• Home
  • How We Work
  • Where We Work
  • News Room
  • About Us
  • My Nature Page

The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

A Boon for Maryland's Unbroken Forest

Photo by Jessie M. Harris

High on the Appalachian Plateau in western Maryland lies North Cherry Creek Bog, home to an impressive mix of wooded uplands and wetlands as well as a panoply of rare plants and animals.  Nearby are the second homes of weary urbanites looking to recharge their batteries at week's end.  North Cherry Creek Bog, however, maintains its ecological integrity.  Large, unbroken swaths of biologically significant forest are themselves a rare thing in Maryland.  When the Maryland/D.C. chapter saw an opportunity to preserve a significant portion of this high-priority site in the Central Appalachian Forest Ecoregion, it acted quickly, working with trustees of the Rock Lodge Trust to negotiate the purchase of nearly 800 acres. 

The property, which has been held in the same family trust since the Great Depression, was sold to The Nature Conservancy largely because of the organization's reputation as a community partner.  For decades, portions of Rock Lodge Trust land have been selectively harvested for timber by Wood Products, Inc.  When the trust decided to sell approximately 1,600 acres of land, it wanted to form a creative partnership between Wood Products and The Nature Conservancy.  Working together, the parties reached an agreement whereby one half of the land would continue to be responsibly harvested by Wood Products, an established Garrett County business, while the other half, rich in biodiversity, would be protected by the Conservancy for future generations to enjoy.

Now safeguarded is habitat for many important species, including the alder flycatcher, small cranberry, southern water shrew, and black bear-a rarity in the state.  The land adjoins Savage River State Forest, a 53,500-acre watershed, and is near a Conservancy preserve and other undisturbed lands, making this acquisition an important step forward in landscape-scale protection.