ANNOUNCEMENT: WE STILL HAVE SPACE AVAILABLE ON SOME OF OUR CANOE TRIPS!
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What We Do
Preserve
We permanently protect natural areas by land purchase, conservation easements and land leases. We also inform land owners of their preservation options.
Steward
We maintain, manage, and monitor the properties we own or lease and we monitor other land where we hold easements.
Farm
Using no-till and permaculture techniques, we raise food to donate to the food insecure in our community.
Connect
We provide opportunities for people to experience the wonders of the Parkers Creek Preserve and to learn more about how ecosystems keep us happy, healthy and wise.
Educate
Children and adults are fascinated by Maryland's natural world. ACLT offers programs for both to inspire and teach about caring for and sustaining a healthy ecosystem.
Advocate
We work with the Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance, a network of partners who work to conserve and restore Southern Maryland’s landscapes, waterways, and shorelines that are special to its people, fundamental to its economy, reflected in its culture, and vital for its native fish, wildlife, and plants, on which we rely.
Our Mission
The American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT) preserves and conserves the natural and cultural resources of the Parkers Creek and Governors Run Watersheds for the benefit of this and future generations. We provide environmentally sustainable public access to managed properties for educational, scientific, recreational, and cultural purposes. We promote land conservation and preservation throughout Southern Maryland.
Our History
The American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT) was founded in 1986 when residents of Scientists Cliffs, a community in Calvert County, Maryland, learned that 436 acres of nearby woodland were about to be sold—potentially for development. Concerned about preserving the natural landscape, they came together to purchase the land themselves. That first tract became the foundation of ACLT.
They named the organization after the American Chestnut tree, once a dominant species in eastern forests, symbolizing the importance of protecting what remains of the region’s natural heritage.
Our Pledge
ACLT acknowledges that the land it stewards is the ancestral home of the Peoples of the Piscataway Confederacy and other Indigenous People. We recognize the people of African descent, enslaved and free, who once worked on or owned the farms … We acknowledge our obligation to maintain the land and educate the public in such a way that their spirit and heritage are not forgotten …
ACLT pledges to continue its fundamental mission of connecting all people to the land by providing equitable and inclusive access to the lands we steward … ACLT strives to foster a feeling of belonging … for all its diverse communities with the hope of a more equitable and sustainable future in Nature for all.