Georgetown, Del., May 6, 2008: Sussex County is teaming up with the State of Delaware and a local land trust once again to protect hundreds of acres of farmland.

County Council, at its Tuesday, May 6, 2008, meeting, approved using $900,000 in agriculture preservation money in its Fiscal 2008 budget as its contribution to protect five parcels totaling nearly 500 acres scattered throughout the county. The approval is contingent on no changes in the county realty transfer tax formula during the Delaware General Assembly’s 2008 session.

The $900,000 from Sussex County, combined with another $300,000 in private donations raised by the Sussex County Land Trust, will create a local share of $1.2 million. That money, in turn, will be matched through the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Program. Both the local and state commitments will yield the effort an additional $1.2 million in federal funds.

In total, $3.6 million in funding will come from local, state and federal partners for this latest preservation effort.

“Sussex County is proud to be a continuing partner in this commitment to preserving open space,” County Administrator David B. Baker said. “By the County taking this action today, in partnership with the Sussex County Land Trust, the State of Delaware and the federal government, this $3.6 million investment now will reap the benefits of green landscapes and working farms for generations to come.”

The five parcels, totaling 472 acres, are all working farms in the Bridgeville, Dagsboro, Greenwood, and Milton areas. The owners of the properties are not selling their lands, just the right to subdivide and develop the parcels.

Wendy O. Baker, president and chief executive officer of the non-profit Sussex County Land Trust, said the five properties are desirable for a number of reasons, including their proximity to other preserved parcels and the unimpeded, natural views they offer the public. The easement purchases also aid the Land Trust in its mission to help create a Grand Preservation Loop.

The loop is a string of preserved farms, forests and other natural tracts held by a variety of owners stretching from Slaughter Beach down through the Redden Forrest, southwest to Trap Pond, east through the Great Cypress Swamp, back up along the Inland Bays and ending in the Primehook Wildlife area outside Milton.

“Purchasing easements is the single-most successful vehicle for permanent preservation because it leverages additional dollars,” Ms. Baker said. “This allows us to preserve the most amount of acreage for the least amount of money.”

County Council President Finley B. Jones Jr. said the purchase of easement rights is further proof that Sussex County is serious about land protection. “Sussex County has invested $8.1 million in the last six years to buy parcels or property easements,” Council President Jones said. “This is another example of the County putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to protecting open space.”

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