A national census by Land Trust Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, shows that Maryland environmental groups have preserved 93,114 acres through conservation easements or land purchases since the 1980s.

Nationally, 4.7 million acres are preserved -- a 135 percent increase since 1988, when a grass-roots push to contain sprawl and halt development began, the census said.

Pub Date: 10/08/98