Grant to Allow Land Preservation in Mattapany RLA
The Southern Maryland Resource Conservation & Development Board was awarded more than $2.5 million in fiscal 2020 grant funding for land preservation in St. Mary’s County.
Southern Maryland RC&D will use the grant from the Maryland Board of Public Works, along with county and US Navy funding, to purchase conservation easements in the Mattapany Rural Legacy Area, or RLA. In total, RC&D has leveraged over $9.5 million to preserve over 1,670 acres of land in the Mattapany RLA over the past two years.
Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program provides funding to preserve large, contiguous blocks of environmentally sensitive land, while supporting agriculture and natural resource-based industries.
Recognizing these important benefits, as well as the need to protect local quality of life and rural character, St. Mary’s County provides matching funds for conservation easements through its land preservation program. The Navy’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program also contributes significant funding for the easements in order to minimize conflicts between development and military operations at NAS Patuxent River and Webster Field.
St. Mary’s County Commissioner Todd Morgan was pleased to join RC&D’s Executive Director Cindy Greb at the Board of Public Works’ grant award announcement earlier this month.
“We are happy to be able to give landowners the option of preserving their farmland and protecting it for future generations,” Mr. Morgan said.
RC&D is currently preparing its grant application for fiscal 2021 Rural Legacy Program funding. Landowners in the Mattapany RLA (roughly bounded by Hermanville Road to the north and the routes 5 and 235 intersection to the south) who are interested in participating in the program should contact RC&D to verify their eligibility.
The time from application to completion of the easement process is typically 18 to 24 months.
The Southern Maryland RC&D Board is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and land trust.
For more information, call 240-577-6413, email [email protected], or visit its website.
In other land preservation news:
The Maryland Agriculture Land Preservation Foundation has announced that it will accept applications for the FY2021 Easement Cycle.
A landowner who has a minimum of 50 contiguous acres, is not in the 10-year water and sewer plan for the county, and has a minimum of 50% Class I, II, or III soils can apply to sell an easement to MALPF. It is yet to be determined how many applications MALPF will accept from each county.
All easement applications must be received by the Department of Economic Development Agriculture Division by April 30, 2020. Once applications are received, they will be ranked by St. Mary’s County Agriculture Land Preservation Advisory Board using the state-mandated Land Evaluation and Site Assessment system. The top ranked applications will be submitted to the state for easement consideration.
Applications can be obtained by calling the Department of Economic Development Agriculture Division at 240-309-4021.
