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Another 105 Acres Preserved On November 8, 2016, in partnership with DNR, we accepted an easement on 105 acres of land through the Rural Legacy program. The land, close to the southern border of our Rural Legacy area in Baltimore County, is entirely agricultural, and adjoins 300 acres of already-preserved land. We are grateful to the landowner for choosing to protect this property from development, forever.
Over $1.4 million Awarded to The Manor Rural Legacy Area
Speaking of Rural Legacy, last month we traveled to Annapolis to meet Governor Larry Hogan (below, center), Comptroller Peter Franchot, and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, and to receive a Rural Legacy award of $1,424,674. This will allow us to preserve hundreds of acres of land in our Rural Legacy area in northern Baltimore and Harford counties. The award is nearly three times what we received last year, an indication that funding for Program Open Space, which includes Rural Legacy, is now being directed toward land conservation instead of the general fund. 
Annual Meeting -- An Informative and Social Time
Our annual members’ meeting was held October 20. Vanessa Beauchamp, an associate professor and plant ecologist at Towson University, and John Canoles, principal at Eco-Science Professionals, Inc., presented very interesting talks about riparian buffers, wavyleaf basket grass, and wildlife habitats provided by old fields. Visit www. themanorconservancy.org/news for PDF copies of the presentations. State Senator James Brochin also attended the meeting; he spoke about land preservation, answered questions from the crowd, and help us to recognize H. Turney McKnight, winner of our Sergeant Murphy award for land preservation. Congratulations, Turney, and thanks to all our volunteers who helped make the night special!  
H. Turney McKnight, TMC President Henry Pitts Vanessa Beauchamp, John Canoles
Shedding Light on Solar Farms Baltimore County Council voted to halt large-scale solar power projects located on farmland for four months. This will allow the council time to consider issues such as minimum required acreage, suitable zoning, and issues such as buffers, lighting, and security. It is not clear that solar power projects are allowed on preserved land, though solar power for individual use of the landowner is. The county currently requires farmers who want to install solar farms to apply for a special zoning exception to operate a public utility. TMC is currently investigating this topic; we’ll let you know what we find. Join our Legacy Society As a member of The Manor Conservancy, you share our long-term commitment to the future of our area. Our Legacy Society provides a way to extend your commitment. Naming The Manor Conservancy as a beneficiary in your will allows you to provide for your family first. Whether it's cash or property, your gift will allow us to continue preserving land. Give us a call at (240) 389-2531 to get started. Holiday gifts Do you plan on buying holiday gifts through Amazon? Did you know you can support The Manor Conservancy at no cost to you through the AmazonSmile program? AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of whatever you spend to any registered charity you designate. Simply click here to visit smile.amazon.com, shop as you normally would, and Amazon takes care of the rest. Still stumped? Amazon sells an awful lot of things, but sometimes it's hard finding exactly the right gift. Consider giving friends and loved ones a membership to The Manor Conservancy, or make a donation in their name. Your gift will be acknowledged with a personalized card to the recipient. All contributions are tax deductible. Visit www.themanorconservancy.org/donate, or call us at (240) 389-2531. Give the gift that keeps on giving ... forever.
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