Board of Public Works Approves $4 Million for Park Improvements and Land Conservation

A blue heron catches a fish for breakfast on Spencer Creek near St. Michaels. Credit: J. Scott Bruce/ Maryland DNR

Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space Local, Community Parks and Playgrounds, and Rural Legacy programs

The Board of Public Works today approved Maryland Department of Natural Resources items totaling $4 million in grants to local governments and land trusts to improve parks and protect land with perpetual conservation easements.

A total of $1.3 million in Program Open Space – Local funds were approved for six projects including a grant to the Town of St. Michaels to acquire 5.9 acres along San Domingo Creek – adjacent to the St. Michaels Nature Trail and a short walk from downtown St. Michaels – to create a new waterfront park to be named San Domingo Creek Park. Program Open Space – Local provides funding for county and municipal governments for the planning, acquisition, and development of recreational land or facilities.

Also approved was over $1.5 million in Community Parks and Playgrounds grants for eight projects across the state. Projects include playgrounds for James T. Wright Park in Preston, Carpenter Park in Chestertown, and Golton Park in Easton; bathroom facilities and more for Triangle Dog Park in Rising Sun; one acre of property for Mill Street Nature Park in Cambridge; swing sets and other equipment for parks in Bel Air; gazebo and walking paths for Oak Lane Park in New Carrollton; and an amphitheater for Mahoney Woods in New Carrollton. The Community Parks and Playgrounds program provides funding to municipal governments to restore existing and create new park and recreational facilities throughout the state.

More than $1 million in Rural Legacy funding was approved for local sponsors to acquire conservation easements on four properties and totaling 301 acres:

• The Cecil Land Trust will preserve a 93-acre farm in the Fair Hill Rural Legacy Area. The property consists of productive agricultural and forested land as well as over 5,400 feet of forested stream buffers along North East Creek and unnamed tributaries to North East Creek, which is a source of water for the Town of North East.
• Washington County will preserve three farm properties totaling 208 acres. The easements on the farms together will protect 2,900 feet of stream buffers along tributaries to the Potomac River. These easements will also preserve the rural character of the area surrounding the historic Antietam Battlefield, as well as other historic features including the viewshed along Natural Well Road and other sites listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.

All projects funded are listed in the Board of Public Works September 11, 2024, meeting agenda. The three-member Board of Public Works is composed of Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman.

The Rural Legacy Program, created in 1997, conserves large working landscapes across 35 locally designated areas throughout Maryland. 

Established under the Department of Natural Resources in 1969, Program Open Space (divided into Local and Stateside programs), along with other state land conservation programs, symbolizes Maryland’s long-term commitment to conserving our natural resources while providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities for all citizens.