Maryland Commission on Climate Change

The Maryland Commission on Climate Change (MCCC) is charged with developing an action plan and firm timetable for mitigation of and adaptation to the likely consequences and impacts of climate change in Maryland, including strategies to reduce Maryland's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Maryland Land Preservation and Recreation Plan 2019-2023

The 2019 Land Preservation and Recreation Plan is a resource and a guide for strategically enhancing public outdoor recreation opportunities statewide over the next five years.

Maryland's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan

as required in §2–1205 of the Environment Article

State of Maryland Hazard Mitigation Plan

as required in 44 CFR, Part 201, Mitigation Planning

Certified Land Preservation Programs

The Certified Land Preservation Program is state and local partnership to create local land preservation programs and continually improve them.

Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Areas

In 1984, to safeguard the Bay from the negative impacts of intense development, the Maryland General Assembly enacted the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection Program, a far-reaching effort to control future land use development in the Chesapeake's watershed.

Coastal Community Flood Risk Areas

Maryland’s Coastal Resiliency Assessment is a landscape-level spatial analysis and modeling effort that identifies where natural habitats provide the greatest potential risk reduction for coastal communities.

Flood Risk Application

This tool is designed to aid you in researching your flood risk in the state of Maryland.

Land Acquisition and Planning Programs

The Department of Natural Resources Land Acquisition and Planning Unit works to advance land conservation and outdoor recreational opportunities in Maryland.

Targeted Ecological Areas

The GreenPrint map displays Targeted Ecological Areas (TEAs), lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Chesapeake & Coastal Service Programs

Maryland’s Chesapeake & Coastal Service is a partnership among local, regional and state agencies to ensure that the expertise, tools and financial resources are used to their utmost capacity to address Chesapeake, coastal and ocean management priorities.

Climate Leadership Academy

The Maryland Climate Leadership Academy will advance the capacity of state and local government agencies, infrastructure organizations and businesses to develop and implement sound climate change initiatives thus ensuring current and future public health, security and economic prosperity.

Maryland Watershed Implementation Plan

Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) document the steps, measures, and practices Maryland and its local jurisdictions will take and implement to achieve and maintain the final Chesapeake Bay TMDL by the year 2025.

Program Open Space - Local

Program Open Space – Local provides financial and technical assistance to local subdivisions for the planning, acquisition, and/or development of recreation land or open space areas.

Program Open Space - Stateside

Program Open Space Stateside preserves natural areas for public recreation and watershed and wildlife protection across Maryland through the purchase of fee-simple and easement acquisitions. Fee simple purchases are managed by the department as State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife and Fisheries Management Areas.

Project Green Classrooms environmental education initiative

Project Green Classroom is an initiative to promote outdoor experiential activities and environmental education through Maryland’s schools, communities and public lands.

2022 Water Resources Element Guidance Update

The Water Resources Element (WRE), a statutory requirement for local comprehensive plans, is designed to ensure that local plans for growth and development can be supported given limitations and constraints of water resources and water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure. This WRE Guidance Update provides best practices for considering and addressing water-related climate change impacts, and for addressing the challenges that growth and development pose to our collective efforts to protect and restore Maryland waterbodies. The WRE Guidance Update outlines best practices and is an advisory document. Comprehensive planning, including WRE development, is a local government decision.

Coast Smart Climate Ready Action Boundary (CS-CRAB) Map

The Coast Smart Climate Ready Action Boundary (CS-CRAB) map was developed in a multi-agency effort by the Maryland Coast Smart Council to identify and mitigate future flood risk to the state's existing infrastructure. The data product was created leveraging existing FEMA regulatory boundaries and infusing an additional three feet of water elevation to determine the new water surface elevations and potential flooding extents (up and out).

Ecosystem Services

The benefits people gain from the environment can be collectively referred to as Ecosystem Services, which are commonly divided into four major categories: provisioning services (e.g. timber, firewood, food), regulating services (e.g. water purification, wildlife habitat), supporting services (e.g. nutrient cycling, soil formation) and cultural services (e.g. recreation, spiritual benefits.

Get Kids Outside Website

A storymap of Project Green Classrooms

Maryland Coastal Atlas

The Coastal Atlas is a mapping tool that allows state and local decision-makers to visually analyze and explore coastal and ocean data layers for project and planning purposes. Using the built-in tools, the user can query, map, and analyze spatial data to better understand Maryland's marine resources.

Maryland Growth & Conservation Analysis Tool

The Growth and Conservation Overlay interactive map shows local and state targeted growth and conservation areas for coordinated planning, management and resource allocation. The purpose of these areas is to identify where and how local and state government, as well as the private sector, can work together to achieve common goals.

Maryland’s Plan to Adapt to Saltwater Intrusion and Salinization

Pursuant to Chapter 628 of the 2018 Laws of Maryland, the Maryland General Assembly tasked the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) to “establish a plan to adapt to saltwater intrusion,” in consultation with the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Environment and Agriculture, Planning presents in this plan, as a result of collaboration with many state agency, university, and other partners, a first state-level report on this issue. The plan is a first step towards better understanding and addressing saltwater intrusion and salinization in Maryland. To varying degrees, saltwater intrusion and salinization already impacts Maryland’s groundwater, surface waters, wetlands, coastal forests, agriculture and infrastructure; however, there is currently no comprehensive understanding of all of the areas currently at risk, and limited knowledge of which areas are at risk in the future. To determine current and future areas at risk, extensive research, modeling and monitoring is recommended.

MERLIN-Maryland’s Environmental Resource & Land Information Network

Maryland's Environmental Resources and Land Information Network (MERLIN) Online allows users to produce a custom map of any location in Maryland, to include their choice of base maps and data layers.

Transfer of Development Rights Programs

Maryland Department of Planning provides outreach, education, technical assistance and analysis support to local governments on Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs.