Governor Ehrlich Announces BPW Approval Of Rural Legacy Easement
ANNAPOLIS — Governor Robert L. Ehrlich today announced Board of Public Works approval for $211,680 in Rural Legacy Program funds to preserve 108 acres near historic Antietam Battlefield in the Mid-Maryland Washington Rural Legacy Area.“Today’s acquisition ensures that generations of Marylanders can visit and appreciate some our state’s most treasured historical sites,” Governor Ehrlich said.
The easement will help protect the Antietam Battlefield and other historically significant areas such as Fox’s Gap, Turner’s Gap and the C&O Canal, as well as preserving the viewshed of the Washington Monument in the District of Columbia. While this area is culturally and historically important, it is also an important environmental and agricultural area containing over 6,000 acres of prime agricultural lands now available to the strong agricultural industry in Washington County.
The Rural Legacy Program encourages State and local governments to work in conjunction with private landowners and trusts to strategically preserve large, contiguous blocks of land across Maryland. Properties targeted for protection include endangered species habitat, agricultural lands, forests, stream buffers, and historic villages and battlefields.
The three-member Board of Public Works is comprised of Governor Ehrlich, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp. The Board of Public Works meets semi-monthly and exercises the powers and duties prescribed in the Constitution or delegated to it by the General Assembly.
The Board must approve expenditures of all sums appropriated through State loans authorized by the General Assembly. The Board also approves the expenditures of all General Funds and other funds appropriated for capital improvements, except those allotted for State roads, bridges, and highways.
Posted April 12, 2004