Clean Water Is In The Bag -
Homeowners Can Plant Trees to Help Improve Streams

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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 Potomac Watershed Partnership, in cooperation with Maryland Forest Service, the Monocacy River Watershed Restoration Action Strategy Committee, and other state, county, and local conservation groups can help by offering the Backyard Buffers Program to Frederick County homeowners. 

If you have a drainage ditch, stream, creek, or river flowing through your property or live adjacent to such a waterway that does not have a cover of trees and shrubs, you could qualify for a free “Buffer in a Bag”. Qualified Frederick County homeowners will receive one Buffer in a Bag, enough for a 50-foot section of an unprotected waterway on or adjacent to their property.  Each bag will include 25 trees and shrubs of native species suited for streamside growing conditions, which will stabilize the soil and act as a buffer by filtering out pollutants before they enter into our local waters and also provide habitat for wildlife. 

A brief application must be submitted before March 31, 2006. To learn more about Backyard Buffers and how you can receive your free Buffer in a Bag please contact the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service at 301-416-7261 or e-mail at cmiller@dnr.state.md.us.