Take Action Today to Save the
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC)!

We need your help to save some of the last, best habitat in the Anacostia watershed!

Background

On July 24, Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the many changes, Secretary Rollins announced that the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) would be closed and its personnel relocated. This will take some time, as BARC is an active research station, but it will result in the 6,500-acre campus being turned over to the General Services Administration and potentially sold to private interests within a few years.

Much of its 6,500-acre campus is devoted to field agronomy and livestock research. However, a lot of the BARC site is left wild, only lightly managed, and has been protected from development for decades. As a result, BARC contains some of the largest intact habitat areas in the Anacostia watershed. In addition to remarkable forests, streams, and wetlands, unusual and fragile freshwater wetland types such as vernal pools and magnolia bogs, and rare upland habitats such as pine barrens, exist on the site.

Vernal Pool at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

BARC is well known in the community as a hotspot for birding in Maryland, with over 230 species sighted. And it was only a few weeks ago that a survey team led by AWS discovered eastern elliptio mussels living in a reach of Beaver Dam Creek that runs through the BARC! 

In an urban landscape like ours, a large area of intact natural habitat is invaluable. Opening the BARC to development would likely mean losing this remarkable natural resource forever. We stand to lose a refuge for freshwater mussels in the upper Anacostia watershed before we even have a chance to fully discover it.

Let’s work together to save the BARC!

The first step is to let Secretary Rollins know loud and clear that the BARC is too important to local residents to be put on the block. USDA has opened the decision to public comment until August 26. Please email reorganization@usda.gov and make your voice heard! Here is a model email to get you started. You can send as is, but you’re encouraged to revise and reword to make this message your own. 
 

Subject: Comments on USDA Reorganization Plan (SM 1078-015) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC)

Dear Secretary Rollins: 

I am writing with comments on your recent memorandum (SM 1078-015) outlining your plans for reorganizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are many issues addressed in the memorandum, but this email will focus solely on the fate of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in (BARC) Beltsville, Maryland.

I urge you to reconsider your decision to close the BARC. As you know, the BARC is a 6,500-acre United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service facility dedicated to improving knowledge and technologies for providing the country with healthy crops and animals, natural resources, sustainable agricultural systems, and safe, quality products. Not only would these invaluable functions be undermined by scattering the staff and resources built over decades among USDA regional hubs, but the quality of life of local residents around BARC would be severely impacted.

While much of the space at BARC is utilized for research, significant portions of the site are wild or only lightly managed and have been spared from development due to their location within a federal reservation. Encompassing much of Upper Beaverdam Creek (UBC) and its tributaries, the BARC contains some of the largest areas of intact habitat remaining in the Anacostia watershed. These areas contain forests, streams, and wetlands and unique features like vernal pools, magnolia bogs, and pine barrens as well as over 230 species of birds. In addition, live freshwater mussels have recently been discovered in a stream on the site, indicating that BARC is an important refuge for these imperiled species.

I am a strong supporter of protecting and restoring the Anacostia watershed, and the natural habitats and wildlife of BARC are key to those efforts. BARC is an important community resource that must be preserved.

Thank you for your consideration of my views on this important issue.

Sincerely,

 

Send an email today! Together, we can help Save the BARC!

Together for the Anacostia,

Chris Williams
AWS President and CEO

Anacostia Watershed Society is a 501(c)(3) organization. All gifts are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

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