June 11, 2020
Forever Maryland Foundation in partnership with the Catoctin Land Trust received a $30,000 Chesapeake Land & Water Initiative Grant on behalf of the Heart of Maryland Conservation Alliance (HMCA), a Regional Conservation Partnership. This grant is cosponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network and the Land Trust Alliance. The HMCA with assistance of the grant will accelerate conservation in Frederick and Washington counties through collaborative planning within partners’ priority preservation areas. Through three work groups—conservation, funding, and communications—the HCMA will develop a strategic plan at landscape scale. Using each county’s GIS mapping and mapping previously funded by the Land and Water Initiative, partners will identify overlap areas where partner efforts center on farmland, the Appalachian Trail, historic sites and watersheds. Then, partners will seek funding to fill the gap between conservation demand and the resources currently available to meet it. The communications group will focus on expanding public support for conservation, while the funding group will explore local philanthropy to support and sustain the Alliance. HCMA partners will also conduct outreach to landowners with existing preserved land to cultivate interest in best management practices for water quality.