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September 2025 | Land Trust eNews
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Maryland Environmental Trust Spotlight |
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 Keep Maryland Beautiful Grant Program Includes Assistance Grants for Maryland’s Land Trusts
The Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Agriculture, along with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, are partnering to accept applications for this year’s Keep Maryland Beautiful Grants program. About $357,000 is available for this year’s grant round.
These grants are offered annually to volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, communities, and land trusts in Maryland support environmental education projects, community stewardship, and the protection of natural resources in urban and rural areas. Applications for funding will be accepted through December 1. Awards will be announced in March 2026. Keep Maryland Beautiful grants include:
- Community stewardship grants for volunteer groups, nonprofits, local governments, and schools;
- Assistance grants for Maryland’s land trusts; and
- Grants for nonprofits to implement forestry projects on agricultural land
Also, don't forget to nominate a representative from your land trust or another Maryland land trust for the 2026 Aileen Hughes Award! The Aileen Hughes Award is presented annually to an individual representing a Maryland land trust who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in land conservation -- including, but not limited to, executive directors, program staff, and board members. Funding is awarded to a land trust on behalf of an individual and their good work, rather than to the individual themselves.
 Registration is Open for the Next Land Trust Roundtable
Join MET for our next Land Trust Roundtable on November 6, 2025. This Roundtable will provide an overview of MET’s easement review process, as well as interactive mapping tools that can be used to analyze parcels, identify lands with high conservation value and build out the Deed of Easement’s conservation attributes. The Roundtable will also explore opportunities to collaborate on future conservation projects, joint outreach and more. Participants are encouraged to bring their questions and experiences to share.
This event is free to Maryland land trusts and MET's conservation partners. Registration is required. Please RSVP by COB on October 30, 2025.
Does Your Land Trust's Cooperative Agreement Expire in 2025?
Don't wait until the last minute! Start the process to renewal your land trust's Cooperative Agreement today.
The Cooperative Agreement sets out the relationship with MET and a land trust organization to clarify roles and establish common understanding. The purpose of the Agreement is to advance land conservation by working collaboratively to support mutual goals and activities.
The Cooperative Agreement template is available on MET's website. For more information or to renew your Agreement contact Michelle at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov.
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Maryland Greenspace Equity Program Grants Available for Appraisals
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is now taking applications for Greenspace Equity Program Appraisal Funding Grants, which provide money for independent appraisals for acquisitions that may qualify for an FY2027 Greenspace Equity Program Grant. Interested applicants should visit the Greenspace Equity Program webpage for more information about this grant opportunity, including the Grant Proposal Guide, the Application and Project Agreement, and the Greenspace Equity Viewer, which maps the qualifying areas throughout the state. Applications are due by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2025. Read more.
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Basics of Real Estate Appraisals for Conservation Easement and Fee Simple Transactions
October 7 | Registration Fee
Qualified appraisals of real estate are essential to sound conservation transactions. Staff, board members and volunteers working in acquisitions need to understand the basics of appraisals, and details specific to transactions that involve donations of conservation easements or fee simple property when the landowner is seeking a charitable deduction. Learn more.
Becoming a Stewardship-Focused Land Trust
October 9 | Registration Fee
As land trusts continue to protect more land, many organizations need to focus on their stewardship programs. Whether the focus is shifting from acquisition efforts or expanding stewardship alongside acquisition efforts, your organization could probably use some ideas from other land trusts that are working on the same thing. As a stewardship practitioner or other land trust decision maker, you have questions about budgeting, staff capacity, using volunteers, tech stacks, workflows, and more. Learn more.
Acquiring Land and Conservation Easements: Title Review
October 28 | Registration Fee
It’s a simple truth: you can’t protect conservation land without getting a good title. It is one of the most critical parts of the due diligence process for acquiring land or easements. Without a proper title review, a land trust risks encumbering the wrong property, being subject to mortgages, tax liens, mineral rights or other restrictions that prevent deductibility and cause a host of other problems. Learn more.
Land & Wildlife Speaker Series
Monthly Webinars | Free
Join the University of Maryland Extension every third Wednesday at Noon on Zoom for their Land & Wildlife Speaker Series. These monthly webinars cover a variety of topics related to land and wildlife management in Maryland. Learn more.
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Tools, Tech and Tutorials |
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 Maryland's Restoration and Resilience Map
The Resilience and Restoration Map supports restoration and climate resilience activities in Maryland. The tool contains a collection of
environmental, social, and hydrological datasets to support landscape and parcel assessment activities. Also, the map includes the “find opportunities” tool.
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 Woodland Wildlife Spotlight: American Beaver
The beaver is a mostly nocturnal herbivore that feeds on leaves, woody stems, and aquatic plants. They regularly move between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, using their small, dexterous front feet to work on land and their larger, webbed hind feet for swimming.
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 MDOT Releases Statewide Transportation Trails Strategic Plan
The Maryland Department of Transportation today announced the release of the Maryland Statewide Transportation Trails Strategic Plan, establishing a bold vision for a safe, accessible and connected transportation trail network that supports communities across Maryland.
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Share Your News
If you would like to share relevant conservation news, success stories, announcements or events with Maryland's land trusts and conservation partners through this publication, please contact Michelle Grafton by the first of each month at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov.
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