HAGERSTOWN, MD (August 22, 2024) – The Washington County Division of Planning & Zoning announces, on August 16, 2024, a 267.138-acre farm was preserved, adding to the more than 40,000 acres of permanently preserved land in the County.
The easement was procured through a Rural Legacy Program (RLP) easement that was sold on a farm on Shepherdstown Pike in Sharpsburg. The property is a large, scenic property just outside of town limits containing both woodland and cropland, as well as historic and natural resource characteristics. The procurement of this easement has added to a block of thousands of acres of permanently preserved land in the area and will aide neighboring properties in their pursuit of permanent easements.
RLP is one of the County’s landmark land preservation programs, accounting for over 8,700 acres and 21% of the permanent easements in the County. It is funded and administered by the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) and locally by the Land Preservation Office of the Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning. Each year, farm owners in the County have the ability to apply for this program which concentrates on preserving agriculturally, historic and environmentally important lands in the County. This easement was part of the fiscal year 2023 cycle and is the final property of that cycle to settle an easement. Easement applications are submitted before January 31st of each year and offers are usually extended the following fall.
RLP is just one of many programs that make up the Washington County Land Preservation strategy. Other programs include the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), and Project Open Space Stateside programs, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program (MALPF), 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 agencies like MARBIDCO, Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), Antietam Battlefield Trust (ABT), Mid-Maryland Land Trust (MMLT) and others. While the majority of funding is generally earmarked through State funding sources, in recent years, the County itself has taken significant additional financial steps to bolster its programs.
For more information regarding the land preservation programs in Washington County, please reach out to Chris Boggs, Rural Preservation Administrator, by phone at 240-313-2447 or via email at [email protected].
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