April 2009

Military kicks off conservation partnership initiative with community seminar

The Department of Defense, a major landowner and employer in Montgomery County, is seeking conservation partnerships with the community to increase the impact of the military’s internal natural resources programs and the community’s parallel efforts. This call echoes the county’s recently christened sustainability drive, an intensive effort calling on community stakeholders to help “green” the county.

The partnership initiative will kick off with a community seminar, co-hosted by the local Naval District, the DoD’s Legacy program and the Silver Spring-based nonprofit Wildlife Habitat Council, at Naval Support Facility Carderock in Bethesda on April 30.

The military is encouraging the public to attend this free event. “The installation at Carderock is a wonderful venue to host this event,” said CDR Scott Merritt, Commanding Officer of Naval Support Activity North Potomac and leading force behind this push for conservation partnerships. “It is a great example of how well DoD and nonprofit can partner to achieve dramatic conservation results.” Don Schregardus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy – Environment, accepted Commander Merritt’s invitation to open the event, demonstrating the DoD’s interest in making the Montgomery County effort a regional and national model.

Bob Hoyt, director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, and Peter Boice, leader of the DoD Conservation Team, will be featured speakers at the seminar. In addition, there will be interactive workshop activities focused on invasive plant management, a hot-button issue in environmental conservation and a potential jumping-off point for partnership projects.

The seminar is free; registration is required. Community members can email ConservationTrainingRSVP@gmail.com or call Susan Reines Robinson at 240-247-0912 for more information or to register.