Piney Orchard is a planned unit development (PUD) south of Odenton, Maryland. The community was begun in 1992, although groundbreaking for what was to become the Nature Preserve was in 1987, when Constellation Real Estate, the developer, began the effort to restore wetlands in an area which had been mined for sand and gravel in the 1940s and 1950s. Several mitigation projects, the term used for this restoration, followed in five phases to replace wetlands filled in by the development of the community, and included the building and enhancement of five large ponds and the planting of shrubs, trees, and grasses native to the area. The Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees such efforts, monitored the progress of the mitigation sites until 1995, when it was determined the efforts had been successful.

In 1996, the Piney Orchard Nature Preserve was officially opened, with walking trails, bird boxes, and interpretive signs enhancing the environment and enjoyment of this lovely green space. In the course of monitoring the development of the Preserve, several rare, threatened, and endangered species of plants were identified by various scientists with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment, who continue to visit the site with much interest and enthusiasm.