BPW Approves Local POS, Land Easement Projects

Support the Republican Newspaper! Buy an online membership!

BPW Approves Local POS, Land Easement Projects


Oct. 16, 2008

Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday that the Board of Public Works has approved funding for a local Program Open Space (POS) project and the preservation of 267 acres of farm and forest land in Garrett County.
Oakland officials will receive $26,200 in POS funding to install playground equipment in the town's Rotary Park.

Five other Maryland counties – Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Washington – also received POS funding to purchase land for new parks, make community park improvements, install landscaping, and begin various other initiatives.

"Through these acquisitions and projects, we are protecting valuable wildlife habitat and preserving the natural beauty of some of our state's most engaging landscapes, and we are enhancing our parks and recreational facilities in communities throughout Maryland," O'Malley said.

The Board of Public Works also approved $776,908 for conservation easements for 267 acres of agricultural and forest land in Garrett County through Maryland's Rural Legacy Program. Beef cattle, hay, and corn are harvested on this farm.

The property is located in the Accident area and will help protect water quality through riparian buffers of streams that drain into Bear Creek and its tributaries, which are natural trout streams regularly stocked by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, according to the DNR.

Since 1997, more than 58,595 acres of forest and farm land throughout the state have been preserved through the nationally acclaimed program to protect the rural character of the state's communities from sprawl development, according to the DNR.

The three-member Board of Public Works, chaired by O'Malley, is also composed of Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot. The BPW is authorized by the General Assembly to approve major construction and consultant contracts, equipment purchases, property transactions, and other procurement actions.




If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350