The goal of the Montgomery County Group's Natural Places Team is to protect, save, and expand the county's wildlife and plant biodiversity. We do this through education, action, outreach, and advocacy. Our vision is to ensure a thriving and sustainable environment for the benefit of all generations.
Our Current Priority Issues
- Expand the Sierra Club Maryland Wildlife and Plants Corridor in Montgomery County
- Protect Montgomery County’s at-risk wildlife, including from threats such as non-native invasive species and harmful pesticides
- Protect birds from collisions with windows by encouraging bird-safe building modifications
- Protect pollinators and increase pollinator habitats
We are at a critical time to address the biodiversity loss of plants and wildlife in Montgomery County. Threats to biodiversity consist of climate change, invasive species, habitat degradation/loss, habitat fragmentation, development, and other human activities. Unfortunately, these threats often drive and intensify each other’s effects.
Climate Change
Climate change is already affecting wildlife and the habitat, with warming temperatures, changes in rainfall, increased storms, and flooding, and shifts in the timing of plant and animal activities.
Invasive Species
Invasive species are introduced organisms – animal or plant – that pose a major threat by establishing, spreading, and causing environmental harm to native organisms or ecosystems. Some invasive species in the county include garlic mustard, English ivy, porcelain berry, emerald ash borer, and the spotted lanternfly. Learn more on invasive species in the Mid-Atlantic area (PDF).
Pollution
Streams contaminated with sedimentation and polluted runoffs such as herbicides and insecticides, road salt, and excessive nutrients also negatively impact wildlife and their habitats.
Habitat fragmentation/loss and other human activities
Habitat fragmentation and loss caused by development and transportation routes disrupt wildlife movement corridors, which species use to access food sources, for establishing habitats, and for dispersal and migration. In addition, light pollution and windows also threaten wildlife. Light confuses and disturbs wildlife’s normal movement patterns, and window strikes are considered one of the top human-related causes of bird deaths. It is estimated that up to 1 billion birds in the US die each year from hitting windows.
Source: “Chapter 5 Threats to Maryland’s Wildlife Species and Their Habitats.” 2015-2025 Maryland State Wildlife Action Plan, https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Documents/SWAP/SWAP_Chapter5.pdf.
How Can You Help?
Volunteering locally is one of the most important ways that residents can make a direct impact on our county's wildlife and plants. There are many ways to help. In addition to working strategically on our current issues, we host events including litter pick-up days, removing invasive plants, expert talks and panel discussions, native plant giveaways, and more. We also need people to help with research, write letters to the editor, write and create literature, hand out literature at public events, organize events, and more. No matter your skill level, there's a place in the Natural Places Team for you.
To volunteer or to RSVP for the next meeting, please contact Shruti Bhatnagar at shruti.bhatnagar@mdsierra.org.
Learn more about the topics:
- Fernilicious: The many gifts of ferns. Learn about Maryland’s ferns and their importance to our local ecosystem.
- Federal Bird Safe Buildings Legislation. This article details the critical parts of the federal bird safety buildings bill and why it matters to birds in Montgomery County.
To learn about Sierra Club Maryland Chapter’s efforts toward protecting natural places, visit: https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/natural-places