Backyard Buffers 2007 -
Tell Your Neighbors and Friends!

____________________________________________________

Click here for a printer friendly version (Size: 11 KB)

Sediments and nutrients wash out of our backyards every time it rains.  These pollutants are eventually transported down our creeks into the Monocacy and Potomac Rivers and then carried out to the Chesapeake Bay.  Would you like to help restore and protect your local waters and the Chesapeake Bay without leaving your own backyard?

The Backyard Buffer program is being offered to Frederick County citizens again this spring!  Twenty-five bare-root seedling trees and shrubs including winterberry, silky dogwood, persimmon, and redbud, are free and available to citizens who have waterways on their properties.  Information on tree planting techniques, planting arrangements, tree maintenance, native plant species suitable for streamside plantings and other fact sheets come with the bundle of native plants.

The “Buffer in a Bag” program is a partnership sponsored by the Potomac Watershed Partnership in cooperation with the Maryland DNR Forest Service and the Monocacy and Catoctin Watershed Alliance.  It offers a meaningful way for citizens to help improve water quality and stream health.  With more than 1,400 miles of streams flowing through Frederick County, many local citizens have property that adjoins streams and creeks.  Stream health depends upon all of us doing our parts!

The program is designed to assist homeowners who have a stream, river, drainage ditch or other waterway on or adjacent to their property create a streamside buffer of native trees and shrubs.  A streamside buffer can create habitat for wildlife, reduce peak water temperatures, and reduce the amount of sediment, fertilizer, and toxic materials that enter our waterways.  Deep-rooted trees and shrubs can also stabilize streambanks, protecting them from erosion.

Here’s a great way to celebrate spring!  Contact Cody Miller at 301.791.4010 or cmiller@dnr.state.md.us .  Print the program brochure and complete the brief application.  Get your application in soon as the program closing date is near (currently April 15, 2007).  The seedlings will be distributed to participants from a location in Gambrill Park on Saturday, April 21st. Click here for a flyer with additional information.