In another very different year, MCA once again found success on a number of fronts in protection of our  critical resources. As is true this and every year of our 20 year history, our tenacious advocacy and some notable successes are the result of local support. Put plainly... we cannot do what we do without you.
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We would be honored by your end of year tax-deductible gift. 

On this final day of the year we thought we would roll the tape on a few notable things we accomplished together this year.  

All the while, the sun shone, the rain fell and MoCo's farmers continued to do what they have always done - albeit requiring big pivots to keep customers and staff safe. Local food demand continues to grow and no wonder- the tastiest, freshest food can be found at your local market or through a Community Ag Share directly from your farmer. We give thanks year round for the essential work and herculean efforts of those who tend the land and feed us. 

When we think about habitat loss, an image comes to mind of acres of imperiled wild forest on a mountain side somewhere. While protecting the wilderness we have left is important, the world is increasingly made up not of vast wild acres of land but many, many smaller green spaces. There are things we can do to protect the slightly more tame outdoor spaces close to home as they are critical to the wildlife in our midst and our survival as well. 

North America has lost some 3 billion breeding adult birds since 1970, with every biome impacted. As is often reported, pollinator decline is a real and pressing problem with impacts on the global food system. The solution to these challenges is the same - plant more of the plants that these creatures need for food and shelter and plant them in as many places as possible. Pest pressures go down, soil health and drought tolerance goes up and even neighboring cultivated crops benefit. You do not need to own a pristine mountain forest for your outdoor space to be part of the solution. 

Meadow or prairie strips on farms are benefiting large scale producers across the midwest. Here in the mid-Atlantic, farmers are 'stacking' the benefits of pollinators and native plants like the photo above from One Acre Farm. Beekeepers and farmers work to mutual benefit when field edges are home to native plants like Goldenrod. 
This native revolution is happening on Swiss Embassy land in the District and just announced this month, 20% of London's green spaces will be rewilded. 

Whether it is a windowbox, a few pots on the patio or a whole lawn - giving over some of your green space to natives makes you part of the solution to habitat loss. Read on for resources and let us know if you have some to share.  

​Resources:
How to Rewild your Garden in 10 steps
​Planting Native Helps the Bay 
​MD Extension Native Plant Guide
MD Native Plant Society
Montgomery County Beekeepers
"Nature's Best Hope" by Doug Tallamy an in depth look at why and how to plant natives at home

In February of 2021, Montgomery County passed a ZTA 20-01 that balances solar generation with large scale solar generation on farms in the Ag Reserve by siting solar on less productive soil in the Reserve and away from stream buffers and steep slopes. (Thinking about Solar on your farm? Join us for a webinar.) Yet still we hear that this balanced approach amounts to a moratorium that stymies progress toward carbon reduction goals.

The growing consensus is that a sole focus on open "undeveloped" lands for renewable energy generation gobbles up another dwindling climate solution resource- farm and forest land. As multiple reports from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have highlighted  farms and forests are short sighted places to site solar projects. CBF has released guide for large scale renewable energy generation siting called  Principles and Practices for Realizing the Necessity and Promise of Solar Power the guide calls for prioritizing marginal lands before viable farmland and forests. 

The article from the Yale School of the Environment quotes a study that finds the typical 5 acre parking lot at a Walmart can host a 3 MW array to power the store and cars parking there or surrounding homes. WAMATA has recently partnered to build this sort of canopy at 4 metro stations. ​

While there is promise in "Agrivoltaics" where pollinator feed and even vegetables are grown under panels - farmers need more certainty about this new field before literally betting the farm on a technology that may occupy a field for over 25 years. Thankfully, a pilot program is ongoing in the Reserve in partnership with UMD. 
 

There is no doubt that we need to transfer our grid to renewable energy - but a holistic approach to how our de-carbonization goals are achieved is the smarter long term solution. 

When ZTA 20-01 passed in winter 2020, the provision balanced large scale solar generation with viable farms. Among the changes - farms can now install solar arrays generating up to 200% of their use (up from 120%) as well as larger arrays to provide community solar.  Office of Agriculture has compiled the specific stipulations for solar on farms. But you may  have specific questions as to whether new opportunities for solar generation make sense for your farm, but may not know where to start- we are here to help.

MCA is teaming up with the Montgomery County Green Bank and County's Office of Agriculture to help you navigate decisions on solar installation. This is our second in a series of three webinars covering solar installation for different types of residences. Be sure to pick the webinar that best applies to you:

• Our first webinar back in May covered solar installations on single family residences and businesses. 
• This session covers solar generation as an accessory use on farms. 
• The third webinar, date TBD, will cover the provisions for large scale community solar. 

Please RSVP below to get the zoom link. The webinar will be recorded and posted as well. 
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Farms looking for an in-depth look at community solar information, stay tuned for a future webinar focused exclusively on this topic. 

Thrive 2050, the County’s general plan update being considered by the Council, is troubling many residents regarding myriad shortcomings and inconsistencies.  A central concern remains - the significant overhaul by MC Planning of the draft that was crafted with public input (we breakdown the striking differences between the plans here)- a move that relegated any discussion of how we meet environmental goals and climate resilience into an Non-binding appendix of suggestions.

And yet the plan seems to be speeding toward approval at the Council.

There is one glaring omission from the plan that should give the Council pause.
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Why does Thrive barely mention water resources - the one most critical resource we can't do without?​


 We can't emphasize this problem better than supporter Amanda Farber did on Facebook:

In a plan meant to chart the future of our community- what you focus on is what you get more of - so where is the focus on the most essential resource we need?  The plan points to a 2010 functional water resources plan for guidance - that plan is both dated and expires in 2030. 

Thrive Omissions:

• The plan makes no mention of: "Chesapeake Bay" , "Potomac River", or "Patuxent River" and passing mention of the sole source aquifer that supplies most of the Reserve. The plan seems willfully disinterested in where our water comes from or where it is ultimately going.

• Unlike the plans of  surrounding jurisdictions , Thrive contains no watershed maps or stream quality maps and thus no discussion of their import.
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• The plan makes no mention of projections from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin that by 2040 we will have severe droughts where demand will far exceed supply, even with the 4 proposed new reservoirs.
  
  
• The Thrive draft moving toward approval already has 60% fewer instances of the word "equity" than the draft created with public input. Water is an equity issue. The quality of the water that flows from the tap and through our streams matters to all neighborhoods. Like other green infrastructure like canopy cover,  stream mapping would show that poorer neighborhoods have disproportionate water quality deficits with the associated public health issues.

The Council can not responsibly pass Thrive 2050 unless it includes a comprehensive vision of how we secure and distribute our water resources. 
Restoring the environmental chapter that was relegated to the appendix would go a long way to meeting this need. 
Take 2 minutes to let the Council know your thoughts before the next listening session on December 15: