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Banner image by
Don Chernoff

Saturday, July 7, 4 ‘til 8 pm
Carderock Pavilion, C&O Canal National Historical Park,
Carderock, Md.

Bring family and friends to the Conservancy’s 8th annual Picnic on the Potomac. Rain or shine! Please join us!

Food: We’ll provide the grillers and drinks. You'll bring a potluck dish. Here are our suggestions, by last name: A-E, Appetizer; F-J, Salad; K-P, Dessert; Q-Z, Main dish.

Fun: Music by the Potomac River Ramblers, dancing, children's games, door prizes, and more!

Membership: As a part of our "100 Friends Online Campaign," the Conservancy is offering a special prize drawing for members who renew or give during the picnic or bring a new member to the picnic. See details below.

Volunteer: There are plenty of opportunities to pitch in on the day of the picnic. See details below.

Schmoozing: Meet the Conservancy's board and staff and hang out with fellow river lovers. Bring your friends!

Directions: www.potomac.org/directions/carderock.html.

For more information: Contact Monica Lyman at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188, x201.

Photos: Ed Tenney

Volunteer

• Volunteer at Our Picnic!

Speak Up!

• Massive Transmission Line Threatens Landscapes in WV, MD, VA – Comment by July 6!

Events & Trips

• River Center at Lockhouse 8 Open - through October 14
• Potomac Conservancy Picnic - July 7
• Conservation Easement Professional Workshop - July 12
• Voices of the River: Bob Hitchcock and Songs of the Canal - July 15
• Local Connections - Organic Frederick - July 16
• Growing Native Ambassador Trainings - July 28 and August 4, 11, and 18
• Voices of the River: Fiddlin’ On the Porch - August 5
• Dragonfly & Damselfly Walk - Saturday, August 11, 1 'til 3 pm
• Save the Date: Eventide: Gala Cruise on the Potomac - September 19

News & Notes

• 12000 River Road Tree Cutting/Fence Building Proposal Denied, Appeal to the Courts Expected
• Washington Area Bicyclist Association Honors Potomac Conservancy
• County Tables Lake Linganore Stream Ordinance
• Open Forum: Everyone Benefits from "Green Streets" Plan
• EPA, USDA to Better Coordinate Efforts to Control Ag Runoff in the Watershed

Good Neighbor Conservation Tip

• Water-wise Tips for Summer Gardens

Support the Conservancy Today

• Join Potomac Conservancy's "100 Friends Online" Campaign

Volunteer at Our Picnic!
Saturday, July 7, 4 ‘til 8 pm
Carderock Pavilion, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Carderock, Md.

Flip burgers, play games, and hang out with other river lovers. Potomac Conservancy is seeking volunteers to help with the annual Picnic on the Potomac. Opportunities include helping at the registration table, grilling, and assisting with children's games.

For more information: Contact Monica Lyman at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188, x201.

Massive Transmission Line Threatens Landscapes in WV, MD, VA – Comment by July 6!

Background: Dominion, Alleghany Power, and PJM Interconnection have announced plans for a 500-kilovolt transmission line running from Pennsylvania, through West Virginia, to Loudon County, VA. The transmission towers would stand up to 165 feet tall, require a 50- to 150-foot-wide right-of-way, and would destroy some of the most pristine and protected landscapes on the east coast. Click here to see a map of the proposed route: www.pecva.org/_images/maps/AlPowerUpdatedMap.pdf.

Threatened Lands: The proposed corridor is located within the scenic viewsheds of Antietam National Battlefield, Monocacy National Battlefield, Shenandoah National Park, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The proposed line locations would also impact Potomac Conservancy conservation easements, priority watersheds, and watershed restoration projects.

The National Trust named the areas threatened by this transmission line one of the 11 Most Endangered Places for 2007: www.nationaltrust.org/11most/05.html.

NIET Designation: The power companies have requested early “National Interest Electric Transmission” (NIET) Corridor designation for the mid-Atlantic region. NIET corridor designation gives utility companies unprecedented access to federal eminent domain authority. For the first time, the federal government can authorize installation of new transmission lines even if state and local authorities determine that the location is inappropriate or the line is not necessary. If the mid-Atlantic is designated a NIET Corridor, the power companies may use federal eminent domain power to condemn a right-of-way and bypass all local opposition to the proposed transmission line.

What you can do: Demand that the Department of Energy consider the impacts such designation would have on natural and scenic resources and set up public hearings to get input from citizens and local leaders. Submit your comments by July 6 opposing designation of NIET corridors.

Click here to submit your comments: http://nietc.anl.gov/involve/index.cfm.

For more information: Go to PEC’s website:www.pecva.org/landuse/energy/powerlines/index.php;
for WV, to Capon Valley Coalition’s website: http://caponvalleycoalition.com/about/.

River Center at Lockhouse 8 Open
Weekends until Sunday, October 14, 10 am ‘til 2 pm
River Center at Lockhouse 8, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Cabin John, Md.

The River Center will be open weekends, from 10 am until 2 pm, May through October. Summer programs include Voices of the River and nature walks (see below for July events). Visit www.potomac.org for more details, or contact Potomac Conservancy at info@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

Conservation Easement Professional Workshop
Thursday, July 12, 9 am 'til 1:30 pm
South Branch Inn, Moorefield, W.V.

Attorneys, accountants, and appraisers interested in learning about the legal aspects of conservation easements and conservation easement appraisals should attend this Potomac Conservancy event. Attorneys and appraisers will receive 3 continuing education credits. Registration required. Fee is $25. For more information, contact Kelly Watkinson: watkinson@potomac.org; 540.667.3606.

Bob Hitchcock sings and plays folk music, makes recordings and has his own recording studio. He has sung with many groups in the area including at Great Falls Tavern where he created a song about the canal. To RSVP for this free event, contact Judy Welles at welles@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

Looking for locally produced farm products? Interested in organics? You are invited to come meet local farm producers and learn about organic production in the Frederick area. The event, 'Local Connections', is free and the public is encouraged to attend. The emphasis of the evening will be on establishing local connections between farm producers, markets and consumers. The Maryland Small Farm Cooperative, a group of producers with small farm enterprises throughout Maryland, will be showing the award-winning documentary, 'Organic Frederick'.

For more information or to pre-register, please contact Andy Highland at wwmfarm@fred.net or 301.845.2614 (please leave a message for a return call).

Growing Native Ambassador Trainings
July 28 and August 4, 11, and 18
Locations throughout the watershed

Nature lovers: help your community create healthy environments! Growing Native Ambassadors inspire others to help replant their local streamside forests through the Growing Native project. Potomac Conservancy will present five Growing Native Ambassador trainings to prepare for the upcoming fall seed collection season (see below for dates). During these trainings, Ambassadors will learn about the Growing Native project and how to organize their own native seed collection event. Volunteers will complete an introductory course on identifying native trees. These trainings will equip Ambassadors to be representatives in their communities for the environment by leading others in hands-on stewardship activities.

Pennsylvania
July 28, 9 am – noon: Somerset Historical Center, Somerset, Pa.
August 18, 9 am – noon: Strawberry Hill Nature Center, Fairfield, Pa.

District of Columbia
August 4, 9 am – noon: Site to be determined, Washington, D.C.

Virginia and West Virginia
August 11, 9 am – noon: Jim Barnett City Park, Winchester, Va.

Maryland
Date and site to be determined. Please see www.growingnative.org for more information.

Contact Colleen Langan, Growing Native Project Director, at langan@potomac.org or 301.608.1188, ext.211, to sign up for a training.

Join the fiddle-guitar duo Kitchen Gorilla for some fiddlin' on the porch! To RSVP for this free event, contact Judy Welles at welles@potomac.org; 301.608.1188.

Dragonfly & Damselfly Walk
Saturday, August 11, 1 'til 3 pm
River Center at Lockhouse 8, C&O Canal National Historical Park, Cabin John, Md.

Back by popular demand! Volunteer naturalist Kevin Munroe will take you on a walk along the C&O Canal and the river, where you will learn the difference between dragonflies and damselflies and everything from how they begin their lives underwater to their predatory eating habits. To RSVP, contact Heather Montgomery at montgomery@potomac.org.

Save the Date: Eventide: Gala Cruise on the Potomac
Wednesday, September 19, 6:30 pm 'til 10 pm

Join Potomac Conservancy for our fall gala on the yacht, Celebrity. Gala ticket prices are $200-$500. For more information, email info@potomac.org, or call Monica Lyman at 301.608.1188, 201.

12000 River Road Tree Cutting/Fence Building Proposal Denied,
Appeal to the Courts Expected

The Montgomery County Planning Board unanimously denied the 12000 River Road property owner’s proposal to cut down between 15 and 55 trees and install a large wrought iron fence within the Forest Conservation Area along the C&O Canal. The property owner claimed that the tree cutting and fence were to protect his children, who have nut allergies, from exposure to nuts.

Potomac Conservancy, as well as many other community members and organizations, testified against the proposal. The Planning Board expressed skepticism as to the effectiveness of the proposal for preventing accidental exposure to nuts, and suggested that the property owner install simply install a fence around the grassy lawn area instead. The property owner is expected to challenge the decision, and possibly the Forest Conservation Law itself, in the court system.

• Lawsuit Possible After Permission To Remove Trees Denied - nbc4news.com - June 29
• Md. Man Loses Bid to Cut Trees Near C& O Canal - Washington Post - June 29
• Man Sets Off Tree Cutting Controversy - nbc4news.com (video)- June 28

The property owner's proposal to build a fence and cut down hardwood trees within a C&O Canal easment area have stirred up concerns about the strength and scope of protections along the Canal and the Potomac River:

• Tree-Cutting Proposal Near C&O Canal Spurs Debate - Washington Post - June 28
• County Forest Law Leaves All Sides Irked - Potomac Gazette - June 27
• Ban on Fences at Canal Gets Mixed Reviews Frederick News Post - June 13
• C&O Canal Fence Ban Debated Montgomery Gazette - June 13

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association awarded Potomac Conservancy one of its 2007 Advocacy Awards for our work on Montgomery County’s Road Code. Potomac Conservancy has been working with a coalition of environmentalists, smart growth advocates, and bicyclists to revamp Montgomery County’s road designs, making them more stormwater- and transit-friendly. Information on this issue was presented in the June RiverUpdate.

Streets in Montgomery County are dangerous, and not just because of speeding cars. Rainwater, when it hits our streets, speeds its way into our rivers and streams, carrying a payload of sediment, pollution, oils, and trash. The County Council is considering a new Road Code bill. This legislation, aimed largely at making our streets safer for all users, is also a tremendous opportunity to slow the rush of polluted stormwater off our streets. Click here for more.

Water-wise Tips for Summer Gardens

A garden needs an inch or more of water each week. If you can't water during hot, dry spells, then do nothing: don't prune or apply fertilizers or pest controls. Plants are relatively inactive when stressed, so practices that promote growth can be counterproductive.

This tip came from the 2007 Conservation Calendar. The calendar, which is chock full of hints for year-round conservation, is distributed by the Virginia Soil & Water Conservation and Virginia Cooperative Extension's Master Gardeners, and the Shenandoah RC&D Council.

For more information about minimizing your impact on the environment, download our Good Neighbor Handbook.

Join Potomac Conservancy's "100 Friends Online" Campaign

Help protect the Potomac River and its tributaries and win a "Rainy Day" prize package (including movie tickets at AFI, free bowling at Strike Bethesda, and more) by helping the Potomac Conservancy reach its 100 Friends Online Campaign goal of $5,000 online by July 7.

Join the Potomac Conservancy as part of our 100 Friends Online Campaign today. All winners will be drawn at our Picnic on the Potomac on July 7, the final day of the campaign. All new members will also receive a Potomac Conservancy logo decal and an annual subscription to RiverScape, our quarterly newsletter.

If you're already a member, renew your membership, or make a special gift. Current members' donations will also count toward our 100 Friends Online Campaign, making members who renew eligible to win prizes on July 7, too.

Note: The Conservancy's online donation system was not working properly last week. If you tried to donate and ran into problems, please try again. We appreciate your patience, and your generosity.