Part gift, part purchase, the protected land will secure the future of the renowned Wye Angus cattle herd and expand its use for research and education.
Black angus cattle graze in the pasture at the Wye Research and Education Center.
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
The Aspen Institute donated 330 acres along with existing buildings to the University of Maryland for continued use by the Wye Angus program, which is maintained and operated by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, MD. In addition, UMD purchased another 233 acres for a total land acquisition of 563 acres.
The Wye Angus program is a research and education program built around a carefully bred herd of cattle, gifted to UMD in 1979 by the late Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., an American businessman and CEO of Steuben Glass Works, and his wife Nina Houghton.
Since establishing the Wye Angus program more than 40 years ago, the university has leased the land to support the herd from the Aspen Institute, which originally received the land as a gift from Houghtons. The recent donation and sale means UMD now owns the land needed to maintain the herd, and can ensure its future. As part of the agreement, the land will remain in a conservation easement held by the Maryland Environmental Trust and the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, which preserves the agricultural and environmental attributes of the property in perpetuity.
