Queen Anne's County, MD Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Chapter 18:2 is the Queen Anne's County Forest Conservation Program, adopted by the County Commissioners to implement Title 5, Subtitle 16, of the Natural Resources Article (§ 18:2-3 B). Section 18:2-11 lists priority protection areas, and item C covers trees, shrubs, or plants determined to be rare, threatened, or endangered under three authorities: the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531 through 1544, and 50 CFR Part 17; the Maryland Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act, Title 10, Subtitle 2A, of the Natural Resources Article; and COMAR 08.03.08. The section keeps no species list of its own. Status comes from the determinations made under those authorities.

Item A reaches the same ground by location: trees, shrubs, and plants in sensitive areas including the 100-year floodplain, intermittent and perennial stream buffers, steep slopes, nontidal wetlands, and critical habitats. Section 18:2-1 defines a critical habitat for endangered species as a habitat occupied by an endangered species as determined or listed under § 4-2A-04 or 10-2A-04 of the Natural Resources Article, and a critical habitat area as that habitat and its surrounding protection area.

The standard is stated in the section's lead-in: these areas shall be left in an undisturbed condition unless the applicant has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department that reasonable efforts have been made to protect the areas and the forest conservation plan for that regulated activity cannot be reasonably altered.

Scope matters. Under § 18:2-4 A, the chapter applies to a person applying for a major or minor subdivision (other than an administrative subdivision), a major or minor site plan, a grading permit, or a sediment control permit on a tract of land that is 40,000 square feet or greater. Section 18:2-4 B(2) exempts areas governed by the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area protection laws, and § 18:2-3 A states the program targets development projects located outside the Critical Area. Relief is by administrative variance under § 18:2-21 for practical difficulty or unwarranted hardship: the Department decides within 45 days, and an appeal goes to the Board of Appeals within 30 days after the Department's decision is signed.