Sussex County Forest Preservation by Tracy Slack

Good On Ya’, Sussex County Council!  Here’s to new forest protections.

Just this past September 1st, Sussex County Council passed ordinance 4085, which defines some important new levels of forest protection and mitigation plans where preserving existing mature forest parcels is especially challenging.  It may surprise you to learn there hadn’t been overly much standing in the way of new development clearcutting Sussex County forest lands, but there you go.  

Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but Sussex County's population has grown by about 17% in just the 6 years since 2020, and that pace of growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down.  The resulting flood of new development hasn’t escaped Sussex County Council’s attention, either, and last year they convened a volunteer Land Use Reform Working Group to generate some recommendations on how the County should respond and adapt.  

This is how Sussex County’s new forestry protection ordinance 4085 came to be.  Let’s dive into the specifics a bit to understand how these protections will improve the environmental quality of future development.

• First, qualifying “forest” parcels must have a minimum tree density per acre and a minimum percentage of trees with trunks exceeding a certain diameter.  These will be the significant tree stands so important for habitat preservation, erosion control, and many more benefits.
• Every new major subdivision or planned community site plan will need to include a permanently maintained “perimeter buffer” of trees and shrubs robust enough to ensure some visual screening from surrounding areas.
• Furthermore, if a development site contains forested areas meeting the “forest” definition above, then a certain percentage (from 30% to 50% depending on the region) of those forests must be preserved intact.  You can’t simply clear-cut the entire job site anymore.

In cases where more forest land is cut than is allowed by law, or where perimeter buffer requirements are inadequate or absent, the new ordinance spells out some consequences to help ensure proper adherence to this new ordinance.

• A developer can be required to prepare and then fulfill a mitigation plan that includes replacement plantings proportionate to the excess trees damaged or removed.  
• In addition, a developer may be fined an amount depending upon the acreage contained within their perimeter buffer zone that did not meet the minimum requirements for such perimeter plantings.

Clearly, there’s much more to be done.  The Land Use Reform Working Group had the hefty task of listing and reacting to the challenges that such rapid, sustained population growth brings to Sussex County.  Clearly, we want to see how effectively these new forest protections fulfill the spirit of the Working Group’s recommendations.  To quote from their final report to Council (dated October 14, 2025), forest preservation should:

• Prioritize ecological value over tree counts.
• Create a predictable, value-based framework that reduces forest loss and protects habitat.

The point of these provisions isn’t to stop new development projects from going forward.  Instead, they are aimed at preserving Sussex County’s quality of life by encouraging new development to be more integrated into the surrounding landscape, and by preserving more of the woodlands that are part of Sussex County’s natural beauty.

We wish Sussex County all the best in their expanded forest preservation efforts.