SEAFORD, Del.– The Henry F. Porter preserve along with partners such as the Chesapeake Conservancy, the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy, DNREC, and MD DNR came together to celebrate the conservation of 181 acres across Maryland and Delaware.

Director of the Chesapeake Conservancy Randy Larrimore explains why it was important to conserve the land.

“Well, it’s all one parcel and it’s contiguous,” Larrimore said. “What we’re trying to do with the conservancy is put pieces of land together so animals can freely roam up and down the Chesapeake. This was just a nice piece of property with parks on each side and it’s just absolutely beautiful.”

The main purpose of the conservation is ensuring the long-term protection of critical natural elements such as waterway protection, and wildlife habitats.

DNREC secretary Greg Patterson explains how this project fits into Delaware’s conservation priorities.

“So we have conservation priorities, and we have resilience priorities,” Patterson said. “We also just want people to have a place where they can appreciate nature.”

Larrimore says that he hopes anyone that visits the conservation feels peaceful and connected with nature.

“Hopefully people can walk through and enjoy nature,” Larrimore said. “We think that parks really help people relieve stress and anxieties about what’s happening around the world.”