Baltimore County, MD - Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management (DEPRM)

DEPRM's mission is to conserve, enhance, and perpetuate the natural resources of Baltimore County and to protect the environmental health of its citizens. The County is Maryland's third largest in land area (610 square miles) and population (809,000) and has no incorporated municipalities (the City of Baltimore is an independent political jurisdiction of Maryland). The County has a strong tradition of growth management and environmental protection, with 87% of its year 2007 population residing inside its Urban-Rural Demarcation Line (URDL), a growth boundary established in 1967. Outside the URDL, two-thirds of the County are protected from intensive development through rural Resource Conservation zoning established in 1975 and several land preservation programs.

The County helped develop Maryland's Green Infrastructure methodology and subsequently developed a county-wide Forest Sustainability Program following its participation as a national pilot for the Linking Communities to the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators project. DEPRM's programs for land conservation and forest sustainability are profiled under the "Projects" section of this Community of Practice web site. DEPRM's "Forests and Trees" web page provides information about the County's forest sustainability program development and implementation, including forest assessment and monitoring projects, urban tree planting and rural reforestation projects, the 2005 Forest Sustainability Strategy, the Steering Committee, forest sustainability forums, and the State of Our Forests -2007 report.

Baltimore County has made a significant commitment to the protection of farmland, woodland, and rural land through the acquisition of development right easements and, to a limited degree, in-fee acquisition. Easements are acquired through coordination with State programs and direct acquisition by the County through its own programs. These programs are financed using Maryland Agricultural Transfer Taxes, County bonds, County general funds, private funds and federal funds. According to the Farmland Preservation Report, the County ranks seventh nationally in its accomplishments. As of January 2009 the County has preserved over 53,000 acres toward the County goal of 80,000 acres.

Additional services, focus, and contact information:

Services: Environmental Protection, Watershed Restoration, Citizen Education
Focus: Forest Sustainability, Land Preservation
Contact Information (Land Preservation):
Wallace S. Lippincott, Jr., AICP
Natural Resource Manager
Baltimore County Dept. of Environmental Protection & Resource Management
401 Bosley Avenue, Room 416
Towson, Maryland 21204
410.887.3776 (OFFICE)
410.887.3510 (FAX)
wlippincott@baltimorecountymd.gov