Incident Publication

Incident Publication Titles should be descriptive and include the date, incident name, title, etc. The use of certain special characters is allowed, including: . (period), / (forward slash), : (colon), ‘ (apostrophe), # (hashtag), & (ampersand), ( (left parenthesis), ) (right parenthesis), - (hyphen), – (dash), _ (underscore), and ~ (tilde).

Incident Publication Titles should be descriptive and include the date, incident name, title, etc. The use of certain special characters is allowed, including: . (period), / (forward slash), : (colon), ‘ (apostrophe), # (hashtag), & (ampersand), ( (left parenthesis), ) (right parenthesis), - (hyphen), – (dash), _ (underscore), and ~ (tilde).

A wildfire started in Camp Loop D was directly impacted after an un-forecasted dry microburst occurred in the Washington DC area. The dry microburst, of erratic wind gusts exceeding 100 mph caused structural damage to nearby residential buildings, businesses, and roadways limiting emergency response.

The fast-moving wildfire caused multiple injuries (minor-severe) to park visitors as evacuation routes became blocked from fallen trees, a fast-moving wildfire, and vehicle accidents.

A wildfire started in Camp Loop D was directly impacted after an un-forecasted dry microburst occurred in the Washington DC area. The dry microburst, of erratic wind gusts exceeding 100 mph caused structural damage to nearby residential buildings, businesses, and roadways limiting emergency response.

The fast-moving wildfire caused multiple injuries (minor-severe) to park visitors as evacuation routes became blocked from fallen trees, a fast-moving wildfire, and vehicle accidents.

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Within the Department of Natural Resources, the Forest Service oversees Maryland's State Forest System, which, as of 2023, covers 229,807 acres, up from the 229,310 acres in 2022. The System encompasses nine State forests (150,311 acres); the Chesapeake Forest Lands (73,361 acres); five demonstration forests (5,769 acres); one tree nursery (299 acres); and sixteen fire towers (45 acres). Demonstration forests show short- and long-term effects of sound forest and wildlife management practices.

Maryland's Reforestation Law requires that any forests that are cleared for State-funded highway construction projects must be replaced (Code Natural Resources Article, secs. 5-101 through 5-103). Enacted in 1991, the Maryland Forest Conservation Act ensures that forests, particularly those near water, including wetlands, on steep terrain, and within large wildlife areas are identified and protected during land development

The fourth largest industry in the State, the forest industry has a value of about $3.5 billion. In western Maryland, the industry is the largest employer in Allegany and Garrett counties and on the Eastern Shore, it is the second largest. In 2023, the industry generated 4,973 forestry-related jobs.

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Over 160 native or naturalized tree species can be found in Maryland. Oak and hickory are the dominant hardwoods, making up 60 percent of forested areas. Loblolly pine, the predominant forest tree on the Eastern Shore, is the most prevalent softwood, composing 15% of forests.

As of Fiscal Year 2024, forests constituted nearly 2.45 million acres of Maryland's land surface. Some 1.45 million acres of forests belong to private landowners, while the rest is public land, including State land. About 41% of public forests are preserved from harvesting, about 10% of the overall forestland in Maryland. Mature forests make up 78% of Maryland's forested lands, with 40% over 80 years old. 

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In the United States, deforestation was an ongoing process until recently. Between 2010 and 2020, the US forests increased 0.03% annually, according to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

Native Americans cleared millions of acres of forest for many reasons, including hunting, farming, berry production, and building materials. Prior to the arrival of European-Americans, about one half of the United States land area was forest, about 1,023,000,000 acres (4,140,000 km²) estimated in 1630. Forest cover in the Eastern United States reached its lowest point in roughly 1872 with about 48 percent compared to the amount of forest cover in 1620. The majority of deforestation took place prior to 1910 with the Forest Service reporting the minimum forestation as 721,000,000 acres (2,920,000 km²) around 1920. The forest resources of the United States remained relatively constant through the 20th century. The Forest Service reported total forestation as 766,000,000 acres (3,100,000 km²) in 2012. A 2017 study estimated 3 percent loss of forest between 1992 and 2001.

The 2005 (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment ranked the United States as seventh highest country losing its old-growth forests, a vast majority of which were removed prior to the 20th century.

Near the Chesapeake Bay and near Maryland forests, sea levels are rising at double the world's average rate. Along with climate change, forests on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore increasingly are affected by saltwater intrusion, or the movement of saltwater towards land that occurs when too much freshwater is removed from aquifers, and the settling of the land itself. In July 2020, saltwater intrusion had affected 50,365 forest acres across the Eastern Shore, up dramatically from 10,174 acres in 2019. The General Assembly ordered the Department of Planning, along with the Departments of Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, to devise a plan to adapt to saltwater intrusion and update it every five years (Chapter 628, Acts of 2018).

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