About M-NCPPC
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a bi-county agency empowered by the State of Maryland in 1927 to acquire, develop, maintain and administer a regional system of parks within Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, and to provide land use planning for the physical development of Prince George's and Montgomery counties. In addition, the Commission gained responsibility for the public recreation program in Prince George's County in 1970.
The Commission consists of ten members, five appointed by Montgomery County and five by Prince George's County. The Commission coordinates and acts on matters of interest to both counties, and meets at least once a month. The members of the Commission from each county serve as separate Planning Boards to facilitate, review and administer the matters affecting their respective counties.
The Commission administers a park system of more than 52,000 acres. It is composed of stream valley parks, large regional parks, neighborhood parks and park-school recreation areas. Its staff of career employees includes planners, park and recreation administrators, park police and administration staff. In addition, seasonal workers staff numerous park and recreation programs.
MISSION
- Manage physical growth and plan communities
- Protect and steward natural, cultural and historic resources
- Provide leisure and recreational experiences.
Parks & Recreation
A well-respected leader in the field, the Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation provides quality recreation programs, facilities, and services for residents and visitors. The Commission operates and maintains more than 26,000 acres of parkland throughout the county, including land developed to provide parks, picnic areas, athletic fields, historic sites, community centers, and recreation facilities. In an effort to maintain the county's natural beauty, a large percentage of the land has been left undeveloped to serve as buffers and to provide natural open spaces.
With cooperationand input fromdiverse communities throughout Prince George's County, the Department operates a comprehensive park and recreation system that offers programs and facilities designed to meet the needs and interests of patrons of all ages. Outdoor festivals, live performances, trips, self-improvement classes, teen and senior activities, summer camps, fitness and sports programs, art and nature programs, and more than 40 miles of hiker/biker/equestrian trails are just a few of the recreational amenities offered.
A skilled and qualified workforce of community recreation specialists, park planners, naturalists, park police, support staff, and many others helps the Department provide quality services to theresidents of Prince George's County. Visit Prince George's County Parks & Recreation
Maryland Plants and Wildlife
Plants
Since Europeans first began cataloguing the plant species of Maryland in the early 18th century, over 3,000 woody and herbaceous species have been recognized. The most important, by necessity, were those which provided food and shelter. Once their basic needs were addressed, settlers began to explore and describe their finds to their brethren across the Atlantic. Because of its diverse geology, hydrology and land formation, Maryland was home to an abundance of plant species, creating unique natural communities and providing habitat to wildlife.
Early documents by these gentlemen botanists provide current researchers with a picture of the landscape at the time of colonization. Since that time, an estimated 300 plant species have become extinct. Declines in number are due to a variety of factors: loss of habitat through conversion to development or agriculture, changes in hydrology, fragmentation, pollution, even over-collection. The Maryland Natural Heritage Program currently tracks approximately 840 species, monitoring population numbers and restoring viable habitat, where possible.
Wildlife
Maryland is home to an estimated 84 species of mammals, 85 species of reptiles and amphibians; 233 species of birds fill our skies and 116 species of fishes swim in the waters. An untold number of insect and other invertebrate species (crustaceans, spiders, mollusks) also reside here. Of all of these thousands of creatures, 320 are considered rare. Ninety of these are designated as Threatened or Endangered and are afforded protection under the State Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act.
All of these creatures, regardless of how humans choose to categorize them – rare, common, game, nongame – offer us something valuable, whether tangible or not. Food, clothing, shelter, opportunities for recreation, clean water, all of these can be directly related to the existence of Maryland’s wide diversity of species. Also the chance to witness, with no regard to any potential use or worth to the human population, the comings and goings of other beings – to put a value on the power of contemplation is to make another connection to the rest of creation.
What kinds of plants are problems?
The short answer to this question would be a list of names:Japanese stilt grass, wavyleafbasketgrass,Englishivy, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose, wineberry, barberry, and kudzujust to name a few.Click here to see Sierra Club's in depth look look at wavyleafbasketgrass.
The longer answer is any plant that is non-native and its reproductive strategy goes unchallenged in our native ecosystem. In their own environments, these plants have controls like an insect or blight. In North American ecosystem, there are no such controls on the populations.
It's a plant, and the more plants we have the better, right?
Not necessarily! Just because something is lush and green does not mean that its presence is good for the surrounding ecosystem. As a matter of fact, population studies show that a lush green carpet of a single pervading species lowers the biodiversity, exactly opposite of what a healthy ecosystem does. To clarify the question, the more different kinds of nativeplants, the better. A healthy ecosystem may have fewer numbers in the populations, but it will have more different populations.
Why can't we just use herbicides and be done with it? Or why can't webring over something that eats it?
Herbicide has been a powerful tool and it is used to control the spread of non-native invasive plants; however, it does have its drawbacks. Responsible herbicide use meansthat the herbicide can only be used on monocultures where the only living plant in an area is the target species. Herbicide can't tell the difference between a native plant struggling underneath the overgrowth of an invasive and the invasive itself. The herbicide would end up killing the pioneer native plants as well, killing the potential parents for reseeding apopulation of natives.
Biological controls such as insects or fungi are another powerful tool, but the consequences of using such a tool have ended in disaster before. For example, bringing over an insect that lives off of an invasiveplant species could in fact eradicate the invasive plant, or it couldmove to decimating our native flora or onto food crops.Scientists are now required to research thoroughlyandprovide irrefutable evidence that a potential biological control will not harm anything else but the target species. You can read more about it here.
Doesn't the ecosystem adapt?
Not as fast as the invasive species spreads. Historically, a new non-native species, plant or otherwise, may be introduced every century or so. Now with modern travel, people and the seeds and spores on their clothes and shoes bring non-native species virtually all the time. Invasive species also have a more difficult time taking over a very healthy, undisturbed ecosystem where the high biodiversity has a fighting chance of overcoming the invasive pressure. Due to constant development, pollution, the construction of roads, and general impact ofHomo sapiens, more ecosystems are disturbed than not. Consequently, invasive plants can get a foothold and begin their spread.
Contact: Jeremy 301-788-8918