Who would have guessed the U.S. Army and the Harford Land Trust would have the same goal to protect a farm located on Deer Creek.   Never would I have imagined that the two could partner to achieve what neither could have accomplished alone.  The partnership doesn’t stop there; the project also involved Harford County government’s Agricultural Preservation Program to complete the land conservation project.  If all goes according to schedule, 164 acres of the Priestford LLC’s property, known as the Hopkins farm, will have two conservation easements protecting it from development in perpetuity by mid-December.

Congressional legislation enacted as part of the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act, informally known as the “buffer authority”, permits the Department of Defense to enter into agreements with state or local governments or nonprofit conservation organization to conserve land adjacent to military bases.   While motivations may differ, these unlikely partnerships allow each to draw on the other’s strengths to prevent unwanted development and preserve sensitive natural areas.  The Harford Land Trust entered into a Cooperative Agreement with Aberdeen Proving Ground to protect land adjacent to its Churchville Test Area through the Army’s Compatible Use Buffer Program (ACUB).   

The Churchville Test Area (CTA), which is located approximately 10 miles northwest of the Aberdeen Proving Ground proper, is one of the Department of Defense’s premier vehicle test tracks providing 11 miles of interconnecting roads and engineered test tracks over hilly and cross-country terrain for wheeled and tracked vehicle endurance and reliability testing.  The site is located in a section of Harford County that until recent years was characterized as agricultural and rural, but is now showing evidence of accelerated development.  Many existing land parcels surrounding the CTA are locked into long-term county or state land conservation easements; however, the parcel belonging to the Hopkins family located directly north of the CTA’s boundary with Deer Creek has been identified as vulnerable to potential residential development.  If this were to occur, the agricultural character of the area would be altered, the County would lose buffer area along a vital watershed, and tactical vehicle testing might be negatively impacted as new homeowners respond to vehicle noise, after-hours headlights, or nuisance dust.  Additionally, by the Army protecting biodiversity in the area, species in quest of habitat have a lesser dependency on the military’s land.

Working with the Aberdeen Proving Ground “Team” - John Housein, U.S. Army Environmental Center; Andrew Murphy, Aberdeen Proving Ground;  Larry Birchfield, U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center; and Sherry Compton, Agreement Specialist, we came to realize the genuine concern they have for balancing the Army’s needs with the preservation  of area farmland and open space in the region for future generations, and protecting the fragile habitat areas along Deer Creek, which is also a major source of drinking water for Harford County.  The Harford Land Trust is very fortunate to be chosen to participate in the ACUB program considering that the military supports more than 400 testing and training bases and ranges spread out over approximately 30 million acres nationwide.  According to Lt. Col. Joe Knott, lead contact for the Army Compatible Use Buffer program, there are two levels in the process of protecting buffer land at army installations.  First, at the national level, the Pentagon evaluates existing installations against a set of criteria that help prioritize from the most critical installations down because funding is limited.  Then, at the local level, the Army installation (APG) must decide which land should be protected giving priority to lands that are adjacent or near ranges and training areas over administrative facilities.

After the land or area has been identified, the search for a local partner begins.  “Local land trusts make perfect partners for us,” says Lt. Col Knott.  “They may want to protect a certain habitat or a certain species, which aligns with our goal of protecting buffer lands. We want to keep the land exactly as it is; they want the same.”  Both partners bring resources and expertise to the table.  The HLT benefits from the Army’s financial and technical resources, and the Army benefits from HLT’s “proven and recognized expertise and knowledge in land preservation and related management strategies.”

 
This has been a very interesting project and it has had its challenges.  The Harford Land Trust has stepped up to become a partner with the Army. This is a new way of doing business for the Army as well as the land trust. We came to the table as equal partners. The Army came with the funding  and direction, while the land trust donated long hours of professional and volunteer time and incurred expense  to create a win-win  outcome  for all involved. One challenge faced by the HLT was to read and understand a mountain of paperwork and then to negotiate the conservation easement to meet the standards of the Land Trust Alliance, the needs of the Army and the property owner. We even had to learn a whole new language that included nearly 20 military acronyms– no small feat for a little land trust with no prior dealings with the U.S. Department of Defense. Fortunately, the Army personnel and the Hopkins family are all wonderful individuals with whom to work.  Getting to know each other over the last six months has been an unanticipated benefit to the project.

Our next newsletter will carry a full story on the Hopkins Farm.