Championing Change

Preservation Maryland works at the federal, state, and local level to influence the policies, programs, and funding mechanisms that make preservation and smart growth possible. Advocacy remains one of the primary activities of the organization because of the dramatic scale of its impact.

Advocacy is at the heart of our mission to safeguard Maryland’s heritage. Through outreach and policy engagement, we work at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that historic places remain protected, vibrant, and meaningful for communities across the state.

Purpose

Our advocacy work is driven by these guiding goals:

  • Preserve heritage as community asset. Historic places are not just relics of the past — they contribute to identity, economic vitality, sustainability, and livable communities.

  • Influence policy & funding. Many preservation outcomes depend on legislation, public investment, funding programs, tax incentives, and smart-growth policies. We engage actively with the policy process to ensure these remain strong.

  • Promote smart growth & equitable development. We believe that historic preservation and smart growth go hand-in-hand: revitalizing existing communities, supporting adaptive reuse, and avoiding sprawl. 

Focus Areas

Here are the key areas where our advocacy work is focused:

  • Funding & tax credits. We monitor, engage, and advocate for historic tax credits, grant programs through entities like the Maryland Historical Trust, the state’s Heritage Areas, and other critical funding mechanisms. Preservation Maryland+1

  • Public lands & state-owned historic resources. We work to ensure that public lands and state-owned historic resources are properly managed, preserved, and integrated into broader planning. 

  • Smart growth, housing & redevelopment. With our Smart Growth Maryland program, we advocate for infill development, reuse of historic buildings, increased housing affordability in historic neighborhoods, and coordinated planning.

  • Threatened historic resources & infrastructure impacts. We oppose policies or projects that endanger historic resources — for example, transmission line routes through conserved lands — and work to ensure preservation is considered in infrastructure planning. 

  • Legislative & policy engagement. Each legislative session, we identify priority bills, monitor the state budget, testify in hearings, mobilize advocates, and report on outcomes.

Read All Advocacy News