Thanks to everyone who joined us to hear Bill Mahoney, Howard County Office of Community Sustainability, describe the Green Infrastructure Network on Jan. 29, 2018. Protecting this connected ecosystem will require, first, educating our decision-makers and the general public about its existence and its importance. Then, we need to make sure that the environment is considered in every Site Development Plan. The effects of development can be mitigated by preserving the most valuable ecological areas, and applying sound environmental design to new developments.
About the GIN: Howard County's Green Infrastructure Network
The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning has identified a Green Infrastructure Network (GIN). The Network seeks to protect our best natural areas, known as “hubs,” and connect them to each other with forested stream and upland ‘corridors’. While providing habitat connectivity is necessary for stable plant and wildlife populations, the habitat connectivity is also valuable for maximizing ecosystem services, which are all of the services provided by nature that benefit humans. Examples include cleaning of air and water, control of pests, mitigation of floods, and pollination - to name only a few. Ecosystem services have economic, social, and environmental implications that affect our lives every day, yet few people realize their importance. Furthermore, ecosystem services are provided at higher levels when large natural areas are biologically diverse and connected to one another. Therefore a Green Infrastructure Network is essential to preserving not only native species populations, but also to preserving our human quality of life across communities.
The hubs and corridors together include many of the environmental areas that have been identified as having especially high value ecologically, such as wetlands and the state-designated Targeted Ecological Areas. The connected network includes some existing parks and preserved areas, but private property as well. Preserving and extending it will require increasing awareness among citizens and developers.
More information is available at the environment section of the county website.
See the county website for an interactive map of the GIN.