Maryland plants nearly half a million trees so far through DNR initiative

Maryland is closing in on a major milestone towards its 10-year goal of planting 5 million native trees by the year 2031.

The 5 Million Trees Initiative has planted nearly half a million trees (497,890 total) since the effort launched in July 2021, with more than 180,000 planted in 2023.

“It’s exciting to already be at nearly 10 percent of the state’s goal after just the first two years of the initiative,” said Josh Kurtz, secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “A massive tree planting effort like this one requires coordination between tree nurseries, volunteers, and dozens of partner organizations. We believe the infrastructure and partner development is now in place to begin accelerating our planting efforts and make sure Maryland reaches its 5 million tree planting goal by 2031.”

The effort requires coordination between multiple state agencies, community programs, and individuals, and is coordinated by the Maryland Department of the Environment. About two out of every three trees planted as part of the initiative (321,000) has come from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The program began in July 2021, after the General Assembly passed the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021. The mandate to plant 5 million trees is in addition to the state’s standard practice of planting about 100,000 trees per year.

Additionally, the law mandated that 500,000 of the trees (10%) be planted in underserved urban areas. So far, 36,745 trees (7.3%) have been planted in such areas.

The 5 Million Trees Initiative is in line with Maryland’s 2030 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act Plan, which sets the goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2031. The trees planted will absorb more carbon than they release, helping to mitigate climate change.

The initiative also serves the purposes of beautifying communities, reducing urban heat islands, and reducing pollutants that enter waterways.

“The progress we’ve made toward 5 million trees is encouraging,” said J.T. Bowers, associate director of the Maryland Forest Service. “It’s taken time to set up the infrastructure for this much planting, but we’re at a good place now, and we’re looking at some big steps in the near future that will get more trees in the ground.”

Bowers said staff are planning an “intensive planting season” this spring, including about 100,000 trees that will be planted in partnership with the Maryland Park Service alone. “This year, staff have also identified hundreds of acres of parkland for new tree plantings,” read the press release announcing the milestone.

The progress in terms of numbers of trees planted was not expected to be exactly linear or proportionate, necessarily. In other words, planners were not hoping to plant exactly half a million trees per year in order to reach five million over the course of 10 years.

Before planting could begin, the initiative required careful planning and coordination among agencies and organizations, hiring of additional staff, consultation with landowners, and the building of networks.

“We definitely have a big spring season ahead of us,” Bowers said. “The hiring we’ve done at the end of 2023 is really encouraging. We have a lot of intelligent and committed staff who are getting the word out and developing projects with a wider range of partners than we ever could have before.”

Groups that have partnered with DNR in their efforts to plant and nurture the trees once planted include the Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland Forestry Foundation, the Western Maryland Research Conservation and Development Council, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education and many others.

Individuals can help, as well. They can plant their own trees, noting the locations online, which would register the tree towards the official count towards the goal of 5 million. They can also participate in an incentive program.

“DNR offers a $25 coupon toward the purchase of a tree from participating retail nurseries and garden centers, and donations through the Gift of Trees program also contribute to the goal,” according to the press release.

Individuals can also reach out directly to Isaac Whitmore, DNR’s 5 Million Trees program supervisor at this link for more information about how to have trees planted at a specific property. Learn more about Maryland’s 5 Million Tree Planting Initiative in MDE’s annual report.