Category: Latest from the Blog
advocacy Annual Reports and Financial Reports audubon autumn Biodiversity & Habitats Birding Budget Clean energy clean water Climate Crisis Conservation Conservation Cafe Creek Chronicles data centers DC Equity Fairfax County flooding Forest Forest Bathing General Assembly Human Health & Access to Nature Maryland Montgomery County name change Native Plant Gardening Native Plant Gardens Diaries Native Plants Naturalist Quarterly nature forward quarterly News Releases Parents Parks preschool Prince George's County Reports Sustainable Land Use Virginia Volunteer Diary water quality Water Quality Monitoring Watersheds Woodend Woodend Monthly woodend nature sanctuary
-
MoCo’s FY26 Budget
A screengrab of the Fiscal Year 2026 $7.7B budget across all of Montgomery County. Source: https://apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/BASISOPERATING/Common/Index.aspx March and April are big months for Montgomery County. March brings Crossover in the General Assembly, and the County Executive’s recommended budget. For those who are unfamiliar, Marc Elrich recommended his budget to the County Council on March 14th,…
-
Say No to New Gas in Maryland
Angie McCarthy with Senator Brooks, who is championing the Affordable Abundant Clean Energy Act, in Annapolis alongside environmental advocates from Maryland LCV, CCAN, Sierra Club, and others. What is the Issue? Energy has been the focus of Maryland’s General Assembly. Most of Nature Forward’s priority bills this session have championed clean energy and ways we…
-
Nature Forward Building Flood Wise Communities Impact
Washington D.C., due to its unique location of being surrounded by both the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, is a hotspot for floods. The last major riverine flooding occurred in 1996; the last major tidal flood occurred in 2003 with Hurricane Isabel. The last interior flood was in 2012 when Federal Triangle had to shut down…
-
Conservation on the Chopping Block
The Maryland Department of Legislative Services’ proposed funding cuts to the Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, and Maryland Energy Administration would impact every part of our state and put us behind on our environmental and conservation goals Source: Maryland Protected Lands Dashboard What is on the Line? The Maryland state budget shortfall has…
-
Guide better development in Fairfax Co.!
Your feedback on the Policy Plan is critical! But why? The Policy Plan is guidance for developers as they explore options for developments that are outside of the existing zoning laws and building code (e.g. like needing a rezoning or a special exception). This situation may sound unusual, but it’s quite common in Fairfax County.…
-
2025 DC Oversight & Performance Priorities
ACTION ITEMS: DC Council Oversight Hearing on DC Water DC Council Oversight Hearing on Department of Energy and the Environment Talking points DC Council Oversight Hearings Blog written by Nature Forward Volunteer, Bronte Nevins. Edited by Jamoni Overby & Denisse Guitarra The DC Council holds annual Oversight and Performance hearings. These hearings are an opportunity to…
-
2025 Maryland General Assembly: Moore than just Energy
Sine Die Updates: If you have listened to any legislative briefings or skimmed a headline, you know it is the year of energy in the 2025 Maryland General Assembly. But, there is much more than that awaiting us, namely, how Maryland is going to balance the budget. Given the many different moving parts of Assembly,…
-
2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities (Updated as of 4/11/25 @ 4:31pm) This year’s Virginia General Assembly (a time when legislators get together to make a new set of laws) takes place from January 8 through February 22 with the Governor taking action on bills by March 24. Nature Forward, with help from several partners…
-
What’s on tap in Virginia’s 2025 General Assembly?
Virginia’s General Assembly got off to a rocky start last week due to an early-week snowstorm. The storm knocked out Richmond’s fresh water supply across the city for several days, delaying the start of General Assembly work. Legislators started in earnest on Monday, January 13. While we don’t have specific bills we’re following just yet,…
-
Montgomery County’s BYO-Bag Bill
February 12th, 2025 Update On February 11th, 2025, Montgomery County Council passed Bill 24-24, Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Bill. Nature Forward has been working with Councilmembers since last summer to ensure that Montgomery County passed a bill that protects our waterways and our most vulnerable communities. Thanks to our members and supporters, we sent 121 letters…