Mo-Co Alliance
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • A Brief History
    • Board & AC
    • Staff & Volunteers
    • Contact
    • Buy MCA Gear
  • About Ag Reserve
    • Growing Legacy Film
    • History of the Ag Reserve
    • Benefits of the Ag Reserve
    • Agriculture Education
    • Farm Facts
    • Threats to the Ag Reserve
    • A Place with Purpose
  • News
  • Events
    • Local Events
    • Royce Hanson Award
    • Ride for Reserve
  • Support Local
    • Agricultural Guide
    • Local Food Connection
    • Good Fences Grant
    • Community Supported Agriculture
    • Restaurants & Retail
    • Artists of the Reserve
  • Community Resources
    • Land Link >
      • Labor Link
    • Re-leaf the Reserve
    • PLENTY Magazine
    • Producer's Resources
    • BIPOC Farmer Guide
    • Directory of Local Services
    • Friends of Ten Mile Creek
  • Membership
    • Sponsors and Partners

News

Water Stewards Sue Trump Administration Over Unlawful Potomac Closures for Golf

9/21/2018

 
Picture
Susan Petro: Riley's Lock
Keeping access to the Potomac River open is critically important to the millions of people who live throughout this iconic watershed," said Caroline Taylor, Executive Director of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance. "We applaud this effort to require the Trump Administration to conduct an open public process to ensure the Potomac River community's voice is heard."
Perhaps you'll remember last summer when the US Coast Guard had issued a final interim rule that allows the full width of the Potomac River (and access at highly popular Riley's Lock in Montgomery County) and a length of two miles to be closed at any time due to use of Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, VA. The Coast Guard was being deployed to break up campers learning to kayak while the President was golfing. Coast Guard staff attempted to reroute novice paddlers through treacherous waters to stay out of closed areas. Commenters about the rule noted that in 2015, 465 trees were cut down along the golf course shore line to "provide a better view of the river" and illogically, "reduce erosion".  
Picture
The Closure Area - from Canoe Cruisers
Homeland Security has had over  a year to respond to the barrage of complaints that this rule brought and the river was still closed without notice 32 times. MCA has supported the Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington in a lawsuit that attempts to overturn the open ended rule that has kept 2 miles of the Nation's river off limits. 

Press:
Washington Post
WAMU
​Huffington Post
​USA Today

MCA 2018 General Election Candidates Survey Results

9/18/2018

 
Picture
Register Online by October 17
Early Voting:
October 25- November 1
Election Day:
November 6
Where/How Do I Vote
​Montgomery County's Ag Reserve, comprised of nearly 106,000 acres, is one-third of the County's land mass and provides local  food/fiber, environmental and economic benefits for our region.  No surprise then, that voters are interested to hear what both incumbents and seat seekers have to say about their vision for and thoughts about this special place.
Much like in the 2014 election, MCA has again put 9 questions about the Reserve, land use, farming, water quality and transportation to the many candidates vying to represent Montgomery County at the local and state level. As a 501c3 nonprofit - MCA can not endorse but we seek to provide information on where the candidates stand. 
Below are all the candidates in the general election (see surveys with all primary candidates here). Candidates who returned the survey by the deadline have their unedited results linked below in red. We are grateful to those who took the time in the busy election season. Check your voting status and find your sample ballot here. 
Press Release From the 2018 Primary
County Executive
Marc Elrich
Robin Ficker
Nancy Floreen​*
​(*We sent Ms. Floreen our survey questions when she entered the County Executive Race after the primary in an attempt to get the views of all Executive Candidates. All other surveys were completed before the primary election) 
County Council District 1
Richard Banach
​Andrew Friedson

District 14
State Senate

Robert Drozd
Craig Zucker
​House of Delegates
Kevin Dorrance
Patricia Fenati
Anne R. Kaiser
Eric Luedtke
Michael A. Ostroff
Pamela Queen 
​District 15
State Senate

Brian J. Feldman
David Wilson
House of Delegates
Kathleen Dumais
David Fraser-Hidalgo

Laurie Halverson
Harvey Jacobs
Marc King
Lily Qi
​District 17
State Senate
​
Cheryl C. Kagan
Josephine J. Wang
House of Delegates
Kumar P. Barve
Julie Palakovich Carr
Jim Gilchrist
George Hernandez
District 19 
State Senate
David Jeang
Ben Kramer
House of Delegates
Charlotte Crutchfield  ​
Bonnie Cullison
Helen Domenici
Dave Pasti
Martha Schaerr
Vaughn Stewart
​County Council At-Large
Gabe Albornoz
Robert Dyer
Chris P. Fiotes, Jr.
​Evan Glass 
Will Jawando
Penny Musser
Hans Riemer 
Shelly  Skolnick 

Tim Willard ​​​
County Council District 2
Ed Amatetti
Woody Caceres ​
​
Craig Rice


County Council District 3
Sidney Katz

County Council District 4
Nancy Navarro
Howard
 Zuses 
​District 16
State Senate
​
Marcus Alzona
Susan C. Lee

House of Delegates
Bill Day
Ariana Kelly
​
Marc Korman
Sara Love
​
District 18
State Senate

Jeff Waldstreicher
House of Delegates
Al Carr
Jon Cook

Emily Shetty
Jared Solomon
Linda Willard
​District 20
State Senate
​
Dwight Patel
Will Smith

House of Delegates
Lorig Charkoudian
David Moon
Jheanelle Wilkins
District 39
State Senate

Nancy J. King
Al Phillips
House of Delegates
Gabriel Acevero
Bobby Bartlett
​
Andy Hoverman
Lesley J. Lopez
Kirill Reznik

​Verelyn Gibbs Watson



MCA is the small, but mighty, non-profit born both of and for Montgomery County's Ag Reserve. Our local focus protecting farms on Metro's edge relies on local support, please make a tax deductible gift today. 
Picture

Farmers, Experts, Residents Comment on ZTA 18-03 Alcohol Production in Rural Zones

9/8/2018

 
Have you taken action on this important issue? 

Summary: Defer Action- Let's Get This Right 

Bringing urban and suburban visitors to these farms to experience our way of life is enjoyable for all concerned.  The zoning that controls the Agricultural Reserve requires farms to produce a significant portion of the products that they sell to visitors.  The idea of waiving this requirement for alcohol producers is unfair to the many farmers who have worked to create their businesses in keeping with the environment.  And it will put all of the agricultural lifestyle we have created at risk.  - Letter from the Town Commissioners of Barnesville - who have made a resolution opposing the ZTA
Having been a “value added” farmer in Montgomery County for over 30 years, I can attest to the need to allow farmers some zoning flexibility to serve their customers, to responsibly shepherd their land, and to meet their economic needs.  However, there is always the temptation to use farmland as an inexpensive alternative to commercially or industrially zoned land.  Safeguards should be built into this amendment to ensure that it will benefit farmers who actually are actually cultivating the soil and are adding value to their own products on their own land.   - Nick Maravell- Nick's Organic Farm Read More
​Agritourism can be an important economic as well as regional community-building activity, but we are very sensitive to the potential for jumping onto this bandwagon without thoroughly thinking through what does and does not make sense.  Let’s not undermine the very intention of preserving a functioning agricultural landscape by assuming that what looks like open space out here is available for new businesses that do not actually engage in agriculture related to their products.- Lee Langstaff, Shepherd's Hey Read More
This kind of slow erosion to disconnected uses has always been one of the biggest threats to the integrity of the Ag Reserve, and therefore to sustaining it as a genuine agricultural resource for the country. - Scott Fossler, Former County Council Member Former Mayor of Chevy Chase Read More
This is a hasty and poorly thought out proposal  to replace farming with an industrial use contrary to protecting the Agricultural Reserve. In addition to violating Reserve Master Plan provisions, the proposed ZTA provides no environmental safeguards. Where are the needed protections for soil,  streams,  forest and wetlands? How will sewer and water be provided? What about SW management and setbacks from legitimate farm uses?  In promoting this ZTA, the Council would be treating the land we've reserved for farming as a commodity suitable for a commercial enterprise that violates the very reason we preserved so much of Montgomery County for farming. - Conservation Montgomery Read More
       
​We support the long term goals of bringing thoughtful economic development that aligns well with the nature of the Agricultural Reserve, but not without a comprehensive and transparent vetting process of the ancillary effects in the local community, and the financial impacts on Montgomery County at large. The rush to do this before newly elected officials have a chance to provide input and shape the plan, especially a newly elected District 1 Council member, concerns us; likewise the lack of an opportunity for many stakeholders to testify. Erosion of the Ag Reserve is a very real threat. A little caution now could prevent onerous and expensive remediation down the road.
- District 1 Neighbors Read More
​
With regard to 18-03, I urge caution. The ZTA seems well-intended as one means of providing additional sources of income to farmers, but as drafted, is fraught with, I hope unintended, potentially adverse consequences. Though framed as an accessory use,  an enterprises such as a winery, brewery, or distillery could become the primary use, especially if combined with an event venue. This would be contrary to the AROS plan and, indeed, could be detrimental to the character of the Reserve and, thus, no boon to Agrotourism, one of its objectives, as well as harmful to farming adjacent lands. It seems to me the problems can and should be fixed. - Dr. Royce Hanson, Former Chair of MNCPPC, Architect of the Ag Reserve Read More

Montgomery County's Ten Year Water and Sewer Plan Matters!

9/7/2018

 
Update: The MCSSS is asking that a September 11 straw vote on the Water Sewer Plan at the Council be delayed - let's get the Sewer Plan right!
The Montgomery Coalition to Stop Sewer Sprawl (MCSSS) is comprised of four organizations – Watts Branch Watershed Alliance; Montgomery Countryside Alliance; West Montgomery County Citizens Association; and Conservation Montgomery. We share an interest in protecting water bodies and open space in Montgomery County, including streams and groundwater that supply us with clean drinking water; these are located in our Agricultural Reserve and low-density areas surrounding it. Our General Plan and Master Plans establish protection goals for water resource and open space protection. Continued adherence to these plans - including strictly limiting the extension of public sewer lines into rural and low-density areas - will ensure continued clean water protection for streams and groundwater. As Councilmember Marc Elrich noted in his July 12, 2018 memo to Councilmembers, “a majority of councilmembers has upheld the principle of presumption and full support for continued reliance on septic systems in the Agricultural Reserve and other low-density areas – a principle that is a foundational element in our General Plan, Master Plans, and clean water and planning laws.” ​
Picture
We expect the same council majority - Councilmembers Berliner; Hucker; Riemer; Elrich; and Navarro - to continue to support this policy, and the door remains open for other Councilmembers to join with the majority in voting for a Ten Year Water and Sewer Plan Update that codifies this approach. Yet, for reasons that elude us, the August 24 staff draft supports a very different approach - one that continues to use areawide surveys to push sewer lines into areas that don’t need them. We are writing to ask you to support the attached Montgomery Coalition to Stop Sewer Sprawl (MCSSS) clean water amendment. This supports the approach proposed by Councilmember Elrich in his July 12 memo, along with additional items proposed by MCSSS to support our clean water goals. We also ask that you reject any proposals allowing properties with functioning septic systems to be converted to sewer service. In fact, per DEP’s “RE-1 Sewer/Septic Policy Framework Evaluation” five of seven organizations that DEP contacted support our position. 

Read on
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Barnesville Oaks/Greentree
    Bike
    Climate Change
    CSA
    Development
    Education
    Energy
    Events
    Fun!
    Growing Legacy
    Land Link
    Local Food
    Master Plan Update
    Mega Church
    Montgomery Council
    News
    Open Space
    Outer Beltway
    Parks
    Planning
    Potomac Bridge
    Racial Justice
    Recent Accomplishments
    Recipes
    Reducing Waste
    Regenerative Ag
    Releaf
    Rocklands
    Rural Schools
    Sewer
    Solar
    Take Action Now
    Ten Mile Creek
    Thrive 2050
    Transporation
    Water

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    November 2010
    October 2010

ABOUT US
What We Do
A Brief History
Board & AC
Staff & Volunteers
Contact
​​Buy MCA Gear
ABOUT Ag RESERVE
History of the Ag
Benefits of the Ag
Farm Facts
Threats to the Ag
​A Place with Purpose
NEWS
EVENTS
Local Events
Ride for the Reserve
Royce Hanson Award
SUPPORT LOCAL
Ag Guide
Local Food Connection
Community Supported Agriculture
Restaurants & Retail
​Artists of the Reserve
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
​Land Link
Producer's Resources
Directory of Services
Picture
Montgomery Countryside Alliance
P.O Box 24, Poolesville, MD  20837
301-461-9831  •  ​info@mocoalliance.org
Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture
MCA is proud to announce that we have been recognized for a third time as one of the best small charities in the D.C. region by Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, and peer non-profit organizations evaluated 270 applications.

​MCA is known as an effective and innovative non-profit whose efforts to preserve and promote Montgomery County’s nationally recognized 93,000 acre Ag Reserve have brought increased public and governmental support of local food production and farmland and open space preservation. Most importantly, MCA’s efforts are putting more farmers on the ground and keeping them there.
COPYRIGHT © MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE 2008