Environmental Programs

Environmental Coordination Mapping

ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION MAPPING FOR TRANSPORTATION OUTLOOK 2035

The maps provided in the map gallery below offer a way to compare the region’s long range transportation plan with state conservation plans and maps as well as natural and historic resource inventories and plans. These maps were originally created for use in development of Transportation Outlook 2035, approved by the BRTB on November 27, 2007. In some cases, mapping data will be modified as updates are available through the resource agencies. Numbered lines on the maps denote specific projects in Transportation Outlook 2035, as indicated on the Transportation Outlook 2035 Highway and Transit Project List. Please note that the lines indicating a plan project do not represent actual planned alignment, as this is determined through project-specific planning.

ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION MAPS (Click on thumbnail to see a larger pdf version of each map.)

Green Infrastructure, 2001. The Green Infrastructure data layer was created based on the GreenPrint program established in 2001 by the State of Maryland with the purpose of protecting the remaining ecologically-valuable land in the state. Green infrastructure consists of hubs and corridors. Hubs contain ecologically-valuable lands, while corridors connect the hubs and provide important wildlife passages, help with seed and pollen transport, and protect stream valleys and wetlands. In the Baltimore region, around forty percent of the green infrastructure land is protected. Relatively large percentages of green infrastructure exist in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Harford Counties.

Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, 2001. Chesapeake Bay Critical Area was established by the 1984 Critical Area Act and includes all lands within 1,000 feet of the Bay. To protect the natural habitats within the Critical Area, as well as to protect the quality of the Bay, the Chesapeake Critical Area Commission supervises the creation and implementation of local Critical Area Plans. The Critical Area within the Baltimore region is contained within four of the six jurisdictions: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Harford Counties as well as Baltimore City.

Reservoir Watersheds. The reservoir watersheds contain all of the land that drains to the main drinking water reservoirs in the Baltimore region. These include Loch Raven, Liberty, and Prettyboy Reservoirs which are part of the Baltimore region’s water supply system and Atkisson Reservoir, which contains water supplies for Bel Air. The watersheds to the Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge Reservoirs are also shown on the map even though the reservoirs are operated by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and supply water to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Historic Resources – National Register of Historic Places, 2006. This map indicates where districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects on the National Register of Historic Places are located. The National Register of Historic Places was authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Locations of archaeological resources are protected under the Freedom of Information Act and are, therefore, not included.

Historic Resources – Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, 2006. This map shows where important historic properties in Maryland are located, through the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties. This inventory lists properties with known or potential value to the prehistory, history, upland and underwater archeology, architecture, engineering, or culture of the State of Maryland.

Locations of archaeological resources are protected under the Freedom of Information Act and are, therefore, not included.

Land Use / Land Cover, 2002. This set of 2002 land/use land cover data was developed by the Maryland Department of Planning using aerial photography, satellite imagery, and parcel data. The map displays the land use/land cover data overlaid with Transportation Outlook 2035 projects.

Protected Lands and Greenways. This map shows Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Protected Lands and Greenways. They include:

Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Districts (2005)
Rural Legacy Areas (2009)
Maryland Environmental Trust Easements (2009)
Forest Legacy Easements (2009)
DNR Lands (2008)
County Parks (2006)
Federal Lands (2006), and
Private Conservation Properties (2008)

Greenways (2000) are natural corridors of land that connect open spaces. Maryland’s Greenways consist of ecological as well as recreational greenways which are protected and managed to provide for certain functions such as natural resource conservation, recreation, alternative transportation, and habitat protection.

Sensitive Species Project Review Areas, 2010. These areas primarily contain rare, threatened, or endangered species in Maryland. Included are Habitat Protection Areas, Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern (WSSC), Natural Heritage Areas (NHA), and Colonial Waterbird Sites.

Wetlands of Special State Concern (WSSC), 1999. Wetlands identified as WSSC in Maryland (those with rare, threatened or endangered species and those with unique habitat values) receive certain protections under State regulations. One of the protections is a 100 foot buffer from development.