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The health of your watershed affects your life every day. Whether you live in the mountains, or on the Eastern Shore, city or country, you need clean water for drinking, cooking, bathing,  washing and many other uses.

Water can be a friend if you enjoy fishing, crabbing, boating, swimming or its scenic beauty. Unmanaged, it can also be an enemy. Dams can only help control floods. Polluted water kills fish, crabs, and other wildlife we depend on. Sediment from erosion clogs streams and smothers plant and aquatic life that is so important to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. People living above you in a watershed affect your water. You have a responsibility to people living below you in a watershed too.

Managing forests and trees can help. Some cities in Maryland already recognize the benefits of forest on water supply. They own large tracts of timberland around their reservoirs and manage the forest for many purposes. Lumber products, pulpwood used in paper, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and a quality water supply may all be derived from a healthy, managed forest. Foresters from the Maryland Forest Service are available throughout the State to provide technical assistance to landowners who are interested in managing their forest lands. Proper management of trees in a watershed can significantly improve the quality of Maryland’s water.

For more information about the important of managing forest and trees to promote water quality in your watershed, contact your regional forester.

       The Forest Conservancy District Board for Baltimore County

9405 Old Harford Road

Baltimore, Maryland 21234

(410) 665-5820 

Email Robert Prenger ....... rprenger@dnr.state.md.us

 Melvin Noland ....... mlnoland@bcpl.net