Maryland Adds to Rural Legacy Area in Allegany County

Battlefield at Peace by Chris Platt

The State permanently preserved 43 acres of woodland and farmland, eliminating six developmental rights in Allegany County through the Rural Legacy Program. Governor Larry Hogan and the Board of Public Works approved funding for the easement in the Mountain Ridge Rural Legacy area at today’s meeting in Annapolis.

The newly preserved Brant Easement shares a border with Dan’s Mountain Wildlife Management Area and permanently protects 1,700 feet of viewshed along the east side of Warnick Road. The site holds 2,250 feet of forested stream buffers along Elk Lick Run, protecting water quality in Georges Creek. The property also features spring-fed tributaries that flow into the Gilmore Reservoir.

With the addition of this easement, 33 percent of the 31,014-acre Mountain Ridge Rural Legacy Area is currently protected.

Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program provides funding to preserve large tracts of forests, agricultural land and natural resources, while sustaining land for natural resource based industries.  Enacted by the General Assembly in 1997, the program has provided more than $252 million to protect 81,686 acres.  The 11-member Rural Legacy Advisory Committee and Board is comprised of Maryland’s Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Planning Secretaries, who review grant applications annually.

The three member Board of Public Works is composed of Governor Hogan (chair), Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot. BPW is authorized by the General Assembly to approve major construction and consultation contracts, equipment purchases, property transactions and other procurement transactions.