements on 352 acres of property known as King\u2019s Ridge, part of some 988 acres they have preserved as owners across their properties. The 677-acre farm they live on – St. Michael\u2019s Ridge – was already protected by a conservation easement when they purchased it, bringing their total holdings of preserved property to 1,665 acres.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their farm is home to a range of wildlife, including deer, turkey, eagles, and geese. Albert said it is extremely gratifying to be able to provide and protect wildlife habitat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The property includes waterfront land along Jack\u2019s Cove, which might have been developed\u00a0 if not for the Nickerson\u2019s decision to conserve the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t preserved, there would be houses all along the water,\u201d Kristen said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Albert Nickerson is a contractor, and his clients sometimes tell him they miss this or that convenience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey say \u2018We love it here. You know what you need?\u2019\u201d Albert said. \u201cAnd I say \u2018yes I do: nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The recent Rural Legacy easement will protect water quality in the watershed by limiting impervious surface to 2% of the property. The tilled agricultural land will be protected with a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan, and the forested acreage will be protected by a Forest Stewardship Plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

This easement is part of a large block of conserved land \u2013 more than 900 acres in the area of Still Pond, north of Worton and south of Betterton.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) helped arrange the easement. Over the years, the ESLC has protected more than 13,000 acres through the Rural Legacy Program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKent County being very resilient, being so focused in agriculture, not highly developed at this point, it\u2019s a great place to invest resources,\u201d ESLC Director of Land Conservation David Satterfield said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rolling Stone Farm, St. Mary\u2019s County<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Roberta and Jon Sola. Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

Farm name:<\/b> Rolling Stone Farm
\n<\/span>Owners:<\/b> Roberta and Jon Sola
\n<\/span>Location:<\/b> St. Mary\u2019s County, Mattapany Rural Legacy Area
\n<\/span>Easement acreage:<\/b> 80.97 acres
\n<\/span>Year: <\/b>2022
\n<\/span>Rural Legacy Sponsor:<\/b> Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Board\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About the farm and farmers:<\/span><\/p>\n

Roberta and Jon Sola took over a family-owned property and are now raising grass-fed cattle, while constantly striving to improve the soil on the land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roberta Sola\u2019s great-grandfather moved his operation to the Rolling Stone Farm property in 1942. The family farmed until the 1980s, and then, for 40 years, the property was rented and cultivated by tenant farmers. Roberta\u2019s brother, Robert \u201cMoe\u201d Stone, spent his time weeding, cutting grass, and manicuring the property, caring deeply to keep it as a farm.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Robert Stone passed in 2018, Roberta inherited the farm. She and her husband, Jon, pursued land preservation to honor Robert\u2019s wish that the property remain a farm in perpetuity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was seeing other local farms turn into developments,\u201d Roberta Sola said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Roberta and Jon are living out a dream – working full time and farming part-time while enhancing and protecting the land for their children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The funds from the Rural Legacy conservation easement have allowed them to install regenerative practices on the farm. Since 2020, Jon has raised cattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cows<\/a>

Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

The Solas eventually hope to grow and harvest hay for the cows to eat in the winter. Their cows rotate pastures, chewing grass and fertilizing the ground as they go. Their fields are full of earthworms, which produce some of the most nutrient-dense fertilizer available, Jon Sola said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The improved soil absorbs more water, lessening runoff, so that the two stormwater ponds on the property are often dry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The easement permanently protects forest on the property, as well as over 2,000 linear feet of riparian buffer along streams flowing into St. Mary\u2019s River.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Solas plan on adding chicken trucks to their operation. The truck, an enclosure on wheels with no bottom, will allow the Solas to move their chickens to a recently-grazed cattle field. The chickens scratch up the cow feces, spreading it around the field, and also eat fly larvae. The soil will continue improving, and there will be fewer flies pestering the cows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Solas have full-time work outside the farm, so they don\u2019t have to always put profit first, but they may want to step-up the operation in the future, or their children may. They have purchased a commercially-zoned property near the farm, just in case they want to add a storefront to their farming operations one day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Classes from St. Mary\u2019s College have visited the farm for an eco-tour, and neighbors say they love seeing the cows.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo there is a community impact,\u201d Roberta Sola said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The property was conserved through Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Board, Inc. The group has worked with the Rural Legacy Program to conserve over 3,300 acres of land.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to see the Rolling Stone Farm evolve into a successful regenerative farm that is improving the local environment and engaging positively with the community,\u201d Land Conservation Program Director Jessalyn Cockrell said. \u201cOur mission is to help local families conserve their lands for generations to come, and we are excited to see what the Sola\u2019s have planned for their farm in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mid-View Farm, Frederick County<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Sandy Tucker. Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

Farm name:<\/b> Mid-View Farm
\n<\/span>Owner: <\/b>Sandy Tucker
\n<\/span>Location: <\/b>Within the Mid-Maryland Rural Legacy Area, Frederick County
\n<\/span>Easement acreage:<\/b> 165 acres
\n<\/span>Year:<\/b> 2015
\n<\/span>Rural Legacy Sponsor:<\/b> Frederick County Agricultural Preservation Program<\/span><\/p>\n

About the farm and the farmers:<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandy Tucker and her son, Justin Tucker, have protected their family\u2019s land for future generations. In 2015, Sandy and her late husband, Stanley, conserved 165 acres through the Rural Legacy Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The family did what many participants in the program do \u2013 they spent their payment for the easement on securing and conserving even more farmland.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Tuckers, the easement money helped pay the mortgage on a 200-acre farm a short distance from Mid-View. Justin Tucker now owns that property, and has conserved it through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation. And so, conservation begets more conservation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to grow houses,\u201d Sandy Tucker said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A dairy has operated on the Mid-View Farm property in Jefferson for more than 100 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Sandy and Stanley Tucker operated the dairy, they were responsible for one of three daily milkings, the 2 a.m. shift. They would wake up around 1:30 a.m., set up the milking operation, start by 2 a.m. and milk until 7 a.m. One of the dairy\u2019s employees was up even earlier wrangling cows into position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her husband\u2019s family started the dairy in 1908, and Sandy married into the family farm and dairy in the late \u201870s. After Stanley\u2019s passing in 2018, and given volatility in the dairy market, the family decided to sell the cows. The dairy barn was soon rented to a farmer who now raises dairy cows, steers, and heifers on the property.<\/span><\/p>\n

Justin grows grain on the property, some of which is sold and used to feed those same cows.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mid-View property was protected through the Rural Legacy Program\u2019s partnership with the Frederick County Government. Shannon O\u2019Neil, the county\u2019s Agricultural Preservation Program Administrator, said there is strong support for the farming community in Frederick County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last 25 years, the county and DNR have preserved over 6,000 acres through the Rural Legacy Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the 165-acre property put into easement in 2015, there is a forested stream buffer along 400 feet of Broad Run, which feeds into Little Catoctin Creek, then the Potomac River. The easement protects views from the Appalachian Trail, South Mountain State Park, and I-340.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coltom Farm, Baltimore County<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

The Cole family. Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

Farm name:<\/b> Coltom Farm
\n<\/span>Owners: <\/b>Family-owned, Tommy and Ashley Cole, Tom Cole Sr.
\n<\/span>Location:<\/b> Piney Run Rural Legacy Area, Baltimore County
\n<\/span>Easement acreage:<\/b> 42.8 acres (note, this easement is one of several completed by the Cole family)
\n<\/span>Year:<\/b> 2023
\n<\/span>Rural Legacy Sponsor: <\/b>The Land Preservation Trust<\/span><\/p>\n

About the farm and farmers:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cole family has protected and owns 232.4 acres of farmland in Baltimore and Carroll counties, most recently placing 42.8 acres of land into a conservation easement inside the Piney Run Rural Legacy Area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tommy Cole\u2019s grandfather first purchased that property in 1946. It was a dairy farm until 2008, when the cows were sold due to the declining profitability of dairy farming. His father grew up lending a hand at the dairy farm, as did he.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cows are gone, but Tommy\u2019s young son helps produce corn, soybeans, and hay. He loves riding in the tractor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their sweet corn is popular in the area – the self-serve stand sells out faster than they can fill it, Ashley Cole said.<\/span><\/p>\n

His father, Tom Cole, works full time farming, and Tommy contributes part-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Putting some property into a Rural Legacy easement has given the family money to buy more farmland and expand their operation. When Tommy and Ashley married, they bought a farm and put it in conservation, using the payment from the easement helped to offset the cost of the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that putting land in preservation would be the only way we could purchase it and keep the community the same,\u201d Tommy Cole said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Photo by Rachael Pacella<\/p><\/div>\n

The most recent conservation easement was completed through The Land Preservation Trust, an organization that has conserved 7,500 acres of land through the Rural Legacy Program. Ann Jones said there is a strong preservation ethic in the area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s many places in the United States that are this close to major metropolitan areas that have this large a block of farming,\u201d Ann Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program has gained popularity through word-of-mouth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s neighbors talking to neighbors,\u201d Jones said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once farmland has been developed, it’s gone, Jones said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t see many houses being torn down to grow corn,\u201d Tommy Cole said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By Rachael Pacella, Public Information Officer for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s waterfront farmland , culturally important land where Harriet Tubman resided, a working farm in Baltimore County, or a stretch of quiet woodlands in Western Maryland, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Rural Legacy Program has been protecting it for a quarter century. The Maryland Rural Legacy Program protects the viability of agriculture  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,23],"tags":[5533,2911,2918,3063,3123,5534],"class_list":["post-42952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","tag-agriculture","tag-baltimore-county","tag-frederick-county","tag-kent-county","tag-rural-legacy-program","tag-saint-marys"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42952"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43067,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42952\/revisions\/43067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}