There are also many new homes in the countryside, largely following a pattern of incremental development that will soon lead to a suburban landscape, replacing agriculture and forestry. Impacts on rivers with urban catchments indicate that the Wicomico will suffer significant deterioration if current development trends continue. Past farming and forestry practices have caused sedimentation of the tidal waters and degraded water quality. Current management programs for forests and farms are working to reduce these impacts. Unfortunately, the success with farmland and forestry is being countered by runoff from new development.
Most residents appear concerned about the quality of the countryside.
However, we found that most people do not identify with the Wicomico, having no clear sense of the watershed. Although people value the waterfront, there is only limited public access. For many people, wetlands are just an obstacle to development. Community involvement in planning and resource development policies and decisions is not well developed. This is partly because the area is rural, with a widely scattered population, and undefined neighborhoods.