News from the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

Grayce B. Kerr Fund Grant to ESLC Secures Paw Paw Cove Site

Queenstown, Maryland, February 26, 2007 - Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) recently received a grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, Inc. of Easton to fund the final acquisition costs for Paw Paw Cove.

Paw Paw Cove - a 30-acre section of Tilghman Island of which Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) purchased 10 acres for permanent protection is one of 17 sites in the nation eligible for National Historic Landmark Status. Paw Paw Cove is one the archeological "it" spots of the moment, complete with 13,000 year-old Clovis - the first inhabitants of the Americas - artifacts which challenge the theory that humans migrated from Siberia to North America via a land bridge. ESLC purchased 10 acres of Paw Paw Cove with plans to provide long-term research and public education on the site.

"We are very pleased to accept this grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund to help with our efforts to secure this unique archaeological resource," said Rob Etgen, Executive Director, ESLC. "Paw Paw Cove is a sacred area which will tell us much about the first humans in North America."

In addition to Paw Paw Cove's archeological significance, its unique geology has provided a gently sloping sand beach that has not eroded in more than 150 years, even though most of the Chesapeake Bay frontage on the western shore of Tilghman Island significantly erodes each year.. For more information about Paw Paw Cove or ESLC's land protection work, please visit www.eslc.org.

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