Maryland’s Forest Conservation Act Turns 30!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since the Maryland General Assembly passed the Forest Conservation Act of 1991.  This law was enacted to limit the amount of forest acreage lost during land development and to make conservation of forests an integral part of the land planning process.  DMW’s Environmental Services Team was active at the beginning, participating in the development of the State’s Forest Conservation Technical Manual and pitching in at the early ‘90’s training sessions like the ones that were held at Oregon Ridge Park.  DMW’s Villages of Elk Neck project was one of the first projects in the State that modelled many of the forest protection measures commonly used in land development today.  We recently reviewed a sampling of some of our largest projects and found that since the Forest Conservation Act was passed, DMW has been responsible for helping to preserve and plant well over 2,000 acres of forest state-wide!  With so many projects under our belt it’s hard to say just how many acres of woods we’ve protected and planted, but you can rest assured we’re looking forward to the next 30 years of the Forest Conservation Act in Maryland.