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State OKs $1.3 million for preservation, park project
Bryans Road will get 75-acre recreation facility
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010
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Development is gobbling up land in Charles County's northern section, but thousands of acres still are targeted for preservation in rural areas, despite the harsh economy.
That trend is continuing with the Maryland Board of Public Works' recent approval of $1.36 million in preservation funding for Charles County.
The board approved $364,750 in Program Open Space and Community Parks and Playgrounds program money that will enable the county to purchase a 75-acre parcel in the Bryans Road and Indian Head area to develop a recreational facility that could include trails, picnic areas, playgrounds and athletic fields, according to a Maryland Department of Natural Resources press release.
In addition, the board approved $1 million in Rural Legacy Program funding for the county to acquire more land earmarked for preservation in the Zekiah Swamp watershed, DNR officials said in the release.
Charles County began participating in the Rural Legacy Program in 1998 and so far about 2,500 acres have been preserved, Charles Rice, manager of the county's environmental programs, said in an earlier interview. The money is used to purchase conservation easements from property owners who live in the watershed that roughly runs from the Charles and Prince George's County line in northern Waldorf to Bryantown and Dentsville in the county's eastern section.
The watershed comprises 30,000 acres, Rice said, adding that the county has received about $11 million in Rural Legacy funding since 1998.
The county's effort to preserve land in the Zekiah watershed is commendable, Vivian Mills, president of the Conservancy for Charles County, said. The conservancy, established in 1996, holds perpetual conservation easements on more than 1,700 acres in the county. The nonprofit's mission is to protect and preserve open space, natural resources, farmland and historical assets in the county, she said.
"The Zekiah watershed is recognized nationally as really important ecologically," she said. "It's an extremely important natural resource."
"It's terrific news that the county is going to receive the funding," Hal Delaplane, vice president of the conservancy, said. "It's great that the state is able to do this in these tough budgetary times."
