ESLC Honors 2008 Eastern Shore 2010 Winners!

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), a private, nonprofit land conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of farmland and habitat on the Eastern Shore, today announced the recipients of this year’s Eastern Shore 2010 Achievement Awards. The 2008 Eastern Shore 2010 Achievement Awards, inspired by the regional land use planning agreement that sets the highest expectations for the care of the Eastern Shore landscape, distinguish outstanding leadership in the field of land use planning and land development on the Eastern Shore. The purpose of these awards is to honor the projects, people and places that best define growth befitting the Eastern Shore. This year’s awards are focused on the Eastern Shore 2010’s Goal 4, “Develop a regional transportation plan by 2010 that provides alternatives to a new Bay crossing and emphasizes the use of alternative as well as public transportation within and among communities

“This awards program was inspired by the amazing work our local governments and groups were out there doing to reach the Eastern Shore 2010 agreement’s goals,” said Rob Etgen, ESLC’s Executive Director. “With so many issues facing the Eastern Shore when it comes to transportation, it is so exciting to be able to honor the folks who are working to get out in front of these tough issue to help protect our Eastern Shore quality of life from being diminished as a result of these challenges.”

This year’s Eastern Shore 2010 award recipients are:

Regional Leadership:MUST Bus
This nationally recognized model for how best to implement a rural bus system is a collaborative effort between Delmarva Community Transit, Delmarva Community Services and Queen Anne’s County Rides. The MUST which provided free transportation for conference attendees at today’s event, gives the region a wide range of public transit choices, both fixed-rout and on-demand services.
County Leadership: Queen Anne’s County Cool Climates: Growing Cooler
Queen Anne’s County has taken a momentous step, and shown leadership by signing onto the Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration, a major national initiative to combat global warming. This pledge is to reduce global warming emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The county has begun to move forward with proactive solutions to this impending environmental issue on the Eastern Shore.
Local Leadership: St. Michael’s Nature Trail Project
The Trail is a joint project by the Town of St. Michael’s, the St. Michael’s Rotary Foundation, Environmental Concern, and Elm Street Development Co. This environmentally sensitive project will link diverse neighborhoods with a healthy alternative to auto travel. It will provide a peaceful setting and safe passage for pedestrians and cyclists from one end of Town to the other.

The updated Eastern Shore 2010 agreement, signed last year by Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties calls for; reaching regional goals in land protection, strengthening the farming, fishing, and forestry industries, managing the amount and type of new development, and creating a regional transportation plan, by 2010.

Winners were honored at ESLC’s annual Land Use Planning Conference, held today at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills. Presneting the awards was Harry Hughes, former Governor of Maryland. For more information about the awards, ESLC’s current transportation campaign or about Eastern Shore 20100, please visit www.eslc.org.

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