{"id":45938,"date":"2025-10-22T12:29:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=45938"},"modified":"2025-10-22T12:29:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:29:55","slug":"board-of-public-works-approves-3-8-million-for-outdoor-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-12-maryland-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/10\/22\/board-of-public-works-approves-3-8-million-for-outdoor-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-12-maryland-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Board of Public Works Approves $3.8 Million for Outdoor Recreation and Land Conservation in 12 Maryland Counties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Funding approved for DNR\u2019s Program Open Space Local, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Greenspace Equity, Rural Legacy, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Permanent Easement programs<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 408px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51239486817_67879b62c5.jpg\" alt=\"Two people rowing a boat on a lake during the summer\" width=\"398\" height=\"243\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Funds were approved for Carroll County to replace a boathouse at Piney Run Park. Photo by Mark Bennett, submitted to the 2020 Maryland Department of Natural Resources Photo Contest.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board of Public Works today approved more than $3.8 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for outdoor recreational improvements and<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">land conservation in Anne Arundel, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne\u2019s, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester counties.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More than $1.5 million in <\/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\"> funding was approved for twelve projects including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Carroll County projects to replace the boathouse and add a new paved parking area at Piney Run Park.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Multiple park improvements in Howard County parks, including replacing three pedestrian bridges along the Woodland Road pathway in Centennial Park and installing shade structures in four parks: Centennial Park &#8211; North, Blandair Park, Huntington Park, and Cypressmede Park.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several projects in Worcester County including replacing the pavilion at Stockton Park, new dugouts and a concession stand roof at John Walter Smith Park, a roof replacement at Newtown Park\u2019s concession stand, and new parking lot lights at Northern Worcester Athletic Complex.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also approved was $640,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program for two projects. A Caroline County project will improve safe access to North County Regional Park in Greensboro by installing signs and turn lanes on State Highway 313, and a Wicomico County project in Salisbury will create a park with paved trails and a parking lot on Lake Street. The new park will be called North Prong Park. This program was funded in FY 2022 and FY 2023 to provide grant funds primarily to local governments for park and recreation projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another $3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">50,000 was approved to be spent on a<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/Greenspace-Equity-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greenspace Equity Program<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">project in<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Dorchester County. These funds will be used to construct a new trail on a former railroad line in Cambridge, connecting Washington Street to Woods Road.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additionally, the Board approved over $830,000 in <\/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 for Queen Anne\u2019s County to acquire a con<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">servation easement on 151 acres in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Documents\/RuralLegacy\/Landsend_rla.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lands End Rural Legacy Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The easement will preserve productive agricultural land that is adjacent to a block of over 2,000 acres of protected land. This Rural Legacy conservation easement will also be paired with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/crep.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (CREP) permanent easement using $420,000 of Program Open Space funding to preserve an additional 59 acres, bringing the total protected area to 210 acres. The CREP portion of the easement protects water quality by retaining 6,000 feet of forested land along the wetlands buffering Granny Finley Branch and Island Creek, tributaries of the Chester River.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board also approved $73,000 for another CREP project in Washington County. This permanent easement preserves 33 acres of land, of which 20 acres are included by way of landowner donation. This CREP easement will protect water quality by retaining 1,200 feet of forested buffers along Antietam Creek and its tributaries in the Potomac River watershed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All projects funded are listed in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bpw.maryland.gov\/MeetingDocs\/2025-Oct-22-Agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Board of Public Works October 22, 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><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\"> provides 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. The program is funded by a property transfer tax.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/Greenspace-Equity-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greenspace Equity Program<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mgaleg.maryland.gov\/2023RS\/bills\/hb\/hb0503T.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">established in 2023 through legislation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to provide grants to eligible applicants for enhancing the public health and livability of overburdened and underserved communities by implementing projects to preserve, create, and improve public greenspace in overburdened and underserved communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/pages\/rurallegacy\/home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rural Legacy Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, 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 national recognition from the American Farmland Trust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2009, Maryland\u2019s permanent conservation easement option with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/crep.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has acquired, from willing landowners, conservation easements that require continued maintenance of Conservation Reserve Program practices after the expiration of the federal contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More 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 the Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u2019 <\/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, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Greenspace Equity, Rural Legacy, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Permanent Easement programs The Board of Public Works today approved more than $3.8 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for outdoor recreational improvements and land conservation in<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/10\/22\/board-of-public-works-approves-3-8-million-for-outdoor-recreation-and-land-conservation-in-12-maryland-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":[2955,4312,4190,5497,5000,3003,3123],"class_list":["post-45938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","tag-board-of-public-works","tag-conservation","tag-conservation-reserve-enhancement-program","tag-greenspace-equity-program","tag-outdoor-recreation","tag-program-open-space","tag-rural-legacy-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45938","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=45938"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45940,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45938\/revisions\/45940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}