Our mission
The Maryland Association of Forest Conservancy District Boards was created by a state act (Forest Conservancy District Act - Article Natural Resources, 5-601 to 5-610) of 1943. Maryland has 24 Boards, one for each county plus the city of Baltimore. A Maryland Forest Service Forester serves as the Executive Secretary of each Board. The Frederick County Forestry Board (FCFB) is a state agency composed of volunteers appointed by the State Forester. The current Executive Secretary of the FCFB is Mike Kay, Maryland Forest Service Forester. Go to the Board members page to see a listing of all the 2008 FCFB membership.
The primary mission of the FCFB is to promote the conservation, stewardship, and sustainable use of the forest resources of this county, both urban and rural, through advocacy and education of sound forest management principles. We accomplish this through our workshops, newsletters, partnerships (with the MD Forest Service, Monocacy Catoctin Watershed Alliance, South Frederick Arboretum). The Frederick Board also conducts timber harvest reviews in conservation zones for the county (see our Timber harvest page). Along with the State Association, we recruit high school students interested in the field of forestry and natural resources for the week-long Natural Resources Careers Conference held the last full week in July in Garrett County at the Hickory Environmental Education Center (see our Education programs page).
At the Maryland Forests Association 2005 Annual Meeting Steven W. Koehn, Maryland State Forester, made a statement of purpose to all the forestry district boards in a presentation entitled "Our History, Our Roots . . . at the Turning Point?". His major points included:
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As leaders in the field of conservation and responsible stewardship, the first priority of each State Forester and of this organization must be to retain or increase the integrity of our nation’s forest ecosystems.
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Act to protect our nation’s existing forest resources from damaging agents that effect broad areas of forested land.
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Responsibly and effectively manage our publicly-owned forested lands.
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As leaders in the field of conservation and responsible stewardship, the first priority of each State Forester and of this organization must be to retain or increase the integrity of our nation’s forest ecosystems.
Our history
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us ...
The creation of the Board of Forestry was a result of the vision of Robert and John Garrett, who donated over 2,000 acres of mountain woodland in 1906 to the state, provided it would make proper provision for its care. The Board of Forestry objectives were to provide for the economic and scientific management of forests in the state through cooperative efforts with private forest landowners and regulation of forest practices which allowed adequate source of forest products. To learn more of the history of the Maryland Forest Conservancy District Boards visit History of Maryland's Forestry Boards.
