{"id":47207,"date":"2026-04-22T13:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=47207"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:18:22","slug":"board-of-public-works-approves-1-66-million-for-recreation-upgrades-in-four-maryland-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2026\/04\/22\/board-of-public-works-approves-1-66-million-for-recreation-upgrades-in-four-maryland-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Board of Public Works Approves $1.66 Million for Recreation Upgrades in Four Maryland Counties"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 461px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51507430841_06ebb39eb3.jpg\" alt=\"Trees and grasses in a forest\" width=\"451\" height=\"338\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Potomac-Garrett State Forest in Garrett County. Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board of Public Works today approved more than $1.66 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for recreation upgrades in Allegany, Caroline, Frederick, and Prince George\u2019s counties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition, the Board approved $340,000 in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/ProgramOpenSpace\/Program-Open-Space-Stateside.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Program Open Space &#8211; Stateside<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> funds for the acquisition of about 137 acres of land adjacent to Potomac-Garrett State Forest in Garrett County. The acquisition will expand public recreational opportunities, including hunting, hiking, and wildlife viewing.<\/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\"> funding was approved for the following projects:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Allegany County will improve the pool and ballfield areas at Frostburg Community Park.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Caroline County will construct a new bicycle pump track at North County Regional Park.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Frederick County will continue renovation of Kim Weddle Park by adding a walkway, fencing, safety surfacing under the swing area, and signage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prince George\u2019s Equestrian Center will be upgraded with a sound system, outdoor ring and barn improvements, shade structure, scoreboard, and pavers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More detailed information on these items is available in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bpw.maryland.gov\/MeetingDocs\/2026-Apr-22-Agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Board of Public Works April 22, 2026 meeting agenda<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><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><b><i>Information about these Maryland recreation-funding programs:<\/i><\/b><\/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><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/ProgramOpenSpace\/Program-Open-Space-Stateside.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Program Open Space &#8211; Stateside<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">preserves natural areas for public recreation and watershed and wildlife protection across Maryland through fee simple and conservation easement acquisitions. Fee simple acquisitions are managed by the department as state parks, forests, and wildlife and fisheries management areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More news on funding approved for Program Open Space, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Greenspace Equity, 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>The Board of Public Works today approved more than $1.66 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for recreation upgrades in Allegany, Caroline, Frederick, and Prince George\u2019s counties.\u00a0 In addition, the Board approved $340,000 in Program Open Space &#8211; Stateside funds for the acquisition of about 137 acres of<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2026\/04\/22\/board-of-public-works-approves-1-66-million-for-recreation-upgrades-in-four-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":[2955,5000,4945,3003],"class_list":["post-47207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","tag-board-of-public-works","tag-outdoor-recreation","tag-potomac-garrett-state-forest","tag-program-open-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47207","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=47207"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47209,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47207\/revisions\/47209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}