The Commission of Forests and Parks consists of five members
appointed by the Governor. One is recommended by the Maryland
Farm Bureau and one by the Maryland State Grange; one must have
had practical experience in the lumbering business; and two must have
an interest in the advancement of State parks and recreation. The
members serve for five-year terms with overlapping tenure of office.
They select their chairman and appoint the Director of the Department
of Forests and Parks (Code 1957, Art. 66C, secs. 343-44).

A forestry department was first organized by Chapter 294, Acts of
1906 under the State Board of Forestry, but was succeeded in 1941
by the present Department, which is associated with the Board of
Natural Resources. The Department of Forests and Parks administers
the tree marketing program under which woodland owners who plan
to dispose of their timber may secure a free marking service to yield
maximum return in saw timber and other forest products while mak-
ing due provision for a sustained yield of successive timber crops.
The Department licenses all persons engaged in cutting and selling
timber. To supplement the timber-cropping program and provide ade-
quate planting stock for reforestation, the State maintains a nur-
sery with a potential capacity of ten million trees. The Department
also administers the Forest Conservancy Districts Act designed to
ensure the practice of forestry on privately owned woodlands through-
out the State (Code 1957, Art. 66C, sees. 343-410). The district for-
esters of the Department serve as executive officers and secretaries
of local forestry boards set up under the Act. The Department pro-
vides fire protection for 2,700,000 acres of public and private wood-
land. To this end it maintains a specially trained fire-control force
supplemented by 600-700 forest wardens commissioned by the Gov-
ernor. The Department also protects approximately 3,000,000 trees
along the State highways. It employs a force of wardens to supervise
tree-trimming operations by the public utility companies along their
pole-line right of ways. It also examines and licenses tree experts
operating within the State.

The Department administers ten State Forests with a total area of
119,184 acres. These forests serve as demonstration areas in forestry
management. The Department has developed recreational areas in
several of them, notably, Herrington Manor on the Swallow Falls and
New Germany on the Savage River. Parallel to this responsibility is
the administration of the seventeen State Parks of scenic or historic
interest totaling 18,619.5 acres. The State Forests and Parks and their
areas are as follows:

STATE FORESTS

Name County Area

Cedarville Prince George's and Charles 3,620
Doncaster Charles . 1,464
Elk Neck Cecil . 2,742
Green Ridge Allegany 25,631
Pocomoke Worcester 12,260
Potomac Garrett 12,052
Savage River Garrett 52,708
Seth (Demonstration) Talbot . 125
Swallow Falls Garrett . 7,463
Wicomico Wicomico . 1,110
Nursery Anne Arundel . 129