The Maryland Board of Public Works on Oct. 29 approved $1,206,000 for the Bear Creek Rural Legacy Area in Garrett County, part of $21 million in fiscal year 2027 Rural Legacy grants for 19 Rural Legacy Areas across the state, according to a press release from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Garrett County money will be used to buy conservation easements that protect the county’s most productive working farms, standing timber, scenic views from the Cove overlook, natural habitats, wetlands and waterways in the Bear Creek drainage basin, according to the board’s Oct. 29 meeting agenda.
The agenda notes that protecting the area benefits water quality in the Youghiogheny River, which it calls “the State’s only designated Wild and Scenic River.” The board approved the Bear Creek Rural Legacy Area designation in 2002.
Statewide, DNR said the 2027 awards are expected to protect more than 4,240 acres.
The board is comprised of Gov. Wes Moore, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis and Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman.
