Funding was approved to acquire a permanent conservation easement in Somerset County’s Dividing Creek Rural Legacy Area, to preserve productive agricultural lands and scenic views along a local road. This Rural Legacy Area also includes plant and wildlife habitats for many species including the Delmarva Fox Squirrel. Photo by by Guy Willey submitted to the 2014 Maryland DNR Photo Contest.
The Board of Public Works today approved more than $747,000 in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for playgrounds and land conservation in Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Talbot counties.
Approved funding includes $200,000 from the Community Parks and Playgrounds Program for the renewal of the basketball and tennis courts and playground at Berwyn Heights Elementary School in Prince George’s County, for use by students and the community. The Community Parks and Playgrounds program provides funding to municipal governments to restore existing parks and create new parks and recreational facilities throughout the state.
A total of $3,000 in funding was approved for a recreation communication board installation at Home Run Baker Sports Complex in Talbot County. This board will improve play area accessibility by displaying photos, symbols, or illustrations to enable individuals with limited language skills to communicate.
For land conservation, $125,000 was approved to acquire a permanent conservation easement through the Rural Legacy program in Somerset County’s Dividing Creek Rural Legacy Area. This easement will preserve productive agricultural lands that contribute towards the local resource-based economy, as well as protect 1,500 feet of scenic views along a local road.
The Board also approved $420,000 in funding for a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) permanent conservation easement acquisition on 59 acres in Queen Anne’s County. This acquisition will protect water quality by requiring 2,000 feet of forested stream buffers along a tributary to Southeast Creek in the Chester River watershed.
More detailed information on all approved items is available in the Board of Public Works March 18, 2026 meeting agenda. The three-member Board of Public Works is composed of Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman.
Information about these Maryland recreation and land conservation programs:
Since 2002, the Community Parks and Playgrounds Program has invested in the future of established communities by providing flexible competitive grants to local governments to rehabilitate, expand, or improve existing parks and create new parks and recreational areas. With the support of the Governor and the Maryland General Assembly, more than $90 million has been approved for more than 900 parks and playground projects for our communities across Maryland.
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.
Since 2009, Maryland’s permanent easement option with the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) has acquired, from willing landowners, conservation easements that require continued maintenance of Conservation Reserve Program practices after the expiration of the federal contracts.
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’ Land News webpage.
