Summer 2015 marks the 36th anniversary of the first official meeting of the volunteer stewardship committee at Maryland’s Nassawango Creek Preserve. Going strong since 1979, the committee ranks among the longest-serving groups of preserve volunteers in the history of The Nature Conservancy.
I met the current crew during a spring workday at Taylor Farm, the newest addition to the state’s largest private nature preserve. On an unseasonably cold Sunday morning, the volunteers bundled up against bitter winds and cheerfully set off to post boundary lines.
As various volunteers paused to share their memories and their hopes, several credited two founding members, the late Ilia and Joe Fehrer Sr. (known as “Nassawango Joe”), with inspiring their devotion to Nassawango Creek. Nearly all expressed their desire to welcome new, younger members to ensure the ongoing care of their beloved preserve.
Nassawango Creek Preserve was established when E. Stanton Adkins donated 155 acres to the Conservancy in 1978, culminating the Fehrers’ six-year campaign to see the heart of Maryland’s most significant bald-cypress swamp preserved.
Today, the welcome center we share with Furnace Town Living Heritage Museum is a gateway to the state’s largest private nature preserve — 10,000 acres for visitors to explore history, hike a forest trail, paddle the creek in a canoe or kayak, view wildlife, or simply revel in the beauty and tranquility of nature.
Read on to meet some of our dedicated preserve volunteers as they describe their Nassawango experiences in their own words.
Michael Conger and Todd Peterson
Joe and Ilia were the activists, and you need that sometimes to get things started. Nassawango Joe was a quiet leader. This is one of his weed whackers that he gave me, so talk about inspiration, this is it right here.” –Michael Conger
I like being out here with these guys in the woods and doing some good. It’s just very important to me to give back. And if I can do that and be outside, it’s a double win for me. As this preserve grows, we [the committee] have to grow. We’re the eyes and ears of the Conservancy.” –Todd Peterson
Ruth Lane
I think Todd said it very nicely. It’s beautiful country — and we like to keep it as it is — and a great group of people. I wasn’t sure women were welcome, but I remember they didn’t seem to notice what I was, just said come along.” —Ruth Lane
George Parker
Conservancy volunteers during a 2011 highway cleanup at Nassawango © Michael Conger; George Parker, chairman of the Nassawango Stewardship Committee © Daniel White/TNC
We’ve got what we call The Choir, the guys who come all the time. Then we’ve got the people who come out occasionally. We start the season with a list of things to do, and we work hard at it. Our work season starts with trail maintenance. One of the most difficult, but most interesting, things we do — we take out fallen trees to keep our canoe trail clear. We built and maintain the canoe and kayak launch, the boardwalks and a picnic area — there’s a whole gamut of things we do.” —George Parker
Jeff Bacon
We also work in partnership with the state. DNR put up a solar-powered electric fence around the lupine that an endangered butterfly lays its eggs on — the frosted elfin. That’s a really neat project. We monitor it to make sure the deer are not encroaching over the fence and munching on the lupine. Last year, we actually saw elfin, and we also saw caterpillars, which is great because it means the fence is working.” —Jeff Bacon
Joe Eshbach
I like being out here with all these guys. I’m getting some exercise on Sundays, and I feel like I’m doing some good. Eventually this farm is all going to be forest, back to what it used to be not all that long ago. You can’t beat it — out here tramping around.” —Joe Eshbach
Jack Demorra and Ron Wilson
One spring, I was out picking up trash and found an old suitcase. It was very heavy, and not just from water. It held some computer parts, but also a snake came flying out! In a way, we get to take ownership of the preserve and take care of it, try to clean it up. It’s a chance to get out in nature and actually do something worthwhile.” —Jack Demorra
I took some canoe trips – several with Nassawango Joe — and just fell in love with the creek. I was born and raised around here, and I always loved the creek. But I appreciated it even more when I saw that it was being preserved. I thought, gee, I want to help with this. I ended up leading a lot of canoe trips.” —Ron Wilson
Joe Fehrer, Jr.
I remember people writing checks on the hoods of their cars after some of those canoe trips. That was how a lot of the funds were raised to protect this place. The stewardship committee came together after the first 150 acres were donated. I was a draftee and probably didn’t want to be there. I was 18 years old at the time.
This volunteer committee is just exceptional. Without it, our work here would be impossible.
When I joined the Conservancy staff years later, I was hired as the land manager. But there’s no way one person could manage this property without this volunteer committee. It’s too long and linear. There’re too many boundary lines, and we’ve got a lot of neighbors. ” —Joe Fehrer, Jr.
Nature Needs You!
Similar to the heroes of our World War II era, long-time Conservancy volunteers such as the Nassawango Stewardship Committee have earned recognition as conservation’s “Greatest Generation.” But far from resting on laurels, these dedicated volunteers are anxiously eyeing the future.
Will the next generation of volunteers step up and take the conservation torch? If you are interested in volunteering for nature, the Conservancy and our partners offer diverse opportunities in Maryland, across the country and near your backyard.
Our Nassawango volunteers also want you to know that they are working to make Maryland’s largest private preserve a wonderful place for you to hike, paddle and enjoy nature. And you can connect with nature at preserves across the nation.
