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r Page b farmland preservation report New state push in Pinelands will help Burlington effort continued from page 3 York County, Pa. York increased its preserved acreage by a notable 3,060 acres. The county put up $3.47 million to match state funds and the Farm and Natural Lands Trust has been at work protecting an addi- tional 413 acres over last year. York retains its Number 10 spot of last year. Berks County, Pa. Berks gets development pressure radiating out from Philadelphia and neighboring Montgomery County where farmland preservation is struggling for a foothold. Berks entered the ranking last year when the number of slots was expanded from 10 to 12, with full expectation it would climb up in the ranking - the county had just passed a $30 million bond issue for farmland preservation and the Berks County Agricultural Preserve Board was looking for a program technician. Expectations can be considered met: the ag program has logged 5,676 acres, the second largest gain in this year's ranking, after Sonoma. Maryland suspends Round Two, seeks funds for accounting -error deficit ANNAPOLIS, MD - In an attempt to correct a funding shortfall brought about by an accounting error, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) voted in June to suspend the program's normal Round Two offers. "We decided to reallocate our monies and not have a second round," said Doug Wilson, director of administrative services for the Maryland Depart- ment of Agriculture. "That will make up what we are short. Those with matching funds got hurt more July- August 2001 than others," he said. Wilson said the department will try to make offers to those who expected second round offers by using recently awarded federal grant money and money from the state's new Greenprint program. "That might mean we free up some of the county and state money," he said. Wilson said he was working with the Depart- ment of Natural Resources to use funds from the newly created Greenprint program, which, by amendment to the legislation that created it in April, will send 25 percent of its funds - $36.2 million over five years - to MALPF. The legislature approved $35 million for this year for the program, meaning $8.75 million is available to MALPF immediately. The program will target forested lands. The Department of Natural Resources is cur- rently mapping areas that will qualify for Greenprint. Implemented by the Chesapeake and Coastal Watershed Service, the project will provide a list of MALPF applicants who could receive easement offers using Greenprint funding. The first funds "will go to those who have already applied, up to June 30, then to new applicants," Wilson said. There are 861 MALPF districts that contain some green infrastructure, comprising 117,458 acres, according to David*Burke, director of the Chesapeake and Coastal Watershed Service, an agency with a sizable GIS capability. Of those acres, Burke said 48,779 acres, or about 41 percent of agricultural lands enrolled as districts contain enough forest to qualify for easement purchase with Greenprint funding. While each county has at least some acreage that qualifies, Burke said qualifying acreage "is more heavily concentrated in parts of Southern Mary- land, Western Maryland, the Eastern Shore and the northern coastal plain. Where you have extreme agricultural concentrations, like in Carroll County, there is little forest." Burke said his office is working feverishly to get Greenprint operating to help MALPF with "its backlog from last year" and believes offers could be enabled within a few weeks. please continue to page 7