Conservation Montgomery will honor Claire Iseli at their annual meeting with the Joe Howard Environmental Award and will feature Montgomery Countryside Alliance Executive Director Caroline Taylor as the guest speaker. Claire Iseli is a special assistant and environmental adviser to County Executive Marc Elrich, who has supported his long time efforts to protect Ten Mile Creek. Below is more information from the Conservation Montgomery announcement. You can register to attend here.

The 93,000 acres in upper Montgomery County is home to a bold and nationally-recognized farmland and an open space conservation plan intended to protect farmland, rural open space, forests and streams. The year 2020 brought the pandemic and a greater focus on the Reserve for locally-sourced food as store shelves emptied at the outset of the pandemic. Climate change poses great challenges, underscoring the imperative to protect natural resources and boost local sustainable food production.

Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA) has served for 20 years as an invaluable voice for protecting the Reserve, fostering new programs, helping small farmers find land, and promoting creation/expansion of forests. Caroline Taylor is a past recipient of our Joe Howard Environmental Award and a compelling spokeswoman for all things rural.

About Claire Iseli, recipient of the 2021 Joe Howard Environmental Award:

Claire Iseli is truly one of Montgomery County's unsung environmental heroes. She is on County Executive Marc Elrich's staff as one of his environmental advisers. When the CE was a Council member, she worked on his staff. Her accomplishments are numerous but we'll mention a few. Claire analyzed the pending Thrive 2050 plan and drafted comments for the record regarding the environment and parks. Claire has been involved in Master Plans since 2009 and is probably one of the county's most knowledgeable land use experts. In the past, Claire worked on policy alternatives to help save the Ten Mile Creek watershed and the Upper Paint Branch Special Protection Area. She also worked on the Maydale Conservation Park, a parcel of land dedicated to environmental preservation, and home to the Maydale Nature Classroom, two ponds and one of Montgomery County’s best quality streams.

Over the years, Claire has also worked for County Council members Marilyn Praisner and Don Praisner. Both were noted champions of county natural resource issues. Claire served with two of our Conservation Montgomery board members back in 2006, when the Planning Department convened a Forest Conservation Task Force. Claire is known as a public servant who researches environmental issues thoroughly and uses a steady hand in making recommendations that County officials follow. She is also known for being extremely responsive to members of the community who have advocated for natural resource protection. She listens, evaluates information and public input, and then advises using the best information available to her. We are pleased to honor her with the Joe Howard Environmental Award this year.

Our special 2021 volunteers, Pam Sonneville and Phyllida Paterson, have set up multiple Home Tree Care 101 classes in their communities. Pam lives in Gaithersburg and Phyllida lives in Silver Spring. They have been diligent in promoting Home Tree Care 101 classes. We thank them for their efforts and are pleased to acknowledge them as two of our top volunteer community organizers.