Since forming in 2021, SMCA has been working to increase the pace of land conservation and decrease the threat of sprawl in many ways, namely through direct conservation of land, influencing the zoning process, and working to expand the land conservation toolkit in Southern Maryland. In carrying out these activities —most of which rely heavily on the actions of land-conserving organizations—SMCA has become acutely aware of the fact that land trusts and other environmental entities are only a fraction of the audience influencing the tug-of-war between conservation and sprawl. Landowners and local officials also play a huge role in influencing the fate of unprotected lands. However, without a holistic understanding of the financial, economic, and environmental benefits of conservation, there is a greater risk that these groups contribute instead to the perpetuation of sprawl. In 2024, SMCA began a project to help improve our partners' conservation outreach with important target audiences, like landowners and local officials. 

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With funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Constellation, and in collaboration with Green Fin Studio, we developed a Communications and Marketing Strategy for our partners to use. This detailed document provides united messaging and recommendations for strengthening our efforts, as well as a logo, tagline, and postcard that can be adopted and tailored to each organization's unique needs. 

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The document is housed here and under the resources tab of SMCA's storymap (below). 

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