Mission and Programs

Mission

The mission of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) is to sustain the Eastern Shore''s rich landscapes through strategic land conservation and sound land use planning.
When Eastern Shore Land Conservancy was founded in 1990, the founding Directors shared a fervent dedication to the future of this matchless association of land, rivers, resources, and community called the Eastern Shore. And they shared a common concern that sprawling development patterns typical of the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and many other areas of the Mid-Atlantic region was increasingly eroding these special attributes of the Eastern Shore.

Even in the face of staggering development trends of the past few years, it is extraordinary how unfaltering the Board of Directors has remained to achieving that end.

Programs

The Land Protection Program, which helps private landowners explore and implement various preservation options, has been the core function of the Land Conservancy through its first decade.
After the Millennium Plus Five Strategic Plan was approved in 2000, a suite of Land Use Planning Programs was added to ESLC toolbox of preservation. Under these programs, ESLC becomes more proactive in our approach to land protection by improving land use planning on the Eastern Shore through direct impact on local government decision makers and indirectly by raising awareness and sophistication on land use issues.

Program / Activities (NTEE Code)

Land Resources Conservation

Accomplishments for Fiscal Year Ending 12/31/2007

1. ESLC helped protect over 1,000 acres in 2007 and we expect to close on an additional 4,000 by December 31, bringing our total to over 44,000! We have been thrilled with the strong surge in donations of conservation easements in response to the increased tax incentives available until December 31, 2007.
2. As an organization, we are growing by leaps and bounds! In March of 2007 we opened our first regional office in Cambridge, and in early November, a lease was signed on space for another regional office in Galena. We have also expanded our staff to 12 people ? that?s 3 new positions in 12 months!
3. In September 2007, we launched our new Stewardship Initiative. This Initiative is being led by a new staff person who will develop a monitoring and stewardship training program to recruit and train high level volunteers. It is envisioned that highly trained volunteers will provide monitoring services to ESLC and other easement holders, plus refer landowners to the appropriate conservation partners like U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service for assistance with selecting, installing, and financing conservation practices.

1. As we look ahead to 2008, we are excited by the opportunities that are before us.
   We are seeking to help young farmers to acquire and protect farmland in Talbot and Dorchester County with assistance from the Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection program. We continue to seek out ways to create connections and trails for public access to our many rivers and creeks. We are even working to secure a critical pocket of open space in Easton to save a decade-old community garden for future generations.
   

Through 2010, ESLC will continue its long tradition of annually evaluating organizational progress towards the specific and measurable goals established in this plan. This annual evaluation will serve as the basis for preparation of the succeeding year?s annual work plan and budget. Annual evaluation summaries, annual work plans, and annual budgets are subject to approval by the Board of Directors. In addition, during 2007, ESLC will subject itself to its second triennial review through the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organization?s ?Standards of Excellence? program or other similar guide.

Chief Executive Profile

Robert J. Etgen has been Executive Director of ESLC since October 1990. Prior to joining ESLC, Rob was the Land Trust Program Manager for the Maryland Environmental Trust where he assisted in the formation of 18 private land trusts. Prior to the Maryland Environmental Trust, he worked for the Soil Conservation Administration of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, the Attorney's General's Office in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and two private law firms in Baltimore. Rob started his career as a Forest Ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service in Morgantown, West Virginia as head of a research program studying the impacts of Gypsy Moth. Etgen has authored several manuals, booklets, and papers on various land conservation issues. Rob was the founding director of the Maryland Heritage Tree Conservancy and serves on the Board for the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Scenic Maryland. Rob received the 1996 Aileen Hughes Award for leadership presented by the Maryland Land Trust Alliance. Etgen is a member of the Maryland Bar having received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland and a BS in Forestry from West Virginia University.

Additional Comments

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) was recently honored at the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations (MANO) annual conference in Adelphi, Md., with re-certification in their prestigious Standards for Excellence program. The first organization on the Eastern Shore and the first conservation organization in Maryland to receive this certification, ESLC was originally honored in 2000 with current certification valid through December 2011, as a well-managed and responsibly governed nonprofit organization.
Nonprofits seeking Standards for Excellence certification are evaluated in eight aspects; mission and program, governing board, conflicts of interest, human resources, financial and legal accountability, openness and disclosure, fundraising, and public policy and public affairs, as well as 55 criteria including; honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility and accountability.

According to MANO, the Standards for Excellence program is designed to promote excellence and integrity in Maryland?s nonprofit organizations. In an effort to improve the work of nonprofits, the Standards for Excellence program provides an array of services to help these organizations implement the standards. As part of the certification program, organizations submit to a voluntary, rigorous review of each part of their program?s operations.

Financial Data
From the organization's FORM 990

Revenue and Expenses: Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2008

Revenue			Expenses
Contributions $1,484,267 Government Grants $0 Program Services $0 Investments $67,838 Special Events $0 Sales $0 Other $305			Program Services $2,281,287 Administration $206,847 Other $87,287 Total Expenditures $2,575,421
Total Revenue	$1,552,410		NET GAIN/LOSS	$(1,023,011)

Balance Sheet: Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2008

Notes
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot long survive, but the types of assets and liabilities also must be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Assets	Apr 1, 2007	Mar 31, 2008	Change
Cash & Equivalent	$1,379,232	$446,446	$(932,786)
Accounts Receivable	$1,000	$113,545	$112,545
Pledges & Grants Receivable	$336,719	$757,964	$421,245
Receivables/Other	$0	$0	$0
Inventories for Sale or Use	$0	$0	$0
Investments/Securities	$4,483,704	$4,341,633	$(142,071)
Investments/Other	$0	$0	$0
Fixed Assets	$2,020,246	$6,480,757	$4,460,511
Other	$683,908	$338,908	$(345,000)
Total Assets	$8,904,809	$12,479,253	$3,574,444
Liabilities	Apr 1, 2007	Mar 31, 2008	Change
Accounts Payable	$9,436	$2,338	$(7,098)
Grants Payable	$0	$0	$0
Deferred Revenue	$0	$0	$0
Loans and Notes	$0	$4,905,780	$4,905,780
Tax-Exempt Bond Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
Other	$22,181	$21,417	$(764)
Total Liabilities	$31,617	$4,929,535	$4,897,918
FUND BALANCE	$8,873,192	$7,549,718	$(1,323,474)

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