Md. Code Regs. 15.15.13.03 - Eligibility
A. To be eligible
for consideration by the Foundation, a proposal for a forest easement overlay
shall meet the requirements of a State or local forest conservation program, be
approved by the applicable county's planning authority, and be recommended by
the county's agricultural land preservation advisory board.
B. To be eligible for consideration by the
Foundation, a proposal for a forest easement overlay shall be limited to 10
acres, or 10 percent of the total easement acreage, whichever is smaller,
unless the Foundation determines otherwise. To be eligible, a forest easement
overlay shall allow prescribed harvests.
C. A forest easement overlay for mitigation
purposes shall offset development inside a priority funding area only, with the
exception of mitigation required by a Foundation-approved lot release on the
same easement property as described in §E of this regulation. Proposals
for forest mitigation banking shall establish a reporting mechanism to the
county and the Foundation for ensuring that credits, when taken, offset
development in a priority funding area.
D. Resource Conservation.
(1) A forest easement overlay shall serve a
legitimate resource conservation purpose under a soil conservation and water
quality plan or forest stewardship plan.
(2) The proposed forest easement overlay
shall:
(a) Contribute substantially to good
land and environmental resource stewardship on the farm;
(b) Be an appropriate best management
practice (BMP) to achieve the resource conservation objectives for the farm,
based on Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) standards and
estimates;
(c) Be included in the
soil conservation and water quality plan and a forest stewardship or management
plan for the farm; and
(d) Permit
sustainable forest stewardship practices, including prescribed
harvests.
E.
Mitigation for Residential Development.
(1) If
a county requires on-site forest mitigation because of on-site residential
development, the landowner shall so inform the Foundation at the time of the
lot release request. In this case, a separate forest mitigation proposal is not
required.
(2) If the lot release
request is approved, the forest mitigation easement overlay document shall:
(a) Be submitted to the Foundation for review
in advance of recordation;
(b) Be
subordinate to the agricultural land preservation easement unless otherwise
required; and
(c) Allow prescribed
harvests unless harvesting is restricted under the soil conservation and water
quality plan.
Notes
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