Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve
MCBP Role: Restoration and monitoring.
Purpose/Benefit – Habitat conservation
Restoration
MCBP initial cost: $0
Nutrient reduction
Total cost: $2,750,000
Passive use public access
CELCP (Federal): $1,375,000
State: $500,000
Partners: Worcester County
Donated land value: $875,000
Management Plan Committee includes:
Public Use: Future passive recreation use
MCBP, Worcester County Recreation and Parks, NRCS,
planned
FWS,DNR, MDE, and local residents.
Size: 440 Acres
Pine Rows
Timber road
Assate
ague R
oad
Western Parcel: Pine monoculture mixed
with a wide variety of wetlands.
Eastern Parcel: Bound by Ayres Creek.
The open field on the right side of the
creek is the Lewis Road Kayak Launch.
Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve
Objective: Restore parcels to a more natural ecosystem and develop a passive
recreation plan for public use.
Conservation Impact: These tracts, located in the Holly Grove Swamp Area, are important for water quality and habitat preservation. The Holly Grove Swamp, with nearly
4,000 acres of contiguous forest within its boundaries is one of last strongholds of forested
wilderness in northern Worcester County. These flooded deciduous/pine mixed forests
perform a variety of important services which include providing sources of clean, fresh
water to the bays, and habitat for forest interior species. The area contains the largest
documented concentration of red-bellied watersnakes, a state rare species, in Maryland.
The protection of the Holly Grove Swamp Area may provide direct habitat resource benefits to 10 state and/or federally-listed rare, threatened, and endangered species.
The Future: The draft management plan for this project has been written and is currently
under review by the management committee. Some committee members have replied with
suggestions and more response is expected. Timbering, Atlantic white cedar restoration,
flooding of areas through ditch plugging, and public use will all probably occur, though the
portions of the property for each use and the timeline are still subject to further discussion.