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's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan

as required in §2–1205 of the Environment Article

PreserveMaryland II: Statewide Preservation Plan 2019-2023

as required in Section 101(b) of National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470a).

State of Maryland Hazard Mitigation Plan

as required in 44 CFR, Part 201, Mitigation Planning

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.

National Register/State Designation Historic Buildings/Sites

The National Register of Historic Places recognizes districts, buildings, structures, objects, and sites for their significance in American history, archeology, architecture, engineering, or culture, and identifies them as worthy of preservation.

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.

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.

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 InfoPortal

Maryland InfoPortal is the best one stop for finding financial and non-financial assistance, containing links to 700-plus state programs providing financial, non-financial and technical assistance and direct development to local government, civic and private organizations, and individuals.

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.

MDOT Environmental Programs Interactive Map

A series of storymaps of MDOT's comprehensive systems approach to environmental stewardship.

Medusa - Maryland’s Cultural Resource Information System

Medusa, the Maryland Historical Trust's online database of architectural and archeological sites and standing structures is the official repository for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP), which includes both architectural resources and archeological sites.

Reducing Maryland’s Vulnerability to Climate Change Phase I: Sea-level rise and coastal storms

Maryland’s Climate Action Plan includes two climate change adaptation strategies that are currently being used to guide state-level adaptation planning efforts. The first strategy (Phase I) addresses the impacts associated with sea level rise and coastal storms.

Reducing Maryland’s Vulnerability to Climate Change Phase II: Building societal, economic, and ecological resilience

Maryland’s Climate Action Plan includes two climate change adaptation strategies that are currently being used to guide state-level adaptation planning efforts. The second strategy (Phase II) addresses changes in precipitation patterns and increased temperature, and the likely impacts to human health, agriculture, forest and terrestrial ecosystems, bay and aquatic environments, water resources, and population growth and infrastructure.

Weather It Together

The Maryland Historical Trust offers a Weather It Together program, providing technical assistance to aid local governments in three key areas: hazard mitigation planning, disaster response and recovery, and climate change adaptation.