Ecotone was made aware of the existing farm for sale in Northern Baltimore County, which included a segment of the headwaters of Deer Creek, a trout stream with a naturally reproducing population of brown trout. The property consisted of a mixture of very steeply sloped upland areas and low-lying floodplain areas along Deer Creek, with the predominant historic use of the site being row crop production. The floodplain areas are for the most part underlain with hydric (wetland) soils which had been drained and manipualted in the past to allow crop production. Ecotone saw tremendous opportunities for environmental restoration on the property. Utilizing existing environmental credit markets, Ecotone determined the farm and downstream watershed would benefit from performing restoration work on the property.

Ecotone purchased the property in late 2007 and developed restoration plans to reforest steeply sloped upland areas and create/restore wetlands within the riparian areas on the farm. Working with Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management, the site was approved as a forest planting and forest retention bank in early 2008. Ecotone developed an extensive forest planting plan which included a diverse mix of native hardwood trees and shrubs. Species were selected to provide food and cover for wildlife species. Clumps of native evergreen were incorporated into the plan to provide winter wildlife cover. The wetland restoration plans involve minor grading within the floodplain of Deer Creek to restore wetland hydrology within those areas, which are predominantly underlain by hydric (wetland) soils that were historically manipulated to drain them sufficiently to allow crop production. Areas within the floodplain not suitable for wetland restoration will be reforested with suitable tree and shrub species.

Ecotone plans to restore forest to over 21 acres on the property and will protect the 12 acres of existing forest in perpetuity. 10 acres of native trees and shrubs were planted in 2008. All trees and shrubs were protected with trees and shrub shelters to enhance survival rates and to aid in maintenance of the property. Environmental credits for the forest planting are provided to multiple participants in Baltimore County who purchase the credits to meet the requirements of the Maryland Forest Conservation Act. Finally, Ecotone installed wildlife food plots outside of the forest planting areas to further enhance wildlife habitat. The 7 acres of wetland restoration work is scheduled for construction in late 2009.