Fighting climate change, planting more trees and funding environmental progress in tight times will be among the challenges confronting state lawmakers in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania when they gather in January in their respective capitals. The 2021 legislative sessions will open as last yearâs ended, under the shadow of a coronavirus pandemic that eviscerated state budgets â and even sent Maryland lawmakers home early with many bills still awaiting action. Tree plantings and stormwater conveyance systems are part of a broad-based partnership effort to establish and connect greenways and blueways in Virginia's Appomattox River corridor. Pictured here is a tree planting at Riverside Park Greenway in Hopewell. Efforts are underway in both Maryland and Virginia to increase tree plantings, especially in underserved areas.