Confronting Climate Change: The Ag Reserve's Role

2018- The Ag Reserve sign at Whites Ferry which has been closed because of flooding much of the season. - Terri Pitts

It is nothing less than the global challenge of our time. A slow motion disaster, caused and perpetuated each day by all of us - leaving each of us either feeling powerless in the face of its enormity or in denial of an inconvenient scientifically proved truth.  Our world is warming. 

Recently predictions have gotten more dire, more certain. There is now a timeline for serious impacts to be felt. Much like the adage about planting trees, the time to act was either 20 years ago - or now. 

Montgomery County's 93,000 acre Ag Reserve was envisioned at its creation in 1980 as a way to keep farms on the landscape and it has been successful, but it has also served as a "green lung" and water filter for the region, its forests sucking in Co2, its pervious surfaces allowing re-absorption of large rainfall events. But the County, the Reserve and MCA as its steward can (and must)  do more to combat our climate challenge and mitigate the coming impacts. 

Setting Goals

The county  has made a climate change pledge for the county of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.  The county is also working toward Executive Leggett's goal of being a zero waste county - starting with recycling/composting 70% of materials by 2023. MCA is proud to serve on the county's Zero Waste Task Force.  In July 2019 the county convened a Climate Change Task Force of public and private experts, academics, students and more to create a comprehensive climate action plan. 

Water

We are proud to have collaborated with the 38 other organizations making up the Stormwater Partners Network on the Clean Water Blueprint - to be addressed by the Elrich administration. The document lays out how we protect water across the country going forward and provides metrics for gauging success. Among the recommendations are several Ag Reserve specific provisions that MCA will help to implement including: 

~Educational outreach for well and septic owners 
~Establishing science based impervious limits in the Reserve to protect the Sole Source Aquifer and stream quality 
~Advance programs for regenerative agriculture

Land and Farms

Regenerative agriculture may be a new term to many. It is a set of farming practices becoming increasingly popular as a way to increase crop yields, reduce pesticide use and capture atmospheric carbon. The general idea is to increase cover crops and perennial vegetation, till the soil less and utilize compost to lock Co2 in the air into the soil while increasing plant growth. Farmer Matt Rales, formerly of Potomac is doing this now on 800 acres in Virginia.  Maryland has been the pioneer state taking steps to promote this climate mitigation practice with the Healthy Soils Act of 2017.  MCA would like to help interested farmers implement these practices in Montgomery County. 

How we farm matters but crop selection can also have an impact. The recently passed Farm Bill has finally lifted a national ban on growing hemp. This crop has the potential to be a game change for sustainable farming, waste and carbon reduction. Banned from US farms since 1937 because of an unfair association with its wilder cousin marijuana, industrial hemp production is poised to have impacts in the fields of medicine, plastics, food, auto manufacturer, the list goes on.  MCA is taking the lead on getting farmers growing here in Montgomery County. 

See More on Regenerative Ag Here

Forests: Re-Leaf the Reserve

MCA has embarked on a new program to accelerate reforestation in support of Montgomery's County's Climate Change Response Plan.

The Reserve is ripe for reforestation on lands that are not suitable for crops. MCA will be matching private landowners with the Planning Department to plan tree plantings along stream buffers. It is a win-win-win for water quality, habitat protection and carbon sequestration.

At MCA, our mission is to protect the farms and open spaces of the Ag Reserve but we all have a role to play in the challenges ahead. We can choose grim disaffection, denial or action.  Help us position the Ag Reserve as a climate change mitigation tool for our county and region. We would be honored by your tax-deductible gift. Thank You! 

 In the County, developers chopping trees must either replant the same number on the site or pay into a "fee in lieu" fund that will re-forest other areas. The Planning Department has used some of this now million dollar fund over the years to re-forest 32 acres of stream buffers in county parks. But we think we can do more, much more. In the first year we have identified over 80 acres and planted 700 trees in stream corridors. We've also brought students and volunteers into the process. To host trees or get involved learn more here.