Hundreds showed up in the final days of 2022 to rally for White's Ferry to re-open - 2 years after it closed. Rally organizers estimate that 9 million extra miles have been driven as the result of the ferry's extended closure. 

Good noise made. Now… action.

This centuries old and much relied upon transportation corridor must be reopened to the public. Maryland should explore legal options. There was long term, open use of the VA side landing… establishing a public right of way to a public road.

Press: 
Rally Organizers Guest Column in Montgomery Perspective
MyMC Media
Loudoun Now
​WaPo Cover's last year's anniversary of the closure

 Two wells in Poolesville have tested positive for PFAS - often called forever chemicals because they never break down in the environment. This group of around 5000 different man-made compounds created for foams and non-stick coatings among other purposes have been linked to health issues. Pesticides known to contain PFAS that the EPA has failed to regulate are are one way that the compounds end up in the soil, plants and water supply according to our friends at PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility).

Poolesville has released a letter to every resident and this press release. 

The Reserve is particularly at risk of this kind of contamination of drinking water as it sits atop the federally designated Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer - the only source of drinking water for local wells in the western Reserve - outside the WSSC envelope by design. (How does a well work?) 

Collaboration (State, County, towns, groups) and tenacity will be needed to address the important issue. The Town will hold an information session on January 3rd at 7pm

In the meantime - here is the EPA list of actionable steps and resources to better understand PFAS.

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WUSA video coverage below and transcript

Here at MCA, the short, short version of our mission is "We Connect." We connect farmers both new and established with plenty of resources but our expensive region access to land is a real stumbling block for new or expanding farmers. 

In 2011 we responded to this need with a new program - Land Link Montgomery. Since then 30+ farmers have been matched with leases to grow everything from flower and herbs to persimmons to tomatoes and peppers, nightshade and kiwano melon and even cattle and sheep. 

In 2022 we matched 6 farmers - here are a few of their stories. 

We wish these fledgling farmers many happy seasons in MoCo - and we are here with resources to help them thrive. There are many more farmers still seeking land and your support helps us connect these farmers with the land and resources to get started. We would be honored by your tax-deductible end of year gift.

Brown Cow Creamery at Savage Acres creates delicious cheese from grassfed cows in Dickerson, Maryland (see their primer on the benefits of grassfed beef here.) They also offer flours from their corn and wheat along with beef, pork and eggs. The Savages have a closed loop system with a local distiller where their corn is used to make whiskey and the spent grain is then fed back to the cows. You can find their products online and also at the Poolesville Farmers Market. 

Rock Hill Orchard in Mt Airy is a pick-your-own and the site of Woodboune Creamery - the nations first all pasture raised robotic dairy. Having trouble picturing the laser guided nozzles and mobile linked updates of their dairy barn- this video will help. Since that video, the Fendricks of Rock Hill have added an ice cream parlor - the only Montgomery County stop on the MD Ice Cream Trail.  Though the gals are slowing down milk production for the winter products are available at the farm and Germantown pick ups. Learn More.
John Fenderick was kind enough to join our Farm Accessory Solar webinar to detail the system on his barn roof. Watch the recording here. 

Both of these farms are practicing rotational or intensive grazing - moving the cows regularly through multiple pastures.  Rock Hill details how this works. The result is healthier soils that are able to hold more water runoff - preventing erosion and improving water quality. A deep dive on this can be found at Maryland's Million Acre Challenge

 The King Barn Dairy Mooseum catalogs the history of MoCo's many, many dairies. Open May- October they feature interactive exhibits on the historic King Farm. An interactive map shows the sea of small dairies that used to operate throughout the County. 

Dear Friend of the Ag Reserve, 

As the year closes, we thank you once again for your support of our efforts to protect the farmland, open spaces, natural resources, and historic assets of our nationally recognized Agricultural Reserve. Since 2001, MCA has emerged as a regional force that recognizes the critical role of local activity and engagement in support of global imperatives of protecting farmland and natural environmental services in the face of our changing climate. 

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• Continue to grow the next generation of farmers through our Land Link Program (MocoLandLink.org)
• Collaborate to establish a farm incubator connecting new farmers with land and training to jumpstart diverse new farms and expand regenerative agricultural practices in the County.
• Maintain vigilance to guard against unwise land use proposals, legislation, and regulatory changes and monitor the roll out of the recently approved Thrive 2050 plan.
• Plant more acres of native “forever forests” and urge the new Council to adopt a strengthened Forest Conservation Plan for the whole County.

We appreciate and continue to need your support for our efforts to ensure the best possible stewardship of this special resource we all love. We invite you to join us as we keep our eyes on the prize and “dig in.” ​

Peace and good health to you and yours this holiday season,

MCA has been so proud to be invited to work with the FRSAN -NE (Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network) chapter as part of the new farmer/land access cohort - a project run by the National Young Farmers Coalition bringing farmers and farm service providers together to tackle some of the root causes of farmer stress.
Finding and maintaining land to farm is a constant stressor in a farming career. Toward the end of last year MCA staff partnered with farmers and farm service providers in the cohort to create a decision tool to help new farmers consider different ways of accessing land besides just the typical rent/buy dichotomy. The cohort was particularly interested in sharing newer solutions for group farm tenure that are becoming more common like farm incubators or land trusts. Pooling your resources with like minded farmers can help you get farming faster. 
Land for Good is the clearing house for the new toolkit, just one in a treasure trove of resources they offer to farmers and landowners seeking to access and secure land. 
We'd love to hear your experiences with this tool - kristina@mocoalliance.org 

Check out the tool here

WTOP is reporting that the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, or WRDA, would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct studies to find a secondary drinking water source and additional drinking water storage. This bill is up for approval in the next two weeks. 
Local water officials have been studying the use of the Travilah Quarry. However it is likely that even more capacity will need to be found to meet demand as drought threatens supply.