Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space Local, Community Parks and Playgrounds, Greenspace Equity, Rural Legacy programs
Worcester County will acquire an easement on 78 acres in the Dividing Creek Rural Legacy Area. The easement will protect prime farmland and 1,200 feet of forested buffer along a tributary of Nassawango Creek, which flows into the Pocomoke River. Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo.
The Board of Public Works today approved nearly $3.7 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments and land trusts for recreation and land conservation in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, St. Mary’s, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester counties.
About $700,000 in Program Open Space – Local funding was approved for six projects including several in Frederick County. The County will use the funds to further the development of a community center at Othello Regional Park, purchase land for a new park in downtown Emmitsburg, restore a fishing pond at Woodsboro Regional Park, replace a pavilion roof at Middletown Memorial Park, and install electricity at Middletown Heritage Park which will allow for holiday and fountain lighting.
The Board also approved $230,000 in Community Parks and Playgrounds funding for the installation of LED field lights in Wicomico County’s Gene Lowe Park. The Community Parks and Playgrounds program provides funding to municipal governments to restore existing parks and create new park and recreational facilities throughout the state.
Another $35,000 was approved for three Greenspace Equity Program appraisal funding grants. The grants will help reduce the barrier of upfront costs for qualified land trusts and local governments with limited funds available to spend on appraisals for potential acquisition projects in overburdened and/or underserved communities. Baltimore Green Space in Baltimore City received a grant, as did the City of Takoma Park and the Town of Poolesville, both in Montgomery County.
Additionally, the Board approved more than $2.35 million in Rural Legacy funding for three conservation easement acquisitions:
- Worcester County will acquire an easement on 78 acres in the Dividing Creek Rural Legacy Area. The easement will protect prime farmland and 1,200 feet of forested buffer along a tributary of Nassawango Creek, which flows into the Pocomoke River.
- Valuable equestrian and forested lands in Baltimore County will be protected on a 127-acre easement that will be acquired by the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, in the Gunpowder Rural Legacy Area. The easement also provides stream buffers along tributaries to Gunpowder Falls that flows to Loch Raven Reservoir, which is a source of drinking water for the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.
- In the Mid-Maryland Washington Rural Legacy Area, Washington County will acquire an easement on a 257-acre historic farm. The easement will protect productive agricultural soils and forested buffers along tributaries to Marsh Run in the Potomac River watershed.
All projects funded are listed in the Board of Public Works November 19, 2025 meeting agenda. The three-member Board of Public Works is composed of Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman.
Program Open Space – Local 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’s 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.
The Greenspace Equity Program was established in 2023 through legislation 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.
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 national recognition from the American Farmland Trust.
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’ Land News webpage.
