Maryland Department of Natural Resources – �鶹��Ƶ

Air Quality in Prince George’s County During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:19 +0000

Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) commissioned this report from the universityâ€s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through university courses where students focus on developing innovative, research-based solutions. The county is interested in knowing if spatial differences air quality were apparent during the early stages of the pandemic and if these observed differences can be linked to changes in vehicular traffic. If spatial variations in air quality exist, the county would like to know what Equity Emphasis Areas within the county were most impacted by the changes in air quality. Additionally, the county is seeking policy recommendations that will encourage automobile usage patterns similar to those observed in early stages of the pandemic. This report centers obtaining historical air quality data from multiple air quality stations, health implications associated with the air quality data, and conducting policy research that will guide the team in developing recommendations for Prince George’s County.

Adapting Tree Co-Benefit Calculators with the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:19 +0000

Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) commissioned this report from the universityâ€s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through university courses where students focus on developing innovative, research-based solutions. Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition (GBWC) and Maryland Department of Natural Resources are seeking a comprehensive review of the benefits (both environmental and non-environmental) that planting trees can provide to the Baltimore County region. The intent of the research is to provide GBWC with information that will aid in the creation of a tool/calculator that outlines the benefits tree planting provides within the county and encourages private landowners to do so. This report centers obtaining is on the lesser-known benefits of trees, such as improvement to the physical and mental health of individuals which is lacking in currently available tree co-benefit calculators.

MyCoast Pilot Communities

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:19 +0000

�Ѳ��Ի�â€s MyCoast Program is a strategic effort to anticipate and assess the impacts of flooding events across the state. MyCoast is a National program with the mission to document tides, storm damage, beach cleanups, nuisance flooding and more to allow decision makers, emergency managers, and others to use public reports to make better decisions. MyCoast: Maryland, â€œis a portal to collect and analyze pictures and data relating to flooding caused by precipitation or coastal events. In Maryland, this is a project supervised by the Chesapeake & Coastal Service and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). The MyCoast: Maryland website can be found here: https://mycoast.org/md. To enhance this projectâ€s reach in relevant locales, we set out to discern which communities in the state are most at risk for negative flooding effects. Our partner, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, asked that the project inform their roll-out of the MyCoast program in Maryland, and make sure that they reached the communities that are most at risk for flooding and might be the least able to reach those in power for assistance.

Needs Assessment and Workflow Analysis of Baltimore County Department of Public Works Operational Procedures for Managing Flood Reports

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:19 +0000

The Baltimore County Department of Public Works (BCDPW) Storm Drains Engineering Department seeks a standardized operational process and technical system that can be used within Cityworks, an asset management system used to help manage their public assets, work activities, and business process. This standardized operational process and technical system would assist BCDPW in systematically evaluating incoming flood complaints and help determine the most resource-efficient approach to alleviate and respond. A process and system should accurately depict the exact nature of an incident as well as rate and prioritize the incident. This approach should also guide inspectors on the necessary resources and next steps to effectively and efficiently resolve the incident. This report incorporates suggestions to improve operational procedures regarding the CityWorks management system. The project scope is strictly limited to conducting an assessment to resolve the needs and wants of current procedures versus desired procedures. Accordingly, the final deliverable will not include designing any technology but will include a descriptive analysis of the database or processes envisioned. Finally, we will be developing suggestions working within the ideal situation where requests are made to one group within BCDPW and their procedural steps of using the CityWorks asset management system.

Flooding in Patapsco Valley State Park: Recommendations for Signage and Communication Materials

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:17 +0000

Patapsco Valley State Park (PVSP) and its surrounding areas have been subject to increased flooding in recent years. In 2016 and 2018, the area experienced two 1,000-year floods (Halverson, 2018) that significantly damaged the park. Flooding events of this severity and magnitude are expected to be exacerbated in the future due to rapidly increasing impacts from climate change (Denchak, 2019). The park has found it challenging to communicate flood risks to visitors. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which manages PVSP, is concerned that visitors donâ€t plan ahead when they attend the park, and donâ€t know the risks involved in hiking through the park, which puts them at a greater risk of harm in the event of a flood. Additionally, many PVSP visitors donâ€t speak or read English, which creates a significant communication gap between visitors and the park to convey safety messages about flooding. This project aims to determine the most effective language for signage and communication materials to communicate flood risks and what to do if a flood occurs. The group reviewed academic and non-academic literature on the best ways to communicate risk, the best ways to educate youth, strategies used by other parks to communicate risk, as well as information about the Ellicott City area. The research and final deliverables aim to determine the most effective language for signs within PVSP, and the best education and communication materials to distribute to park visitors. The project began with a client meeting to define expectations for the project. We determined three major aspects: creating safety signage, creating educational materials, and creating a video to be shown at the PVSP mobile ranger station. We also discussed the importance of improving communication with Spanish-speaking visitors. Following this meeting, the group researched flood-risk education, risk communication in parks, risk communication with Spanish speakers, and best practices for park signage. A site visit gave the team a better understanding of the clientâ€s expectations. After this visit, the group divided into three teams; the first team was tasked with editing existing park signs, the second team was tasked with developing educational materials, and the third team was tasked with writing a detailed video script for use throughout the park and at the mobile ranger station. Each team conducted additional relevant research. The result was three deliverables: recommendations and mock-ups of effective safety signage, educational pamphlets that inform park visitors about flooding risks, and a script for an educational video on flooding. We hope this work can contribute to DNRâ€s goal of providing accessible and appropriate flood communication materials for all park visitors.

Expert Review of the MyCoast Application

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:39:13 +0000

The MyCoast app is a mobile and web-based application used by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to document and analyze pictures and data of flooding caused by precipitation and coastal events. The data it collects is used for various purposes, including visualizing impacts of flood events, as well as enhancing awareness of flood events among Maryland residents. This projectâ€s goal was to create an expert review of the MyCoast application. Initially, the goal was to create wireframes and a new schema for the app. After discussion, the goal shifted to interviewing people with different backgrounds (who work in sector, peers, etc.) and creating a list of recommendations from our findings. This report reviews the MyCoast application and end-user feedback on app functionality and user experience, makes recommendations for improvements to the app and recommendations for improvements to end-user documentation to improve the user experience and data quality.