New coalition supports climate resilience in Maryland

In September, land trusts, historical societies and multiple conservation organizations and agencies joined together on the banks of the Patuxent River to announce the formation of the Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance. The coalition’s mission is to conserve and restore Southern Maryland’s landscapes, waterways and shorelines, which are needed to maintain species diversity and wildlife corridors in a changing climate.

The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Land Mapping Tool recently revealed that southern Maryland has some of the state’s most resilient landscapes based on site conditions such as soils, geology, elevation, topography and hydrology. The Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance’s goal is to identify, conserve, restore and manage the vital network of working and natural lands and waters that support biodiversity and maintain resilience in the face of future development and climate change.

“We can do this,” says Greg Bowen, executive director of the accredited American Chestnut Land Trust and co-chair of the effort. “Already, land trusts, local voluntary land preservation programs, and national, state and local parks systems have protected 22% of the lands in the five-county region. Our goal is to reach 30% by 2030.”