Mission Statement The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy mobilizes people and resources to care for the land, water and character of the Gunpowder Watershed. Programs and Staffing The GVC’s programs focus on conserving lands that support agriculture, wildlife, and ecological systems; protecting and restoring wetlands, streams, and riparian areas; preserving historic and natural resources; and promoting education, stewardship and outdoor activities. Founded in 1989, the GVC is comprised of an all-volunteer board of directors, a part-time director of education and restoration, a part-time development director, and a coordinator of land preservation. Accomplishments Land Preservation - Preservation of 1,300 acres through conservation easements primarily in the Coastal and Gunpowder Rural Legacy areas of the watershed. Restoration – Conducted tree plantings, with partner organizations such as REI, in the Gunpowder watershed for 14 years resulting in the planting of over 16,000 trees on 80 acres of land; sponsored 17 teams that helped collect 150 tons of trash and debris accomplished with the hard work of over 3,000 volunteers state wide through Project Clean Stream; mobilized 75 volunteers to adopt 20 quarter-mile stream reaches through the Stream Watch Program; installed, with the aid of the Rosedale Alternative School, an educational kiosk on stream ecology at Cromwell Valley Park (CVP); implemented, with the assistance from Chesapeake Bay Trust and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, a Riparian Forest Buffer demonstration site at Dulaney Branch; established stream buffers by partnering with over 775 volunteers in 2008 from local businesses, churches, and elementary, middle, high school, and college students throughout the Gunpowder Watershed – 2,500 trees were planted on 11.75 acres in 2008 at locations such as Dulaney Branch, Bee Tree Preserve, Hydes Field, and in Loch Raven Reservoir; established a bog habitat at the site of the historic Cloverland Farms Dairy off of Dulaney Valley Road; and working with Baltimore County DEPRM, coordinated the Rural Residential Stewardship Program. Education - Conducted workshops and trainings to educate the public on the streams of the Gunpowder Watershed, geohydrology and rare and endangered species, construction site sediment and erosion control, stream adoption and stream survey methodology through the Baltimore County DEPRM Stream Watch Program, backyard best management practices (such as rain barrels and rain gardens), a watershed conference at Camp Puh’tok, a Watershed Festival celebrating the 30 anniversary of Earth Day at Oregon Ridge Park, and educational canoe trips on Gunpowder River. Historic Preservation - Worked on the nomination of Franklinville as a county historic village; conducted, in collaboration with the Watershed Protection Coalition, the “Treasures of Loch Raven” conference on the history of the reservoir, including its cultural, economic and environmental contribution to the region; working on the preservation of the historic 1744 Jennifer Farm adjacent to Cromwell Valley Park.
