HAGERSTOWN, MD (August 24, 2023) – On Wednesday, August 23, the State of Maryland awarded Washington County a grant of $3,127,000 for the fiscal year 2024 cycle of the Rural Legacy Program.

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 nearly 9,000 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 Dept. of Planning & Zoning. This year’s grant is the largest amount the County has ever received through the program. For more information on the Rural Legacy Program, please feel free to contact our Rural Preservation Administrator, Chris Boggs, at 240-313-2447 or via email at [email protected].