In the early 1980s, Lee Langstaff took a casual knitting class with one of her friends, and little did she know how this knitting class would change her life. “I fell in love with the wool as soon as I touched it.” Over the next few years she started learning how to spin wool, and took advantage of her close proximity to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, the largest of its kind in the United States. Once her brother purchased a farm on the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, she really began to explore the the foundations of wool and fiber farming, and Shepherd’s Hey Farm was born. At first the family had a small starter group of a few rams and ewes, and little by little the farm began to grow. This year they birthed 43 new lambs! 

​Shepherd’s Hey Farm sells high quality wool fleece and spun wool to at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and also to individuals by request online. Lee breeds the sheep for their natural color, uniformity of the fleece, and good quality crimp, which can influence the spinning process. I was surprised to learn that the sheep wear coats, shown in the picture below. This keeps the wool clean and prevents UV damage from the sun, which changes the color of the wool. 

​Shepherd’s Hey can’t keep all of the lambs born on the farm each spring. Some are sold to other fiber farms to improve the quality of their breeding stock. Those which are not appropriate for breeding or long term wool production are pasture fed for several months then brought to a local, USDA-approved butcher.  Lee takes great pride in knowing where her food comes from, commenting that commenting that “it provides a direct engagement with mindfulness and gratitude" She takes care that the lambs on her farm are raised humanely.

​Lee and her brother David believe that the the Agricultural Reserve contributes to both the farming and larger communities in many ways. The zoning rules and limitations on development mean that farmers can afford to stay on their land, and the close proximity of farming to more developed areas exposes the greater community to the many wonderful things that farmers produce. According to the Farm Bureau Federation, there are 2.1 million farms in the U.S., with 99% being family-owned, but many people have never visited a working farm or have a clear understanding of how farm products are generated. Many Montgomery county residents don’t even realize that a large portion of the county has been reserved for agricultural purposes, but Lee feels that as soon as people see the view and the working farms that make up that view, they fall in love, and that is key to keeping the land safe. She believes the best way to advocate for the Agricultural Reserve is to keep it pristine, and let the view speak for itself. I’ll talk more about how we can all contribute to keeping the Agricultural Reserve clean and trash-free in a future post.

​Shepherd’s Hey allows visits by appointment. If you would like to visit the farm, keep up to date with the new lambs, or purchase some wool, you can follow Shepherd’s Hey Farm on Facebook or stop by their booth at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

Attention Gaithersburg and Rockville Residents! We need your quick action - Delegate Barve plans to vote against a "No Net Forest Loss" bill (HB 120) on the House floor in Annapolis (part of a package of forest bills). He needs to hear from his constituents. Please take a moment today to either call him 410-841-3990 or click "start writing" below to customize our letter template. Del. Barve was named Legislator of the Year in 2017 by the Maryland League of Conservation Voters - let him know we expect him to stand up for forests!

Update: HB 735 - The bill mandating study of forest protection passed unanimously in the house. The Fee-in-Lieu bill passed in the senate as well!- thanks so much to all those that wrote in! 

These bills need your help this week to protect Forests - we can't delay another year- thanks for your quick action!

What if there were a product that could provide clean water and air, cool our world, sequester carbon and provide habitat at the same time? If a tech giant were creating such a tool it would have major buzz- the next big thing. But this tool is not flashy or new and it is not of our making - it's trees. 
While forests offer all these incredible benefits, we are not protecting them as we should at a time that we need their services more than ever. The Chesapeake Bay Program has found Maryland is  losing a dozen acres per day. 3 bills in Annapolis aim to reverse this trend - and they need your support. Click "start writing" below to send a quick letter!

Press on these Bills
​Time to Close the Loopholes in MD's Forest Conservation Laws (Balt Sun)
Spare MD's Trees (Balt Sun)
No Net Trees Lost is Good for MD's Forests (Cap. Gazette)

How do we make sure that we have enough affordable housing opportunities here in Montgomery County?

A zoning text amendment is currently being considered by the MC County Council: (full text here) 

​While there is widespread support for better access to affordable housing, the ZTA as introduced has raised a number of questions/concerns, including but not limited to:

- no stated maximum size
- forest/tree loss
- stormwater mitigation - impervious    surfaces
- enforcement mechanisms

We look forward to the continuing conversation and refinements to the amendment to ensure that it meets our shared goals without unintended consequences.

Below: County Executive staffer Claire Islei reads a statement from Executive Elrich's office on opposition to the ZTA as written. 

See the full text of Claire Iseli's testimony from the County Executive's office.  It references this Rental Housing Study and this report summary. 

Our Testimony: 
Subject: Good Intent- More Work Needed
​Dear Council President Navarro and Councilmembers,

MCA echoes both the support for the intent of ZTA 19-01 and real concern with inattention, thus far, to important details. Specifically, and to be brief here, the ZTA is absent a maximum size of the detached units. We recommend limiting the size to 900 sq ft. as is effectively provided for in Portland. Keeping these units this size or less will better achieve several key stated goals, most notably ensuring that they may be reasonably affordable for the demographics that they intend to serve. Moreover, properly limiting maximum accessory unit size will help ensure that there will be less potential for significant violations in terms of the number of tenants etc.

I look forward to further collaborative conversation on how to advance the goals of the amendment while addressing broadly shared concerns.

Respectfully,

Caroline Taylor, Executive Director Montgomery Countryside Alliance