What Is Land Stewardship?
How The Nature Conservancy Manages and Restores Delaware’s Lands and Waters for Resilience
Land stewardship is caring for natural places using science‑based management so forests, rivers and wildlife can thrive.
Since 1990, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has protected more than 31,000 acres in Delaware. With every property we acquire, we make a legal and ethical commitment to steward that land in perpetuity. From planting trees and reintroducing prescribed fire to removing invasive plants and building sustainable trails with volunteers, our choices are guided by science, community needs and the resilience of the lands we manage.
Our stewardship actions enhance the visitor experience and ensure our preserves stay resilient in a changing climate.
Our Stewardship and Management Goals
We're working with business, government, nonprofit and community partners to ensure a healthy future for Delaware's lands.
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Protect and Restore Lands and Waters
Science guides our decisions, so we prioritize high‑value habitats and resilient and connected wildlife corridors.
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Safeguard Biodiversity
Ensure the living legacy of Delaware's unique and irreplaceable biodiversity.
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Accelerate Impact Through Partnership
We collaborate with local communities and regional partners to align and accelerate lasting conservation solutions.
Our Work
To achieve our goals, we focus on three pillars: Protection, Restoration and Collaboration.
Protection
Land Protection in Delaware
We strategically conserve lands and secure easements that expand and connect existing public lands in priority landscapes. Connected, intact, and well‑managed waterways and forests are more resilient, supporting clean water, wildlife migration, outdoor recreation and community well‑being.
Land Protection in Delaware
By the Numbers
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31,341
Total Acres Protected
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6
Nature Preserves
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9
Conservation Easements
Spotlight: The Delaware Bayshore
The Delaware Bayshore
We are working to protect habitat in one of Delaware's most diverse landscapes.
Explore How We Are Doing This in DelawareThe Delaware Bayshore is one of the state’s most special and important natural places. Along the coastline, more than 50,000 acres of coastal wetlands provide a home for wildlife, protect nearby communities and help nature adapt to a changing climate. These wetlands are especially valuable because their natural features make them more resilient to sea-level rise, helping them continue to function even as conditions change.
TNC actively cares for and manages these coastal lands to keep them healthy and thriving. The Bayshore’s beaches, dunes and marshes support an incredible variety of species, including the largest population of spawning horseshoe crabs in the world. Each year, horseshoe crab eggs play a vital role in fueling the long migration of the Red Knot, a federally threatened shorebird that travels nearly 9,000 miles.
These coastal salt marshes are also essential for people. They provide important habitat for familiar and economically important species like blue crab and striped bass, which many Delaware communities rely on. By restoring habitats, improving water flow and supporting natural processes, TNC’s stewardship work helps ensure the Delaware Bayshore remains a resilient, life-supporting landscape for wildlife and future generations.
Restoration
Caring for Delaware's Landscapes
Restoration is a critical part of our stewardship work. Across our preserves, TNC land stewards are restoring forests, improving wetland habitats, removing invasive plants, reintroducing fire and monitoring ecological health over time.
1) Reforestation
We are restoring forests across Delaware by planting native trees that provide food and shelter for wildlife. At Middleford North, Milford Neck and McCabe preserves, we planted more than 34,000 native trees and shrubs to restore farmland and coastal forests.
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is a safe and proven tool we use to restore Delaware’s forests. Carefully planned, low‑intensity burns reduce wildfire risk, improve habitat for native plants and animals and help grasses, wildflowers and healthy forests return.
Learn About Prescribed Fire
3) Preserve Monitoring
As an accredited land trust, we conduct annual monitoring across our preserves. Land stewards document wildlife, track changes and identify threats such as erosion, invasives or misuse, ensuring we adapt management to keep protected lands thriving.
Dive Deeper into Restoration
Discover the restoration projects making Delaware's lands and waters healthier and more resilient.
Explore Delaware ProjectsCollaboration
Stronger Together: Conservation Beyond Our Borders
Our conservation impact grows when we work with state and federal agencies, local land trusts and regional partners.
Explore Some of These Key Partnerships:
Delaware Land Protection Coalition (DLPC)
TNC is a founding member of the Delaware Land Protection Coalition, formed in 2022. Together with partners statewide, the Coalition works to protect open space by expanding funding, strengthening partnerships and advancing a shared vision for land conservation.
Delaware Prescribed Fire Council (DPFC)
TNC is a director member of the Delaware Prescribed Fire Council, with Delaware Stewardship Manager Natasha Whetzel serving as Vice Chair. The Council promotes safe, responsible prescribed fire and public understanding of fire as an essential land management tool.
Explore the work of the DPFCWhere We Work
Explore some of our preserves with active restoration projects
Edward H. McCabe Preserve
Donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1993 by Constance McCabe, the Edward H. McCabe Nature Preserve is TNC's most-visited public preserve in Delaware. It features a wide range of habitats found along the Broadkill River that harbor diverse plants and animals within a small area of the Delmarva Peninsula.
The preserve provides habitat for more than 100 species of birds. Its combination of hardwood forest, old fields, tidal freshwater and forested wetlands and agricultural fields attracts a diversity of migrant and nesting birds including waterfowl, raptors and songbirds.
Ponders Tract at Pemberton Forest
In 2004, five years after establishing the Pemberton Forest Nature Preserve with the Pemberton Tract, TNC acquired the 908-acre Ponders Tract from the Glatfelter Pulpwood Company.
The area contains small wetlands and vernal ponds that are home to reptiles and amphibians such as Fowler’s toad, southern leopard frog and the gray tree frog.
Arguably the most beautiful flower to bloom at Ponders Tract is the pink lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule), which starts blooming in late April.
Milford Neck Preserve
Milford Neck's landscape can be described as a mosaic of undeveloped beaches and dunes, shifting shorelines, vast tidal marshes, island hammocks, swamp, upland forests and open farmland.
Though interrupted by scattered farms, this is the only remaining forested area greater than 1,000 acres on the entire coast of Delaware. It provides crucial habitat for species that require large, open tracts of forest for part or all of their life cycles.
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Bullseye-Ferry Landing Preserve
Sitting along the Indian River, Bullseye-Ferry Landing is a mosaic of diverse living communities. The diverse habitats of Bullseye-Ferry Landing support a wide variety of important plant life. The canopy of the dry upland forest is dominated by oaks, hickories, dogwoods and the occasional state-rare shortleaf pine.
This preserve is closed to the public.
Get Involved
Volunteer with Land Stewards
Perfect for Delaware residents looking for hands‑on conservation!
Support Stewardship & Restoration
Your gift funds on‑the‑ground work that keeps wetlands healthy and habitats connected.
Nature in Your Inbox
Sign Up for Monthly DE Updates. From Wilmington's green spaces to Sussex County beaches, get Delaware‑specific conservation stories, events and volunteer needs.
Plan Your Visit
Find trails, seasonal highlights and guidelines for a safe, low‑impact experience.
FAQs About Land Stewardship
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Land stewardship is the long‑term care of natural lands using science‑based management practices to protect wildlife, restore ecosystems and support healthy communities.
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In Delaware, TNC stewards more than 31,000 acres through habitat restoration, invasive species removal, prescribed fire, ecological monitoring and partnerships with local communities and agencies.
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Delaware’s forests, wetlands and coastal areas protect drinking water, support fisheries, provide wildlife habitat and help communities prepare for climate impacts like flooding and sea‑level rise.
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TNC manages coastal marshes, forests, freshwater wetlands, rivers and wildlife corridors across the state, including priority landscapes like the Delaware Bayshore.
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Yes. We have TNC preserves in Delaware that are open for low‑impact recreation such as hiking, birdwatching, kayaking and nature photography. Visitors are encouraged to follow preserve guidelines to protect wildlife and habitats.
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Prescribed fire is a carefully planned land management tool that reduces wildfire risk, improves habitat for native species and keeps forests healthy. It has been used safely in Delaware for decades.
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You can join volunteer stewardship days, participate in habitat restoration projects or support this work through donations and advocacy. Explore ways to get involved.
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Healthy forests, wetlands and coastal systems store carbon, reduce flooding and help nature and people adapt to changing climate conditions, making stewardship a key climate solution in Delaware.
