Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area

Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties

Concern for the well-being of the lower Eastern Shore communities and resources is not new, but attempts to coordinate conservation and sensitive development of the region's unique assets have been largely handled by individual counties and communities concerned with their own jurisdictions. The goals of the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council are centered on focusing heritage tourism as well as conservation of historic, cultural, and natural resources in a regional approach. In this manner, a larger picture of regional heritage tourism will better serve all counties and municipalities involved, promote a spirit of cooperation, and foster stewardship of the resources within the region.

The essential tenets of this approach are:

• recognition of the important natural and living, cultural and historic, as well as economic and recreational resources in Somerset, Worcester, and Wicomico counties;
• aiding in the promotion of Somerset, Worcester, and Wicomico counties' resources;
• targeting public and private funding to achieve local, state, and private actions and partnerships;
• coordinating the more effective application of federal, state, and local programs.
  

Location

Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore is a rural region with a wealth of historic, cultural and natural resources that distinguish it from other places in the state and country. Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico counties encompass a vast region stretching from the shorelines of Tangier Sound and Chesapeake Bay to the washed beaches of the seaboard coast. Located between the State of Delaware on the north and the State of Virginia to the south, the tri-county region is a portion of what is known as the Delmarva Peninsula.

Management

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization, employs a professional staff to work on behalf of the Council's board of directors to serve as the supervisor of the heritage area program and action plan. As such, the LESHC is an entity that maintains a regional overview of heritage resources and supports the preservation and protection of those resources while at the same time enhancing regional economic development through the locally endorsed heritage area action plan.

Management Plan

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area is a Maryland “Certified” Heritage Area. LESHC’s management plan is approved by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.  It includes information on the boundaries of the Certified Heritage Area and “Target Investment Zones,” and presents the heritage area’s vision and goals and the strategies, projects, programs, actions, and partnerships.

Click here for the Executive Summary of the Managment Plan

Contact Information

Mr. Jay Parker, Executive Director
Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council, Inc.

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 4601
Salisbury, MD 21803

Office location:
212 W. Main Street
Gallery Bldg., Suite 301C
Salisbury, MD 21801
410-677-4706
410-677-4707 (fax)

E-mail: leshc1@aol.com
Website: www.lowershoreheritage.org