HAGERSTOWN, Md.- Washington County has been awarded more than $1.5 million to help preserve properties near Antietam Battlefield and surrounding areas, the Washington County Division of Planning & Zoning has announced.
The money, $1,544,000, comes from the State of Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program. This grant amount is the highest of any Rural Legacy Area in the state for this year.
Rural Legacy is a conservation easement program funded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources that works to permanently preserve agriculturally, environmentally and historically significant properties near Antietam Battlefield and its surrounding areas. Washington County settled its first Rural Legacy easement in 2000 and has accrued more than 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 Department of Planning & Zoning. For more information on the Rural Legacy Program, those interested may reach out to Chris Boggs, rural preservation administrator, by phone at 240-313-2447 or via email at [email protected].
