Funds were approved for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy will acquire a 399-acre easement in the Agricultural Security Corridor – Eastern Shore Heartland Rural Legacy Area. Maryland DNR photo.
Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Recreation Communication Board, and Rural Legacy programs
Maryland 2025 - The Board of Public Works today approved more than $15.3 million in grants to local governments and a land trust from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to improve parks and protect land with perpetual conservation easements.
Nearly $2.8 million in Program Open Space – Local funding was approved for six projects including two in Baltimore City, to improve the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory at Druid Hill Park and provide outdoor recreational facilities at North Harford Park.
Baltimore City will also receive $10 million from Program Open Space Stateside as a direct grant to improve three parks–the Frederic B. Leidig Recreation Center field house and playing field, the outdoor pool and other site amenities at City Springs Park, and constructing a new Cab Calloway Legends Square Park in the Druid Heights community. The grant will also support maintenance, planning and operation of the entire Baltimore City park system.
Also approved for Baltimore City is $500,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program to create the new Greenmount Park at Johnston Square.
For Frederick County, $11,200 was approved from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program to add a park concession stand with restrooms at the E. Eugene Myers Community Park.
A total of $5,800 in funding was approved for recreation communication boards at Edesville Park in Kent County and Chaptico Park in St. Mary’s County. These boards will improve play area accessibility by displaying photos, symbols, or illustrations to enable individuals with limited language skills to communicate.
Additionally, $2 million in Rural Legacy funding was approved for local sponsors to acquire conservation easements on two properties, totaling 485 acres:
- The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy will acquire a 399-acre easement in the Agricultural Security Corridor – Eastern Shore Heartland Rural Legacy Area. The easement will protect prime farmland and woodlands likely to support forest interior dwelling species of birds. The easement includes a forested buffer along the Choptank River.
- In the Coastal Bays Rural Legacy Area, the Worcester County Commissioners will conserve 86 acres of agricultural and forested land with an easement that will protect a forested shoreline buffer along Big Mill Pond, which is the largest pond in the Chincoteague Bay watershed.
All projects funded are listed in the Board of Public Works March 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.
The Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program was funded with $85 million in both Fiscal 2022 and Fiscal 2023 to provide grant funds primarily to local governments for park and recreation projects.
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 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.
A recent survey conducted by the American Farmland Trust 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’s ongoing commitment to preserving its agricultural heritage and ensuring the long-term viability of farming communities.
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’s Land News webpage.
