{"id":46613,"date":"2026-02-02T15:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T20:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=46613"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T20:10:15","slug":"free-trees-available-for-marylands-backyard-buffers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2026\/02\/02\/free-trees-available-for-marylands-backyard-buffers-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Trees Available for Maryland\u2019s \u2018Backyard Buffers\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trees

Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo<\/p><\/div>\n

The <\/span>Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/span><\/a> is offering free tree seedlings to landowners statewide who have a creek, drainage ditch, stream, or other waterway on or near their property through the<\/span> Backyard Buffers<\/span><\/a> program,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each \u201cbuffer in a bag\u201d includes 20-30 native tree and shrub bare-root seedlings, approximately 1 to 2 feet in height. Maryland Forest Service staff will also include information on tree maintenance and planting techniques.<\/span><\/p>\n

A streamside buffer can create habitat for wildlife, reduce peak summer temperatures\u200b, and reduce the amount of sediment, fertilizer, and toxic materials that enter Maryland\u2019s waterways. Deep-rooted trees and shrubs can also stabilize streambanks, protecting them from erosion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Backyard Buffer packet reservations are typically taken through the month of March, with bags available for pickup at a designated local site in time for the spring planting season. A limited number of bags are available each year on a first-come first-served basis. Order deadlines, pickup dates, and partner organizations vary by county. Contacts for each county can be found on the <\/span>department\u2019s website<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through this and other DNR programs, Marylanders can join our effort to plant<\/span> 5 Million Trees<\/span><\/a> by 2031 by <\/span>registering<\/span><\/a> plantings online. Individuals can also help by <\/span>participating in an incentive program<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>DNR offers a <\/span>$25 coupon toward the purchase of a tree<\/span><\/a> from participating retail nurseries and garden centers, and donations through the<\/span> Gift of Trees<\/span><\/a> program also contribute to the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Individuals can also reach out directly to Isaac Whitmore, DNR\u2019s 5 Million Trees program coordinator, at <\/span>isaac.whitmore@maryland.gov<\/span> for more information about how to have trees planted at a specific property.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering free tree seedlings to landowners statewide who have a creek, drainage ditch, stream, or other waterway on or near their property through the Backyard Buffers program,\u00a0 Each \u201cbuffer in a bag\u201d includes 20-30 native tree and shrub bare-root seedlings, approximately 1 to 2 feet in height. Maryland  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1965],"tags":[5313,2992,4994,4968,5368],"class_list":["post-46613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maryland-forest-service","tag-5-million-trees","tag-backyard-buffers","tag-maryland-forest-service","tag-riparian-buffer","tag-tree-planting"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46613"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46615,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46613\/revisions\/46615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}