History

The Friends of Ten Mile Creek are proud to carry on a long tradition of citizen efforts to protect the Ten Mile Creek watershed. Below is a brief summary of our organization’s formation and early history. We have now added a chronology with more information about the history of the area going back to the water supply studies and record drought of the 1960s that led to the creation of the Little Seneca Reservoir, and efforts to protect it. General background information and history can also be found in this paper by Scott Fosler, who was a founding Board member of Friends of Ten Mile Creek and, as a then member and President of the Montgomery County Council, was instrumental in the development of the Little Seneca Reservoir.

Save Ten Mile Creek Coalition and Formation of The Friends of Ten Mile Creek

In 2012, when development proposals threatened the Ten Mile Creek watershed, a unique coalition of 30 environmental, civic, neighborhood, labor, and faith-based groups came together to advocate for protecting Montgomery County’s last, best creek and our region’s closest emergency drinking water supply, Little Seneca Reservoir. The members of the Save Ten Mile Creek Coalition spent countless hours lobbying local government officials, attending rallies, testifying at public hearings, writing Op-Eds, organizing tours of the watershed, and raising awareness about the regional importance of these vital resources. At the helm of this Coalition was Audubon Naturalist Society’s Conservation Director, Diane Cameron.

In April 2014, the Coalition achieved a huge victory when the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to dramatically scale-back the amount of development allowed in the watershed. The Council set science-based limits on the amount of impervious surface (roads, houses, parking lots, etc.) allowed in the watershed and it established buffer areas around the creek’s mainstem, its tributaries, and other sensitive areas like wetlands, seeps, springs, and interior forest habitat. [Read a Washington Post article about the Council’s decision.] While not full protection, the Council’s decision – codified in the Ten Mile Creek Limited Master Plan Amendment was an enormous step toward ensuring that Ten Mile Creek remains a healthy, vibrant waterway.

In the summer of 2014, several members of the Save Ten Mile Creek Coalition formed a new organization to carry on the effort to protect the creek and reservoir. The Friends of Ten Mile Creek and Little Seneca Reservoir will serve as long-term guardians of the creek and it’s watershed, preserving and protecting it from any further development, which would degrade its health and impact the quality of water that flows into Little Seneca Reservoir. Our mission is to help citizens from all around our region connect to and learn about the importance of the creek and reservoir, both as unique ecological treasures and as integral components of our regional drinking water system. Through our education and outreach efforts, we hope to broaden the base of support region-wide for protecting this special place.

Since our founding in August 2014, the Friends of Ten Mile Creek has hosted a number of public events in the watershed including hikes, bird walks, trash clean-ups, citizen science activities, and an environmental film night. Board members have also attended several festivals and fairs to educate the public about the creek and reservoir. Advocacy-wise, we have been busy addressing a new serious threat to the creek – a potentially disastrous sewer plan for the watershed. [Read more about the sewer issue here.]

We are deeply grateful to Montgomery Countryside Alliance for serving as our parent organization during our initial organizational phase. We are also indebted to Audubon Naturalist Society, Sugarloaf Citizens Association, the Ruth M. Knight Foundation and the Joe & Doris Letourneau Family Fund for their critical early support. In November 2015, we obtained 501(c)(3) status and are now an independent organization. The Friends of Ten Mile Creek will continue to work with our partners and sister watershed groups to safeguard our region’s natural resources.