Howard County Conservancy

The Howard County Conservancy will present its annual Earth Day Celebration from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 24 at its headquarters, Mount Pleasant, 10520 Old Frederick Road, in Woodstock. Participants, who should take a picnic lunch, can plant trees, clear invasive non-native species, clean up and mulch trails on the 232-acre nature reserve. An opportunity to hike on nature trails is planned. A bird walk is planned from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tree-planting and cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon.

Marriage equity for gays, lesbians to be PFLAG topic The Howard County chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) will hold a town hall meeting to discuss marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. Jean Moon will be the moderator for a panel discussion that will include Rabbi Sonya Starr, the Rev. Paige Getty, County Councilman Guy Guzzone, Dan Furmansky of Equality Maryland, a lesbian couple and a gay couple.

The Howard County Conservancy, a land trust whose headquarters is on 232 acres in Woodstock, is switching directors. Elizabeth J. Stoffel, who joined the conservancy five years ago, resigned and will leave next month. Lynne Nemeth, a Columbia consultant active in the local nonprofit community, has been named interim director. The conservancy, founded in 1990, has helped preserve more than 1,500 acres in Howard and will open an environmental education center next year.

In an area where the hum of development is the signature of daily life, the Howard County Conservancy is a beautiful anomaly -- a historic farm protected forever and tucked away in rolling hills not far from the buzz of Interstate 70. It's the sort of place people could easily pass by unawares, and many do. But now, with the largest grant in its history in hand, the conservancy is poised to undergo some development of its own, designed to draw people...

In a rare victory for preservationists, an Ellicott City estate that once belonged to one of Howard County's oldest families will forever remain a green and tree-lined glimpse of times past instead of becoming the site of a large 21st- century development. The owner of Keewaydin, a 10.2-acre homestead a mile from Main Street, has donated an easement to Howard County Conservancy that prevents further development on the land. It's a surprising reversal that illustrates the possibility of preservation - even in Howard County, where land values are continuously escalating.

Loki and Smiling Bear Keilholtz of Clarksville say their married life revolves around the huge boxelder maple in their front yard. The tree, they say, has seen it all: births, deaths, marriages. They have held weddings under the tree, scattered ashes there. Their four children used to build forts in the tree, and they have always hung swings from its branches. "It's the spirit of our farm," they say. The Keilholtz tree is one of 55 "champion trees" in the county, according to a new registry compiled by the Howard County Conservancy Board.

Electro-fishing anyone?"It sounds diabolical, and almost everybody thinks we look like the Ghostbusters when we're at it, but the fish recover quite nicely," says Stu Lehman, a biologist with the Department of Natural Resources.He's talking about how he stuns small fish living in streams so he can show people the many varieties.The unique demonstration helps Mr. Lehman drive home to people a lesson in conservation. Mr. Lehman's pitch will be part of the county's first effort to educate new residents of the countryside.