Friends of Cabin John Creek

05/06/2026

Check out our latest e-newsletter,

The fifth annual Cabin John Creek Challenge will occur on the morning and afternoon of Saturday, May 23. The Challenge is an end-to-end hike of the Cabin John Creek Trail from Potomac to the Potomac River that can be completed either in its entirety during the hike on May 23 or in segments any time....

02/28/2026

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped pick up trash in the Cabin John Creek watershed in 2025! Montgomery Parks recognized us as the watershed group with the Most Remarkable Growth last year, in terms of cleanup impacts. You helped us do it!

02/17/2026

Reduce Your Salt Use This Winter
With the snow & ice, remember to reduce your salt use. It only takes *1 mug of salt for a 20 foot driveway*. Using excessive amounts will not melt it any faster, and it will wash into our creeks.

Reduce Your Salt Use This Winter
As we approach winter, remember to reduce your salt use. It only takes *1 mug of salt for a 20 foot driveway*. Using excessive amounts will not melt it any faster and it will wash into our creeks.

02/11/2026

We need your help measuring salt in our creeks!
With all the snow & ice, there is a lot of salt being thrown around. Get your free SaltWatch kit here
https://iwla.org/salt-watch/

Measuring salts in our creeks helps track salt usage across the watershed.
..and remember to reduce your salt use around the house. Just a 12oz coffee mug per 20 feet of driveway.

Salt Watch Results View and Submit Data on the Clean Water Hub The Clean Water Hub is a collaborative tool to help people just like you track water quality in…

02/10/2026

Thanks to our tech wizard Brent Walls, we now have an online interactive map that displays all of our water quality sample results to date. PRKN will be collecting and testing a new batch of samples this week and we’ll upload the results as soon as they are available!

Check it out here: https://potomacriverkeep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=055fca556b61457cb6516ba6bfb20abb

01/25/2026

We Painted This Snowplow – Let Us Know If You See It
Remember, be salt-wise this winter!
https://mailchi.mp/efe118a8c7c3/january-2026-be-salt-wise

12/03/2025

As snow and ice arrive this winter, you can save our creeks by using less salt to melt it away...

Reduce Your Salt Use This Winter
As we approach winter, remember to reduce your salt use. It only takes *1 mug of salt for a 20 foot driveway*. Using excessive amounts will not melt it any faster and it will wash into our creeks.

10/31/2025

Final CJ Creek Cleanups This Fall!

Nov. 1 (Saturday) 1-3 pm. Location - section between River Road and Bradley Blvd. Meet up at trailhead on River Rd approx 1/4 mile west of the Cabin John Fire Dept.

Nov. 8 1-3 pm. Location - section between Bradley Blvd and Democracy Blvd. Meet up at trailhead on Bradley Blvd, approximately 1/3 mile west of the intersection of Bradley and Seven Locks.

More details in our newsletter:

Our last two cleanups of the fall will be the coming two Saturdays, November 1 and 8, both from 1-3 p.m. Useful info is below. These are longer stretches than some of the other locations so we are hoping for a good turnout to bring to completion the first ever Great Cabin John Creek Cleanup. Novembe...

10/30/2025

2024-2025 Monitoring Results
We have been testing macroinvertebrates, chemicals, and bacteria through our recent grant funded by Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.

Check Friend of Cabin John Creek's 2024 - Oct 2025 monitoring results (https://tinyurl.com/2s48acyj) and Monitoring Program web page (https://www.cabinjohncreek.org/monitoring).

Summary
* Salt is our #1 chemical pollutant, particularly after an ice/snow event. Last winter was snowier than usual and salt readings were higher.
* Critters in the creek are struggling with erosion & silt from rain water runoff, warm water runoff from hard surfaces, and chemicals from runoff.
* E-Coli bacteria occurs in warm waters of summer and spikes in our creeks after heavy runs when animal f***s wash into our creeks.

What Can You Do?
* Slow it Down - look for places in your yard or downspouts to slow the flow of water into our streets/creeks. Plant native plants to absorb water and hold soil in place. Avoid running pipes to carry rain into the street.
* Scoop the P**p! No matter where it falls, it needs to be picked up to keep the bacteria out of our creeks.
* Reduce Salt Use - You only need to scatter 1 coffee mug of salt for a 20ft driveway. Shovel the snow first, apply recommended salt, and sweep up excess salt.

10/16/2025

Reduce Your Salt Use This Winter
As we approach winter, remember to reduce your salt use. It only takes *1 mug of salt for a 20 foot driveway*. Using excessive amounts will not melt it any faster and it will wash into our creeks.

10/11/2025

Help us clean up the creek near Locust Grove Nature Center, Sunday, October 19, from 2 to 4 p.m. We're teaming up with a Whitman Student/Scout this fall to conduct creek cleanups along the entire length of the Cabin John Creek mainstem. This effort will run from the stream’s modest start in Rockville all of the way to the Potomac River.

Meet in the parking lot by the Locust Grove Nature Center (7777 Democracy Blvd) at 2 pm on October 19 and then the volunteers will proceed down the hill to the creek.

Each of the cleanups will feature a brief presentation by FoCJC of the small macro-invertebrates that live in the stream and the threats to the health of the stream. The Cabin John Creek usually tests in the “Poor” category due to its urban environment and the periodic flooding from stormwater runoff.

We will provide the bags, trash pickers, and gloves for the event.