The foundation paid a $10,000 administrative fine to Anne Arundel County this week for grading without a permit within the Critical Area, said Jonathan Hodgson, the county attorney.

The violation occurred near the Bay Bridge at the foundation's Holly Beach Farm property along the Severn River. A tenant who has a long-term lease on part of the land graded 5,000 square feet in preparation to build a barn, county and foundation officials said.

The foundation, which has owned the land since 2001, had agreed to allow the tenant to build the barn, said Mary Tod Winchester, the foundation's vice president of administration and operations.

But when foundation officials saw the work under way for the barn, they questioned whether all the permits were in order.

They weren't.

"When we realized the activity was going on, we called the county and turned ourselves in ... Because of who we are and what we stand for, we thought we had to do the right thing," Ms. Winchester said.

In addition to paying the fine, the foundation has to plant three times as many trees and shrubs as were removed during the grading, Ms. Winchester said.

The tenant has since applied for the proper grading permit, but it hasn't yet been granted.

Even though the foundation didn't do the work, as the property owner, it is liable under the law.

Fines can only be assessed to the owner of the property where laws were violated, Mr. Hodgson said.

He noted that the foundation didn't contest the fine and was cooperative. "They paid it without any kind of debate," he said.

The foundation acquired the 300-acre Holly Beach Farm in 2001 as part of a complicated seven-way, $7.25 million deal that involved government agencies and private groups. It has remained mostly undeveloped, although the foundation has done reforestation on parts of the land that were farmed and restored the shoreline. Holly Beach Farm also is a site for field trips for schoolchildren.