Conservation Blog
Sustainable Land Use
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Post-Sine Die Updates
The Maryland General Assembly will wrap up Monday, April 13th after many hours of poring over legislation, tracking amendments, and hundreds of letters from Nature Forward’s members to their legislators. Read on to understand which of our priority bills were able to pass muster this session. This year, Nature Forward and Marylanders for Data Center… Read more
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2026 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Priorities
Updates: Bill Outcome Next Steps CHERISH (HB1287) Dead – read more here Work with MDE and coalition members to ensure that CHERISH finds a middle ground for next session CHERISH (HB1268) Dead – read more here Work with MDE and coalition members to ensure that CHERISH finds a middle ground for next session Bottle Bill… Read more
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Data Centers are said to create jobs, but people need to know: what kind and how many?
Guest post by Nature Forward volunteer Sheila Igoe…if you’d like to research, write, and edit educational materials like this, reach out! Photo via The Cyber Express Among the many controversies surrounding data center construction is the question of jobs–how many and what kind will be created during construction and operational periods? Empirical evidence shows that… Read more
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What is PJM? Why Does It Matter? How Can You Help?
PJM is the regional transmission organization (RTO) for our area here in the mid-Atlantic. Originally responsible for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland (thus, PJM), it now manages the electric grid for the entire mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest. As explained below, PJM has enormous power over electricity rates and the availability of clean energy. Read more
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2026 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
2026 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities (Updated as of 4/8/26 @ 11:47amSee updates post-General Assembly here: https://natureforward.org/2026-va-ga-wrap-up/ . . . This year’s Virginia General Assembly (a time when legislators get together to make a new set of laws) has seen a lot of change since last year. Virginia has a new governor – the first… Read more
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Final Push: Veto Override
Update as of 12/16: The General Assembly voted today to override the Governor’s Veto on the Data Center Study Bill! Thank you to the Senators and Representatives who voted today for transparency around data center development, and the hundreds of Marylanders who wrote and called demanding this override! Update as of 12/9: Governor Wes Moore has signed… Read more
