King Burnett: A Legacy Built on Compassion, Vision, and Dedication
- Margot Resto
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
In our 35th year, we celebrate King Burnett, one of Lower Shore Land Trust’s founders. Without King’s vision, hard work, and passion for our rural communities, the Lower Shore Land Trust wouldn’t be here today. This year, we have the rare privilege of honoring King at our biggest celebration of the year, The Flannel Formal.
King is a multi-award-winning leader recognized for his dedication and excellence in myriad arenas, including legislative, environmental, governmental, and community organizations.
Throughout his career, King helped establish and strengthen many institutions that continue to serve the Lower Shore today. He was a founding member of the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, formed with the support of the University of Maryland School of Agriculture to research issues impacting the environment and agriculture, where he served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee from 1999–2014 and now serves as Member Emeritus. He also helped found the R/UDAT Action Group for the Revitalization of Downtown Salisbury, serving as Vice Chairman from 1982–1985; Wicomico County Historical Properties, Inc., where he has served as President since 1980; the Mid Delmarva YMCA, serving on its Board of Directors from 1967–1975; the Salisbury School, Inc., where he was on the Board of Trustees from 1971–1988 and Chairman from 1978–1981; and the Salisbury-Wicomico Arts Council, where he was Founding President from 1967–1970.
A Salisbury native, King returned to the Eastern Shore after years in New York and Paris to raise his family in a rural setting. A lawyer and visionary, King saw both the beauty and the vulnerability of the region’s rural landscapes. Protecting the Lower Shore’s land was not about stopping growth but about shaping it wisely.
“Zoning and easements are both essential,” King said. “One is regulatory, one is voluntary, but both are needed to save the natural and open spaces that make this region what it is.”
In 1990, King co-founded LSLT with Simpson Donahoo and Dick Hazel, focusing on voluntary easements and partnerships with MET. He believed so deeply in land conservation that he immediately placed his own farm into an easement, the first one secured for LSLT. Cognizant of the necessary and imminent growth of the organization, he sought a leader who could chart the next course. He helped recruit Kate Patton as LSLT’s first full-time executive director, under whom the organization thrived, earned community trust, and grew exponentially during her 18-year tenure.
Today, King sees growing appreciation for clean water, scenic views, and rural charm as assets to both residents and the economy, managing growth wisely. Yet, he cautions that development remains the region’s greatest threat. Though now living in Massachusetts, King’s heart remains on the Lower Shore, where his pioneering vision and dedication to its precious landscapes made it possible for our future generations to witness the same beauty we see in front of us right now, unchanged, beautiful, rural, and protected in perpetuity.
