No New Forest Conservation Measures in Maryland – Senate Bill 610 Fails to Pass House
After passing in the Maryland Senate on March 28, the amended Senate Bill 610 did NOT pass in the House – which means no new forest conservation measures in Maryland at this time.
Before failing in the House, SB610 had been amended from its original draft that sought to increase the reforestation ratio for priority retention areas that contain high quality forests and trees, to instead simply form a Task Force to study the Forest Conservation Act Offset Policy and define the role of that group. The bill had also been amended to double the representation of the commercial and residential development industry on the Task Force to a total of four members.
You can read more about the original Senate Bill 610 in our February 2018 Field Notes article.
Wetland Studies and Solutions will continue to monitor any proposed changes to forest conservation measures in Maryland. Please contact us if you have questions about the recent proposed changes to the Forest Conservation Act.