Frederick County Forestry Board

Regular readers of Nature Notes probably know that this column is produced by the Frederick County Forestry Board. “But what is a Forestry Board?” you might ask, “and what do they do other than write Nature Notes?” Let us explain: The Maryland Association of District Conservancy Boards was created in 1943 by legislature. There are 24 Forestry Boards across the state, one for each county and Baltimore City.

Forestry Boards are comprised of local residents who volunteer their time to be part of the Board, and an Executive Secretary who is usually a member of the Maryland Forest Service. The stated mission of the Frederick County Forestry Board is to promote the conservation, stewardship, and sustainable use of the forest resources of this county, both urban and rural, through advocacy and education of sound forest management principles.

The Frederick County Forestry Board accomplishes its mission by conducting and promoting educational events such as workshops, newspaper articles such as Nature Notes, youth programs such as Scouting field days, Natural Resources Career Conference, and Envirothon trainings. The Frederick Board maintains a website at frederick.forestryboard.org that contains a wealth of environmental information. The Frederick County Forestry Board also evaluates proposed timber sales in Resource Conservation zones to help ensure that the owner’s interests are represented, and that proper best management practices are followed. The Forestry Board measures large trees for Maryland’s Big Tree program and helps to promote this very important national program that had its beginning in Maryland in 1913. In the recent past, the Forestry Board conducted workshops on Emerald Ash Borer, Spotted Lantern Fly, and Ticks and Lyme’s disease in partnership with Fox Haven Farms Learning Center as part of their education curriculum. The Frederick Board also participates in various community programs such as community “Green” events, Arbor Day programs and PLANT Community awards. The Frederick Board recruits, interviews, selects and funds area high school students to attend the annual Natural Resources Careers Conference in Garrett County. This week long program held in Garrett County exposes high school students to a wide variety of career options in environmental and natural resources. Our Board partners with a number of National, State and local organizations in the course of conducting business and we are asked to review and comment on legislative and procedural initiatives. If you want to learn more about the Frederick Board, you can visit the website or attend a business meeting which normally occur on the second Monday of the month.

Go to our Board Members page to learn about the volunteers that make up the board.

Article by FCFCDB

Nature note for 6/6/2020