{"id":44059,"date":"2025-02-26T15:37:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T20:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=44059"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:37:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T20:37:58","slug":"board-of-public-works-approves-1-7-million-for-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-baltimore-cecil-charles-frederick-and-queen-annes-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/02\/26\/board-of-public-works-approves-1-7-million-for-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-baltimore-cecil-charles-frederick-and-queen-annes-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Board of Public Works Approves $1.7 Million for Recreation and Land Conservation in Baltimore, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, and Queen Anne\u2019s Counties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Funding approved for DNR\u2019s Program Open Space Local and Rural Legacy programs<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 393px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/8616\/29804614653_c79a96e92c.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of cornfield\" width=\"383\" height=\"287\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Queen Anne\u2019s County will acquire two conservation easements totaling 177 acres in the Foreman Branch Rural Legacy Area. Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board of Public Works today approved more than $1.7 million in grants to local governments and land trusts from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to improve parks and protect land with perpetual conservation easements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">About $226,000 in<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/pages\/programopenspace\/home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Program Open Space \u2013 Local<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0funding was approved for three projects including Charles County\u2019s acquisition of 4.5 acres of land that will become a recreational park in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additionally, $1.5 million in\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/RuralLegacy\/home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rural Legacy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> funding was approved for local sponsors to acquire conservation easements on five properties, totaling 365 acres:<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Cecil Land Trust will acquire a 37-acre easement on a farm within the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Documents\/RuralLegacy\/fairhill_rla.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fair Hill Rural Legacy Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The easement will protect a forested steam buffer along Principio Creek.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Documents\/RuralLegacy\/BA_Coastrla.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Baltimore County Coastal Rural Legacy Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the County will conserve 34 acres of agricultural and forested land with an easement that will protect a forested buffer along an unnamed tributary to the Bird River, which flows directly into the Chesapeake Bay.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A 116-acre farm in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Documents\/RuralLegacy\/FR_carrollton.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Carrollton Manor Rural Legacy Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will be preserved by an easement held by Frederick County, including protection of stream buffers along a cold-water stream in the Monocacy River watershed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Queen Anne\u2019s County will acquire two conservation easements on adjoining farms totaling 177 acres in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Documents\/RuralLegacy\/Foreman_rla.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Foreman Branch Rural Legacy Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. These easements will protect productive agricultural lands and 3,400 feet of forested stream buffers along Pearl Creek and the Chester River.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All projects funded are listed in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bpw.maryland.gov\/MeetingDocs\/2025-Feb-26-Agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Board of Public Works February 26, 2025 meeting agenda<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The three-member Board of Public Works is composed of Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rural Legacy Program, created in 1997, conserves large working landscapes across 36 locally designated areas throughout Maryland. The Rural Legacy Program, along with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, have recently earned the State of Maryland a national recognition from the American Farmland Trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A recent survey conducted by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/farmland.org\/more-than-4-1-million-acres-protected-by-farmland-and-ranchland-protection-programs-nationwide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American Farmland Trust<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> ranks Maryland among the top five states in both the total number of acres protected and the total number of easements acquired through purchased conservation easements. This recognition underscores Maryland\u2019s ongoing commitment to preserving its agricultural heritage and ensuring the long-term viability of farming communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/pages\/programopenspace\/home.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Program Open Space \u2013 Local<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0provides funding for county and municipal governments for the planning, acquisition, and development of recreational land or facilities. 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\u2019s long-term commitment to conserving our natural resources while providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities for all citizens<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The program is funded by a property transfer tax.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">News on grants approved for Program Open Space Local, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Rural Legacy, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Permanent Easement programs is available on DNR\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Land News<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> webpage.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Funding approved for DNR\u2019s Program Open Space Local and Rural Legacy programs The Board of Public Works today approved more than $1.7 million in grants to local governments and land trusts from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to improve parks and protect land with perpetual conservation easements. About $226,000 in\u00a0Program Open Space \u2013 Local\u00a0funding<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/02\/26\/board-of-public-works-approves-1-7-million-for-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-baltimore-cecil-charles-frederick-and-queen-annes-counties\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,23],"tags":[4139,5452,3003,3123],"class_list":["post-44059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","tag-conservation-easement","tag-local-parks-and-playground-infrastructure-program","tag-program-open-space","tag-rural-legacy-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44059"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44062,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44059\/revisions\/44062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}