Maryland's Green Infrastructure Assessment
Mapping Maryland’s Green Infrastructure
The Green Infrastructure Assessment (GIA), based on principles of landscape ecology and conservation biology, identified an ecological network using satellite imagery to characterize land cover, Geographic Information System (GIS) data on road, stream, wetland and other resource features, and biological databases. The model and resulting maps were peer reviewed by scientists and local government staff. Non-natural gaps in the GI were identified as potential candidates for restoration activities.
When complete, the GIA map comprised more than 1.7 million acres in hubs and roughly 250,000 acres of corridors, totaling about 39% of the State’s land area. The network captures nearly all of Maryland’s most important ecological lands.
Data and Mapping
GI data and maps are readily available for agencies and organizations interested in conserving Maryland’s critical natural resources.
The GreenPrint map displays Targeted Ecological Areas (TEAs), lands and watersheds of high ecological value that have been identified as conservation priorities by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It also displays information about four of Maryland’s most active State operated land conservation programs: Program Open Space (POS) - Stateside, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), and the Rural Legacy Program. GreenPrint offers a way to improve how these programs work together and assists in steering POS acquisitions to the TEAs. The TEAs were developed in 2008 and then updated in 2011. This maps shows the 2011 version of the TEAs. Therefore, some older acquisitions may not appear in the TEAs, even though they were acquired using the TEAs available at that time. The maps also display other protected land data for reference.
Why GreenPrint Lands are Important
