Located on the upper reaches of Hellen Creek in Lusby, the Hellen Creek Preserve covers some fifty acres of marshes, forests, streams, and slopes. Together with the adjacent TNC Hemlock Preserve over 120 acres of the watershed are under permanent easement. Our offices are located on the Preserve and our Business Manager is responsible for the upkeep and monitoring of it.
The focus of activities on the Preserve is to support biodiversity. Steps taken to further that goal include seasonal deer hunting to reduce the overabundance of that species. The understory of the forest is severely depleted by their grazing activities. As part of our habitat restoration effort we have regular invasive removal workdays and efforts to restore native species through plantings. These include two fenced areas to exclude deer from the “garden”. We have healthy population white turtleheads along the streambed “garden” which includes other wildflowers and wetland shrubs.
The Forest Stewardship Plan for the former TNC Hemlock Preserve is being implemented. Identification of invasive species and plans for their removal are a top priority. The State of Maryland has assembled teams from the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources to treat the hemlocks for the wooly adelgid.
On Turner Road the process of rezoning and sale on agricultural and residential parcels has been completed. We retained over 59 acres of mostly wooded waterfront property and a barn with easy access to the road.
A good part of our plans for 2023 are exploring the potential for using the barn as a new office and utilizing the open space adjacent to it for habitat improvement. Leasing the property for deer hunting will still be a facet of our management plans.
Our plans for water monitoring on Hellen Creek have been on-going and should bear fruit in 2023. The count has some plans to revive the non-tidal water monitoring we supported in the past. It would include sampling from the creek on a quarterly basis.
Mike Gardner, President
CP, LNG
Ralph Eshelman, Vice President
MCC
Gary Ressing, Treasurer
MCC
Vacant, Secretary
Mike Rudy, Trustee
Community Member
Lila West, Trustee
SC
Ron Klauda, Trustee
SC
Frank Brayton, Trustee
CP, LNG
Chris Chenoweth, Trustee
Community Member
Robert Boxwell
Staff
Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust (CPNHT) is a non-profit trust in Calvert County, made up of the Sierra Club, the Maryland Conservation Council, and the Cove Point LNG (one of the nation's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants). CPNHT's mission is to preserve and protect ecologically sensitive sites in Southern Maryland through land conservation and acquisition, research, and environmental education. The annual gift is part of a larger plan to give research education funds to area educational organizations that include the College of Southern Maryland, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and Morgan State University.
Environmental Education Outreach
The Trust has been providing programming to the local schools, scouts, and adult educational venues for the past five years. In addition to after school programs in Calvert and St. Mary’s County, the Trust has provide technical assistance, donated supplies, provided manpower, and funded several “green school” project in Calvert County. Cooperation with Chespax and Maryland Summer Camp are other venues to spread our message of environmental stewardship. If you have a school group, club, scout troop, day care, home owners association or other venue that would be interested in learning more about the Bay and the creatures that inhabit it, contact our Executive Director at 410.394.1300 or by e-mail at cpnht@comcast.net.
