Publications

The topsoil on your property is a valuable resource and the foundation for a healthy landscape. Loss of soil through erosion can mean trouble, not only for your landscape, but for local streams and rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. If you are losing soil from your property, there are several things you can do to stop it.

Damage to ornamental plants by white-tailed deer continues to increase. The increase is attributed to rising deer populations, human populations shifting to rural and suburban homesites, loss of deer habitat, and landowner decisions to prevent deer hunting. This fact sheet provides landowners with an overview of plants that may reduce or eliminate costly deer browsing.

The white-tailed deer is of great economic and aesthetic importance to Maryland citizens. But an overpopulation of deer can result in negative consequences, such as damaged crops, landscapes, and forests, and safety concerns due to deer vehicle collisions and Lyme disease. State, local and private groups all have a stake in helping to manage the state's deer population.

The way you care for your lawn can help prevent pollutants from reaching Maryland's streams and rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

Forest landowners in Maryland can increase the financial returns ofn their forest stewardship efforts by minimizing property, income, and estate taxes. This fact sheet describes several laws and programs that enable forest landowners to decrease their tax liabilities.

Forest stewardship is the management of forest resources in a way that meets the needs of the current owners, but does not adversely affect use by future generations. A forest stewardship plan is a working guide that allows the landowner to maximize the wildlife, timber, recreation, aesthetic value, and other benefits of owning woodland. A good plan combines the characteristics of the woodlot with the interests and objectives of the owner to produce a set of forest management recommendations.

Drought-stressed corn for grain or silage does not automatically signal disaster, as both crops can provide high quality forage for ruminant animals. Drought-stressed corn or corn that is unpollinated will produce little or no grain crop for the crop farmer to sell, but dairy producers can use the unpollinated corn for silage. On a dry matter basis, the drought-stressed corn will be approximately equal in feeding value to normal corn silage.

The increasing interest of the general public in outdoor recreation activities, the limited amount of public land available, and increasing development of open space have created greater pressure on private rural land for recreation. Private landowners in Maryland will benefit from understanding the laws relating to landowner liability and trespass, and the safeguards that minimize liability in order to make informed decisions regarding the use of their land by others for recreational activities.

The spongy moth caterpillar is the most serious threat to forests comprised of oak in the United States. Spongy moths reach greatest densities where oaks are the most abundant trees. If you have oak trees on your property, spongy moths pose a threat to the beauty and value of your land. Authors: Michael Raupp, John A. Davidson, and F.E. Wood; Title: The Gypsy Moth and the Homeowner (FS-242)