Our policy initiatives will help us advance sound land use policies on the county, state, and regional level, and build a powerful constituency that has the political will to advocate for issues important to the health of the river. Here are some of the issues that we will be following.
Stormwater/Low-Impact Development: Stormwater harms our river and streams because it is funneled directly from the stormdrain system into our waterways without being treated. LID techniques such as raingardens and green roofs are an important way to lessen the effects of stormwater pollution. In Depth...
Forest Conservation: Since the mid-1980s, the Chesapeake Bay watershed has been losing forestland at a rate exceeding 100 acres a day. Between 1982 and 1997, the Bay watershed lost more than 750,000 acres of forestland to urban development - an area equal to 20 District of Columbias. At least 36% of the remaining forestland is at high risk of development over the next 5 to 10 years. In Depth...
Riparian Buffers: These absorbent borders protect both human and natural interests by creating a buffer between land use and stream ecosystems. In Depth...
C&O Canal Issues: The C&O Canal is the backyard national park for thousands of Potomac watershed residents, but it faces an ever-growing number of challenges. Among them are increasing development pressures and boundary infringements, irresponsible development proposals inside park lands, and chronic underfunding. In Depth...
Current Recent and Ongoing Projects
Potomac Conservancy is actively working on policy initiatives across the watershed. Click on "In Depth" to see our current initiaves for each of these critical issues.