A Message from the President
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It is my pleasure as the new President of the Harford Land Trust to deliver the valuable message
of land conservancy in this community. Harford Land Trust’s board is rich with talent and skills
and stands as strong and committed to shaping the future of land preservation as the Trust’s
founding fathers. Our board is energized and moving forward to provide community leadership,
action, care and hope for our fragile environment by sharing our boundless volunteer hours.
Making her final public appearance as board president, Ann Helton spoke at the HLT Annual Public
Meeting held in February at the historic Hosanna School in Berkley. As she spoke of our
accomplishments over the past year, it was clear the board and our membership holds the business
of land conservation very seriously. Under Ann’s leadership, much of our energy was devoted to
securing the financial future of successful land protection through internal review, improving
our day-to-day operations, establishing sound conservation practices, and evaluating and adopting
the revised Standards and Practices of the national Land Trust Alliance. Ann’s commitment to
conservation was seen in practice as she led the board through the eventual retirement of our
Executive Director and facilitated a smooth transition to hiring a new director. As Ann ended
her presidency, she pledged her continued support to Harford Land Trust and intends to help
Harford County in other important ways.
A conservation professional, founder and friend, David Miller retired as executive director in
December, marking the end of 15 years of service to HLT. David’s talent of working with
landowners was instrumental in the trust’s successful preservation of nearly 5,700 acres
directly and through assistance to others in protecting another 4,986 acres. The board is
indeed honored to hire Peg Niland who began this March as the executive director. When you stop
by the trust office now, there is a good chance you’ll see David Miller using his fantastic
institutional memory to assist Peg with land monitoring and land preservation projects. Peg’s
focus is to do the important work of land conservation. She is wasting no time connecting with
Harford Land Trust board and volunteers.
One of the visible highlights of 2005 was the Deer Creek Trail Ride event held in November.
The Harford Land Trust was the lead organization this year, and thanks to the Deer Creek
Watershed Association and the many volunteers and corporate sponsors, whom I call heroes, the
event raised $10,478. At a time when land conservancy is most needed, it is exciting to witness
the collaboration of like organizations, businesses, and people who care, come together to
support this noble work. The dedication and work of our volunteers is a true investment in
preserving nature and a complete labor of love.
Moving forward, the HLT board is re-shaping our internal committee structure to involve
volunteers to help us on a regular basis take on the formidable tasks ahead. It is my hope that
we further challenge ourselves to develop new approaches and partnerships to enable us to
achieve conservation success at the scale needed. There are many opportunities for you to assist
your community and do your part to further conservation in Harford County. Please contact Peg
Niland at 410-836-2103 or me to offer volunteer hours and please call us with comments or
suggestions to assist us in our conservation efforts.
Harry Webster, President
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