The Maryland Forest Conservation Act: The Law that Conserves Forest During Development

A five year review of 1991 MD Forest Conservation Law. (See link for 10 year review attached)

The Forest Conservation Act was adopted in 1991 to control the loss of forests in Maryland. The Forest Conservation Act establishes standards for local authorities to enforce during development. This act is a means to protect not only forests and trees in developing areas, but also any sensitive areas identified during the local planning or comprehensive land use plan adoption process. This report contains a five year summary of forest conservation activities statewide. The data analyzed focused on the amount of: existing forest onsite prior to development, existing forest retained onsite after development, proposed mitigation onsite after development, and forest placed under long-term protection.