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Patuxent Tidewater Land Tr

EIN 52-2005066 · Leonardtown, MD

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood85 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust preserves rural lands for current and future generations through conservation easements, monitoring activities, and environmental stewardship.

Income
$222,808
Spending
$97,493
Spent on programs
90%
Reserves
46.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
investment income, 34%
Employees
1
Volunteers
40
Highest pay
$82,420, easement manager

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 60% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 46.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 55% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 56% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 93% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    90% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    8 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $74,134 spent. Easement Acquisition: PTLT continued to acquire new easements to protect property in Southern Maryland in perpetuity. Two new easements were established in 2025 protecting 240.58 additional acres of land and bringing our total land protected to 7,115.65 acres. PTLT continues to work with the State of Maryland's Rural Legacy (RL) Program, St. Mary's County, and the Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program to fund projects. PTLT continued working with landowners to place easements on properties within the Huntersville Rural Legacy Area in mid St. Mary's County Maryland. Five easements projects are in work and scheduled to close by December 2026.
  2. $2,475 spent. Easement Monitoring: PTLT uses a volunteer team of monitors under the oversight of a volunteer Monitoring Coordinator and the Executive Director. This group identifies and evaluates potential issues on existing easements and completes, files, and distributes monitoring reports for each property. These reports are submitted to the easement co-holders and sponsors. This labor-intensive effort, while not consuming significant funding, is critical to ensuring that the conservation value of the properties is maintained and no easement violations occur. The Maryland Rural Legacy program grants PTLT funds to monitor properties for which they are co-holders.
  3. $11,545 spent. Easement Compliance: Due in part to our thorough monitoring program, PTLT has had few easement compliance issues and tries hard to resolve these amicably with landowners. Our volunteer board members investigate, document, and resolve each issue. PTLT holds reserve funds received from the Rural Legacy program in a restricted account and holds insurance to address any violations that would require legal or technical expertise. PTLT continues to follow up with landowners on potential easement issues to help them address emerging problems in a timely manner. PTLT has a policy of requiring easement properties to be free of dumping prior to closing. This ensures our monitors can spot dumping changes on the properties easier. As part of easement compliance, PTLT is also keeping notes on inland erosion which has become an increasing issue in the Huntersville area after Hurricane Isaias in 2020. Examples of compliance issues that have been successfully addressed are vegetative buffer restoration, erosion remediation, and removal of material in violation of dumping restrictions.
  4. PTLT received the Rural Legacy administrative fee from 4 easement completions in 2025, totaling $75,016.72. This is to be used for future acquisition, monitoring, compliance, and administrative costs.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since June 1997.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.