Come and meet our elected representatives, hear their positions on preservation, and let them know you support programs to maintain our area’s natural beauty.  As a sponsor of this breakfast, The Manor Conservancy encourages its membership to attend.  Please reserve your space today!  For more information please email info@themanorconservancy.org .

Baltimore County Land Preservation Legislative Breakfast

Wednesday December 2, 2015

7:30 - 9:30 AM

Baltimore County Center For Maryland Agriculture

1114 Shawan Road - Cockeysville, MD

$ 10 per person

Join State and Local Legislators to discuss the importance of land preservation in Baltimore County.

Enjoy a light breakfast featuring food from local farms.  

To Register: 

Eventbrite  : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baltimore-county-land-preservation-legislative-breakfast-tickets-19315638595 or

 

Contact Alice Noplos at VPC 410-337-6877

email : alice@thevpc.org

Stewardship Sponsors – The Baltimore County Farm Bureau, The Valleys Planning Council, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association

Conservation Sponsors – The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy; The Manor Conservancy; The Long Green Land Trust; The Land Preservation Trust; North County Preservation; Neighborspace Baltimore County

Protector Sponsors – Future Harvest CASA

In-Kind Sponsors – The Baltimore County Agricultural Preservation Board; The Maryland Agricultural Resource Council; The Hanover Road Association; The Sparks/Glencoe Community Association; The Maryland Environmental Trust; Preservation Maryland

The Manor Conservancy's annual members' meeting was held at St. James Parish Hall on October 15.  Over ninety members, friends, and neighbors attended and heard Henry Pitts, president, report on the Conservancy's activities.  The Board of Directors' slate was accepted unanimously, and a video presentation about TMC, its mission, and the land it helps protect was enjoyed by all.  Wade Kach, councilman for the third district, presented Jimmy Constable, immediate past president, with a Council Resolution, and Henry Pitts awarded the Sergeant Murphy Cup to Jimmy, recognizing his extraordinary contributions to land preservation (left).  Thanks to everyone who turned out to show their support for land preservation, The Manor Conservancy, and Jimmy Constable.         

    

Video about the Manor Conservancy

                        A grant of $485,062 from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Rural Legacy program has been awarded to the Manor Rural Legacy area.  This program is designed to preserve large blocks of contiguous open space that are among the State’s most valuable because of the existence of a multitude of agricultural, forestry, natural and cultural resources.

To protect these resources, the Rural Legacy Program, acting through local government or private land trust sponsors, purchases conservation easements or fee simple interests in real property from willing property owners, based on Rural Legacy Plans that have been reviewed by the Rural Legacy Advisory Committee and approved by the Rural Legacy Board.  The Manor Area is one of fourteen grants totaling $10 million to protect approximately 2,890 acres throughout the state, including $960,000 for the Deer Creek Rural Legacy Area.  The Manor joins the Gunpowder Rural Legacy area to the west and extends across the Harford and  Baltimore County boundary.

Cunningham Farms provided the Maryland Environmental Trust and The Manor Conservancy with a 166 acre conservation easement of prime agricultural land, woodland, meadow, hedgerow and tree line.  A tributary of Greene Branch cuts through the property.  Its agricultural use, stream and forest buffers, scenic vistas, water quality protection and its proximity to many other farms in permanent preservation support its conformance with federal, state and local policy, and its preservation.

Residents along Hutchins Mill and Hess Roads recently received letters from Baltimore County regarding planned tree trimming along those rural roadways.  A letter written by The Manor Conservancy in response to this notification can be viewed through the attached link.  Scenic areas and view sheds are important conservation values; safeguarding the rural nature of local roadways is a community priority.   There are existing processes for review of Rural Roads Standards and modifications.

TMC Hess Hutchins Mill Tree Cutting letter to DPW.pdf

Rural Roads Standards Adopted.pdf

An award has been established to recognize individuals for their exceptional efforts toward the preservation of land in northern Baltimore and Harford Counties. Francis "Ike" Iglehart was recognized as the first recipient of the award presented in 2011.

The award brings new life to the Sergeant Murphy Trophy, whose history is particularly appropriate to its new intended use. It is a reflection of the heritage and countryside we seek to preserve in the Manor Area. The colorful history of the horse, Sergeant Murphy, his achievement as the first American owned horse to win the English Grand National at Aintree, his roots in Maryland, the Harford Hunt Races - a point to point held on the grounds of Harvey Ladew's Pleasant Valley - are just part of the story. The Sanford family's connections with the Manor and the fitting return of the trophy to honor those committed to preserving open space, agriculture and rural lifestyle, make for a very special denouement to Sergeant Murphy's journey.

Maryanna Skowronski, Director of the Harford County Historical Society, has researched its background and has written the following:

The Sergeant Murphy Point to Point was held from 1925 through 1934 (no race in 1931) as a part of the Harford Hunt Races held on the grounds of Pleasant Valley Farm, home to Harvey S. Ladew. The race was sponsored by Stephen "Laddie" Sanford and was named in honor of Sanford's 'chaser Sergeant Murphy, who in 1923 was the first American owned horse to win the English Grand National. British newsreel footage of the race still exists. Originally intended as a hunt horse for Sanford, The Sergeant, as he was known proved not suited for the field.

Stephen Sanford was the heir to the Sanford carpet fortune and hailed from New York. He was the son of John Sanford owner of Sanford Stud Farm and is best known as a member of the champion Hurricanes polo team. Sanford was married to the former stage and film actress Mary Duncan Sanford. Mary Sanford can be seen performing with Katharine Hepburn in the film Morning Glory.

During the height of the Harford Hunt's Long Island invasion, the Sanfords maintained a stable at Farmington (the club). According to newspaper accounts of the day, Mrs. Sanford was considered to be glamorous and popular. Not an accomplished equestrienne in the beginning, she rapidly learned to ride and astonished everyone by tackling her husband's horse Bright's Boy which became her favorite mount.

Among the noteworthy or recognizable names on the Sergeant Murphy Trophy are Redmond Stewart, Wassie Ball (winning rider of the last running) and A. C. Bostwick.

The Department of Public Works will hold its 7th annual public meeting to discuss rural roads, bridges, repaving, and traffic issues at the Agriculture Center on Shawan Road, Tues, April 28th 5:30-7:30 pm. The meeting fulfills the County's pledge to meet annually with residents interested in preserving the rural character of the County and to apprise them of infrastructure plans. 

For information call: 410-887-2171.

For the past twenty-five years, I have served as president of The Manor Conservancy. I am extraordinarily grateful for that opportunity. Our board, volunteers and landowners have been a wonderful team, working together to preserve the rural heritage of our area. During that time, we have been instrumental in preserving over fifteen thousand acres in northern Baltimore and Harford Counties, some through donations of conservation easements, some through purchase of easements using government funds.

Besides our easement programs, we have, on four occasions, purchased threatened property outright and resold it after placing it under a conservation easement. By our joint efforts, we have protected much of the environmental, agricultural, aesthetic, horticultural, and historical riches of our very special rural landscape.

I am immensely proud of our successes. The work of The Manor Conservancy, along with several other land trusts in the area, has elevated the density of conservation in northern Baltimore and Harford counties so that we are now ranked among the most highly concentrated protected land areas in the United States.

We have much more conservation work to do and, as 2015 approaches, we are looking to the future. I have the honor of being appointed Chairman of the Board of the statewide Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) and, in that role, will continue to partner with The Manor Conservancy’s efforts to preserve our land.

I ask you to please help me in welcoming incoming President, long-time Manor area resident, Henry Pitts. Henry had a career as a pension fund manager with Mercantile Safe-Deposit and Trust Company, and is now retired. He has served as Chairperson of the Conservancy’s Stewardship Committee for the past five years and will lead the organization’s efforts to maximize the vital stewardship expertise we provide to landowners and members of the community. Henry brings both passion and experience to his new position.

Our organization is growing up in other ways too. We have brought on Bridget Sampson to be the Conservancy’s Administrative Director. Bridget brings non-profit experience, including successful grant writing and fundraising. She was the Executive Director of Chefs in the Making, a non-profit associated with the farm-to-table Baltimore restaurant, The Dogwood. She owned it with her husband for eight years. Before becoming a restaurateur, Bridget, who is trained as a writer, ran her own freelance writing business and taught writing at University of Baltimore. She and her chef-husband live on Pocock Road in Harford County. They are both avid supporters of our local farms and their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Become a member or donate to support our work

At this time of year, when we are able to enjoy the season in this stunning place that we all treasure, think of making a tax-deductible contribution to The Manor Conservancy to support our continued commitment to the beauty, history, and environment of the area. If you have not renewed your membership or are not yet a member, please do so by visiting our web site themanorconservancy.org

We can increase our efforts only with your help. All best wishes for the holiday season,

Jimmy Constable

The family of the late Ron Maher, Sr. recipient of the TMC Land Preservation Award was recognized at the TMC Annual Meeting on Oct. 20, 2014.
Ronald Maher Sr. moved to the Manor in 1954. 

He was an avid horseman and loved the countryside. In the 60′s he was a founding member of the Manor Area Association. It was one of the first groups formed to fight development and unwarranted disturbance of the land. He also helped to complete one of the first buyouts in the area, the Sutton Farm on Old York and Markoe, preventing a major subdivision in the heart of the Manor Area.

When it was possible to sell one’s development rights to preserve the land, Ronny jumped on it. He was always working with neighbors to go in and form a group to preserve it. He put his farm under easement in 1989. He was responsible for bringing hundreds of acres under easement in some form or other. He was one of the founding board members of the Manor Conservancy.

Two new Board members were elected at the Oct. 2014 Annual Meeting. We welcome their energy and expertise. They are:

Joe Ward, who resides on Manor Road; Partner in Miles & Stockbridge; adjunct professor at University of Maryland School of Law; Director Association for Corporate Growth; Director Charles Street Development Corporation; Director The Arc of Baltimore.

Hope R. Pearce, former office manager of large grain farm, consultant for field crop management, agricultural and equine programs; multi-generational Manor heritage and North County resident. 

All Board member bios may be seen on the contact page of the website.