The Nature Conservancy in Delaware

Support Delaware's Coasts!

With your help, we can sustain the lands and waters that support nature in Delaware and all life on Earth for future generations.

“For more than a half-century, The Nature Conservancy has envisioned a world where forests, grasslands, deserts, rivers and oceans are healthy; where the connection between natural systems and the quality of human life is valued; and where the places that sustain all life endure for future generations.”

— The Nature Conservancy’s 2015 Goal

Go Deeper

The Delaware chapter helps to preserve the Earth’s major habitats by working with landowners, state and federal government, and other partners to permanently protect the state’s fragile coastal, marine and estuarine areas.

Making A Difference On-the-Ground

Here’s where the Delaware chapter works to benefit the state’s coastal, marine and estuarine habitats:

The 3,420 square-mile Delaware Bayshores serves as home base for the Conservancy’s Annual Horseshoe Crab Count during May and June each year.
The Great Marsh near Lewes, has benefited from conservation easements donated by three families to establish and protect a 600-acre preserve providing high quality habitat for species including black duck, teal, osprey, blue crab and fiddler crab.
The 143-acre Edward H. McCabe Preserve contains three miles of a forested trail featuring coastal plain habitats, populations of seaside alder and frontage along the Broadkill River.
The Milford Neck Preserve is undergoing a transformation from agricultural fields into native coastal deciduous forest after the Conservancy, its partners and volunteers began planting "habitat islands," which accelerate the forest succession process.
Tidal salt marshes and mudflats contained within the 341-acre Port Mahon Preserve provide a sanctuary for geese, duck, fish and amphibians.
A generous, conservation-minded landowner ensured that portions of Delaware’s fragile inland bays, and cornerstones of the Atlantic Flyway, would be protected as part of the Marian R. Okie Memorial Wildlife Preserve at Poplar Thicket and Bulls Eye Ferry.

Reaching Beyond Borders

As demands on oceans grow, the Conservancy engages in coordinated versus piecemeal approaches towards ensuring that all stakeholders – from industry and energy to conservation and recreation – have a seat at the table and comprehensive picture of the seascape and its many uses and challenges.

As part of its Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment, the Conservancy is establishing a “blueprint” of places that if collectively conserved, would ensure the long-term survival of natural and human communities dependent on this geographic area.
Staff from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware are setting priorities and identifying strategies required to conserve the Delaware Bay & Basin, which spans from the Delaware River’s headwaters in New York to the Delaware Bay, and involves partners in Brazil and Argentina, where migratory birds spend much of their life cycle.
Staff from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina, and partners from universities and government agencies, formed the Mid-Atlantic Seascape team, to protect this landscape extending from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina up to the Sandy Hook area of New Jersey, and offshore 40 to 60 miles to the Continental Shelf.

Sticking With Science

The Delaware chapter working with colleagues to promote marine spatial planning — a process using maps and other tools to help ocean users make informed and coordinated decisions about how to use marine resources
The Conservancy continues to conduct research and seek out private and public partnerships in an effort to help the state and its protected areas prepare for and adapt to predicted sea level rises brought on by climate change.