Join us for the Harford Land Trust's seventh annual Harvest Moon Dinner & Auction.

Saturday, October 20, 2018
6:00 to 10:00PM
Bel Air Armory
26 N Main Street | Bel Air, MD 21014

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

$85 per person

Ticket includes dinner, beer, wine, live music, and live and silent auctions.

Auction items are listed below. SEE THE FULL CATALOG HERE!

Thank you to our generous 2018 sponsors: The Office of the County Executive; Klein's Shoprite; Ann and Art Helton, Millbrook Farm; Lassen, Marine & Webster; Harry and Eileen Webster; Jeff and Jo Tyson; Heritage Financial Consultants; Ecotone; Foxborough Nursery; Blue Valley Farms; Jones Junction; Watershed Environmental LLC; O'Neill Enterprises Realty & Auction Services; Chad Shrodes; The Mill; APG Federal Credit Union; Dillon and Heather Yeung; Deer Creek Watershed Association; Ruben Pereida Photography; Thomas Ashwell;  MacGregor's Restaurant; The Bayou; The Kelly Group; Harford Financial Group; Highland Survey Associates Inc.; Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit; Churchville Ruritan Club; Lee and Bob Crush; Dean & Brown Catering; Gunpowder Valley Conservancy; Streett Hopkins Real Estate; Adams Chevrolet; Cat Sense Feline Hospital; Chesapeake Bay Trust; Glenn and Eleanora Dudderar; McComas Funeral Home; Jarrettsville Family Eyecare; Fallston Dental Care; and, Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra.

Thank you you our many 2018 auction item donors and supporters: 
Advanced Eye Care & Aesthetics; Ann and Art Helton, Millbrook Farm; Atlantic Tractor; Barbara DeRose; Bartlett Tree Experts; Bed, Bath, & Beyond; Ben Lloyd; Black Eyed Susan Gift Baskets; Blue Crab House; Blue Heron Gifts and Floraal; Blue Valley Farms; Bob and Lee Crush; Bodt Decoys; Bowman’s Butcher Shop; Boyle Buick GMC; Broom’s Bloom Dairy; Bud’s Car Wash; BuonTempo Brothers; Carol Mason & Family; Clare Herbert; Chance Tree Farm; Chet Feldmann and Kristin Kirkwood; Coffee Coffee; Curves; Cyndi Fitzhugh; Dan Krug; David Boniface; Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek; Dennis Kirkwood, Newark Farms; Diane Jones; Eats & Sweets; Eden Mill Nature Center; Ed Snodgrass; Enotria Restaurant & Grill; Fallston Liquors; Flowers by Bauers; Forest Hill Business Airpark; Forest Hill Lighting; Foxborough Inc.; Frank Marsden; Greenspring Nursery, Stone & Gifthouse; Harford Bank; Harman’s Farm Market; Harry and Eileen Webster; Havre de Grace Marine Center; Hess Country Spirits; Horizon Cinemas; H. Turney McKnight; Ion Massage ; Jarrettsville Creamery & Deli; Jarrettsville Family EyeCare, LLC ; Jarrettsville Pharmacy; Jarrettsville Veterinary Center ; Jarvis Appliance; Jeff Conti; Jeff and Jo Tyson ; Jim and Sarah Morris; Jim’s Bottleworks; Joe Martinez; Joseph’s Department Store; Kacie Fitzhugh; Kefauver Lumber Co., Inc.; Kollar Nursery; Ladew Topiary Gardens; Lee Depkin; Linn Griffiths Jewelry; LuLaRoe with Marie Billings; Margherita’s Pizza; Marilyn Thompson; Mason-Dixon Game Outfitters; Massanutten Resort; Mayo Family Band; Mayor William T. Martin; Michael S. Birch, Attorney at Law; The Mill; Mike Zeller; National Aquarium ; The Nest; Newberry Bakery & Café; Office of Governor Larry Hogan; Old Town Parasail; The Orient; Papa John’s Pizza; Patrick Vincenti – Vincenti Decoys; Patti Dallam; Patuxent River – Jug Bay Natural Area; Peg Dougherty; Peg Niland; Peter Jay, Windmill Hill Farm    Pilgrim’s Oak Golf Course; Pleasant Valley Golf Club; Revelry Hair Studio; Richardson’s Flowers and Gifts; Rigdon Farms; Rob Babylon; Rob Glassman; Sam Martin; Savona; Saxon’s Diamond Centers – Aberdeen ; Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub; Shaw Orchards; Sue Rice; Sunny Day Café; Tanglewood Golf Club; Taylorbilt Homes; TGIFridays; To Wag For; Todd Holden; Town Hair Salon; Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz; Vagabond Sandwich Company; Vineyard Wine Bar; Visage Salon and Day Spa; Wallis & Co. Acoustic Trio; Wegmans; Williamsburg Plantation Resort; Wilson’s Farm Market; Winter’s Run Golf Club; Wockenfuss Homemade Candies; WXCY Radio; and, YogaFresh Bel Air.

Over 100 people participated in the Harford Land Trust’s Ben Boniface Kayak Poker Run from Flying Point Park on Saturday, July 7. Paddlers enjoyed a 3-mile circuit in Otter Point Creek, collecting playing cards at five stops on publically and privately preserved land. Stops included the Bosely Conservancy, owned by the Izaak Walton League of America – Harford County chapter, the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center, and other properties preserved by the Harford Land Trust.

Now in its seventh year, the land trust hosts the event in partnership with the Ben Boniface Memorial Fund. The event encourages enjoyment of Harford County’s many waterways through kayaking, canoeing, and standup paddling. Proceeds support the Harford Land Trust’s mission of conserving open space and natural resources in Harford County. In prior years, the land trust has hosted the event on Broad Creek near Whiteford and on the Chesapeake from Tydings Memorial Park in Havre de Grace.

The event was followed by a lunch and awards ceremony at Harford County’s Flying Point Park in Edgewood. Top prize winners included Russell Jacobson, Alan Walsh, and Jennifer Bieschke.

The event was made possible through generous sponsorship and support from the Ben Boniface Memorial Fund, Jones Junction, the Office of Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, Klein’s ShopRite, Lassen, Marine & Webster, Harry and Eileen Webster, Autumn Sky Outfitters, H. Turney McKnight, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, Harford County Parks & Recreation, and the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center.

Founded in 1991, the Harford Land Trust has directly preserved over 1,300 acres of farmland, forest, and wetlands, and assisted in the preservation of thousands more.  Visit www.harfordlandtrust.org for more information.

HLT was very proud to partner with the Abingdon Fire Company on June 2 for a controlled training burn on our Welzenbach Farm on Willoughby Beach Road in Edgewood. 

We acquired the property through our partnership with Aberdeen Proving Ground three years ago.

Unfortunately, the home had fallen into disrepair before HLT acquired the property. We assessed it for needed repairs which were numerous and costly. HLT also engaged with the Historical Society which didn’t not find the structure to have any documented historical significance. However, we do share the sincere affection the Edgewood community has for the home. We studied multiple alternatives, but in the end felt that removing the home was the best solution for our organization and the community given the risks that come with a permanently vacant home.

Over a year ago, we began discussions with the Abingdon Fire Company about the possibility of a training burn. This option proved to be significantly more time consuming and costly than a traditional demolition. The permitting process and home preparation requirements are extensive. Our staff and volunteers have dedicated countless hours to this project.

One June 2, both the Abingdon Fire Company and the APG Fire Department conducting over a dozen training evolutions providing invaluable learning to the fire fighters. After each crew’s evolution, the team debriefed about the experience with senior leaders providing feedback.

We thank our members and the Edgewood community for their support with this project. This was a difficult decision but we are so thankful that removal of the house provided such a unique training opportunity for our community fire fighters. The property will be permanently protected from residential subdivision and will remain an environmental and scenic asset to the community. We continue to rent the ground for agricultural use to continue the property’s rich legacy.

HLT is extremely pleased to report that we have secured donations and pledges of $935,000, the agreed purchase price for the 32-acre Perryman Forest. The Trust entered into a purchase and sale agreement for the property in March 2018. This binding agreement specifies the sale price and terms under which HLT will purchase the property. The sale is contingent on many pieces still falling into place, but the biggest hurdle—funding—was just overcome.

Following an initial commitment of 90% of the purchase price from the U.S. Army (through Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Army Compatible Use Buffer Program), we began a public fundraising campaign in November 2017.  Generous supporters donated approximately $19,000 for the preservation of this important property on the Bush River with over 60 households contributing. See a full listing of supporters on page 4.

HLT’s communication about the importance of this project and the strong community support came to the attention of the Harford County Department of Public Works. The Watershed Protection and Restoration team, led by Scott Kearby and Christine Buckley,  supported HLT’s goals of ecological conservation for the protection of water quality and recognized the project’s strong alignment with the County’s Green Infrastructure plan. With the support of County Executive Barry Glassman, HLT and the County subsequently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a pledge to cover the remainder of HLT’s Perryman Forest funding needs.

The Harford Land Trust’s first project was the Forest Green’s Lake Preserve in Perryman in 1992, now a county park. The preservation of the Perryman Forest effectively  expands the Preserve by 32 acres to the north. The tidal and non-tidal wetlands on the site are hydrologically connected through surface and subsurface flow to the Bush River and subsequently to the Chesapeake Bay, benefiting water quality by retaining nutrients and sediment. The property is characterized by upland forest and wetlands, also known as “tree swamps,” and vernal pools, also known as “flatwoods.” This type of ecosystem is only found in the Coastal Plain portion of the County, and is of limited occurrence.

We expect to close on this property within the next six months.