Forest Stories: Forests Matter in MoCo Your images, your words are compelling…

A few minutes of you time… a short video, photos and your words to urge the County Council to act now to protect our invaluable forests!

Montgomery County Lost More than 1,000 acres of forest in the past decade. What do forests (and their loss) mean to MoCo Residents? 

The Montgomery County Planning Board and Council are updating the Forest Conservation Plan. The MoCo Forest Coalition of which we are proud to be a part has been pushing for much stronger policies - including a no-net-loss provision. Here we feature the stories from residents about the forests they hold dear.
Urban trees work particularly hard, check out this cool interactive urban tree canopy presentation. 
​Care to share your forest story? - info@mocoalliance.org

• "This past weekend, neighbors invited folks over to their remarkable 25 acre property - mostly in mature native forest. The variety of trees and understory plants, many in bloom, is truly remarkable. So too is the great variety of insects, birds, and other forest life that make this place home. Our family could not enter it unmoved. The effect of our time spent in the forest is both restorative and lasting. " - C.T

Wib Middleton

• "We live in Poolesville.  A newly sold property in a conversation easement 1 is being altered.  Today 15 trucks/cars and approximately 25 people showed up.  They have cleared out trees, bushes etc in the easement.  The owner of the property is aware of the easement but  is disregarding it. " - P

• "Three large healthy trees were cut down on my street in Kensington to add a new portion of sidewalk.  Sad." - T.C

W. Willard Rd Pepco Tree Cutting

• Over the decade aggressive tree pruning and removal practices on the part of utility companies have angered residents both up and down county. A bill to bring more control back to the County government in demanding best vegetation practices did not pass last year as sponsors cited insurmountable pushback from utility companies. A brief history of resident complaints and a bill fact sheet. 

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You can speak for the trees of MoCo - the Council will be working on the Forest Conservation Law in the coming weeks. We need no-net-loss and also a net gain of forests. To make this provision as strong as oak the Council needs to hear from you. 

You can contact the council with this online form. 

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More on Trees:

• Re-Leaf the Reserve - How MCA is planting forever forests
• Re-Leaf the Reserve Honor Cards - Give a Thoughtful Gift that Grows
• The extent to which trees in a forest help each other will blow your mind

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