Valerie Imbruce, the Lammot Du Pont Director of the Washington College Center for Environment & Society, noted that NLP is a core part of the College and CES’s mission. “We are training the next generation of environmental stewards and change agents through interdisciplinary, place-based learning,” she said while lauding their collaborative work to restore thousands of acres of marginalized cropland across the Eastern Shore into diverse native meadows, wetlands, and forests to increase diversity and improve water quality. 

Through their dedicated work, Small and Thornton, along with the entire CES team and two to three Washington College interns each semester, are not just restoring land; they are cultivating a deeper connection between people and nature, fostering a more resilient and vibrant Eastern Shore for generations to come. The Washington interns get hands-on training in habitat restoration, skill development with chainsaws, prescribed burns, site visits to public and private projects, tree shelter maintenance, and native seed propagation. They also receive professional development with various partners, including Unity Nursery and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Watershed and Climate Services office. 

Habitat loss and fragmentation are primary drivers of wildlife decline in rural landscapes like the Shore’s. One of the NLP’s core missions is to address this by working with private and public landowners to transform marginal cropland into vibrant native meadows, wetlands, and forests. These restored areas not only provide crucial habitat for diverse wildlife, but also play a vital role in reducing nutrient and sediment runoff into local waterways, contributing to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Through these efforts, NLP can remove up to 85% or more of nutrients and pesticides, and upwards of 75% of sediments out of the wetland areas they manage. The restored habitat then serves as a source of food, nesting cover, and shelter for wildlife, while stabilizing stream banks and providing setbacks from agricultural fields to reduce downstream flooding.

The NLP team splits its time between managing and restoring the thousands of acres on Washington’s River and Field Campus (RAFC) and collaborating with landowners and the state parks system across the Eastern Shore. From managing sprawling 40-acre public land plots to intimate five-acre private projects, their impact is diverse and far-reaching as they work to sustain and restore the ecology of the Chesapeake region.

“We opt for the term meadow over grassland because Maryland’s native foliage is a vibrant mosaic,” explained Small. “It’s not just grasses, but also shrubs, flowering plants, and a whole host of other species that create a rich and dynamic ecosystem out here.”

Pointing to the trees taking root near the road, Small emphasized the deliberate choice of planting 10 native species over faster-growing, but often less ecologically beneficial, early successional varieties. “Basically, we’re trying to spike the system,” said Small of their efforts to encourage the land’s return to a fully native habitat to create a resilient and complex forest ecosystem.

To date, NLP has planted and maintained over 359 acres of forests within Cypress Branch and Tuckahoe State Parks, among others. This coming summer will see another exciting development as they begin carving walking trails through some of the restored areas, inviting the public to witness the burgeoning biodiversity firsthand.

The NLP’s reach has been extended significantly through its strong partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the state parks system. This collaboration provides crucial funding and expands the scope of their conservation efforts, helping boost their efforts with private landowners as well. Recently, NLP and partners, including the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and ShoreRivers, got a three-year, $949,787 grant from the DNR’s Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund to restore 230 acres of native grasslands, pollinator habitats, and buffers, restore 10 acres of wetlands, and plant 8.5 acres of trees in priority areas.

Although the amount of land managed now on behalf of the state parks is massive, the majority–nearly 95%–of the NLP’s completed projects were done in collaboration with individual landowners. Small says he originally thought NLP would be most active with farmers, but those overtures have not been as fruitful as those to landowners who aren’t farming their properties and are interested in managing their natural spaces sustainably. This has proven to be a silver lining, as it highlighted a critical messaging gap around restorative land practices that NLP has effectively filled. While the state’s outreach programs are successful with the agricultural community, NLP taps into a deep well of interest among those seeking to enhance their properties and contribute to a healthier Chesapeake Bay region.

The benefits for landowners who partner with NLP are multifaceted. They gain access to funding to support restoration projects as well as assistance with ongoing management, and they witness a remarkable improvement in the ecological health of their land, often within a single year of implementing new plantings and management strategies.

“We aren’t out here convincing people,” said Thornton. “We’re filling a need and an interest. Once landowners understand the benefits, they are eager to participate.”

The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with NLP having completed over 90 projects on 83 privately owned lands to date, restoring or rehabilitating natural wetlands and meadows as appropriate. The success of their model has even inspired the Maryland DNR to adopt similar approaches in their own conservation initiatives.

Jonathan Shaw, who owns property near Wye Mills, contracted with NLP to restore 33 acres (about half the area of a large shopping mall). The project started with NLP assisting Shaw in converting just one acre between his house and a connecting field to its natural state. After seeing the results, Shaw opted to convert more of his property through extensive seeding of native plants and putting down cover crops in the bordering acres before the planting season. The first growing season required diligent mowing and care, but now the project is easily maintained and sees more wildlife returning each season. 

“We love Dan,” said Shaw of their years-long relationship. For Shaw, though, the best thing to come out of the restoration efforts can be summed up with one sound. “We have quail back,” he beamed.

The Northern Bobwhite Quail

Central to the NLP’s mission, particularly in its early days, was the restoration of the northern bobwhite quail population on RAFC. This charming ground-nesting bird, once a familiar part of the soundscape of the Eastern Shore, has suffered significant declines due to habitat loss associated with changes in agricultural practices after World War II, particularly the removal of crucial hedgerows.

The bobwhite serves as an “umbrella species,” meaning its health and proliferation indicate the overall well-being of the environment and other wildlife. The success of the NLP’s land restoration efforts has had a tangible impact on quail populations. Now, an estimated 300 quail are thriving on RAFC, one of the largest populations in Maryland. Moreover, the NLP’s work has inspired others. Delaware, for instance, has begun conducting quail surveys on its public lands to gauge future restoration needs, directly influenced by the positive outcomes from Washington College’s tracking of its quail counts and the steps taken to increase their numbers in recent years.

“The Natural Lands Project has contributed significantly to habitat restoration for bobwhite and other grassland birds on the Eastern Shore,” said Bob Long, Wild Turkey and Upland Game Bird Project Manager with the Maryland DNR. The Department is part of an informal working group that includes not only the University of Maryland, NLP, and NRCS partners, but also Quail Forever, Tall Timbers, and others working to restore quail habitat and populations. 

“It’s exciting to see momentum building, resulting in more habitat created for these declining species. Quail are showing up in locations across the Eastern Shore where they haven’t been seen in many years, reaffirming the belief that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ NLP is an important part of that effort,” said Long. 

As Small aptly puts it, the quail is both an “indicator and motivator” for their work. The positive feedback from landowners who excitedly share with Small sound recordings of returning quail and sightings of other wildlife on their lands underscores the profound impact of habitat restoration.

“For many people on the Eastern Shore, the call of the bobwhite is a powerful memory of their childhood,” Small said, adding that the birds serve to help people agree to work with them to rehab their lands. “To tell them that it’s possible to have quail on their property again is a huge motivator.”

Land Restoration in Action

Small’s journey to NLP was somewhat unexpected. Born in South Africa and raised in Massachusetts, his initial passion was birds. He joined NLP in 2015 as a research staffer focused on increasing sparrow populations. It was through this research that he recognized the profound impact of land management practices on bird populations, sparking his interest in restorative ecology. As he puts it, his path moved from observing species to understanding their habitat needs to creating those habitats. After a grant was awarded from the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund that same year, Small and CES were able “to get off the farm” and begin work with landowners, using the funds to install projects and cover staff time. His deep appreciation for the natural world is evident in his favorite aspect of the job: the sheer joy he hears in landowners’ voices when they call to share evidence of returning wildlife on their lands. 

“We’re making a difference to declining wildlife populations,” Small said. “The number of birds using the restoration areas has increased dramatically as we transitioned the fields from row crop agriculture to native meadows. Species like grasshopper sparrows, field sparrows, indigo buntings, common yellowthroats, blue grosbeaks, and red-winged blackbirds find the habitat very quickly. Dickcissel, a low-density breeder in Maryland, has successfully bred on several of our meadow sites as well.”

Thornton, a Maryland native from Clarksville, brings a complementary passion for plant ecology to NLP. 

Her journey began with an internship at the Washington College banding station at Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory and involvement in its sparrow research. Upon graduating from Washington with a double major in environmental studies and history and a minor in biology, she began working at the Adkins Arboretum. There, she learned about and became fascinated by the intricate relationships within plant communities. Drawn back to the College by Small’s work at RAFC, particularly his use of prescribed burns as a restoration tool, she volunteered her assistance during burning season. That initial collaboration blossomed into her current role as the NLP’s field technician. 

For Thornton, the daily hands-on work of maintaining and restoring the land provides a constant source of informal education. She cherishes the opportunity to see properties before habitat creation and then follow the improvements in species diversity and overall ecosystem function through the years. 

“There’s just so much to learn,” she reflected. “Plants surprise me—there’s always a new one that pops up that I don’t know yet. I love visiting meadows that are a few years old because you start to see some additional native vegetation, birds, and insects coming back into the space.” 

As an intern, Thornton monitored grasshopper sparrows. These days, she’s happy to take a moment of gleeful pause when she hears them singing in the grasslands as she works. “I’m learning to differentiate between the sparrows that perch and forage in the grasses and those in the tree plantings,” she said, adding that she enjoys taking a few extra moments to look at a pollinator, a bird, or a plant to better understand what it is and how it might be interacting within the ecosystem.