WASHINGTON COUNTY, MD (September 21, 2026) – The Washington County Division of Planning & Zoning is proud to announce the preservation of a 167.56-acre farm in August, adding to the more than 44,000 acres of permanently preserved land in the County.
On August 24, 2025, a 167.56-acre, long-established dairy farm on Broadfording Road in Clear Spring was permanently protected through a Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) easement. Funding for the easement was provided by Washington County and MALPF. The preservation of this farm adds to a large block of permanently protected farmland in the area and will support neighboring landowners as they pursue permanent easements of their own.
MALPF is the County’s most prolific land preservation program, accounting for more than 17,000 acres, or nearly 40% of the permanent land conservation easements in the County. The program is funded and administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) and locally by the Land Preservation Office of the Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning. Each year, farm owners in the County have the opportunity to apply for the program, which focuses on preserving productive agricultural land in the County. This easement was part of the fiscal year 2025 cycle and was the first property of that cycle to reach settlement. Easement applications are submitted before July 1 of each year, with offers typically extended the following March.
MALPF is just one of many programs that make up the Washington County land preservation strategy. Other programs include the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Rural Legacy Program (RLP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), and Project Open Space (POS) Stateside programs, the County’s Installment Purchase Program (IPP), local forest conservation easements, the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) and Federal Scenic Easements, as well as easements through organizations such as the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industries Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), Antietam Battlefield Preservation Trust (ABPT), Mid-Maryland Land Trust (MMLT), and others. While the majority of funding has traditionally come from State sources, in recent years, the County itself has made significant additional financial investments to strengthen its land preservation programs.
For more information about Washington County’s land preservation programs, please contact Chris Boggs, Rural Preservation Administrator, at 240-313-2447 or via email at [email protected].
###
