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The Friends of Cabin John Creek Watershed is an organization of people dedicated to the restoration, preservation and stewardship of the Cabin John Creek Watershed.

To join, or for more information, please contact Roy Seidenstein at 301/320-9880 or by e-mail at focjcw@earthlink.net.

OUR ORGANIZATION: Friends of Cabin John Creek Watershed (FOCJCW) is a volunteer environmental action group started in 1999 by members of Cabin John Citizens Association in Cabin John, Maryland, that has grown to include members of other citizens associations and interested citizens within and outside the watershed, including residents of Glen Echo, Bethesda, Potomac and Rockville. Our organization is relatively new and is expected to grow and develop over time. FOCJCW regularly interacts with such local organizations as Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, City of Rockville, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, The Potomac Conservancy, Audubon Naturalist Society, and Izaak Walton League of America.

THE WATERSHED: The Cabin John Watershed is located in an older densely developed portion of Montgomery County, Maryland, just northwest of Washington, DC. The main-stem headwaters of Cabin John Creek originate in the city of Rockville and the mouth flows into the Potomac River between the towns of Cabin John and Glen Echo, shortly after passing under the historic one-lane "Cabin John Bridge" on MacArthur Boulevard in Cabin John, Maryland. The Cabin John Creek Watershed is the entire drainage basin that encompasses not only Cabin John Creek, but also such tributaries as Bogley Branch, Old Farm Branch (Upper and Lower), Snakeden Branch, Buck Branch, Beltway Branch, Ken Branch, Congressional Country Club Tributary, and Booze Creek (Upper and Lower). The watershed extends north to the City of Rockville, and is bordered on the west by Falls Road, and on the east by Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road.

THE LOGO: FOCJCW has chosen the Cabin John Bridge as a symbol in the FOCJCW logo, because a "watershed" is defined as the entire drainage basin that flows to a given point, and the historic Cabin John Bridge (built in 1863) is located at the geographic point where all the water of the Cabin John CreekWatershed flows out of its watershed and into the Potomac River."

THE PROBLEM: The scenic Cabin John Trail maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club runs for nine miles through Cabin John Regional Park along Cabin John Creek. To the untrained eye, Cabin John Creek appears to be in a relatively natural or pristine state; but in truth the influence of man has adversely impacted this watershed. The Cabin John Watershed is highly impacted by dense urban development. Impervious surfaces such as buildings and roads (for example, the Beltway and I-270) cover the watershed's soil, causing substantial storm-water runoff to gush through these creeks, causing problems such as unnatural erosion, sedimentation, habitat destruction, and flushing away the fish and smaller organisms that would otherwise live in these waters. (See, for example, the Montgomery County Government Watershed Report ). This, in turn, can adversely impact the quality of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

GOALS & ACTIVITIES: The fundamental objective of FOCJCW is stewardship to promote the overall long-term health and beauty of the Cabin John Creek Watershed. This, in turn, promotes the health of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. A major supporting goal is to help educate our members and other watershed residents about water quality issues and possible solutions. To achieve these main objectives, FOCJCW is pursuing a variety of
activities, including quarterly monitoring; annual trash removal days; a "Weed Warriors" program to remove invasive exotic weeds; commenting on Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Cabin John Creek Watershed Restoration Study.

MONITORING PROGRAM: One of FOCJCW's most active programs involves monitoring the biological health of the streams in the watershed. FOCJCW's quarterly monitoring at eight sites throughout the watershed focuses on benthic macro-invertebrates and habitat assessment. The monitoring data collected by FOCJCW is submitted to Montgomery County DEP and posted here on our website. Analysis of the results of the data will influence what comments FOCJCW submits to DEP on watershed restoration plans and future efforts of FOCJCW.

To join, or for more information, please contact Roy Seidenstein at 301/320-9880 or by e-mail at focjcw@earthlink.net.

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