Read our President’s letter to the Potomac Conservancy community

When you think about the Potomac River….

…do you envision its calm beauty as you stroll along its shores? Are you wishing you could settle into a kayak at this very moment, ready to launch an exciting adventure? Or perhaps, you long for the next time you can spend a beautiful, breezy day waiting for a good catch. 

No matter how our hometown river charges our spirits, we can all agree: the Potomac is a vital lifeline for everyone in our community. It flows through 400 miles of rural and urban landscapes supplying the water we drink, supporting agriculture and other industries, and providing rich habitat and natural settings where we connect outside with friends and family. 

Our local movement is sustaining the river that sustains us. 

Clean water starts with every single one of us—and our collective actions are making a difference. Potomac Conservancy’s forest protection, clean water advocacy, and community cleanup programs have been critical to reducing pollution and returning clean, safe waters to area streams. 

The Potomac is in the middle of a remarkable comeback decades in the making—but its recovery may be plateauing. This stalled progress could signal a dangerous reversal. What’s more, our river faces serious risks posed by rapid deforestation and a global climate crisis that is leaving our region increasingly underwater and overwhelmed by extreme storms. Our Rising to the Challenge local climate series sounded alarms in the region. Extreme heat, increasing flooding, and warming waters are throwing the Potomac’s ecosystem off balance. 

Everyone deserves clean water—it is the very foundation of healthy communities. Recognizing that climate impacts disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, we are determined to continue fighting for a safe environment for all. We’re stepping up our actions to strengthen the region’s natural defenses and make the Potomac resilient and healthy in our lifetime. 

Potomac Conservancy is accelerating and expanding our river protection work. With your support, we’ll achieve local environmental impacts on a scale larger than ever before. 

We are strengthening partnerships and expanding our programs to ensure clean water, outdoor experiences, and thriving ecosystems are accessible to and safe for everyone. Over the next 4 years, we will: 

PROTECT: Create a Back Creek conservation corridor and lead coalition efforts to protect an additional 150,000 acres of forests and productive farmland before these lands are lost forever to development. 

RESTORE: Restore 250 miles of streams with healthy forest buffers and launch Tomorrow’s Trees, an acorn collection initiative that will provide forest restoration projects with tree seeds that are in short supply.

ACCELERATE: Collaborate with partners throughout the Potomac River highlands to secure millions of dollars in new public funding for regional conservation priorities. 

ADVOCATE: Pass laws in Maryland, Virginia, and in the US Congress to reduce water pollution, combat the climate crisis, and fund forest and stream restoration initiatives. 

BUILD: Grow our local movement to 65,000 clean water supporters, double our capacity to expand conservation and advocacy work in Virginia, and prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our community-building efforts. 

Yesterday’s efforts brought us to where we are now. Today’s endeavors will shape the future of generations to come. The clean water successes celebrated in our latest Annual Report are a direct result of your support. 

Thank you for being a part of this journey and for helping sustain the river that sustains us all. 

Hedrick Belin, President

P.S. Help us continue our clean water work by making a donation of any size. Your support means a lot to us!

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