MARYLAND - The Maryland Board of Public Works announced they have approved more than $3.1 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The grants will be used for parkland, recreational improvements, and land conservation in five Maryland counties, including Queen Anne's County, Talbot County, and Worcester County locally.
Officials say one of the projects receiving part of nearly $1.5 million in Program Open Space – Local funding is a new parking area at Showell Park in Berlin which will better accommodate park visitors. Program Open Space – Local provides funding to local governments for recreational land and facilities.
Maryland DNR says the Board also approved over $1 million in Rural Legacy Program funding for Queen Anne's County to acquire conservation easements totaling 222 acres of land on two adjacent properties in the Lands End Rural Legacy Area. The Rural Legacy Program provides funding to preserve large pieces of land and enhance protections for the environment, natural resources, agriculture, and forestry through public-private partnerships.
Officials say two more conservation easements were approved for acquisition with $636,000 of Program Open Space funding in Queen Anne's County and Talbot County. The first is an 18-acre easement in Queen Anne's County that will protect over 3,000 feet of forested land along a tributary to the Wye East River. The other easement in Talbot County will protect 154 acres that includes forested land along Island Creek, a significant waterway in the Choptank River watershed. Of those 154 acres, 97 are being donated by the landowner. Both easement acquisitions are part of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which acquires land that requires continued maintenance for conservation.