Walk the Line: Become a Boundary Walker for The Nature Conservancy

Nature Conservancy’s Maryland/DC Chapter Seeks Volunteers to Monitor Preserve Boundaries

BETHESDA, MD — April, 16, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy is seeking a dozen outdoorsy volunteers to help monitor the Conservancy’s nature preserves in Dorchester, Wicomico and Caroline counties in Maryland. These volunteer boundary walkers will visit the preserve at least twice a year and walk part of the boundary line, make sure that signs are still posted within sight of each other on the boundary line, document signs of disturbance to the preserve and be the voice of the Conservancy for visitors and neighbors you meet on your walks.

“The Nature Conservancy manages 31 preserves across the state of Maryland and we rely on the generous help of volunteers to give us extra eyes and ears in knowing what’s going on at our preserves,” said Deborah Barber, director of stewardship and volunteer programs. “We have over 200 miles of boundary lines to watch and we’ve already recruited more than two dozen volunteers across the state to monitor our preserves. But we still need a few more folks to help alert our staff to everything from missing signs to dumping to other unwanted activities.”

Boundary monitor Pat Groller (left) at a Dorchester Pond workday.

Read our interview with Pat as she talks about the highlights of being a preserve monitor!

“This could be a great opportunity for someone looking for a moment of solitude in nature or even someone who’s interested in putting their new GPS unit to good work for conservation,” Barber added.

Volunteers interested in becoming a boundary walker for the Conservancy should be comfortable spending time in backwoods, wilderness areas alone. The Conservancy is asking that volunteers visit the preserve site twice a year and commit to at least two years of service. Barber says the preserves are often remote and don’t have trails so volunteers should be in good enough shape to handle strenuous walking, but staff will help orient volunteers to their preserve site and provide maps of the preserves needed to be monitored.

More details are available on the Web at nature.org/marylanddc. People interested in becoming a boundary walker for the Conservancy can contact Gabe Cahalan at (301) 897-8570 or gcahalan@tnc.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.