The property contains a network of streams that flow toward the Patuxent River, helping protect forest habitat, water quality, and the rural character of Southern Maryland.
For Gwen Bankins, however, protecting the property was about more than its natural resources. It was about preserving a family legacy that reaches back generations.
“It was about building and preserving the legacy of land in the first county in Maryland, St. Mary’s County,” Bankins says.
The property has been in her family since her great-great-grandfather purchased it. At a time when African Americans faced significant barriers to land ownership, his ability to acquire and retain land represented an important achievement. Today, Bankins sees the conservation easement to ensure that legacy continues.
“Being an African American at the time my great-great-grandfather purchased it was not something easy, and to leave a legacy of African American ownership is not something to be taken lightly,” she says.
The Rural Legacy Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources helps protect the state’s most important agricultural, forest, and natural resource areas through permanent conservation easements. The Bankins property adds an important block of protected forest within the Patuxent River watershed while ensuring that the land’s conservation values will endure.
For Bankins, working with PTLT has particular importance. “PTLT cared about my property and what the legacy of land means in St. Mary’s County,” she says. “PTLT cared about preserving the land for future generations.”
The conservation of the Bankins property also contributes to the protection of the Patuxent River watershed. Its 83 acres of woodland and streams provide habitat and help maintain the natural functions of the landscape by slowing runoff, filtering water, and protecting stream corridors.
Bankins views the future of the property through the same lens as its past.
“Resilience, strength, it gives you the opportunity to pass a legacy to future generations. These are the roots for the future.” That sense of stewardship takes on particular meaning as Maryland approaches its 400th anniversary.
“The Founders came across the water for something better. We need to preserve their intent,” Bankins says.
The Bankins easement represents both environmental conservation and the preservation of a family story—one rooted in land ownership, perseverance, and a commitment to ensuring that future generations have something to inherit.
“Conservation easements are about much more than keeping land undeveloped,” says Abigail Greenwell, Executive Director of Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust. “They protect the places that tell the story of our communities and provide families the opportunity to define their legacy. The Bankins property is a powerful example of how land conservation can preserve both land and the history carried by it.”
About Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust
Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting the farms, forests, streams, and natural lands of Southern Maryland. PTLT works with landowners to conserve important properties through conservation easements and provides ongoing stewardship to ensure that protected lands remain protected for generations to come. To date Patuxent Tidewater Land has conserved over 7,000 acres of rural Southern Maryland in perpetuity. To inquire about conserving land contact saveland@ptlt.org.
