ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday unanimously approved $3.75 million in state grants, including more than $337,000 that will permanently protect working farms and critical forested habitat in St. Mary’s and Charles counties through the Rural Legacy Program.
In St. Mary’s County, a 50-acre forest bordering Breton Bay in the Mattapany Rural Legacy Area will be preserved under a conservation easement held by the Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Board. The property provides essential habitat for forest interior dwelling birds — species that require large, unbroken blocks of woods to nest successfully — and safeguards water quality in Breton Bay, a major tributary of the Potomac River.
Charles County will receive funding to acquire a 287-acre farm easement in the Zekiah Rural Legacy Area, one of the largest single tracts protected in this round. The farm features prime agricultural soils and more than 3,000 feet of forested buffers along a tributary of the Wicomico River. The easement ensures the land remains available for farming while preventing residential development that could fragment the rural landscape south of La Plata and Indian Head.
Both Southern Maryland projects were part of five Rural Legacy easements totaling more than 600 acres approved statewide. The Board’s action continues Maryland’s nationally recognized effort to preserve large contiguous blocks of farmland, forest, and watershed lands.
“These easements keep Southern Maryland’s agricultural heritage alive and protect the clean water that flows into the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “Working with willing landowners, we’re making sure future generations inherit the same open spaces and natural beauty we enjoy today.”
The Rural Legacy Program, created in 1997, now protects more than 107,000 acres statewide across 36 designated areas. St. Mary’s County’s Mattapany Rural Legacy Area focuses on the Breton Bay and St. Mary’s River watersheds, while Charles County’s Zekiah Rural Legacy Area targets the scenic Zekiah Swamp and its tributaries in the central and western parts of the county.
Funding comes from Maryland’s transfer tax on real estate transactions and is administered by the Department of Natural Resources. Landowners who sell conservation easements are compensated at fair-market value while retaining ownership and the ability to farm or manage timber.
Since 2007, Program Open Space and Rural Legacy have helped permanently protect more than 4,500 acres in St. Mary’s County and nearly 10,000 acres in Charles County.
The three-member Board of Public Works — Governor Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman — approved the grants during its Dec. 3, 2025 meeting.