We need forests. They provide food and shelter for wildlife, clean the water we drink and the air we breathe, and reduce pollution into our local rivers and streams. But Maryland forests are being cleared at an unsustainable rate.

Maryland's current Forest Conservation Act (FCA) is supposed to protect forests from overdevelopment. But the Forest Conservation Act needs dramatic improvement. While the law has helped reduce forest clearance in some cases, it has also allowed clear cutting of some of Maryland's highest quality forests, with little to no replacement or transparency in the process. Few, if any, forests are replanted.

New legislation would prioritize our best forests for retention, provide transparency around forest decisions in the development process, and ensure that the loss of the highest value forests is mitigated through replanting.

That is why our organizations have come together to ask you for your help.

Tell your state legislators how valuable forests are to our environment, economy, and way of life by signing our petition. Tell them we need more forests and ask them to support House Bill 766, sponsored by Delegate Healey, and Senate Bill 610, sponsored by Senator Young, which will update the Forest Conservation Act to protect our most ecologically valuable forests.

Organized by:

Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Blue Water Baltimore
National Wildlife Federation
Potomac Conservancy
South River Federation
Clean Water Action
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Severn River Association
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
League of Conservation Voters