BERLIN– Farmland is a limited resource.
That, according to county staff, is why land preservation programs are vital, particularly in Worcester County.
“It’s a limited resource,” said Katherine Munson, a Worcester County planner. “Even tourism depends on open space. Sprawl development is not compatible with agriculture. Farms and forest other open land uses less local services. We can keep our taxes low with more open space.”
At the request of the Worcester County Commissioners, Munson this week went over the array of land preservation programs used in Worcester County and their relevancy.
According to Bob Mitchell, the county’s director of environmental programs, the county currently has more than 87,000 acres protected.
“The commissioners have reaffirmed goals for land conservation in the past,” he said, “particularly in the comprehensive plan.”
He said the comprehensive plan identified goals of preserving land for agricultural production, protecting the rural character of the landscape associated with farmland and concentrating preserved land in large blocks to support the long-term protection of resources.
There are currently eight conservation programs available to local landowners. They typically pay property owners to give up some of the rights to their land. In doing so, resources are protected.
“These programs fund opportunities to provide valuable ecological services,” Mitchell said.
Munson says that compared to other Maryland counties, Worcester has one of the highest market values of agricultural products sold. In spite of that, it ranks in the middle when it comes to land preservation.
She said the county’s goal was to protect 1,000 acres a year. Because of a lack of funding, however, in recent years Worcester County had only protected 700 acres a year. While there were 22 applicants last year, the county was only able to fund three of their conservation efforts. The bulk of the county’s conservation programs are funded through the state transfer tax.
“Our biggest challenge is funding,” she said. “We have a lot of landowner interest but not a lot of funding.”
Munson said that in Worcester County, the Lower Shore Land Trust served as a partner in many of the conservation efforts. Kate Patton, the organization’s director, said her group understood the area’s resource based economy and helped protect it.
“We’re the eyes and ears of our community,” she said. “We work directly with land owners and community members to determine some of the priorities for conservation.”
She said she was grateful for the county’s conservation work and hoped to keep working with local officials in the future.
“We’re grateful to have the partnership of the county and look forward to our continued partnership,” Patton said.