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Busy Autumn
FORCE has been busy this autumn. In mid October, we sponsored a mini-cleanup along the creek near the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Approximately 15 dog-walkers and others stopped by, picked up a trash bag, and cleaned while they walked. On October 18, FORCE Board Member Pat Munoz sponsored a "meet and greet" event for her neighbors at her home in Tenleytown, D.C. On October 25, we worked with the Izaak Walton League to re-construct some trash skimmers to replace the ones washed out in last Spring's storms. On Sunday, October 29, FORCE participated in a big trash cleanup on the Broad Branch tributary near Military Road in the District; then on Sunday, November 5, did another cleanup with the Cedar Lane Unintarian Church.
FORCE Gets IRS Approval
It's official--the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that the Friends of Rock Creek's Environment (FORCE) is qualified to be a tax exempt organization. We received notice of the finding in early September. The tax exempt status will allow us to expand our fundraising program and recruit volunteers. Thanks to the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington for helping us through the process. Board member David Lambert was a member of the firm when the process started in 2005, and several other Kirkland & Ellis attorneys took over after he left, most notably Tom Evans and Megan Christensen.
Who Trains These Guys?
There was a significant fish kill in Rock Creek in early September--1900 fish were reported killed in the creek near Blagden Street in Washington, D.C. The D.C Government's Water and Sewer Agency (WASA) said that the source of the fish kill was chlorinated tap water that was dumped into a storm drain. According to the Washington Post, WASA employees were fixing a pipe near 17th and Allison Streets NW and needed to empty a water main. The employees dumped water into the drain for about three hours, according to WASA, not knowing it led to a nearby section of Rock Creek. Looks like we need to step up our storm drain marking program (see below)--and WASA needs to get some better training for its employees!
Georgetown Drain Marking Postponed
Due to the heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto, FORCE is postponing the Georgetown Storm Drain Marking event set for Saturday, September 3. The drain markers require dry concrete for the adhesive to set properly--and those drains are anything but dry! We're hoping to reschedule the event soon. Thanks to Georgetown University's Center for Social Justice, which coordinates volunteer projects for students, faculty, and staff, for their interest in Rock Creek. The center coordinates projects with an hundreds of organizations throught the Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. We're thrilled that the Center has chosen a project to mark the storm drains of the neighborhood to reduce trash pollution in the creek.
Joseph's Branch Cleanup a Big Success
Joseph's Branch is a small tributary of Rock Creek in the middle of the watershed just to the west of Sligo Creek. It is highly suburbanized, with several sections routed through pipes and tunnels before it emerges near Viers Mill Road and Wheaton-Claridge Park in Wheaton, Maryland. The stream flows through some very popular park areas, and as a result, it has been collecting quite a bit of trash over the past few years. Local resident Steve Heinsinger, who lives near the stream, organized a cleanup of several of the worst sections on Saturday, August 26, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. About 15 of Steve's neighbors and FORCE members helped clean up about four blocks of Joseph's branch, along with a heavily traveled trail along the stream. We'll have photos and more in the next few days. Thanks to everyone who turned out!
Creek is Devastated by Storm
A massive storm system dumped more than 10 inches of rain on the Rock Creek watershed during a two-day deluge in late June. The resulting flooding and erosion to the creek was devastating. Floodwaters rose all along the creek, forcing evacuation of park buildings and the closing of Beach Drive in both Maryland and the District of Columbia for an entire week. In the upper watershed, areas around the dam at Lake Needwood were evacuated after leaks were discovered in the dam structure. In the lower Rock Creek watershed, dozens of vehicles were abandoned and at least 50 people had to be rescued by boat. Local officials are still evaluating the damage from the storm. The storm washed out several trash skimmers installed by FORCE members in recent months. It also knocked down countless large trees such as the ones shown left near a picnic area in Rock Creek Park in Washington, washed out picnic arears, roads, and trails, and left huge piles of trash and debris scattered throughout the shoreline of the creek. FORCE and other groups will be working on cleanup projects to bring the creek and surrounding areas back to normal. To view some photos from Rock Creek after the storm, select this link to visit our flood photo gallery. To view photos from the Park Police rescue at the Meadowbrook Recreation building, select this link.
June Strategy Meeting
On Saturday, June 24, FORCE Board Members met with a number of stakeholders in a strategy planning session. The meeting was held at the home of Doug Barker in D.C. and included representatives from local governments, park managers, and other citizen groups active in the region. Results of the meeting will be posted soon. Interestingly, the group decided that the best focus for FORCE would be on storm water issues. The next day, one of the largest storm events in decades hit the region and created enormous damage to the Rock Creek valley.
Above: Participants in the June 24 FORCE Strategy Session.
FORCE Board Meets with Park Managers
FORCE Board Members Julia Randall and Kevin Flynn met with the Rock Creek Park assistant manager Thomas Nelson on Friday, June 2, to discuss creek issues and possible projects. They toured several sites, including FORCE trash skimmer projects, trash hotspots, and Park kiosks between Meadowbrook Park at the DC/Maryland line up to Grosvenor Lane in Bethesda.
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Cedar Lane Unitarian Church members Mollie Hauck and Dino Drudi used a canoe to clean the creek.
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Unitarian Church Sponsors Creek Cleanup
Several members of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (CLUUC) participated in a creek cleanup on May 21 near Cedar Lane in Bethesda. The group focused on a creek "hotspot" near the intersection of Franklin Street and Beach Drive, cleaning out several bags worth of cans, bottles, and styrofoam. CLUUC member Charlotte Brewer helped organize the event, which included lunch for volunteers working on the project. The cleanup project was one of several held during the church's annual "Spring B" event
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Rain Fails to Stop Intrepid Rock Creek
Cleanup Volunteers
On a rainy Saturday morning, April 8, the Friends of Rock Creek's Environment participated in the annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup. This year, there were at least 19 sites in the Rock Creek Watershed, with about 10 of them sponsored by FoRCE. Despite the rain, we had well over 100 volunteers at work throughout the Rock Creek Watershed. Select this link for details about locations and other information. We'll have more information and photos as they come in. Thanks to all who participated!
First FORCE Trash Skimmer
On Wednesday, April 5, FoRCE Board Members and volunteers assembled and installed the first trash skimmer on Rock Creek. The skimmer consists of empty plastic gallon bottles, recycled plastic fencing, and rope. The trash skimmers were developed by the Izaak Walton League in Tennessee and have proven to be excellent tools to control floating debris on small creeks. FoRCE Board Member Julia Randall coordinated the installation, which is on the creek near Candy Cane City in Meadowbrook Park, Chevy Chase. Tom Beavers of the Izaak Walton League helped with the construction, and T.W. Perry, Inc., of Chevy Chase, helped with an emergency donation of heavy rope to finish the installation. For a photo of the trash skimmer, see the bottom of this page.
FORCE in the Washington Examiner
FoRCE Board Member Doug Barker (left) is featured in Harry Jaffe's column in the April 4 Washington Examiner. Barker describes the upcoming Potomac Watershed Cleanup and his cleanup site at Piney Branch, in the Crestwood, D.C., neighborhood near the creek. Columnist Jaffe says he'll be out in Rock Creek picking up trash on Saturday. Here's a link to the article.
College Fined for Pollution of Sligo Creek
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has fined the Columbia Union College of Takoma Park $28,900 for violations of state law relating to illegal discharges of stormwater into Sligo Creek. The fines were a result of citizen action by members of the Friends of Sligo Creek. The pollution problems date back to 2002, according to state documents. Links: article in Takoma Park Gazette; background from Friends of Sligo Creek.
FORCE Awarded Grant from
Chesapeake Bay Trust
The Chesapeake Bay Trust has approved a grant to FoRCE for a variety of projects in the Rock Creek Watershed in Maryland, including storm drain marking, rain barrels, and subwatershed assessments. The grant, totalling $10,000, is expected to be used for these projects during the remainder of 2006. We'll be posting details about the projects in the near future. The Chesapeake Bay Trust is a private, nonprofit grantmaking organization created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1985 to promote public awareness and participation in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and its Maryland tributaries, largely funded by purchase of Chesapeake Bay vehicle tags.
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