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Governor's Executive Committee on Trees and Forests

The vision for the Maryland Forests is to provide a sustainable balance in the continuum between consumptive uses and environmental functions; based upon a land ethic that considers human needs and the forest's intrinsic values.

Declaration on Biological Diversity for State owned Lands Containing Forests

Whereas:

biological diversity is the variety of life and its processes, and the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, and the relationship between the communities and ecosystems in which they occur; and

Whereas:

biological diversity is important to sustain the health of ecological systems to provide for the well being of people, and for its own intrinsic value.

 

Now, therefore be it resolved it is the policy of the State of Maryland that

1. The conservation of biological diversity will be incorporated into all state land use planning decisions, pertaining to state-owned lands containing forests, as a fundamental long-term goal; and

2. the State of Maryland will designate an interagency and interdisciplinary team headed by the Department of Natural Resources to develop strategies to implement policy #1; and

                    3. the interagency/interdisciplinary team will:

consist of no more then 20 members appointed by the Office of the Governor based upon recommendations from the Governor's Executive Committee on Trees and Forests in Maryland;

periodically report on progress in the development and implementation of strategies to the Office of the Governor through the Governor's Executive Committee on Trees and Forests in Maryland;

seek out opportunities to participate in efforts to develop ecosystem plans that are based upon a land ethic that considers human needs and the forest's intrinsic value. The team will initially review, as a potential model, the land use planning process now utilized in the development of management plans for state forests and demonstration forests:

actively seek relevant information from and participation by sources within and outside or government agencies;

encourage and participate in efforts to improve education, communication, cooperation, and collaboration between and among government, non-government organizations, and private citizens; and

improve the availability of information on the status and distribution of biologically sensitive species and communities.

                                                                                                                6/9/94 GEX