THE MARYLAND FORESTS ASSOCIATION AND THE ASSOCIATION OF FOREST INDUSTRIES WELCOMES THE 2019 MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR "A HEALTHY FOREST IS A HEALTHY BAY"
February 7, 2019
Maryland has declared forestry its preferred land use because, among other things, forests have no rival in combating nutrient pollution. Why? Because forests act as a sponge by capturing rainfall, reducing runoff, maintaining streamflow, filtering nutrients and sediment and stabilizing soils.
Other benefits of forests include flood control, wood products, renewable energy, climate moderation, aesthetics, and recreational opportunities. And it’s well known that nutrient pollution is the number one problem facing the ailing Chesapeake Bay.
Sadly, the 2018 State of the Bay Report was a D+. For Maryland to realize a healthier Bay by meeting its $14.5 billion 2025 restoration goals, a healthy forest requires sustainable forestry management.
The Maryland Forests Association and the Association of Forest Industries will host a lunch event in Annapolis to welcome the Hogan Administration and incoming State lawmakers and share information about the measurable environmental and economic benefits attendant to sustainable forestry management, aka “working forests”.
Maryland has many pro-forestry laws on the books, most notably is the nationally acclaimed Sustainable Forestry Act of 2009. But, the 2009 Act, et al, cannot alone achieve intended results. Instead, Maryland’s forest community challenges lawmakers – in cooperation with us -- to take these well-intentioned laws to the next level by adopting new responsive policies, like biomass energy.
In doing so, Maryland could well become the “First” state to meet its EPA-mandated 2025 Bay restoration goals.
