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Sussex County Comprehensive Plan - adopted in 2019

12.3 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS

12.3.1 Trees

The planting of street trees can improve aesthetics and eventually provide a canopy of shade over streets. Studies show that mature street trees can also increase the value of homes up to 10 percent. If it is not appropriate to have shade trees in the right-of-way, they can also be planted immediately outside of the right-of-way.

The County would like to consider the creation of an ordinance designed to protect established, mature, healthy trees during the construction of new developments to better preserve existing trees and green space.

The Delaware Forest Service

Delaware Forest Legacy: New “Assessment of Need”

The Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is funded through the U.S. Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry (S&PF) budget. It provides funds to states to protect working forestlands that are threatened by development or other land uses, either through outright (fee simple) purchase or conservation easements. A conservation easement allows the landowner to continue to own the forest; however, the easement prohibits non-forest uses such as development. Landowners who chose to sell an easement must also have a forest stewardship plan for their property that describes the activities needed to help achieve their objectives for the property; the Delaware Forest Service can write this plan with the landowner. The intent of FLP is to ensure forestlands continue to yield the forest products we use everyday, such as timber, wildlife habitat, and water quality protection. Landowner participation in FLP is completely voluntary.

Draft Copy of Delaware Forest Legacy Assessment of Need – Flipbook Format

Draft Copy of Delaware Forest Legacy Assessment of Need – PDF Format

As part of its 10-year update to its Delaware Forest Resource Assessment and Delaware Statewide Forest Strategy, Delaware is updating its Forest Legacy Program (FLP) “Assessment of Need” (AON) to include new areas in the First State to target to receive potential funding from the Forest Legacy Program. In addition to current Forest Legacy Areas: White Clay Creek, Blackbird/Blackiston, Redden/Ellendale, Cypress Swamp. The new proposed areas for inclusion in the AON are: Milford Neck, Marshyhope, Central Sussex, Nanticoke, Southwest Sussex, and, the Redden/Ellendale Expansion. This update to the AON requires formal approval from the State Stewardship Committee.

States may only use Forest Legacy funds in areas designated in their Assessment of Need (AON) – the AON describes the state’s forests, the threats to the forests, and those areas within the state that contain the most important forests, which are called the Forest Legacy Areas. Once the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approves the AON, the state is eligible to receive Legacy funds to purchase land and easements within the designated Forest Legacy areas.

Delaware’s AON was approved in December 1998, and there are four Legacy areas in Delaware – White Clay Creek, Blackbird/Blackiston, Redden/Ellendale, and Cypress Swamp (see maps below). These areas contain the highest concentrations of forests in Delaware, including significant acreage already protected through public and private ownership.


A new “Assessment of Need” for the U.S. Forest Legacy Program, which provides funding to conserve working forests.

2020 Delaware Statewide Forest Strategy includes performance goals and action items that when enacted will help ensure the health of urban and rural forests for years to come. The assessment was completed under the guidance of the Delaware Forest Stewardship Committee and with input from many other stakeholders. It identifies the most current priority issues, threats, and opportunities regarding Delaware’s forest resource. Additionally, priority urban and rural landscapes were identified in the assessment.

Link to 2020 Delaware Statewide Forest Strategy draft copy (PDF version)

Link to 2020 Delaware Statewide Forest Strategy draft copy (Flipbook version)