Annapolis, MD (December 17, 2009) – County Executive John R. Leopold announced that the Board of Public Works has awarded Anne Arundel County an $800,000 Rural Legacy grant to fund acquisition of perpetual easements and fee estates for the preservation of land in key areas of the County.
“I am pleased that the Governor, Comptroller and Treasurer have approved these funds to help further our progress in safeguarding the County’s valuable farmland and forests,” said County Executive John R. Leopold. “Anne Arundel County is proud to partner with the State of Maryland in preserving, in perpetuity, our precious natural resources.”
The Rural Legacy Grant Program is administered through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The Rural Legacy Program provides the focus and funding necessary to protect large, contiguous tracts of land and other strategic areas from sprawl development and to enhance natural resource, agricultural, forestry and environmental protection through cooperative efforts among state and local governments and land trusts.
Since its inception in 1998, the Program has provided $5,200,000 in Rural Legacy grant funding to Anne Arundel County for the purchase of easements totaling 926 acres in the approved Rural Legacy Area. | 
