Information and application forms for the State program can be found at www.malpf.info/forms with specific County information at www.baltimorecountymd.gov/agencies/environment/landpreservation/index 

The application materials are to be sent to the attention of Wally Lippincott, Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, 111 W. Chesapeake Avenue, Room 319,Towson, MD 21204 by May 1, 2014. For any questions, please contact Wally Lippincott or Carmela Iacovelli at (410) 887-3854 or email at ciacovelli@baltimorecountymd.gov.

An important incentive for easement donations has been introduced via Maryland House Bill 789/Senate Bill 709 under consideration during this year’s General Assembly. Tax credits for qualified donated easements would be transferable and landowners who are corporations, trusts, limited partnerships or liability companies would be eligible to claim the credit as well as individuals or married couples. Unused credit could be credited against Maryland Estate taxes at the death of the owner.

This expansion of the existing Maryland income tax credit follows legislation passed in many other states for similar purposes. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR OR DELEGATE TO SUPPORT THESE BILLS.

Conservation provisions included in the Farm Bill just passed by Congress will provide significant funding for easements to protect working farms and croplands. In addition, previously required matching funds from land trusts or local governments were exchanged for match alternatives to help ensure that a lack of local funding does not exclude protection of strategically important conservation opportunities. 

Farm Bill Programs such as CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) and FRPP (Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program) can be a complex alphabet soup, but they do, along with donated and purchased easements, serve to keep working farms in family hands and reinvest dollars in our community.

At the TMC Annual Meeting October 22, 2013, Justin Batoff, Doug Behrens, Frank Durkee, Emily Emerick and Ned Grassi were elected to the Board of Directors. 

The Sergeant Murphy Land Preservation Award for 2013 was presented to Ralph Rigger and his late wife Rebecca, well known in the local and wider community for their tireless energy and dedication to civic duty and responsibility. Their hands on support of many worthy causes as well as their active participation in political and regulatory processes that influence our lives have been remarkable. The Manor Area as benefited in countless ways from their interest in rural preservation and land conservation. Since moving to Hess Road in 1955, they have seen changes and challenges to the rural community of the Manor and their leadership and commitment to the heritage and environment here is hard to match. They took the time to be informed, inform others, and be present when others stayed home, displaying the best of community activism and constructive and positive citizen engagement.