In a final boost to Gov. Parris N. Glendening's environmental legacy, the Board of Public Works unanimously approved two multimillion-dollar land deals yesterday to preserve thousands of acres of forests, meadows and wetlands.

The board agreed to spend about $19 million on the pair of agreements on the Eastern Shore and in Southern Maryland despite deep concerns from Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp about worsening the state's grim fiscal situation.

One of the deals will cost the state $3.5 million to protect 2,000 acres of waterfront property, known as Newport Farms, in Worcester County. The land is owned by a prominent Democratic Party donor who will be permitted to keep living there but will be prohibited from further developing it.

The other -- the second-largest land purchase in state history -- will protect 25,000 acres of forestland in seven counties as well as help shore up the state's struggling timber industry.

Bought from the Glatfelter Pulp Wood Co., the larger deal includes 7,600 acres of wetlands and 31 miles of streams in 26 watersheds.

"I am really excited about it," Glendening said. "This is a wonderful, wonderful purchase if you think about what we are talking about. For future generations across the state, this is spectacular."

Even Schaefer, who had vowed to oppose the deal earlier in the week, ended up siding with Kopp and Glendening, the board's other two members.

Glatfelter will sell the land in the larger deal and development rights for $37 million, $15.4 million of which involves state funds. A forest industry group and a private conservation fund put up the rest of the money.

Of the state's share, $3.4 million is being paid in cash, and the rest is coming from bonds set aside in Maryland's GreenPrint Program.

The initial terms of the deal called for the state to pay $8 million in cash, but the Department of Natural Resources restructured it to make it more acceptable to Kopp and Schaefer.

Until yesterday, Schaefer had been a vocal critic of the proposal, saying it was another example of what he called reckless spending by Glendening at a time when the state faces a $1.8 billion budget shortfall over the next two years.

But Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, an Eastern Shore Republican who testified in support of the deal, persuaded Schaefer to support it.

Gilchrest argued the proposal is vital to the economy on the Eastern Shore because it would preserve jobs in the timber industry and boost tourism: "The economic system of the Eastern Shore is dependent on the ecological system of the Eastern Shore. The state has the opportunity to protect the resiliency of the Eastern Shore in a one-shot deal."

The agreement calls for the Arlington-based Conservation Fund to buy the land from Glatfelter and then sell the development rights to the Department of Natural Resources.

The Forest Land Group, a company based in Chapel Hill, N.C., that manages timber lands, will then purchase 22,000 of the 25,000 acres to harvest timber. Forestry is a $2 billion industry in Maryland and the Eastern Shore's second largest industry, after poultry. State officials estimate the deal will create 120 jobs.

"This project is about the environment, but it is also about business," said Patrick F. Noonan, chairman of the Conservation Fund.

But the House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to recommend that the Board of Public Works delay the deal until the state's budget gap is addressed.

"I personally would have preferred [the board] not go forward at this time," said Baltimore Del. Howard P. Rawlings, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Schaefer, who initially agreed with the committee, said, "When you get into it, it was one of the best land deals ever made by the state."

Still, Schaefer and Kopp said they struggled with the decision because protecting a few forestry jobs on the Eastern Shore could mean laying off state workers.

"Suppose you were confronted with laying off a couple hundred employees in exchange for this?" Schaefer asked Noonan at one point.

Later, Schaefer warned the mayor of Vienna, a waterfront town in Dorchester County, that state aid to the town could be cut if the deal were approved.

"I know the town of Vienna will suffer in the future because of a reduction in state aid, but I think in the long term the town of Vienna will benefit more," said Mayor Russell Brinsfield.

William R. Miles, executive director of the Association of Forest Industries, argued to the board that the state was running out of time to preserve the Eastern Shore's natural resources.

"If this deal doesn't happen I fear the Eastern Shore will become a retirement community for the wealthy to lock up land as well as a playground for them to do so," Miles said.

Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his staff had also initially been critical of the deal, saying it was a last-ditch attempt by Glendening to saddle the incoming administration with additional debt. But Ehrlich's tone softened yesterday after the board's unanimous vote.

"We are pleased the board could reach a compromise and take a significant portion of the money out of the equation," said Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver.

The other land deal approved by the board yesterday will protect the 2,000-acre Newport Farm from development. Charles R. "Buddy" Jenkins, a prominent Ocean City businessman and a key Democratic fund-raiser, will continue to own the farm.

Schaefer called the farm "a remarkable piece of land" and said it was "really worth" the $3.5 million price.

But at Schaefer's request, the board stripped a $5 million option out of the deal. The option would have given Jenkins additional money to buy and protect other land near the farm if the next governor and legislature agreed.

In all, the Glendening administration has protected more than 300,000 acres in the past eight years. The governor also worked to set stricter pollution standards and implemented the state's landmark Smart Growth policies, which are designed to reduce sprawl.

"Actions like those are precisely the steps we need to protect the Chesapeake Bay," said DNR Secretary J. Charles Fox.

But some critics note those land purchases have come at a cost and are partly responsible for the state's fiscal distress. "I hope this is the last land deal we are going to do for a while until we resolve our fiscal problems," Rawlings said.