ANNAPOLIS, MD—The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved more than $4.7 million in grants for park improvements and land conservation across nine counties, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has announced.
The funding, drawn from the state’s Program Open Space – Local, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, and Rural Legacy programs, will benefit projects in Allegany, Baltimore, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Prince George’s, and Washington counties.
Approximately $2.2 million from Program Open Space – Local will support nine projects. Baltimore County is slated to receive over $1.2 million for upgrades at Sparks Park and Catonsville Community Park, including new pickleball courts at both locations. Sparks Park will also see new playground equipment, while Catonsville Community Park will undergo paved trail repairs.
Frederick County will receive $350,000 to construct a community center, shelters, trails, parking lot, and roads at Othello Regional Park. Prince George’s County is set to acquire 9 acres of woodland adjacent to Huntington Park North in Bowie for $360,000, which will expand the park with a new natural surface trail loop.
An additional $100,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program was approved for Caroline County to purchase and install fencing for two baseball fields at Sharp Road Park.
Nearly $2.4 million in Rural Legacy funding was also approved for local sponsors to acquire conservation easements on four properties, totaling 760 acres, aimed at preserving agricultural and forested lands.
These conservation efforts include:
- Caroline County: The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy will acquire a 104-acre easement in the Agricultural Security Corridor – Tuckahoe Rural Legacy Area, protecting forested buffer along Tuckahoe Creek and scenic views.
- Cecil County: The Cecil County Land Trust will conserve 45 acres of agricultural and forested land in the Fair Hill Rural Legacy Area, preserving forested stream buffers along Susquehanna River tributaries.
- Dorchester County: The Conservation Fund will conserve 526 acres in the Nanticoke Rural Legacy Area, contributing to the protection of rural and working lands in the Nanticoke River watershed, with over 500 acres of agricultural land managed by a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan.
- Carroll County: The county government will add 85 acres of preserved land in the Little Pipe Creek Rural Legacy Area, protecting significant wildlife habitat and forested stream buffers along Piney Creek and its tributaries that flow to the Upper Monocacy River.
The Board of Public Works, composed of Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman, approved the grants during its meeting on July 2, 2025.
Program Open Space – Local provides financial and technical assistance to local governments for the planning, acquisition, and development of recreational land or facilities, funded by a property transfer tax. The Rural Legacy Program, established in 1997, focuses on conserving large working landscapes across designated areas in Maryland.
Photo: Rural Legacy Program funds will acquire an easement to protect 1,400 feet of forested buffer along Tuckahoe Creek, a tributary to the Choptank River and the Chesapeake Bay, and also preserve scenic views along Tuckahoe Road. Maryland DNR photo.
