Worcester County updates natural resources chapter to note watershed pilot, forest and shoreline actions

Ainsley walked commissioners through edits to the natural resources chapter that staff said respond to state and partner comments. She highlighted a mapping fix and said the plan now calls out the Newport Bay Watershed: "The Newport Bay Watershed was selected as one of the five watersheds participating in the Maryland whole watershed program, which is a five year pilot program," Ainsley said.

The chapter adds or edits several goals and action items, including cooperating with neighboring Lower Shore jurisdictions on mutual-aid conservation programs, considering invasive-species removal programs, and supporting implementation of the county's forest mitigation and accounting procedures with publicly available fund balances. Staff also proposed consideration of a county-level "no net loss" forest policy to align with the revised state Forest Conservation Act requirements.

On climate and flood resilience, staff presented a recommended action to consider adopting local mitigation, floodplain management and outreach activities that exceed minimum National Flood Insurance Program standards and to pursue FEMA Community Rating System participation. For shoreline stabilization, the chapter proposes seed grant funding to inventory eroding shorelines and prioritize non-structural or living shoreline approaches.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about nutrient-management language, whether homeowners and golf courses should be specifically referenced alongside farmers, and which data year is being cited for coastal scorecards; staff said they would review data sources and consistency.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the agreed edits into the final draft of the natural resources chapter and include the corrected maps and the comment log when the plan is posted for public review prior to the hearing.