Maps
Natural Resource &
Agricultural Lands
One-third of the greater Washington, D.C., region depicted
in the Greenspace Atlas is agricultural, and 47 percent is
forested. Together, 81 percent of the greater region is still
farmed or forested. Over one-fifth of the region is covered
in urbanized land (e.g. buildings, roads, parking lots, lawns)
or heavily altered uses (e.g. golf courses, surface mining).
Less than one percent is comprised of wetlands.
Natural and agricultural lands are important to the quality
of the region for several reasons. Agriculture remains important
as an economic sector and valued cultural landscape feature.
Properly managed farms also help maintain water quality. As
farmlands become fragmented by scattered, low-density development,
their economic viability is compromised to the point at which
they lose the capacity to continue as working farms.
Forests and forested streamside buffers play a crucial role
in maintaining water quality and providing wildlife habitat.
Blocks of forest above 100 acres provide crucial interior
habitat for wildlife that require undisturbed forest environments.
Wetlands, now more constrained than ever, have long been recognized
for their disproportionate value to water quality, flood control,
and wildlife habitat.
As low-density residential and commercial developments fragment
forest and agricultural lands, and impinge upon wetlands,
these resources lose their value and viability economically,
culturally, and environmentally. Replacing the natural function
of these lands with built facilities from concrete stream
channels to wastewater treatment plants becomes a further
economic liability to the region's residents. By accommodating
new growth in and adjacent to existing urban areas, negative
impacts can be minimized while maintaining the natural and
economic vitality that defines our region.
View entire Washington
Region Natural Resources and Agricultural Land map
View
data table for this map
Washington
Region in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
| Imperviousness |
Natural Resource & Agricultural
Lands
Protected Lands | Protected
Greenspace Inside the Capital Beltway
Urbanization
Future Growth
Model
|
