441 acres of agricultural land and critical species habitat in Cecil County will be permanently preserved thanks to a partnership between the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) the U.S. Army and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Through a new conservation easement, 441 acres of land in Cecil County will be preserved. The preserved property is the Bracebridge Hall location for Recovery Centers of America (RCA), who works to save lives from addiction. 89 acres of the full 530 acre property will be afforded for buildings, with the remaining 441 permanently preserved.

From the press release:

This easement is one of several in the Grove Neck area of Cecil County, and it serves as home to the federally threatened Puritan tiger beetle (Cicindela puritana). ESLC’s efforts to protect land along the mouth of the Sassafrass River continues to put the recovery of the Puritan Tiger beetle in reach.

ESLC Land Program Manager, David Satterfield said, “Our staff is grateful to DNR and the Army for their dedication to this project. Their support and hard work was instrumental in helping us realize this long-term protection goal. Even more so, we applaud Recovery Centers of America for their dedication to conservation. Our staff looks forward to working with them, in perpetuity, to protect this important resource and hope that it helps guide many of their clients to a healthy future.”

Funding for the project comes from DNR’s Rural Legacy Program and the U.S. Army’s Compatible Use Buffer Program.

For more information, visit ESLC’s website.