In December, NeighborSpace and the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) acquired an easement on 6.67 acres of the English property off of Brightside Road and adjacent to Lake Roland. This acquisition brings our property count to 20, including 10 properties owned in fee and 10 easements, and total acres protected to just over 97.
The acquisition also marks our first co-held easement with the MET, a statewide land trust that also serves as the umbrella organization for land trusts around the State. Because the easement is co-held with MET, the underlying fee owners are able to avail themselves of important State income and property tax benefits. (You can find out more about these tax benefits here).
Unlike the vast majority of properties NeighborSpace has protected, this one was not protected for its social value as public open space. Rather, this property's conservation values are primarily environmental in nature, reflecting the importance of existing forest cover, which buffers Lake Roland from stormwater runoff. For purposes of achieving our mission of enhancing livability inside the URDL, it important to develop a portfolio of land that addresses all 3 of its components, which are shown in the diagram below.
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