Development projects subject to the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Law must plant or protect forest on site whenever possible. When this is not possible, or when afforestation is required, forest mitigation banks provide the opportunity to meet requirements in an off-site location within the County. Montgomery Planning administers this program by approving applications for new forest mitigation banks and transactions for the purchase of credits from approved forest mitigation banks.
Thirty-one public forest mitigation banks protecting or planting 1,116 acres of forest have been created as part of this program. Since the program started in 1995, an average of 38.2 acres per year have been purchased to meet requirements of the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Law.
