Ben Alder - Principal and Founder
Broker of Record – Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Since 1997, Ben’s career has been focused in the natural resources field. During his studies at The George Washington University he completed bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Science, Biology and completed course work for his Master of Arts in Environmental Resource Policy. During his time at GW, Ben lived and worked on Vancouver Island as part of a work study program focused on natural resource management in the Pacific Northwest. After this experience, he worked on Capitol Hill on a range of issues related to wetland conservation for Ducks Unlimited. Ben’s tenure with DU expanded to the field when DU’s Chesapeake Bay Initiative was started in 1998. For seven years he delivered water quality and wildlife conservation programs on private land throughout the 5 state Chesapeake Bay watershed.
His experience working with land use, agricultural management, and wildlife conservation has provided a unique platform for his land brokerage practice today.
During his years as a consultant, he garnered his real estate license in Maryland in 2004. Selling his first 300-acre farm in 2004, Ben has worked to develop a real estate practice focused on land throughout the Chesapeake Bay Region. In 2011, he started building what is today The Land Group. Ben is The Land Group’s Broker of Record in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
The Land Group brings together the expertise in a range of land specialties from agriculture, forestry, conservation, renewable energy, land management and development
The Land Group is the Chesapeake Bay region’s largest singularly focused land brokerage and advisory group. Today, the TLG footprint services over 35,000 acres under brokerage in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Since 2004, Ben has managed over $315 Million in land sales throughout the region. In 2021, The Land Group transferred over 13,000 acres while completing over 150 transactions through the transfer of over $90 Million in sales volume.
Ben and his family live today on a small tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on an 18th-century farm on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.
“Fundamentally, we study land value and land use; understanding how these two factors are intertwined is the foundation of the work we do.”
-Ben Alder, Principal
