Located south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, this magnificent parcel represents 430 acres of the natural heritage and wide open landscapes that once dominated southern New Castle County. Now officially the Hugh R. Sharp Family Tract of the Appoquinimink River Nature Preserve, this farm is situated at the confluence of the Appoquinimink River and Drawyers Creek and complements Delaware Wild Lands’ other New Castle County land holdings at Taylor’s Bridge (over 3,300 acres) and Port Penn/Augustine Creek (over 1,100 acres).
The Sharp Farm is an exceptionally unique property because it lies within two critical transition zones in Delaware: the first is the transition between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain regions of Delaware and the second is the interface of low-lying salt marsh and upland forest.
The Sharp Farm’s expansive marsh and 140 acres of forest adjacent to tidally-influenced waterways support a bounty of wildlife. This ecological complex provides nesting, foraging, and wintering habitats for a multitude of waterfowl and songbird species including American Black Duck, Northern Pintail, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, American Redstart, a rare bird species in Delaware, Woodcock, Belted Kingfisher, and Hairy Woodpecker, among others. Delaware Wild Lands is working diligently to further develop habitat for nesting, foraging and wintering birds by expanding native hardwood forests, planting native trees and shrubs, and restoring early successional habitat with the installation of warm and cool season grasses.
The Sharp Farm offers many opportunities to learn more about the unique natural features and cultural legacy of the Delaware landscape. This property is also a prime example of what can be achieved when conservation organizations such as Delaware Wild Lands, The Conservation Fund, State of Delaware, and Mt. Cuba Center work collaboratively to permanently protect Delaware’s most valuable landscapes.
