Planting Forests in Montgomery County Before the early 1990s, the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve experienced significant loss of forested land. After Montgomery County enacted the FCL in 1993, forests on parcels larger than 40,000 square feet have been gradually replaced in the Agricultural Reserve. (See maps in Chapter 8, The Impact of Legislation.) Consisting of 93,000 acres of farmland in the Up County, the Agricultural Reserve holds tremendous potential for preserving forested land in and around more than 500 working farms. xlix ReLeaf the Reserve, a Reforest
A Re-Leaf the Reserve site in Boyds, MD, just after planting. Over 400 native trees were planted on 2.2 acres, at no cost to the property owner.
Montgomery program, coordinated in partnership with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance and the Planning Department, identifies landowners in the Agricultural Reserve who would like to host native forest planting on their property at no cost to the property owner. Re-Leaf the Reserve gives priority to unforested stream buffers. As of early 2023, 15 acres of land along stream corridors had been reforested through the program. l
One of Reforest Montgomery’s earliest programs, the Reforest Montgomery Parks reforestation program, started in 2008 and is a partnership between the Montgomery County Parks and Planning Departments. The 70 acres (to date) of reforestation accomplished through Reforest Montgomery are only a portion of the tree planting and reforestation efforts carried out by Montgomery Parks. li The Montgomery County Parks Department and Pope Farm have planted thousands of trees and forests on parkland maintained by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Applications and planting opportunities in four priority watersheds and special protection areas are prioritized for both the free reforestation and park reforestation programs of Reforest Montgomery. Both programs also expand forests by planting forest edges, replacing forest lost due to invasive pressure, pests, storms, or heat stress. The programs also reforest stream buffers and reduce mowed areas.
Reforestation within a conservation easement area on private property. Reforest Montgomery offers free reforestation within conservation easements.
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