Conservation Tool Box - Lower Shore Land Trust

BMP’s Funded, Recommended, & Required in Conservation Programs
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Crop Rotation
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Cover Crops
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Construction of High Tunnel
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Crop Diversification
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Energy Efficiencies
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Forest Management such as pruning, thinning, reforestation
Forested Buffer Areas
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Hedgerow Planting
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Integrated Pest Management
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Yes, the Bay Restoration Fund, also known as the “Flush Tax”
provides funding for eligible home and landowners with
failing systems. Those interested in Wicomico County should
apply online at: https://wicomicohealth.org/index.aspx?
pageid=2281. All others should contact their local Health
Department for guidance.
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Irrigation system evaluations and improvements
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Native Plantings
Nonchemical pest management for livestock or organic farming
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No till, strip till or direct seeding to improve soil health
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Pollinator Habitat
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Transition to organic grazing or cropping system
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Vegetative buffers along agricultural ditches & water bodies
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Wetland buffer areas
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Wildlife Habitat Protection Areas, wildlife habitat creation/restoration
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Wetland restoration
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A Forest Stewardship Plan provides the landowner with an
assessment of present conditions of the woodland and offers
long term recommendations to assist the landowners in
meeting their goals. This document is required for cost-share
programs, State Department of Assessment & Taxation assessment reduction programs and most easement programs.
Maryland has a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Guidance with
valuable information and recommendations on their website.
Land management techniques, such as planting buffers can
reducing impacts from hazards such as flooding, storm surges
and erosion.
Shoreline Stabilization & Restoration
Stream Habitat improvement
Voluntary Options for
Landowners on Maryland’s
Lower Eastern Shore
Are there resources to reduce the cost of flood insurance
and protect my property from storm surges and higher
tides?
Poultry House Soil Remediation* Available with cost share programs
Prescribed burning for wildlife and maintaining understory
Resource Providers, Land Protection
Programs and Restoration
What is a Forest Stewardship Plan?
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What is the first step to get enrolled in one of the cost share
programs?
Conservation
Tool Box
Visit your local NRCS office and complete a Conservation
Plan. A Conservation Plan is free of charge and involves an
NRCS planner and you defining resource concerns on your
lands. Then they can identify assistance opportunities available through Farm Bill programs.
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Invasive Species Removal
Land Conservation
Are there any grants available to upgrade a failing septic
system?
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Grazing Management
Frequently Asked Questions of the Lower Shore Land Trust,
Wicomico County Health Department, DNR Forest Service,
and Natural Resource Conservation Service
The Wicomico County Health Department does not recommend adding anything to your tank. It should be pumped
every 3-5 years depending on capacity and use.
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FAQ
Is there anything I should add to my septic system? How
often should my tank be pumped out?
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Conversion of cropland to grass based agriculture
Forest Stewardship/Management Plan
ACEP
Air quality improvement
WIP
CSP
EQIP & AMA
POS
CRP/CREP
Rural Legacy
Donated
Easement
Best Management Practices (BMPs) are activities, maintenance
procedures and other management activities that have been shown to
reduce the discharge of pollutants into waterways or to otherwise
safeguard the health of our environment.
Lower Shore Land Trust
Not Your Ordinary
Toolbox
Conservation Easement
Programs
A Summary of Available Options
Who We Are
The Lower Shore Land
Trust (LSLT) is a
non-profit organization
working on the Lower
Eastern Shore to assist landowners and communities to
conserve land using available conservation and land
protection tools. Since 1990, LSLT has worked with over
100 landowners to protect 20,000 acres of productive
farmland, wetlands, and forests.
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
(ACEP)
This program consolidates three former programsWetland and Grassland Reserve Program as well as the
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. ACEP
provides financial and technical assistance to eligible
landowners to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands and their related benefits. Agricultural and Wetland Reserve easements may be permanent, 30-year, or
term. For more information on agricultural easements, call
your local NRCS office. For more information on wetland reserve easements, call your local USDA office.
Rural Legacy Program
Rural Legacy easements protect large, contiguous
tracts of Maryland’s most precious cultural and natural
resource lands through State and County grants made
to local applicants. Rural Legacy Areas on the Lower
Eastern Shore include:
Coastal Bay Rural Legacy Area- links the Pocomoke
State Forest, the E.A. Vaughn WMA, and Assateague Island
National Seashore. Contact Worcester County, 410-6321220 ext 1302
Use this pamphlet as a guide while you are deciding how
you wish to manage your property today and for the
future. Land management considerations include:
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Management of: erosion, manure, grazing lands
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Conservation of: soil health, water resources, energy
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Improvement of: air and water quality
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Establishment of: wildlife habitat, forestlands
Quantico Creek Rural Legacy Area- protects areas
around Quantico Creek in Wicomico County. Contact Lower
Shore Land Trust, 410-641-4467 or Wicomico County, 410548-4860
Dividing Creek Rural Legacy Area- conserves prime
farmland, working forests and ten miles of shoreline along
Dividing Creek, which connects to the Pocomoke River, a
major Chesapeake Bay tributary. Contact The Nature Conservancy, 410-364-9255, or the Lower Shore Land Trust,
410-641-4467 or Worcester County, 410-632-1220 ext 1302
Program Open Space
Maryland’s purchase program for recreational and
environmentally sensitive land. For more information,
contact MD Department of Natural Resources,
410-713-3853.
Donated Easement
A donated conservation
easement limits
development according
to the grantor’s goals,
and can reap tax benefits
to landowners such as a
15-year property tax
credit, 16-year state
income tax credit, 6-year
federal income tax
deduction and the estate
tax benefits through IRC
2031 (c). For more information, call the Lower Shore
Land Trust, 410-641-4467,
or Maryland Environmental
Trust, 410-514-7909
Conservation Reserve [Enhancement] Program (CRP/
CREP)
CREP pays landowners for temporary (10-15 years) or permanent implementation of conservation practices on eligible cropland. Practices include vegetative and forested
buffers along ditches, streams, and wetlands, as well as
wetland and wildlife habitat restoration (CREP). For more
information contact your local FSA office or NRCS Conservationist.
Woodland Incentive Program (WIP)
WIP provides cost sharing assistance for tree planting, site
preparation, and timber stand improvement practices.
Property must have 5+ forest acres, but no more than
1,000. Eligible practices include: thinning, pruning, prescribed burning, crop tree release, site preparation for
natural or artificial reforestation, herbicide treatments
and planting of seedlings.
For more information, contact your local forester.
Stewardship & Restoration
Programs
Cost Share Programs for Best Management Practices
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
CSP provides two types of payments through five-year
contracts: annual payments for installing new conservation activities and maintaining existing practices and
supplemental payments for adopting a resourceconserving crop rotation. CSP is available to all producers, regardless of operation size or type. For more information, contact your local USDA office.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) &
Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA)
EQIP and AMA are voluntary conservation programs
that help farmers and owners of agricultural land to
reduce pollution and protect natural resources. The
programs provide technical and financial assistance to
help landowners plan, install and implement structural,
vegetative, and management conservation practices.
Contracts can be as short as one year with a one year
maintenance period and most contracts are for work
that can be completed within four years. For more information, contact your local USDA office.
County Contacts
Worcester County
 County Forester- Rob Clarke- (443) 235-1636
 Soil Conservation District -(410) 632-5439 ext 3
 NRCS Office- (410) 632-5439
 Farm Service Agency- (410) 632-5439
Wicomico County
 County Forester– Matt Hurd- (410) 543-1950
 Soil Conservation District- (410) 546-4777 ext 3
 NRCS Office- (410) 546-4777
 Farm Service Agency- (410) 546-4777
Somerset County
 County Forester– John Jordan- (410) 651-2004
 Soil Conservation District- (410) 651-1575 ext 3
 NRCS Office- (410) 641-0379
 Farm Service Agency- (410) 651-0370