At Year's End: A Message from The Director
Dear Sierra Club Members and Supporters,
I am thrilled to share with you the Maryland Sierra Club's 2017 year-in-review. In looking back over the past year, we found plenty of doom and gloom, but I think we've all had enough of that to last a lifetime. Instead, I want to share with you inspiring stories of how thousands of everyday Marylanders like you came together to respond.
Moments of crisis can reveal a lot about a person--and an organization. In the response to the challenges of the year, I witnessed thousands of Sierra Club volunteers and staff join together to defend our planet and sustain this important movement we are building. I couldn't be prouder of the Sierra Club that was revealed this year.
The Sierra Club's biggest asset is its people power. In Maryland, almost 5,000 new activists joined our ranks, for a total of 18,674 members and supporters. We marched in the streets of Annapolis and Washington DC to demand action on climate. Our county groups organized over a hundred outings to help thousands of Marylanders get outdoors. We planned film screenings and lectures to educate our communities, and held trainings to give us the skills we need to be agents of change.
This focus on people is why thousands of new members joined the Maryland Sierra Club this year. They, too, wanted to be part of an organization that is facing these challenges head-on. Renewed energy gave us the inspiration and capacity not only to fight against federal rollbacks, but also to permanently ban fracking and win other huge environmental victories here in Maryland.
Out of adversity, we have created a stronger, more resilient community. And we're just getting started. I am thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and surrounded by passionate staff and volunteers. I'm inspired by the tireless effort and endless spirit of our team. I'm looking forward to working toward our shared vision in 2018.
Josh Tulkin
Director, Sierra Club Maryland Chapter
Climate Action Marches Forward, Advances Social Justice
On April 29th, 25 busloads of Sierrans from every corner of Maryland converged on Washington to demand climate action. Our local Groups undertook a massive effort to coordinate the transportation, while also creating important connections with other local organizations. Together, these teams distributed flyers, phone banked, and posted on social media for weeks ahead of the March to spread the word.Our organizing embodied the theme of the event, "To Change Everything, We Need Everyone." The alliances that were forged during Climate March planning will continue to pay dividends. In Baltimore, the Sierra Club joined two dozen other community groups--advocating for issues from public health to fair housing and workers' rights--to form the "Baltimore Table" of the People's Climate Movement. The partners decided that the March would mark a beginning, rather than an end--that they would work together long after April 29th to build "the new energy and economic future by undoing environmental racism."
Since so many social justice issues have an environmental component--incinerators are often sited in poor neighborhoods, for instance--being part of the Baltimore Table will allow the Sierra Club to receive and share expertise as part of equity campaigns throughout the city, multiplying the Club's reach many times over. In June, losing no time, the Table persuaded the City Council to pass a resolution supporting the Paris Climate accords. Although nonbinding, the resolution lays out specific steps to take toward an equitable, clean-energy future.
In the absence of federal leadership, climate action closer to home took on vital importance in 2017. The Maryland General Assembly took a step forward in February by overriding Governor Hogan's veto of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, so that Maryland will continue to increase its financial support for renewable energy generation. Later in session, the General Assembly took another important step passing legislation to ensure continuation of our state's ambitious energy efficiency program.
Progress continued in August, when the nine states--including Maryland--that make up the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) agreed to extend that program from 2020 to 2030 and to cut power plant emissions by an additional 30%. To do so, Maryland will need to significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuel power plants, embrace clean energy, and increase energy efficiency. Each RGGI state will now take the proposal through its individual regulatory update process.
What RGGI has been to power plants, the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) may soon be to fossil-fueled trains, planes, and automobiles. In November, at the Bonn Climate Change Summit, Maryland, six other states, and the District of Columbia announced plans to develop regional policies to reduce emissions from the transportation sector. With transportation poised to become the state's largest source of greenhouse gases, the announcement comes none too soon. In 2018, as TCI begins seeking public input on potential policies, our Chapter's new Clean Transportation team will be there, urging the modernization of our transportation systems through the rapid deployment of public transit, electric vehicles, and walkable/bikeable communities.
Still Threatens the Potomac
In its 2017 session, the General Assembly acted to make the 2015 fracking moratorium permanent, and Governor Hogan signed it into law. This victory was the culmination of years of work by the Sierra Club, dozens of other organizations, and thousands of activists. As part of the "Don't Frack Maryland" Coalition, the Sierra Club worked hand in hand with partners from Western Maryland and across the state. Chapter volunteers worked tirelessly to promote the permanent ban--for instance, gathering a hefty 5,500 petition signatures. This law has made history by making Maryland the third state to officially ban fracking, and offered a much-needed reminder of what is possible when our communities work together.Since this victory, the Beyond Gas Committee has continued its fight by organizing and informing Marylanders regarding the proposed Potomac Pipeline--a gas pipeline that would threaten Maryland's drinking water supply, the C&O Canal National Historical Park, property rights, and more. In October, the newly formed No Potomac Pipeline Coalition brought people throughout the entire DC-Maryland-Virginia area to join hands across the James Rumsey Bridge connecting West Virginia and Maryland to protest the building of this pipeline. Meanwhile, the Southern Maryland Group is working hard with coalition partners against infrastructure permits that would allow the export of fracked gas from Cove Point.
To support the movement and ask Governor Hogan to prevent this dangerous project, please sign the petition against the Potomac Pipeline.
Real Protections Established for Mattawoman Creek after 25-Year Fight: Focus Increases on Reducing Runoff
It took a generation--but the Chesapeake tributary of Mattawoman Creek was worth the fight. "It's Maryland's most productive fish hatchery," says veteran activist Bonnie Bick, "with ideal conditions that cannot be duplicated." In 1990, Bick and others discovered that the area in Charles County known as Chapman Forest was slated to be bisected by the Outer Beltway and developed into a town the size of Annapolis. An epic battle ensued, which came to victory in June when the Charles County Board of Commissioners voted to establish the Watershed Conservation District (WCD), rezoning more than 30,000 acres in the Mattawoman Creek and Port Tobacco River watersheds to prevent further development.
The Southern Maryland Group worked for years to win county residents and commissioners to the cause. Bick's favorite way to win converts was to arrange canoeing trips: "Simply paddling the creek was enough. People saw it was special and fell in love with it." (Note: A proposal to create a National Marine Sanctuary including the creek--the first Sanctuary in the Chesapeake Bay--has collected many hundreds of of favorable comments on the NOAA website, but under the Trump administration, action is unlikely.)
Bulldozing forests, and covering earth that can absorb and filter water with impervious concrete and tarmac, has created stormwater runoff problems that ultimately threaten the Potomac and the region's drinking-water reservoirs. In December, the Montgomery County Group and the Clean Water team welcomed a standing-room-only crowd to an Educational Forum, "Where Does my Drinking Water Come From? " Representatives from WSSC, Montgomery County Parks, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac discussed the challenges and increased water treatment costs posed by runoff and opportunities to improve stream maintenance and restoration. Four 2018 candidates for County Executive spoke on their plans for water management if elected, proving that, yes, politicians are well aware of the importance of clean water to their constituents.
Both strong stormwater remediation techniques and smart development principles are essential to protect the valuable resources of our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. In 2018, the Clean Water team plans to continue public education efforts with a focus on Howard, Montgomery, and Charles Counties. Meanwhile, in Annapolis, the Chapter will be working to strengthen overall protections for Maryland's forests, which will bring cleaner air and help mitigate climate change at the same time they protect our waterways.
Not One, but Two Offshore Wind Projects Get the Green Light
Public Health Meets Responsible Agriculture: Legislators Pass 'Keep Antibiotics Effective' Act
Chapter Study Offers Path to More Solar in Maryland
Maryland Volunteer Wins National Recognition
In September, the National Sierra Club honored Prince George's Group Chair Martha Ainsworth with a Special Service Award "for strong and consistent commitment to conservation over an period of time." Sierra Club President Loren Blackford cited Ainsworth's "outstanding leadership skills, sharp intellect, fierce tenacity, and organizational savvy on behalf of the Sierra Club in Maryland." Under Ainsworth's tenure, the Group has re-engaged members and attracted new volunteers by expanding its activities and launching field surveys around reusable shopping bags and Styrofoam food containers, in support of local and state environmental legislation.
Foam Ban; Let's Take it Statewide
For 2018, the Chapter has prioritized achieving a full statewide ban of foam containers and packing material by passing legislation in the General Assembly. Closing down Maryland's two remaining trash incinerators--which burn "renewable" supplies of garbage, but which also emit toxic ash and fumes--is another important focus of the Chapter's Zero Waste Committee.
As the populations of bees and other pollinators throughout the world have declined, food production and other important ecosystem components face decline as well. Because pollinators are so crucial, the Maryland Chapter started the campaign for Pesticide-Free Yards, educating homeowners on options that let them easily yet effectively improve the health of bees and other pollinators. By eliminating insecticides, herbicides (weed-killers, "weed and feed"), fungicides, and other chemical pesticides, home gardeners decrease the chemical runoff from their yards into local streams and waterways, and limit the exposure of pets, bees, pollinators, and even humans to negative health risks associated with these chemicals. Click here to take the pesticide-free pledge! If you'd like a free sign to proudly display in your yard, email pesticidefree@mdsierra.org.
The granddaddy of Chapter outings is the biennialJamboree--a family-friendly weekend of hikes, discussions, nature study, workshops, karaoke, live bluegrass, and s'mores. In October, some 150 Sierra Club members, friends, and kids convened in Sharpsburg to explore this year's theme, "Where do we go from here? Engaging together for a greener tomorrow." National Sierra Club President Loren Blackford gave the keynote address; other activists spoke on ways to turn the current environmental and political upheavals into community-building, movement-strengthening opportunities. Over the weekend, during the "Bioblitz," participants identified over 150 plant and animal species within the park, including a threatened Glade Fern.
Outings don't hold themselves, of course, and so the Chapter held two trainings this year to teach the skills needed to plan and conduct them. Kudos and welcome to the rising class of outings leaders, who will ensure Maryland members continue to savor and learn from our wild spaces. Join us on the trail! Events are posted regularly on the calendar.
and Dealing with Deer Ticks
What do the Baltimore Checkerspot, the Grey Petaltail, and the Eastern Hellbender have in common? All have great names--and all are threatened in Maryland. In 2017 the Maryland Sierra Club's Endangered Species team began compiling data on which to base a statewide strategy for promoting biodiversity.
Some species, on the other hand, are quite the opposite of endangered. In fact, invasive plants are the biggest threat to biodiversity after loss of habitat and water pollution. Enter our interns, who work alongside Sierra Club leaders and Park personnel learning to identify native plants versus invasive weeds, how to remove them, and how to run an invasive plant removal outing. In 2017, 45 interns and volunteers from the Chapter's College Park office put in 620 hours to fill over 96 bags with invasive weeds such as bush asiatic honeysuckle, garlic mustard, multiflora rose, and wavyleaf basketgrass, saving hundreds of types of native plants and animals.
Interns also helped develop a process to assess and publicize which parks are safest to hike in during peak Lyme disease season. Based on the fact that deer ticks are scarce where deer density is the naturally occuring twenty per square mile or less, this process has now been adopted in Pennsylvania and other states. The students followed up by creating a brochure to educate the public about the connection between deer overpopulation and Lyme disease.
In 2017, 26 interns worked hard side by side with staff and volunteer leaders, protecting our local parks and gaining real-world experience in other aspects of running a grassroots nonprofit. For some, the experience is life-changing, helping to form the next generation of activist leaders. Meet some of our summer interns here. We appreciate their efforts on behalf of Maryland's wild places.
We enjoyed amazing success in the General Assembly's 2017 session, enacting all four of our priority bills. This included (as discussed above) overriding Governor Hogan's 2016 veto of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, supporting the state's energy efficiency program, banning fracking, and prohibiting the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals. In February, a record turnout (over 400 people!) attended the Chapter's Lobby Night in Annapolis municipal.
The team is now preparing for an equally busy 2018. Legislative priorities this coming session include protecting Maryland's forests; taking the ban on EPS foam statewide; reforming how the Public Service Commission reviews proposals for new gas infrastructure; and securing dedicated funding for the DC area's Metro system. Make a resolution now to get involved. Contact your legislators asking them to support our priority bills, volunteer, and join us February 26 to make Lobby Night 2018 another record-breaker.
Because Sierra Club endorsements make a difference to so many voters, our local and state teams are already hard at work vetting an unusually long list of candidates for 2018, and plans to Get Out the Vote and work the polls are already on the table. Want to add your energy to this important effort? Contact your local Group or email state-level lead Betsy Johnson.