Forest Conservation Program

In 1991, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Forest Conservation Act due to the loss of forest cover to urbanized development.  The Act required that all of the counties in the state with less than 200,000 acres of forest cover must adopt an ordinance to address the issue of forest conservation through identification and protection of existing forest, and establishment of new forest in the development review process.
In February of 1993, the Forest Conservation Ordinance (FCO) for Washington County was adopted.  Under this ordinance, subdivision of land or development that removes 40,000 sq. ft. of forest area requires mitigation plans to be submitted to the Planning Commission for approval.

 

The Forest Conservation Ordinance establishes options for remediation which include: on-site retention or planting, off-site retention or planting, natural regeneration, and payment-in-lieu of planting or retention.  The County, in cooperation with the Washington Soil Conservation District, has successfully developed a program where the payment-in-lieu of planting funds are used for easement purchases and plantings in sensitive environmental areas.  The collected funds provide the opportunity to plant and then protect, by easement, large contiguous areas of forest rather than promote small-scattered forested areas in order to enhance optimum benefit to the environment.

 

 

The Washington County Forest Conservation Ordinance is available online under “view county ordinances” located on The Planning Department home page.  The County also relies on the Maryland State Technical Manual for specific details on Forest Conservation Procedures.  The State Manual is available in hard copy format from the Planning Department. 

Top of Page
Planning Home Page
Return to Washington County Home Page