DENMARK TOWNSHIP - The window of opportunity for future development along one section of the scenic St. Croix River appears to be closing for good.

In June, the Department of Natural Resources Metro Greenway program awarded a $250,000 grant to the Washington County Land and Water Legacy program to help fund and propel the purchase of a conservation easement for a property owned by David Rowe in Denmark Township.

Rowe's land is one of 15 ecologically significant parcels Washington County officials chose to protect as part of the county's Land and Water Legacy Program, which will spend $20 million over 10 years to buy property or conservation easements limiting future development.

Under the proposed conservation easement, Rowe's property would be left in private ownership but precludes further development.

"There will be no public use unless it's written in the contract," Jane Harper, Washington County Land and Water Legacy program manager said last week.

The property is near the St. Croix River, located just south of St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park, and it features 92 acres of mostly maple-basswood forest and 1,590 feet of shoreline.

"Protecting this parcel today will maintain a natural buffer to the St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park and the St. Croix Scenic Riverway," Harper said. "It is an opportunity to keep natural one of the few remaining large parcels of undeveloped land along the lower stretch of the St. Croix River."

If each of the 15 projects proposed for the Land and Water Legacy Program are completed, it would create an approximately 3-mile corridor bordered by the St. Croix River on the east and St. Croix Trail on the west.

Harper said the Metro Greenway grant will help pay for a portion of conservation easement on Rowe's property, but not all of it. The county will pay the remaining portion, but the final price of the easement won't be known until the property is formally appraised.

"We will pay fair market value," Harper said.

Washington County Commissioner Gary Kriesel praised the Land and Water Legacy Program and the voters who approved the referendum to create it.

Harper said the program has so far received 32 applications for land protection projects from landowners who are willing to sell their land or an interest in their land to keep it in its natural condition.

To make the most of limited funds, Harper said the county typically looks for properties adjacent to or near county parks.

"The county doesn't want to own individual properties scattered throughout the county," she said.

The grant for the Rowe land was one of many awarded by Metro Greenways this year. Altogether, the group gave more than $1 million in grants to seven Twin Cities communities to protect and restore significant natural areas.

The seven grants are expected to add more than 300 acres to park systems in Scott, Chisago and Wright counties, while protecting significant stretches of undeveloped shoreline.

"We are pleased to be able to help communities protect and restore natural habitats for the contribution they make every day to our quality of life in the region," Marybeth Block, Metro Greenways coordinator said in statement.

Kriesel said the fact that Metro Greenways was willing to make such a significant contribution to the efforts of the Washington County Land and Water Legacy Program is further evidence of its long-term value.

"I am very pleased with how the program is progressing. It's going to benefit Washington County and its citizens for a long time to come," he said.