Improving land, habitat, and water quality

Home to family farms and lively communities, our region's rural lands are an important part of our cultural heritage. Protecting and improving river friendly lands in the headwaters is an essential part of restoring the Potomac River.

As the region's leading clean water nonprofit, Potomac Conservancy serves as a resource to area landowners looking for information on how to implement conservation practices, also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), on their properties, helping to ensure our well-managed family-owned farms are both productive and river-friendly.

Some examples of Best Management Practices include:

• Planting trees and shrubs along streams

• Installing rain gardens to catch and filter runoff from rooftops and roadways

• Fencing livestock out of streams and waterways

• Establishing pollinator and/or wildlife habitat

• Combating invasive species

• Managing forests with a Forest Management Plan

• Managing agricultural land with a Soil Conservation Plan