About the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation

History

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) was one of the first created in the United States and has become one of the nation's leaders in agricultural land preservation by preserving more agricultural land than any other state in the country.

Created by the General Assembly in 1977, MALPF purchases agricultural preservation easements that forever restrict development on prime farmland and woodland and has permanently preserved land in each of Maryland's 23 counties, representing a public investment of over $900 million. Since 1980, MALPF has purchased easements on over 2,500, permanently preserving over 350,000 acres.

Mission

The mission of MALPF is:

• To preserve productive farmland and woodland for the continued production of food and fiber for all of Maryland's citizens (statutory goal);
• To curb the expansion of random urban development (statutory goal);
• To help curb the spread of urban blight and deterioration (statutory goal);
• To help protect agricultural land and woodland as open space (statutory goal);
• To protect wildlife habitat (ancillary goal); and
• To enhance the environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries (ancillary goal).

Operations

A thirteen-member Board of Trustees and a staff of seven administer the Foundation’s programs. 

MALPF is based on a partnership with local governments which appoint advisory boards generally of five members to assist in the administration process. The local agricultural land preservation advisory board works with the local governing authorities to develop local rankings systems, approve easement applications, and review requests from program participants, making recommendations on those requests to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. No easement purchase is approved by the State that has not already been reviewed and approved by individual counties.

Each county has a designated program administrator to act as the primary contact with and liaison between the agricultural community and the Foundation and the local governing authorities and the Foundation. County program administrators also have day-to-day responsibility for monitoring easement properties, helping landowners prepare easement applications, and subsequent requests to be reviewed by the county and the Foundation. Local program administrators are in an excellent position to advise landowners on the range of options and programs in addition to MALPF that are available to help landowners seeking to preserve their properties.

Board of Trustee meetings

Public meetings of the Foundation's Board of Trustees are made available for those interested in the deliberations and activities of the Board. View public meeting agendas and minutes.