​Outer beltway through the Reserve! Keep your eyes open... Because. Shifting positions.
A tale of two surveys... check out candidates' positions on transportation projects. Seems that for some, the answer really depends on who is doing the asking...
Seriously...
Just reporting here. Up to voters but inconsistency makes our job to inform ourselves... hard.
MCA survey question regarding 2nd crossing/outer beltway support...
Candidate Gabe Albernoz "I do not support M83 or a second crossing."
Yet when Suburban Md Transportation Alliance asks him if he "supports studying the concept"... the answer: ✔️yes (see question 8)
Mind you SMTA offers only yes or no option to a strategically phrased question. But yes is an answer. And no is an answer that would have been consistent with the answer on the MCA survey. You can find all the survey results on Seventh State
MCA's Survey Results are here.  Other conflicting answers include Marilyn Balcombe who says "the bridge won't happen in my lifetime" still says she'd like to see it studied.

by Kristina Bostick

by Caroline Taylor

GROWING LEGACY - Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
1:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28

Presented with the inaugural Montgomery County GreenFest, a free event for all ages to enjoy while learning about going green.

GROWING LEGACY (USA, 2014, 30 min.) The most successful farm protection effort in the country is just 20 miles from the White House. This film profiles the challenges of growing food and cities in harmony. Directed by Mark Leisher and Caroline Taylor. Produced by Pat Ratkowski and Montgomery Countryside Alliance.

Panel discussion, moderated by Caroline Taylor, Executive Director, Montgomery Countryside Alliance, follows screening. Panelists: Anthony Cohen, President, The Menare Foundation; Tanya Spandhla, Participant, New Farmer Project, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and Gene Kingsbury, Owner and Operator, and fifth generation farmer, Kingsbury Orchard, Dickerson, Md.

FREE. Reservations encouraged.

​Montgomery College (Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus), Cultural Arts Center, 2nd Floor Theater, 7995 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Md. (Metro: Silver Spring, then transfer to Ride On Bus Route 17 or 18.)

by Caroline Taylor

by Kristina Bostick

What has MCA done for me lately? Well...

Our Shared Environmental Resources


​Supporting a Strong Ag Sector
Connecting New and Expanding Farmers with Land

​Strengthening the Producer Community with a  Listserve and Summits
Successfully Pushing for a New Farm Pilot Program
Proud Lead Organization of the Farming at Metro's Edge Conference
Supporting A proposed year-round daily farmers market in North Potomac 
Connecting farmers with new opportunities under the new County Zoning Code

Community
Producing "Growing Legacy"  film about the Reserve for students and the public
Creating an Ag Reserve Candidate Questionnaire/Voter Resource
Creating an Ag Education Pilot - 180 students reached so farHelping to Found the MoCo Food CouncilKeeping Monocacy Elementary Open

Zoning
No Commercial Recreation or Camps in the Ag Reserve
No Sewer Extension for Mega Churches
Battling Back Plans for Massive Cell Towers

Currently working on supporting new farm businesses and expansion of sourcing local farm products in County stores/restaurants.  We are pushing to add to our farmland inventory for the LandLink program.  Our education initiative has expanded and we are working with MC Farm Bureau to secure funding for mobile ag science lab for the use of the County's elementary schools.  How about that! Every elementary school student should have exposure to what farming is all about and why our Ag Reserve is so special.

​And the list goes on and on... help us add more victories to this list- join MCA - a yearly membership is just $25

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

Last week, a joint committee of Councilmembers approved a plan that provides protection for fragile Ten Mile Creek and the Little Seneca Reservoir which it feeds (backup water supply for you, me and 4.3 Million in the DC area). Called the "6-15-15 solution" , the joint committee’s plan allows significant residential and commercial development within Clarksburg Stage 4, while setting strict limits on imperviousness, in order to limit future additional damage to Ten Mile Creek. More on the plan here. We support this compromise plan but mitigation criteria (ex- forested buffers to protect wetlands) are an essential addition to properly protect the water supply. A full Council vote that was slated for next week has now been delayed to March 4, among other efforts to derail the process.

​That's why we are asking, one more time, for you to contact the Council and get the job done. Click here for a sample email and Council contact info.

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

The Agricultural Services Division of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development will open a Purchase Period for the Building Lot Termination Program beginning on February 1, 2014 and will close at the end of business on April 1, 2014.

No applications can be received prior to February 1, 2014 or after April, 1, 2014.

The application for the Building Lot Termination Program is available from the Agricultural

Services Website at the following link:

Application for the BLT Program:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/agservices/resources/files/BLT_Files/blteaseappl.pdf

To be eligible for the BLT program:

1. Property must be zoned Rural Density Transfer
2. Property must have retained Transferrable Development Rights with the land to support a dwelling or dwellings on the property.
3. Must have a County approved on-site waste disposal system (Percs) for each development right proffered for BLT purchase.
4. Soils on the property must comprise at least 50% Class I, II, or III, soils (USDA Soil Capability Classification System -Prime and Productive Soils) DED assists the landowner in making this determination)
5. Property must be at least 50 acres unless DED and the Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board determine the property contains significant agricultural resources worthy of protection.

Once the open purchase period closes, DED will then analyze each applicant's property to determine eligibility and provide a ranking to the Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board (APAB).

The APAB will make a recommendation to the Director of Economic Development as to who should receive BLT purchase offers based on the BLT ranking system.  The Director will make a determination and direct staff to make offers to qualified applicants from the ranking provided by the APAB.

Landowners wishing to discuss the property in context with the BLT program can contact John Zawitoski (301-590-2810) or via email at [email protected]  He will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this program.

It should be recognized that it is very likely that there will be more applicants then funding available and therefore not every applicant can be funded.   Any applicant not funded during this open purchase period will be automatically enrolled in subsequent open purchase periods unless otherwise directed they wish to be removed from consideration.

by Kristina Bostick

UPDATE- A new study has shown that in the 2002 drought, around 25% of the Potomac's flow came from Little Seneca Reservoir and Ten Mile Creek. The idea that this is not a current and future water source for 4.3 Million doesn't...hold water.

In an email to supporters, Pulte Homes (one of a few developers looking to start projects in the sensitive Ten Mile Creek watershed)  said the following:

"The lake is not an emergency drinking water supply. It's a backup source of water for the Potomac River during times of severe drought. The Potomac is a drinking water source."

What? That is one serious linguistic shell game. Pulte is just one of a number of people that seem either legitimately or intentionally confused about the importance of the Little Seneca Reservoir and Ten Mile Creek.Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words- like this sign at the edge of the reservoir (again, the fact that its called a "reservoir" should give you a clue that the water is being held for later use):

Not only are the reservoir and Ten Mile Creek part of our back-up drinking water supply serving 4.3 million metro area residents, but the reservoir is checked every year to be sure it can still be called upon to supplement our water supply, as this alert from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin to the County Exec and Council made clear this summer.  In fact, water from the Reservoir had to be  used for drought abatement in 1999, 2002 and 2010. The Commission also reports that droughts will be getting a lot more common.

So that's the Reservoir - what about Ten Mile Creek. When we say that Ten Mile Creek is the "Last, Best Stream" in the county, its not hyperbole. The creek is what is called a "reference" stream- a stream that is still pristine enough that we can compare degraded streams to it to see how bad off they are. As the first Council work session held yesterday showed, the draft planning board plan for development in the watershed would degrade Ten Mile Creek to the point that it will no longer be clean enough to serve as a reference- dirty just like the others. As one supporter asked, "can't we just have one clean creek?"So, how do we know that the proposed development will degrade the creek? Because the green parts on the right of the map below are not golf courses, that is the color of the water in our backup drinking water supply, as impacted by poorly planned development (click to see it bigger). Ten Mile Creek on the left, is still pristine and currently serves to dilute some of the degraded water. The point is- we have done this all before- the removal of forest cover, laying down impervious surface, and we can see the results.

We still have a pristine stream that serves 4.3 Million people and will only be more important in the future. The current proposals will impact our drinking water and that is why we are making so much noise.

​The Council will decide on this in February- make sure they hear from you now.

Join us on Monday, January 27 for a rally in advance of the Council Worksession on the Water Supply issues related to proposed development in Ten Mile Creek's watershed.

9am- The front steps of the Montgomery County Council Building: 100 Maryland Ave.  Rockville (google map)

​Ten Mile Creek is part of the backup drinking water supply for 4.3 Million residents in the DC area.

MCA is challenging the Planning Board’s approval of a large suburban-style development on the last largest remaining farm in the Reserve, MCA filed a petition asserting error in the Board’s decision and respectfully asking them to revisit the matter. MCA challenges conformity with the Master Plan citing State legislation passed in 2009 that strengthens the requirement that land use decisions support and do not conflict with governing Master plans.

Breaking News:  Developer has filed opposition to sending (remanding) the case back to Planning Board for their review and decision on MCA’s Petition for Reconsideration!  Unbelievably, their filing claims that because the developer quickly  filed their  notice of appeal of the condition regarding tenant houses and density first…MCA’s petition for reconsideration should not be addressed.  In other words, they are trying to prevent the process that allows for the Board to exercise their authority to reconsider matters when properly petitioned.  This move is a real slap in the face to the community who merely seeks to ensure that the Board has fully evaluated the subdivision in light of the Master Plan and existing law.Stay tuned…