Clean Water and Streams for Montgomery - Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sponsored by the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners; Montgomery County Council Building Auditorium (Accessible via the Rockville Metro Station on the Red Line); 8:30 am to 3:30 pm
The “Clean Water and Streams for Montgomery” conference is a project of the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners Network.* The conference will be a cross-watershed summit for current and future watershed stewards, with the goal of establishing a permanent Watershed Network in Montgomery County composed of stewardship groups in all the major watersheds. The first step is to adopt a Citizens’ Watershed Strategy, which includes and continues the advocacy of the Stormwater Partners over the past two years for an upgraded stormwater permit for Montgomery County and for effective, well-funded low-impact development programs and projects. The conference will recruit citizens from all sectors to watershed activism, educate them about important restoration and protection opportunities and challenges, share experiences with stormwater management practice/ low impact development techniques, and encourage business and civic organizations to join with us in committing to restore and protect our local and regional waters. Our collective goal is to empower citizen leadership and stewardship for our drinking, recreational, and fishing waters.
INVITEES: The auditorium at the Council Office Building can hold a max. of 80 people. Since space is limited, invitations will be sent to Montgomery County watershed, environmental, and civic groups to send representatives.
Invitations and announcements will be sent to leaders from the business and government sectors, along with members of the general public, with registration on a first-come, first-serve basis. The invitation categories: (1) existing watershed groups and non-organized watershed activists; (2) Volunteer Water Quality Monitors; (3) Local environmental, civic, faith groups, (4) Business leaders ; (5) Local elected and appointed government officials and staffs; 6) the general public.
REGISTRATION: We will not charge a registration fee, but we request that you register by Friday October 12, to reserve your space at this important event.
DONATIONS: Donations to help defray the costs of the conference will be gratefully accepted, and should be made out to The Anacostia Watershed Society. As we cannot receive donations on the day of the conference, we ask that you submit your donation by mail with your conference registration form.
SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS: the financial support of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the organizational and staff support of the Anacostia Watershed Society, the Audubon Naturalist Society, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment and the Natural Resources Defense Council are gratefully acknowledged. ANS and NRDC have been the major sponsors of the Stormwater Partners Network, through their staffing support of Coordinator Diane Cameron; their support and that of their funders, including the Summit Fund of Washington and the Keith Campbell Foundation are deeply appreciated.
*The Stormwater Partners Network is composed of local, regional and national organizations that have endorsed a twelve-point proposal for a stronger stormwater permit for Montgomery County: Anacostia Riverkeeper at Earth Conservation Corps, Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee, Anacostia Watershed Society, Audubon Naturalist Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Clean Water Action, Eyes of Paint Branch, Friends of Cabin John Creek Watershed, Friends of Hillmead Park, Friends of Sligo Creek, Friends of the Earth, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment, Greater Goshen Civic Association, Montgomery County Civic Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Neighbors of Northwest Branch, Northwood-Four Corners Civic Association, Patuxent Riverkeeper, Potomac Conservancy, RiverSides, Sierra Club, and the West Montgomery County Citizens Association.
For more information contact: Steve Dryden: jsdryden@comcast.net ; or Diane Cameron: dianemcameron@verizon.net
CLEAN WATER AND STREAMS FOR MONTGOMERY
Conference Sponsored by the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Montgomery County Council Building Auditorium
8:30 am to 3:30 pm
Conference Agenda:
8:30 am — Coffee and registration.
Morning Plenary
9 am - Welcome and preview: Diane Cameron, Coordinator, Stormwater Partners
9:05 – County Executive Isiah Leggett – Welcoming Remarks (invited)
Maryland’s Stormwater Management Act of 2007
9:15 – Delegate Jane Lawton, District 18, Maryland General Assembly
9:30 –Tom Schueler, Chesapeake Stormwater Network
10:15 – 10:30 — Break
Morning Workshops
10:30 – noon
(1) Engaging students and schools in watershed work Chair: Jill Coutts
(2) Stream monitoring – Citizens partnering with government to track stream health
(3 ) Rainscapes: Working w/ homeowners and communities on reducing runoff
Chair: Pamela Rowe
Lunch
noon – 1:00 — Lunch on your own
Exercising Your Environmental Rights
1:00 – 1:30 pm — State Senator Jamie Raskin, District 20, Maryland General Assembly
Afternoon Workshops
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
(4) Creating and running a watershed group: Chair: Ed Murtagh
(5) Restoring and Protecting the Anacostia River: Lessons Learned
Chair: Diane Cameron.
(6) Using arts and the media to spread a watershed message: Chair: Ginny Barnes
(7) Wells and Septic Systems: Protecting our Groundwater. Chair: Bob Goldberg
Citizens’ watershed strategy
2:30 – 3:15 pm - (goals for clean streams and water) and endorsement by delegates
Concluding remarks by Councilmember Valerie Ervin
3:15 – 3:30 pm. Councilmember Ervin is the Environment Lead, Montgomery County Council,
Transportation & Environment Committee, and District 5 Representative
August 28th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Great conference! Where is my inviitation!
September 29th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Aquabarrel LLC the rain barrel company of Gaithersburg, MD looks forward to working with the Anacostia Watershed Society and the Stormwater Partners Network to educate the residents of Maryland about the importance of rain barrels.
October 14th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I would like to register for the conference. The two workshops I hope to attend are 3. Rainscapes in the morning and 1. Creating & Operating a Watershed Group in the afternoon.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
With rain barrels, always be sure to find ones which offer mesh mosquito guards, and also look for barrels which have overflow valves-allowing the excess water to flow out of the rain barrels and away from your foundation. Hooking a drip hose to this valve is a great way to give your garden or flower bed a constant source of moisture.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Join us on August 10, Sunday, 2-5 pm, for a fundraiser to benefit the Committee to Save the Watson House. Tour historic Wilbur House at 1102 Edgevale Rd. in Silver Spring. We want this acre and a half parcel a stone’s throw from Sligo Creek to be developed with a sensitivity to runoff and erosion issues. Call 301-495-8818 or e-mail savewatson@gmail.com for more information.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Nice point about this, good summary.