Stormwater Partners Network

What a difference a year makes when the County, watershed groups and the communities work together to protect our natural areas. A year ago Matthew Henson Park and Turkey Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek, were trashed. The County had spent millions of dollars in restoring Turkey Branch (see write up), but the stream and park was full of tires, car batteries, construction debris and litter (link to Spring 2009 Update) . Last spring we pulled tons of trash from the park and stream. Follow up clean ups were organized in the fall and during Volunteer Day on January 20th.

Community organizers, supported by Friends of Rock Creek Environment (FORCE) and the Parks Volunteer Office (Lynn Vismara!) have started turning the Park around. Challenges remain, but steady progress is being made.

Tania Gerich (community organizer), Eric Durland (FORCE). and Lynn Vismara (Parks Volunteer Coordinator)

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Recently a link to http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11 was posted to the Friends of Sligo Creek listserv.   This is a powerful online exhibit of disturbing photographs showing the corpses of dead baby albatross chicks that had eaten large amounts of various types of plastic trash and were washed up on Midway island in the Pacific Ocean. 

At the upcoming Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, the recently released draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for trash and debris in the Anacostia is going to be discussed.   We will largely focus on the implementation plan to see if it is really going to be enough to stop large quantities of trash entering our local waterways and harming aquatic life.   The aim is to have comments in by the due date, May 18th.

 The meeting will be Tuesday, May 11th, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park.  Visitors welcome!

Dear Stormwater Partners,

This is a reminder/ confirmation that we will meet next Tuesday evening, January 19, from 7:30 to 9 pm, at ANS-Woodend (8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, 20815). We will also have our traditional 6:30 to 7:30 pm social hour; please bring a potluck beverage or snack.

Please RSVP to Diane Cameron at dcameron@audubonnaturalist.org

On the agenda:

1) Review of 2009 - changes, accomplishments, and recognition of contributions

2) Priorities for the Stormwater Partners for 2010
Issues and opportunities this year:
* Stormwater Permit implementation
(Accountability of each County agency for their role in the permit)
* Environmental Site Design code changes - not done yet!
* General Assembly stormwater bills - the good, the bad, and the ugly plastic bags
* Artificial Turf
* Forest Conservation Law Reform
* Ten Mile Creek in Clarksburg- one of our dwindling number of high quality streams
* Water Resource Element in the General Plan - public comment still timely
* Anacostia Watershed Restoration Plan

Recap:
At our meeting on November 16, we approved a resolution calling on the Parks Department to halt the installation of additional Artificial Turf fields and to pilot-test well-maintained organic, natural turf fields.

We also discussed the November 18 DEP Watershed Implementation Plan meeting, which several of you attended, and we made some plans to begin scheduling meetings with Council members to discuss Environmental Site Design code changes, the stormwater permit implementation, and the Forest Conservation Law reforms.

Nearly 60 volunteers came out to clean up the future Northwood Chesapeake Bay Trail including over 30 students from Northwood High School.  It was not too long ago that County High School students were in the news for littering neighborhoods around their school.  Today, students cleaned up thousands of pounds of trash from the wooded area.  Much of the trash was household & automotive trash and plastic lawn bags thrown in the woods by homeowners.  Several members of Friends of Sligo Creek and Neighbors of the Northwest Branch were also helping out with the clean up.  See November 25, 2009 Gazette article about the clean up

A Northwood High School Student in next to one of three trash piles collected.  

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This project is to restore a State Highway Administration (SHA) land corridor that adjoins Sligo Creek Park and the Northwest Branch Park. The project made possible by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust is a multi-phase that will provide an opportunity for students and neighbors to learn about how they can have a positive impact on their local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. 

A partnership composed of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC),  Northwood High School (NHS), Maryland Department of Transportation - State Highway Administration, Friends of Sligo Creek, and Neighbors of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River will work together to do the following:

1). Educate the surrounding communities and students at Northwood High School about native plants and ways to improve water quality in Sligo Creek, the Northwest Branch and the Chesapeake Bay.

2). Clean up and restore the wildlife corridor as a native habitat.

3). Design and build an interpretive trail adjacent to Northwood High School.

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