Over the years the Agricultural Reserve
has served as a successful agricultural
land planning model for the nation. Is
that still the case?
It certainly is. In 2017, the Mont-
gomery County Planning Depart-
ment won the American Planning
Association Landmark Award—one
of the highest honors from this
national organization—for our
work on the Ag Reserve. It was
recognized as a project that initi-
ated a new direction in planning
history. Many counties around the
nation, in states from Connecticut
to Colorado, have emulated the
Reserve to preserve open space.
Today, efforts to support and
enhance this unspoiled area are
ongoing, and many of our current
projects build upon the important
foundational work that was estab-
lished decades ago.
The very idea of preserving a
large swath of farmland and open
space in Montgomery County was
far ahead of its time. Back in 1980,
when the Ag Reserve was cre-
ated, sustainability was focused on
very basic issues of environmental
protection. Today, sustainability is
a multi-faceted issue that weaves
together environmental topics
with other components of conser-
vation—all of which are part of the
21st century Agricultural Reserve.
These elements include projects
undertaken by Montgomery Plan-
ning to preserve historic resources
and rustic roads, encourage
agritourism and combat climate
change.
What efforts have been put forth to
preserve the history of the Ag Reserve?
This area has a rich cultural his-
tory, recognized with two National
Register historic districts, the Sen-
eca Historic District and the C & O
Canal Historic District, that tell the
story of the county’s early indus-
trial and farming heritage and are
top destinations for tourists from
throughout the region. Other lo-
cally-designated historic districts,
such as the Beallsville and Sandy
Spring Historic Districts, teach us
about the importance of our small
rural villages. Our Historic Pres-
ervation Office is working to save
and commemorate these cultural
resources.
In addition to the districts,
there are more than 200 his-
torically designated and protected
individual sites in the Ag Reserve
and 72 historic cemeteries. These
significant places and landscapes
tell the stories of the county’s
African American heritage and the
early agricultural history of the
county, with important lessons
for visitors and residents alike. We
also have more than 40 Montgom-
ery Parks-owned historic sites in
the Ag Reserve, many of which
are open to the public and offer a
variety of tours and programming
for all ages.
plenty I autumn harvest 2019
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