HAGERSTOWN, MD (October 13, 2022) – The Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning announces the State of Maryland awarded Washington County $1,550,000 for their Rural Legacy Program on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. 

Rural Legacy is a conservation easement program funded by the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources that works to permanently preserve agriculturally, environmentally and historically significant properties near Antietam Battlefield and its surrounding areas. The County settled its first Rural Legacy easement in 2000 and has accrued more than 8,400 permanently preserved acres through the program since. 

Qualifying properties must lie within the County’s designated Rural Legacy Area, have an Agricultural assessment designation, and have development rights to sell. The program is administered locally through the Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning. 

For more information on the Rural Legacy Program, please feel free to contact Rural Preservation Administrator, Chris Boggs, at 240-313-2447 or [email protected].

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