Montgomery Countryside Alliance Provides “Re-Leaf” to Agricultural Reserve

The trees for the pilot acre were chosen by Re-Leaf Coordinator Carole Bergmann. (Photo | MCA)

The Montgomery County Planning Department is partnering with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA) in the “Re-Leaf the Reserve” campaign to reforest the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. The campaign aims to support the county’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035.

“An acre of forest (100 trees per acre make a forest) can absorb 68 tons of carbon… the equivalent of taking 17 cars off the road for a year,” said the MCA in a statement. “Montgomery county can, and must, be a leader on both reducing sources of atmospheric carbon and reducing the carbon already there.”

A pilot acre of new trees was completed in April along the Little Monocacy River in Dickerson. The MCA identified this area as ecologically sensitive, and they planted native tree species to provide more carbon sequestration as well as limit the soil erosion in the streambed. The tree species planted include red maple, sycamores, river birch, red bud, and black willow.

The MCA reports they have identified 80 other ecologically sensitive acres within the Agricultural Reserve, and they plan to start reforesting that land in the fall. The campaign will be overseen by MCA board member Carole Bergmann, the former Montgomery County Forest Ecologist and winner of the 2017 Joe Howard Award presented by Conservation Montgomery.

For more information about the MCA, “Re-Leaf the Reserve” and how you can become involved, click here.

About Sam Merrill

Intern at Montgomery Community Media, senior broadcast journalism major at the University of Maryland.

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