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The Maryland Forest Conservation Act - A Five Year Review |
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| Marian Rossler Honeczy | |||
| Session: April 16, 2000 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm | Author Info | ||
During the 1980's, the State of Maryland experienced an increase in population. Large areas of land were being converted from agriculture and forests to subdivision and commercial areas. In response to the intense development pressure on the environment, the State adopted two laws: The Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission (1984) to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and the Nontidal Wetlands Law (1990) to protect the wetlands of the state.
The Forest Conservation Act of 1991 (FCA) was enacted to protect the forests of Maryland by making the identification and protection of forests and other sensitive areas an integral part of the site planning process. It is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service (DNR FS), but implemented by both state and local governments. The DNR FS is responsible for the effective implementation of the FCA through oversight of local forest conservation programs and direct review of State-funded and State Agency projects. The primary objective of the FCA is to minimize loss of forest land from development and ensure that priority areas for forest retention and forest planting are identified and protected prior to development. These priority areas include areas adjacent to streams and wetlands, on steep slopes and erodible soils, in or adjacent to large contiguous forest blocks, and within or creating connecting wildlife corridors.
The FCA established standards for local authorities to enforce during development. Identification and mapping of the priority areas occur during the development review and approval of a Forest Stand Delineation. Protection of these areas occurs through the establishment of long term protection agreements as part of the local approval of Forest Conservation Plans. In addition, sensitive areas located off-site provide opportunities for replanting, conservation and protection under a local comprehensive plan or when approved as a technique for afforestation or reforestation.
Five Year Review Analysis
Since July of 1993, the DNR FS has received annual reports from local governments that contain data on the implementation of their locally adopted forest conservation programs. The data submitted includes: number, location, and types of projects; amount of acres cleared, conserved, and planted in connection with development projects; the amount of reforestation and afforestation fees and penalties collected and expended; and the costs of implementing the local program. The DNR FS has compiled the information from the time period of January 1993 through June 1997 into a five year summary of forest conservation activities statewide. The data analyzed focuses on the amount of forest on the site prior to development and the amount of forest designated to remain or be planted onsite after development. The following is an analysis of the data:
Statewide, the Forest Conservation Act and Regulations' effect on development has resulted in the retention of 22,508 ac. of forest, the planting of 4,314 ac of trees and the clearing of 12,210 ac. Put another way, 120% (14,612 ac) more forest was retained and planted on development sites than was cleared.
All Forest Conservation programs statewide (municipal, county, and State programs), on average, retained 65% of existing forest and cleared 35% of existing forest. County programs accounted for 93% of forest area under review statewide.
County Forest Conservation Programs, on average, retained 65% (20,933 ac) of existing forest on development sites and cleared 35% (11,279 ac). Of the 35% cleared, 14% (2,132.5 ac) were replaced by onsite reforestation plantings.
The majority of development-related clearing in Maryland occurred within the Route 301/Baltimore-Washington Interstate 95 Corridor, with 55% occurring in just three counties. These three - Montgomery, Prince George's, and Charles Counties - also accounted for 43% of the retention and 56% of the planting statewide. This reflects the large volume of development activity - both in area and numbers - in these counties, with 52% of the existing forest under review occurring in these same three counties.
The total area of forest statewide that has been placed under long term protection as a result of county review is 24,760 ac. (the sum of retained and planted acres). This area represents 1.64 % of the land throughout the State already protected from development by the combination of forest conservation management agreements (10.9%), conservation easements (27.4%), county parkland (11.5%), federal (25%) and state owned property (23.5%).
During the time frame of this report, 36,397 ac of forest was reviewed for development purposes statewide. Potentially without the Forest Conservation Act a majority of that forest would have been lost and little if any replanted. Because of the Forest Conservation Act, however, 22,508 ac of forest has been retained, and 4,313 ac of forest planted, while 12,210 ac of existing forest has been cleared. In many instances, more forest has been retained than required by the law. Thus, through required and voluntary actions, 14,612 acres or 120% more forest has been retained and planted on development sites than cleared. In the absence of the FCA legislation, a much smaller percentage of forest would have remained onsite, and likely very little if any planted in association with development projects. The net result is that Maryland has retained more forest then it has lost to development, and thus maintained a key factor in the protection of the Chesapeake Bay.
Additional information:
The Forest Conservation Act: A Five Year Review by Honeczy and Chapman, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest, Wildlife & Heritage Service, Forest Service
Maryland Forest Conservation Act and Regulations booklet, Division of State Documents, P.O. box 2249, Annapolis, MD 21404 (410) 974-2486.
For more information contact Marian Rossler Honeczy, State Forest Conservation
Program Coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest
Service at (410) 260-8511 or mhoneczy@dnr.state.md.us
Copyright 2000 By Author
Marian Rossler Honeczy
State Forest Conservation Program Coordinator
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service
(410) 260-8511
mhoneczy@dnr.state.md.us