Aubrey Shepherd's posts that ought to be seen by everyone

Short takes on Cox 218 and AT&T channel 99 something for today through the weekend

2012-01-16T01:58:00.000-06:00

December 20, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville AR city council draws comment on several important local issues on a 3-hour, 37-minute video

2012-01-01T02:12:00.000-06:00

Developers keep chipping away at Northwest Arkansas prairie and former prairie:

2011-12-19T00:21:00.000-06:00

Please click on individual images beneath the video file to enlarge view of wet-prairie and tree-protection area slated to become construction site.

More than 100 photos of mounded wet prairie parcel proposed as site for convention center on north side of Holiday Inn Express available on Flickr near bottom of urban infill set. A sample of the photos appears below the meeting video. Discussion of the site occurs near the end of the meeting. A slide bar at the bottom of the video allows a person skip over discussion of other subjects.

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.

View east shows tiny wooded-wetland tree-protection area on low corner of several acres of remnant of mounded wet prairie.

Mowing vegetation out of swale that carries water north to a creek unnecessary and harmful.

Healthy habitat important especially where it also protects watershed

Existing tree-protection area is best place for natural swale and sheet-flow surface water to soak in.

Ditch and pipe from existing Holiday Inn Express parking lot exemplies outmoded high-impact water management

Existing stormwater pipe causes erosion of big ditch that sends dangerous flow to swale along road toward creek, increasing erosion and flooding of downtream property.

Natural swale through wet prairie takes water to low, wooded wetland at NW corner of property

High water after rain in Northwest Arkansas as seen at confluence of West Fork of the White River and the Town Branch of the West Fork

2011-11-08T23:21:00.002-06:00

October 27, 2011, Fayettevillle Council of Neighborhoods meeting includes discussion of failure of cities to move forward with low-impact development practices to protect Beaver Lake watershed

2011-11-07T10:45:00.001-06:00

Jim Bemis provides video from Fayetteville Telecom Board subcommittee meeting of September 30, 2011

2011-10-05T19:50:00.002-05:00

Video of Ward Four meeting at 7 p.m. September 26 includes explanation of importance of renewing sales tax by vote on Oct. 11, 2011. See detail below

2011-09-28T09:48:00.002-05:00

Please click on image below to ENLARGE for reading. Click on the enlargement for even easier reading.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Ward 4 Meeting

City Clerk

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Room 111

Town Branch Neighborhood Association meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011, welcomes everyone who chooses to attend

2011-08-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

to discuss plan for apartment complex adjacent to National Cemetery, streamside-protection ordinance, neighborhood watch, urban wildlife-habitat certification of private property, natural-yard option approved by City Council and anything of importance in our neighborhood and city

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view. Click on enlargement for easy reading.

Greg Howe has resigned to take a job in a wonderful place to the northwest. His final meeting of Fayetteville's Tree and Landscape Committee, now known as the Urban Forestry Board

2011-08-23T17:13:00.002-05:00

Traditional landscapes suck Energy, Water and Money, says Neil Diboll at The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

2011-08-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE. Click on enlargement for closer view.

« Welcome to The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

The Future of Gardening by Neil Diboll

The Future of Gardening: Why Going Native is the Answer

Presented at the 20^th Millersville Native Plant Conference
Millersville, PA
June 4, 2010

by Neil Diboll
Prairie Nursery, Inc.
P.O. Box 306
Westfield, WI 53964
www.prairienursery.com
800-476-9453 (800-GRO-WILD)
Traditional landscapes suck. They suck Energy, Water, and Money. These three “Future Factors” will determine to a large degree the shape and structure of our landscapes in the coming years.
The old whipping boy, the lawn, indeed deserves a good whipping. It is emblematic of an expensive, unsustainable, energy and chemical hungry landscape that supports few forms of life and consumes valuable resources that could be better invested elsewhere.
Size of the American Lawn
There are over 50 million acres of lawn in the United States, twice the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
The total American corn crop for 2009 was 86 million acres.
The total American soybean crop for 2009 was 77 million acres.
The total American wheat crop for 2009 was 65 million acres.
Lawn is the fourth largest crop grown in America today.
Water Use by the American Lawn
Thirty percent of the water consumed on the East Coast of the US goes to watering lawns. Sixty percent of the water used on the West Coast is dedicated to maintaining green lawns, in a region that is facing looming water shortages.
A 1000 square foot lawn requires an average of 10,000 gallons of water per year to maintain in good condition.
One acre of irrigated lawn requires nearly half a million gallons (435,000) of water every year!
Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides Applied to the American Lawn
The average lawn receives 10 times as much chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides as the typical farm field, according to a Yale University graduate study.
Over 80 millions pounds of chemical pesticides are applied to American lawns each year according to the USEPA.
More than 70 million tons of chemical fertilizers are applied to American lawns per year.
The USEPA estimates that 40 to 60 percent of the Nitrogen fertilizer applied to lawns ends up in our surface water and groundwater.
Forty four percent of the Nitrogen and 28 percent of the Phosphorus applied in the Mississippi River watershed ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly exacerbating the anoxic “dead zone” that preceded the BP oil spill of 2010.
Solid Waste Created by Lawns
The EPA also estimates that grass clippings and yard debris account for 20 to 40 percent of the landfill space consumed in America.
Energy Consumption by Lawns
The amount of energy required to mow and maintain manicured lawns is surprisingly large, and is used in every phase of lawn care:
Mowing: Gasoline or diesel fuel to is required to power riding mowers and most push type rotary mowers. Electricity that powers electric lawn mowers is produced primarily by fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and by nuclear power plants.
Pesticides: Most herbicides and insecticides are derived from or combined with petroleum-based compounds. Of the 80 million pounds of pesticides applied to lawns in American every year, most are synthesized from oil.
Fertilizers: Fertilizers are applied to lawns in staggering quantities. The energy required to mine and transport the 70 million tons of chemical fertilizers that are dumped on lawns every year is significant. Most Nitrogen fertilizers are produced using the Haber Process, in which Nitrogen in the air is converted into a solid or liquid form that can be readily handled and applied. The Haber Process is extremely energy intensive, and vast quantities of natural gas are consumed to produce nitrogen fertilizer for lawns.
Irrigation: Even watering the lawn consumes energy. Electricity is used to purify water at treatment plants, and to pump water to homes and businesses. The underground plastic pipes that are used in lawn irrigations systems are produced from petrochemicals derived from crude oil.
Carbon Footprint of Lawns
As an energy-dependent landscape, the carbon annual footprint consumption of lawns is high compared to prairies and other natural landscapes that require only occasional mowing, no fertilizers, no irrigation, and few if any pesticides. Prairies release carbon into the atmosphere when burned, and when dead organic matter such as leaves and stems decompose through microbial action. However, these releases are offset by new plant growth which absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and incorporates it into new leave, roots, and stems.
The incredibly rich prairie soils of the American Midwest are a result of the accumulation of organic matter in the soil over hundreds and thousands of years. Unlike most forest ecosystems, in which organic matter is sequestered in the upper 12- 18 inches of soil, prairie soils typically exhibit high organic matter content from three to six feet in depth. They also have significantly higher total organic matter content than forest soils. This would indicate that over time, prairies are one of the most efficient plant communities at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing long term carbon sequestration in the soil.
Economic Costs of Lawn
Americans spend over $25 billion per year on lawn care (USEPA).
Americans spend over $2 billion per year on lawn and garden chemicals.
A 4000 square foot lawn (1/10 acre) produces an average of 1200 pounds of grass clippings per year. The City of Philadelphia Streets Department reported in 2005 that it costs $75 per year to dispose of this material.
Wildlife and Lawns
The US EPA estimates that between 60 and 70 millions birds are poisoned annually due to the application of lawn pesticides.
On lawns that receive regular applications of pesticides, 60 to 90 percent of the earthworms in the soil are killed.
Air and Noise Pollution
In summer months, 5 percent of air pollution is attributable to gas powered lawn and garden equipment (National Vehicle and Fuel Assessment Lab, Ann Arbor, MI)
Per hour of operation, a typical lawnmower emits 10-12 times as much hydrocarbons as an automobile.
Health and Safety
Of the most commonly used lawn pesticides, 13 are known to cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 11 can interfere with reproduction, and 21 can cause damage to the nervous system. (US EPA)
111,000 Americans are sickened every year due to exposure to pesticides. (US EPA)
Over 230,000 people are treated in the Emergency Room every year for accident related to lawn equipment. (US EPA)
Time
The average homeowner spends 40 hours a year mowing his or her lawn – the equivalent of a week’s vacation!
HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT OUR LAWN-DOMINATED LANDSCAPE MODEL?
AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The New World of North America once appeared to be a seemingly inexhaustible resource that held immense promise for the early colonists and settlers. True to their culture, the northern Europeans that swarmed into the vast hinterlands of America created a landscape in the image of their forebears: cut, grazed, plowed, and fenced into submission. The newly broken land yielded great bounty for a growing nation. As the country expanded, the towns and villages took on the names and character of our former homes across the Atlantic: Amsterdam, Birmingham, Gloucester, Berlin, Warsaw, and Rome, to name but a few.
Our goal as a nation and a culture was to tame the wilderness and make it safe for civilization. In so doing, we re-created the Old Country in the New World. As we brought the wilderness under our heel, we took little time to appreciate its unique character and beauty. Most settlers sought bounty, not beauty. In the rush to convert forests and meadows into farms and fields, the flowers mostly went unnoticed. Unplowed, unproductive wild land was a sign of sloth, savagery, and the devil’s work. Indeed, our mandate was to subdue the earth. And subdue it we did.
When our work was finally done, we sat back to take stock of our immense labors, and it appeared that it was good. Mostly. What we had not considered were the terrible losses associated with our great gain. We had gained ascendancy over our young country. In the process, we lost the character of a continent.
Yea, even unto our gardens, we banished the wildflowers and wild things to the far reaches of the countryside and to the corners of our consciousness. And nothing suffered the utter demise and near-total destruction such as that which was visited upon the American Prairie.
The American Prairie: the once-vast kingdom of flowers, grasses, bison and butterflies. This unbelievably rich, unique ecosystem blanketed millions of acres of America’s heartland. These were the flower gardens of North America. Hidden deep underground, among the intertwined roots of a universe of prairie plants, lay the black gold that was to become the currency of the prairie farmer. Here was the inheritance of a million sunny days, hoarded away in the bank account of the prairie soil.
Agricultural, the Industrial Revolution, and the Rise of the American Middle Class
The farmers that tapped into this prairie trust fund found the dividends to be prodigious. No fertilizers were needed to grow bumper crops. The immense yields increased agricultural productivity to levels previously unheard-of, revolutionizing the farmer’s relationship with the land. Now one family could produce food for dozens of others. The day of the subsistence farm was over. Human labor was set free to tend the factory instead of the field. The dawn of the American Industrial Revolution was reflected in the glow of the forge that John Deere used to construct the first sod-busting steel plow in 1836. With the industrial dawn came the sunset of the American Prairie.
The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska was all but obliterated in the span of a few short decades at the close of the nineteenth century. That which was not plowed under was closed in with fences and grazed to the ground by millions of cattle. What were once wide open spaces became food factories and feedlots. Still, we knew not what we had done.
A full century later, we are just beginning to grasp the scope of the loss. The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie is now one of the rarest plant communities in the entire world. Rainforests are commonplace by comparison. Less than 1/10th of 1% of the Tallgrass Prairie remains today. The small refuges where it can be found occur only in small tattered fragments, ripped from the original cloth. Only those pieces that could not be drained, plowed, grazed, or otherwise turned to the service of mankind remain. There was simply no place for wildness in this new American landscape.
The conversion of the New World into the Old Country was complete. All that remained now was to tend the fields and the gardens of plants brought over from Europe, and to make sure that the lawns that replaced that prairie were kept mown and in order.
Order. The watchword of a Puritanical culture that sought to carve structure from the chaos of wilderness. Everything in control. Nothing out of place. Even our gardens reflect this directive. Designs are precise, with each plant in its pre-ordained place, ensconced in a thick bed of bark mulch. The vegetable world must supplicate itself to our omnipotence. Those plants that fail to stay in their assigned seats are branded as weeds, and banished from the garden. And if they should grow wild in nature, how could such peasant plants of common breeding be sufficiently refined to have a place in our gardens?
If the garden is truly the place where people and nature meet, it is almost always the gardener who determines the terms of the meeting. Will the gardeners of the earth choose to work with Nature to create beauty in the landscape? Or will we attempt to overpower her with an arsenal of chemicals, machines, and “maintenance programs?”
We are finally coming to realize that the practice of paying homage to a uniform, idealized landscape of seamlessly interconnected lawns is an illusion. This becomes eminently clear when one realizes that the centerpoint of this landscape is a nearly lifeless, two dimensional expanse of turf, to which we slavishly devote much of our increasingly rare and precious free time. We pour on the chemicals, mow the grass to within an inch of its life, and kill any and all bugs that have the temerity to share the landscape with us. Perhaps most annoying, this national pastime called Lawn Care is really quite expensive.
For many, their lawns are like an addiction. They will pay almost any price to satisfy the cravings. The price is paid in money, time, environmental degradation, and in some cases, one’s health. We have so completely divorced ourselves from Nature that the only connection to the natural world is by watering and mowing their green carpets!
It is indeed a costly divorce from Nature. Enforcement of our unnatural landscapes consumes billions of dollars every year. Lawns, ornamental plantings, and even perennial gardens require constant attention if the desired order is to be maintained. Without intervention by the human hand on a regular basis, these landscapes soon fall victim to the invading hordes of weeds, trees, brambles and vines. Left unguarded, the walls of the domestic garden are stormed by the Vandals and Visigoths of the Vegetable Kingdom. Without the indulgences of their human benefactors, the meeker and fairer plants of the garden are quickly pillaged and displaced by the roving thugs of the plant world.
History of the American Lawn
The modern lawn has it origin in the country estates of landed gentry in England in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. It was a status symbol of the wealthy, for the working classes typically possessed no land, and could ill afford a lawn eve if they did. With our Anglo-American heritage, we looked to the mother country for our social cues in the 18^th century as the American middle class emerged during the industrial revolution. The newly wealthy purchased homes and estates and installed lawns as one of their symbols of having “made it.” Lawns quickly became one of the status symbols associated with the new middle and upper classes.
The great American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, referred to the lawn in the late 18^th century as “The Great Democratizer” of a newly ascendant nation. Rather than installing fences and barriers between neighboring properties as was common in Europe, Americans had a seamless carpet of green grass unifying their properties, all sharing in the new ethos of a mutual affluence.
The lawn quickly became a socio-economic symbol, denoting order and devotion to a non-economic crop that only those with expendable income could afford. As the middle class in America grew after World War II, the occupants of newly-built suburbs embraced the lawn as one of their icons of success and comfortable living.
The lawn was now cemented into American culture. Woe be unto he who violated the unspoken contract of “keeping up appearances” and allowing one’s turf to “go native” and grow beyond the socially acceptable four inches in height. An un-mowed, unkempt lawn was a sign of slovenliness and anti-social tendencies. Social breakdown and chaos could not be far behind.
This is why the lawn is so ardently defended by so many. It is a symbol of an entire social class and lifestyle. It is far more than a near-lifeless green expanse that requires an inordinate amount of time, money and chemicals to maintain. It embodies the hopes and dreams of average Americans, and symbolizes the triumph or order over entropy. It is a shared middle class bond that transcends politics, religion, and ethnicity. In many communities you are judged by your lawn first, and your character as a human being second. And do not for one minute believe that the first does not influence the second.
Why do we Persist with Our Addiction to Lawns? What About Wildlife?
1)    It’s simple and easy! We know how to do it: Fertilize it, spray it, and mow it!
2)    You don’t really have to know anything about plants or gardening to grow and manage a lawn – just follow the directions provided by the purveyors of fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides provide you!
3)    Lawn is a cheap fix. Although less costly to install than native landscapes, lawn has a high life cycle cost over a period of many years. Native landscapes typically have low long-term maintenance costs, with lower life cycle costs.
4)    Lawns don’t attract bugs or wildlife (except for geese), so you know you and your family will be safe from snakes, vermin, and those annoying insects! So what if insects are the foundation of the food chain, and support a myriad of birds and other desirable creatures. We’ve been brainwashed that bugs are bad, so we have to make sure they don’t inhabit our outdoor living spaces.
5)    NO BUGS, NO BIRDS!
6)    Everybody says they love Nature, but nobody ever invites her over to their yard.
7)    I knew my prairie was a success when I saw Meadow Jumping Mice (Zapus hudsonianus) and Hog Nosed Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos) in it. These creatures provided evidence that I now had a functioning ecosystem, not just a garden. If you like hawks and owls, you better be able to feed them: rodents and reptiles are some of their preferred foods.
WE ARE NOT A NATION OF GARDENERS:
WE ARE A NATION OF MOWERS!
WHY DO WE CARE WHAT WE PLANT IN OUR GARDENS
AND LANDSCAPES?
Many of us care deeply about the state of our planet and the loss of biodiversity that is occurring on a global scale. Although we all think globally, most of us can only act locally. Together, we can have an impact in our own gardens and landscapes, as well as those of our friends and neighbors. For those of us in the landscape design business, we can promote sustainable landscapes composed of native plants that require little or no fertilizers, pesticides, watering, or mowing (just burning!). This alone, when compounded over time as more people opt for sustainable landscapes, can have an impact.
The looming question for us today is the on-going loss of biodiversity. Restoring native ecosystems is one way we can help support not just native plants, but also invertebrates such as rare butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, and all manner of the generally unloved lower castes of bugs and creepy crawly things. Yet they are all important, and each has an important place in the web of life.
Homo sapiens, is presently presiding over what is believed to be the Sixth Great Extinction. Although we have yet to reach the catastrophic levels of past extinction events, we are well on our way and showing only a few signs of abatement in our drive to subdue and conquer the earth, as we serve our ever-expanding need for food, fuel, water, and living space.
But does it really matter what we do as individuals? A society is composed of all its individuals, and their actions determine the face of that society. Most of us are working to restore the integrity of native ecosystems because we believe it is the “right” and good thing to do, and that we are “doing it for the planet.” But does it really matter? Does the planet really respect our actions? Or is it all irrelevant?
The Earth has been subjected to massive extinctions in the past, some fairly recent in geological history. The planet has always recovered, with the development of new species and a wealth of new life forms. Nature does indeed abhor a vacuum, and she apparently fills it rapidly. All of the work I am doing on my property to control invasive species and restore native plants will someday be negated by the next advance of the glacier, as unlikely as that may seem at this point in geological and meteorolical history. Of course, my landscape will probably be invaded by garlic muster, buckthorn, honeysuckle and other non-native thugs soon after my demise, unless some equally deranged and determined individual picks up where I leave off.
SO WHY RESTORE THE PLANET? DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
If one takes a long-term geological perspective, it doesn’t really matter what we do. Even if we nuke the joint, something will survive and a whole new set of life forms will evolve. Maybe the next sentient beings will be smarter than us, and actually take care of the planet.
We Restore the Earth Because It Is Good for Us!
We need a quality of life that includes clean air, clean water, trees, flowers, ferns, birds, and all the wonderful life forms with which we share the planet. We aren’t just preserving habitat and restoring native plant communities out of the goodness of our hearts – Our very economic and psychic survival depend upon it!
We have yet to fully value the economics of a healthy environment. But as the planet is further degraded, the value of high quality living spaces only increases.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Ultimately, our future landscapes will be in large part determined more by economics than ecology. This is an unfortunate consequence of the human condition. As a quality living space becomes more valuable, more value will be placed upon it. We will protect it more diligently. It will sell for a higher price. People will begin to view the natural environment more as an asset, rather than as a resource to be exploited.
All of this will most likely be precipitated by shortages of water, rather than a shortage of oil or other energy source. You can live without oil, but you cannot live without water. As the price of water increases, the incentive to conserve it will increase. We will need landscapes that do not require huge inputs of water and chemicals to sustain them. We will need to overcome our cultural taboos of “messy” natural landscapes and move beyond viewing lawns as status symbols and a rite of passage into the middle and upper classes.
Someday pride of place will belong to those with the least lawn, lowest water bill, and no chemicals in their garages. Society will value those who work to preserve our environment, rather than those who can make the most money by despoiling it. I personally cannot wait much longer for that day to come.
AT A GLANCE:
TODAY: LAWN, an ecological and economic disaster

TOMORROW: SUSTAINA LE ECOSYSTEMS, composed of native plant
communities that require little or no fertilizers, pesticides, or irrigation, o
TODAY: MONOCULTURES of mowed lawns

TOMORROW: DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS that support a wide variety of life
TODAY: FEAR and mistrust of the natural world and its attendant organisms (bugs,
mice, snakes, etc)

TOMORROW: RE-INTEGRATION of people into nature and an understanding that
everything is connected and interdependent
WE MUST ENTER INTO A JOINT VENTURE WITH NATURE TO PRESERVE OUR PLANET AND THE SYSTEMS UPON WHICH ALL LIFE DEPENDS.

ONLY THEN WILL WE LIVE IN HARMONY WITH OUR FELLOW CREATURES ON THIS PLANET.

OUR QUALITY LIFE AND LONG-TERM SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON THE SURVIVAL OF THE SYSTEMS AND ORGANISMS THAT SUPPORT US.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Summer News Article
FUEL-EFFICIENT LAWNS AND LANDSCAPES
Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont
With the price of gasoline and natural gas on the rise, most are looking for ways to cut their costs and save energy. If you have a lawn or garden, you may not realize just how much fossil fuels you are using. By knowing where these are used, you can look for ways to reduce consumption. This will reduce your costs, and help the environment.
In a recent PPPro online newsletter Paul Tukey, editor of People, Places and Plants magazine, provides some sobering facts and helpful suggestions. Each year, a family with a one-third acre lawn will on average:
*consume five gallons of gas for mowing and trimming;
*apply the equivalent of seven gallons for fertilizing;
*burn up to five gallons for watering; and
*consume an additional gallon for cleanup.
That’s 18 gallons of fuel per household. With 120 million U.S. households, that’s the equivalent of almost 2.2 billion gallons of fuel used just for lawn care each year. This does not count other landscaping activities. So just how do we use so much?
Yale University has estimated that the United States uses more than 600 million gallons of gas to mow and trim lawns each year — about two gallons of gas for every man, woman and child, or five gallons per household. Mowers also consume engine oil in their crankcases, and two-stroke mowers consume oil in their fuel.
In addition to fuel consumption, mowers and outdoor power equipment contribute heavily to air pollution. Operating a typical (4 HP) gasoline-powered lawnmower for one hour produces as much smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average car between 100 and 200 miles under average conditions. Gasoline-powered string trimmers are actually more polluting than many lawn mowers. One estimate (mindfully.org) states that “the 20,000,000 small engines sold in the U.S. each year contribute about one tenth of the total U.S. mobile source hydrocarbon emissions, and are the largest single contributor to these non-road emissions.” These include power blowers, rakes, and brooms.
Creating synthetic nitrogen for fertilizers requires the heating of natural gas to combine atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia. The amount of natural gas required to make approximately 200 bags of lawn fertilizer would heat your home for a year. Each 40-pound bag contains the fossil-fuel equivalent of approximately 2.5 gallons of gasoline. Transporting these bags of fertilizer from the factory and to your home requires additional fuel.
According to a California study, in many areas — especially in the West, where water must be moved great distances from reservoirs — the amount of fuel needed to pump the water is at least equal to the fuel used in mowing.

So what can you do? Here are ten tips to have a “fuel-efficient” landscape.
*Use an electric or non-powered push mower. An electric mower maintaining one-third of an acre for a season consumes only $3 of electricity on average. Electric mowers are 75 percent quieter than gas mowers. Push mowers, of course, consume no fuel and make little noise.
*Similarly, use traditional hand rakes and brooms instead of power ones and blowers to save fuel, and at the same time reduce air and noise pollution. If you employ a landscape maintenance firm, encourage their use of these too. Minimize the need for string trimmers. Mulch along walks and around structures such as lamp posts to avoid having to trim weeds in these areas.
*If you have an old mower, consider replacing it. Newer small engines run much cleaner. EPA emission standards for such engines, to be in effect by 2007, are expected to reduce ground-level ozone emissions by 70 percent or 350,000 tons each year.
*Reduce the area mowed through use of groundcovers. This is especially true in areas with water shortages. Allow parts of large areas to grow, only mowing once or twice a season, creating a natural meadow. You can still mow areas near drives and homes to maintain the more formal manicured effects in such highly visible and high traffic areas.
*Save rainwater and gray water. Gray water is that water from home use, except from toilets, and can make up from 50 to 80 percent of home waste water. It comes from sinks, showers, and laundry and can be used for irrigating landscapes and lawns.
*Water deeply once per week on average, rather than frequently. Drip irrigation and mulches also conserve water. Using less water saves on energy use, whether you’re buying water that has to be pumped, or are paying an electric bill to pump your own.
*Use natural, organic fertilizers not derived from fossil fuels.
*Recycle grass clippings, mow higher and mix 5 percent clover into your lawn seed. All these help recycle nutrients back into the soil. Mulching-type mowers allow you to leave grass clippings on the lawn. If you don’t have such a mower, and remove the clippings, add them to compost or use them to mulch gardens.
*Compost all yard wastes, except for diseased plants and plant parts. They can go into compost piles, saving gasoline hauling such to landfills and recycle centers. If your landscape generates many twigs and other brush, consider buying or renting a home-size brush chipper.
*Finally, consider landscaping to reduce up to 25 percent of home energy consumption. Foundation plantings can lessen heat loss from buildings. Evergreen windbreaks can reduce heating costs in winter in windy areas. Deciduous shade trees can reduce energy needs for cooling in summer. According to the Department of Energy, only three properly placed trees may

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"You can't learn much from a lawn,
but a garden has a whole world of wonders."

history

Lawns started out as grazing areas around the manors of the landed gentry. Having a nice lawn around the house was a sign of power as you owned sufficient land to raise sheep and cow.
As the industrial revolution took hold and animals were less a sign of wealth, the lawn itself became the status symbol. You could indulge yourself in sparing land and time to recreational grounds.
As people moved to the cities so did the grass, on ever smaller plots. First lawns were cut by hand and later with the mechanical lawnmower, (an automated, resource depleting, pointless cow.)
The 20th Century saw an explosion of lawn making as commercial interests produced endless grass seed, fertiliser, pesticides, mowers, spreaders and irrigation equipment whilst developers discovered they could pass off cheap ‘gardens’ by spreading 3 inches of soil over hard subsoil and laying turf on top.
Nowerdays, many lawns are rarely used and some are so covered with chemicals children have been permanently injured after walking barefoot on them.[1]

the modern lawn - a waste of resources

The modern pure grass lawn is artificial... you need effort and chemicals to maintain a monoculture.

Misuse and the inherent toxicity of standard pesticides cause short and long term poisoning, cancer and disease in people and wildlife. [a]

Extensive use and overuse of fertilisers (due to lack of restrictions) causes water pollution problems and wastes resources. [b]

Endless summer irrigation to keep lawns green wastes massive amounts of water and depletes water tables. [c]

Lawnmowers, strimmers and other lawn machinery unregulated for environmental emissions, use vast amounts of petrol and are a significant factor in urban air and noise pollution. [d]

The lawn is the worlds third agriculture. It is probable that westerners spend more person hours, energy and resources on their lawns than any agricultural resource of the third world.[8]

In the early 1990’s in the United States…

$ 25 billion a year was spent on lawn care products.
Of this,
$ 5,250 million was spent on fossil fuel-derived fertilisers and...
$ 700 million was spent on 28 million kgs of poisonous synthetic pesticides.

Meanwhile 20 million acres were planted in residential lawns
and the average city sprayed its lawns with 30 to 60 % of its fresh water supply.[2]

The lawn is a green desert. Adoption of a monoculture for a garden drastically reduces the habitats available for wildlife. Birds, bees, butterflies and other animals all begin to disappear. Often leaving an unstable ecosystem where common ‘pest’ species seem to flourish.

alternatives

Aside from keeping animals or ripping up the turf to plant trees and bushes, build vegetable beds, a pond or a greenhouse there are many things you can do to keep the same purpose of a lawn whilst adding diversity and removing chemical and mechanical dependence. (Unless the area you have is subject to heavy traffic and abuse, where turf is probably the most suitable thing to use.) If you just want somewhere to sit, try making a bench a focal point of your garden.
Lawns can be made more edible, medicinal, beautiful and nice smelling by adding low growing aromatic herbs and flowers. The plants below have been specially selected because they will tolerate at least infrequent mowings. For best results don’t cut as often or as short as a normal lawn and try to lay off for at least 3 weeks in the summer to let the taller plants flower and set seed. You could try sowing them into small gaps in the grass or better still plant them out. For low maintenance choose plants that will like your local conditions.

	lively lawns Apart from the obvious dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), daisy (Bellis perennis) and plantains (Plantago major, plantago media) which are all excellent in lawns, freely self seed, add variety and can also be eaten once you get past seeing them just as ‘weeds,’ try… White Clover, Trifolium repens: 10cm H, spreads, adds nitrogen to the soil, attracts bees and butterflies. You can eat the flowers and leaves, (bit fiddly though) Camomile, Chamaemelum nobile: 15cm H 30cm W, Plants for a future[9] recommend for smell but not for medicine, (no flowers), a cultivar called ‘Treneague’ which is low growing, spreads and will succeed if the grass is cut low and often, however you'll have to find a cutting, there are no seeds. Wild thyme, Thymus serpyllum: 10cm H 30cm W Forms spreading clumps, pink flowers attract bees in summer, drought tolerant, needs sun. High in antioxidants and an essential kitchen herb. Lemon thyme, Thymus x citiodorus: 10cm H 30cm W. Likes light well drained soil and full sun, can be planted by division. Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara: 25cm H, spreads invasively. Tolerates shade, does well in all soils, flowers edible mar-apr, leaves appear afterwards, used for treatment of respiratory problems. Rough Hawkbit, Leontodon hispidus: 40cm H 30cm W. Similar to dandelion, prefers chalky soil, flowers all summer, attracts bees & butterflies, edible leaves most of the year.
	Salad burnet, Sanguisorba minor: 55cm H 30cm W. Prefers chalky soil and slightly longer grass, flowers May-Aug and provides edible young leaves all year round. Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris: 15cm H spreading to form clumps 30cm W. Prefers moist soil, tolerates low cutting and shade, flowers mid to late summer, attracts bees & butterflies, eaten in salads and an healing herb for cuts and wounds. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium: upto 60cm H spreads, hardy, drought resistant, good in poor soils, and a very useful medicinal herb. beautiful bulbs By lengthening the time between mowings you can also grow taller plants such as bulbs. Planted surreptitiously they are a nice surprise. All below are edible and most spread naturally. It is advisable to plant bulbs of similar flowering times together to make any lawn maintenance more straightforward. Field & Crow garlic, Allium oleraceum & A. vineale: 60cm H, 5cm W. Both almost invasive in grass if left to form bulbils in jul-aug, tolerant of mowing, leaves edible autumn to following summer. If cows eat them, their milk is tainted. Quamash, Camassia quamash: 50cm H 10cm W. Does well in short grass and under trees, flowers late spring, very edible bulbs when cooked.
	Dog's Tooth Violet, Erythronium den-canis: 15cm H 10cm W. appears in spring for a few months each year. bulbs edible raw or cooked, also try E. revoltum 'pagoda' for a bigger, version. Tassel Hyacinth, Muscari botryoides: 40cm H clumps 20cm W. Easy to grow, does well in short grass, almost invasive, 3.5cm bulbs edible, but a little bitter. Or for beauty, there are many other bulbs, such as daffodils, bluebells, crocus etc that can be planted into the lawn. wonderful wildflowers Perhaps you could turn some of your lawn into a ‘wildflower meadow’. This will attract butterflies and insects as well as bringing nature a bit closer to home. Choose a sunny position on poor soil to get the most flowers. Mow only after the seeds have set (around August) and remove the clippings to keep fertility low. Sow a mix of wild flowers into bare earth, or if grass is already established, grow in pots and plant out in Autumn or Spring, this is more work but gets better results. Most of the above taller lawn plants will do well as these edible ones below... Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria: 120cm H. Likes moist rich soil non acid soils, a useful medicinal and culinary herb. Sheep sorrel, Rumex acetosella: 30cm H. prefers suny and moist spot, sharp edible salad leaves all year round. Red clover, Trifolium pratense: 60cm H. attracts butterflies, moths and bees, put round apple trees for better fruit, edible leaves, fixes nitrogen. Alternatively you could purchase a conservation wildflower mix from a local supplier, you won't be able to eat them though. For some more lawn fun see the guerrilla gardening pages. Notes [a] Many pesticides have never been adequately tested for toxicity to humans or wildlife. According to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 13 of the most commonly used lawn care pesticides can cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 21 can damage the nervous system, 15 can injure the liver or kidney, and 30 are sensitizers or irritants. [3] The pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found to damage the blood brain barrier which protects against neurological illness.[4] Organophosphate pesticides have been shown to cause memory loss and short attention spans.[5] Other studies have linked long term pesticide use with prostate[6], brain and lung cancer.[7] It is estimated that each year in the US, 67 million birds are poisoned by legally used pesticides.[3] Pesticides are often misused especially by homeowners, increasing the risks. [b] Fertiliser is often over applied, causing runoff problems in nearby watercourses, as well as the obvious waste of fossil fuels in its manufacture and transport. [c] It is estimated that 44% of domestic water consumption in California is used for lawns[8] In many areas ground water tables are being depleted. [d] The manufacture of garden machinery uses energy, depletes resources and creates pollution as do the engine fumes or the power plants producing the electricity they run on. In the early 90’s it was estimated that 580,000,000 gallons of petrol were used to run lawnmowers in the US every year.[2] References [1] The Pesticide Scandal, Sayan, Kathyrne, Family Circle 2 April 1991. [2] Redesigning the American Lawn, F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe, Yale University Press, 1993 [3] Spring, 1997 edition of The Arlington Environment, Volume Four, Number Four [4] Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 65:23, 1982 [5] Annual Reviews in Public Health, 7:461, 1986 [6] Occupational Environmental Medicine, 56(1):14-21, 1999 [7] Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983 [8] Permaculture a designers manual, Bill Mollison, Tagari publications, 1988. [9] Plants for a future- edible and useful plants for a healthier world, Ken Fern, Permanent publications, 1997.

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		What to do with a Lawn

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"You can't learn much from a lawn,
but a garden has a whole world of wonders."

history

the modern lawn - a waste of resources

The modern pure grass lawn is artificial... you need effort and chemicals to maintain a monoculture.

Misuse and the inherent toxicity of standard pesticides cause short and long term poisoning, cancer and disease in people and wildlife. [a]

Extensive use and overuse of fertilisers (due to lack of restrictions) causes water pollution problems and wastes resources. [b]

Endless summer irrigation to keep lawns green wastes massive amounts of water and depletes water tables. [c]

Lawnmowers, strimmers and other lawn machinery unregulated for environmental emissions, use vast amounts of petrol and are a significant factor in urban air and noise pollution. [d]

The lawn is the worlds third agriculture. It is probable that westerners spend more person hours, energy and resources on their lawns than any agricultural resource of the third world.[8]

alternatives

	lively lawns Apart from the obvious dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), daisy (Bellis perennis) and plantains (Plantago major, plantago media) which are all excellent in lawns, freely self seed, add variety and can also be eaten once you get past seeing them just as ‘weeds,’ try… White Clover, Trifolium repens: 10cm H, spreads, adds nitrogen to the soil, attracts bees and butterflies. You can eat the flowers and leaves, (bit fiddly though) Camomile, Chamaemelum nobile: 15cm H 30cm W, Plants for a future[9] recommend for smell but not for medicine, (no flowers), a cultivar called ‘Treneague’ which is low growing, spreads and will succeed if the grass is cut low and often, however you'll have to find a cutting, there are no seeds. Wild thyme, Thymus serpyllum: 10cm H 30cm W Forms spreading clumps, pink flowers attract bees in summer, drought tolerant, needs sun. High in antioxidants and an essential kitchen herb. Lemon thyme, Thymus x citiodorus: 10cm H 30cm W. Likes light well drained soil and full sun, can be planted by division. Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara: 25cm H, spreads invasively. Tolerates shade, does well in all soils, flowers edible mar-apr, leaves appear afterwards, used for treatment of respiratory problems. Rough Hawkbit, Leontodon hispidus: 40cm H 30cm W. Similar to dandelion, prefers chalky soil, flowers all summer, attracts bees & butterflies, edible leaves most of the year.
	Salad burnet, Sanguisorba minor: 55cm H 30cm W. Prefers chalky soil and slightly longer grass, flowers May-Aug and provides edible young leaves all year round. Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris: 15cm H spreading to form clumps 30cm W. Prefers moist soil, tolerates low cutting and shade, flowers mid to late summer, attracts bees & butterflies, eaten in salads and an healing herb for cuts and wounds. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium: upto 60cm H spreads, hardy, drought resistant, good in poor soils, and a very useful medicinal herb. beautiful bulbs By lengthening the time between mowings you can also grow taller plants such as bulbs. Planted surreptitiously they are a nice surprise. All below are edible and most spread naturally. It is advisable to plant bulbs of similar flowering times together to make any lawn maintenance more straightforward. Field & Crow garlic, Allium oleraceum & A. vineale: 60cm H, 5cm W. Both almost invasive in grass if left to form bulbils in jul-aug, tolerant of mowing, leaves edible autumn to following summer. If cows eat them, their milk is tainted. Quamash, Camassia quamash: 50cm H 10cm W. Does well in short grass and under trees, flowers late spring, very edible bulbs when cooked.
	Dog's Tooth Violet, Erythronium den-canis: 15cm H 10cm W. appears in spring for a few months each year. bulbs edible raw or cooked, also try E. revoltum 'pagoda' for a bigger, version. Tassel Hyacinth, Muscari botryoides: 40cm H clumps 20cm W. Easy to grow, does well in short grass, almost invasive, 3.5cm bulbs edible, but a little bitter. Or for beauty, there are many other bulbs, such as daffodils, bluebells, crocus etc that can be planted into the lawn. wonderful wildflowers Perhaps you could turn some of your lawn into a ‘wildflower meadow’. This will attract butterflies and insects as well as bringing nature a bit closer to home. Choose a sunny position on poor soil to get the most flowers. Mow only after the seeds have set (around August) and remove the clippings to keep fertility low. Sow a mix of wild flowers into bare earth, or if grass is already established, grow in pots and plant out in Autumn or Spring, this is more work but gets better results. Most of the above taller lawn plants will do well as these edible ones below... Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria: 120cm H. Likes moist rich soil non acid soils, a useful medicinal and culinary herb. Sheep sorrel, Rumex acetosella: 30cm H. prefers suny and moist spot, sharp edible salad leaves all year round. Red clover, Trifolium pratense: 60cm H. attracts butterflies, moths and bees, put round apple trees for better fruit, edible leaves, fixes nitrogen. Alternatively you could purchase a conservation wildflower mix from a local supplier, you won't be able to eat them though. For some more lawn fun see the guerrilla gardening pages. Notes [a] Many pesticides have never been adequately tested for toxicity to humans or wildlife. According to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 13 of the most commonly used lawn care pesticides can cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 21 can damage the nervous system, 15 can injure the liver or kidney, and 30 are sensitizers or irritants. [3] The pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found to damage the blood brain barrier which protects against neurological illness.[4] Organophosphate pesticides have been shown to cause memory loss and short attention spans.[5] Other studies have linked long term pesticide use with prostate[6], brain and lung cancer.[7] It is estimated that each year in the US, 67 million birds are poisoned by legally used pesticides.[3] Pesticides are often misused especially by homeowners, increasing the risks. [b] Fertiliser is often over applied, causing runoff problems in nearby watercourses, as well as the obvious waste of fossil fuels in its manufacture and transport. [c] It is estimated that 44% of domestic water consumption in California is used for lawns[8] In many areas ground water tables are being depleted. [d] The manufacture of garden machinery uses energy, depletes resources and creates pollution as do the engine fumes or the power plants producing the electricity they run on. In the early 90’s it was estimated that 580,000,000 gallons of petrol were used to run lawnmowers in the US every year.[2] References [1] The Pesticide Scandal, Sayan, Kathyrne, Family Circle 2 April 1991. [2] Redesigning the American Lawn, F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe, Yale University Press, 1993 [3] Spring, 1997 edition of The Arlington Environment, Volume Four, Number Four [4] Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 65:23, 1982 [5] Annual Reviews in Public Health, 7:461, 1986 [6] Occupational Environmental Medicine, 56(1):14-21, 1999 [7] Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983 [8] Permaculture a designers manual, Bill Mollison, Tagari publications, 1988. [9] Plants for a future- edible and useful plants for a healthier world, Ken Fern, Permanent publications, 1997.

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Doug Tallamy tells us about 'Bringing Nature Home' to provide habitat for wildlife

2011-05-05T14:07:00.000-05:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE for easy reading.

Please bring children to World Peace Wetland Prairie to celebrate Earth Day on April 17, 2011, to celebrate Earth Day with Toucan Jam and many other local Fayetteville, Arkansas, musicians and singers

2011-04-15T23:56:00.002-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Donna Stjerna and Kelly Mullholan's poster for Earth Day 2011 at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

World Peace Wetland Prairie EARTH DAY 2010 VIDEO
Flickr collection of sets of photos from World Peace Wetland Prairie
World Peace Wetland Prairie blog
World Peace Wetland Prairie.com
Aubrey's photos at flickr.com

2000-2005 archive of stories and photos related to creation of WPWP: www.aubunique.com

Please use link below the map to see larger view of the WPWP area, which also allows a person to travel the world by 'Google AIR' by simply using the cursor to move in any direction or search for other addresses.

View World Peace Wetland Prairie in a larger map

Shortakes to run April 11-15, 2011, on Fayetteville public-access televion, channel 218 on Cox Cable

2011-04-10T16:16:00.002-05:00

March 14, 2011, video recorded at Community Access Television with Aubrey Shepherd's photos from Bruce Walker Memorial at George's on March 13, 2011: To run next week on Cox 218 on your big-screen TV

2011-03-18T21:36:00.002-05:00

Fayetteville AR Council of Neighbors finally had a quorum on February 24, 2011, and took care of some business after four months without an 'official' meeting

2011-03-05T22:20:00.002-06:00

Night before Streamside Ordinance was passed by City Council, it was discussed during Ward 4 meeting

2011-03-05T11:40:00.002-06:00

September 18, 2006, video of eroded fill dirt washing off the Aspen Ridge (now Hill Place) construction site at 11th Street and South Duncan Avenue

2011-01-14T21:30:00.002-06:00

Jim Bemis speaks at Telecom Board meeting on December 16, 2010

2010-12-18T22:36:00.000-06:00

GOVERNMENT CHANNEL SCHEDULE published Friday, December 17, 2010, the day following Telecom Board meeting, does not include Telecom Board meeting video to be run during week of 12/17/2010 through 12/12/2010. Bemis' comments, therefore, will not be shown on Cox Cable or AT&T U-verse until long after the Fayetteville City Council meeting at which the CAT contract will be voted on Tuesday, December 21, 2010.
Please click on individual pages to ENLARGE for easy reading.

Cox Cable changes of interest to viewers of Fayetteville's public channels

2010-11-21T20:16:00.002-06:00

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...

2010-11-10T09:09:00.000-06:00

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...: "The Home Depot Foundation Tackles Cities’ Sustainability Challenges with Innovative Program Two Cities Selected for $1 Million Invest..."

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...

2010-11-09T20:47:00.000-06:00

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...: "Greetings Everyone! CAT Performance Survey 2010 As we reach the end of 2010, Community Access Television (CAT) requests the favor of yo..."

Cox Cable pulls surprise on city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with plan to move public-access, government channel and educational channel to EXPENSIVE digital tier of channels: So much for open government when thousands of people will not be able to afford access to the public channels

2010-11-08T21:02:00.003-06:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Cox Cable advertisement in recent issue of The Northwest Arkansas Times.

For several years I have been able to turn away phone and online salesmen wanting me to take the satellite systems and later the Uverse TV system of AT&T.
But now Cox has set up a situation that will require me to drop their service and take the Uverse, which will automatically cut my cost because I have AT&T phone service already.
Cox has one thing the others don't have: The local public stations at minimal cost.
This is the time for the city administration to begin negotiating with COX. This is a draconian measure that will hurt COX in the long run.

aubunique: A few more words from David Whitaker on election e...

2010-11-02T09:03:00.000-05:00

aubunique: A few more words from David Whitaker on election e...

Election-eve comment from David Whitaker, Northwest Arkansas' candidate to take seat in House of Representatives from 3rd congressional disctrict

2010-11-01T19:42:00.000-05:00

Comments on riparian ordinance during October 2010 meeting of Fayetteville Planning Commission by Fran Deane Alexander and Aubrey James Shepherd

2010-11-01T12:21:00.002-05:00

Aubrey Shepherd quoted on UATV on October 20, 2010, on significance of demolition of old grain elevator in south Fayetteville, Arkansas

2010-10-20T22:54:00.001-05:00

Highway Commission vote could end mowing and dredging practices that cause erosion, loss of wildlife habitat and decrease beauty of roadsides in Arkansas

2010-10-17T10:39:00.002-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE. Two hours after this photo was made on October 12, 2010, this area had been brushogged into oblivion. Sure, the swamp milkweed will sprout from its roots next summer. But these plants not only held pods offering hundreds of milkweed seeds but also were feeding milkweed caterpillars that could have made chrysalises and become final 2010 generation monarchs traveling to Mexico and with a chance to return in spring and find fresh milkweed on which a new generation of monarchs could have been raised to keep the cycle of life intact for this seriously threatened species of migrating butterfly. If you want to talk to your Northwest Arkansas representative on the Highway Commission, he is Dick Trammel.

Monarch caterpillars were still eating the foliage of these swamp milkweeds and the seed pods were almost mature when the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Mowers came down the road and crushed and cut them off near the ground. Amazing hypocrisy for a state agency that touts its wildflower program. And possibly worse hypocrisy is touting its stormwater-protection work and then mowing and dredging ditches repeatedly every year.

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view.

To learn more about the Arkansas Highway Commission, please see AHC link.

aubunique: Fayetteville's David Whitaker's debate with mayor ...

2010-10-14T16:26:00.000-05:00

aubunique: Fayetteville's David Whitaker's debate with mayor ...: "John Gray debated Blanche Lincoln, John Boozman and Trevor Drown for a Senate seat from Arkansas yesterday. Link to video on AETN Web site. ..."

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up

2010-10-06T20:03:00.000-05:00

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up: "Please use live links on site to navigate and read more detail. Bumpers College Home Entomology Home O..."

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...

2010-10-06T11:21:00.000-05:00

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...: "12th Annual Celebration of TreesSaturday October 9, 2010 7:00 am Town Center entrance on the Fayetteville SquareEvery year the Tree and Lan..."

Aug9 aubrey.asf

2010-08-27T09:21:00.000-05:00

Please attend tonight's meeting of the Council of Neighborhoods: Agenda below

2010-08-26T13:24:00.001-05:00

Please double-click on the image to ENLARGE and widen view of swallowtail on World Peace Wetland Prairie in the Town Branch neighborhood on August 25, 2010, or scroll down to read about Fayetteville's Council of Neighborhoods and Thursday night's meeting of that group in city hall. Please see agenda for the meeting at the bottom of the post.

Please check the agenda and notice that there are two significant presentations slated for Council of Neighborhoods for August 26, 2010. In addition, all people who attend may report on anything of interest to them or others in their neighborhood or on any matter of importance to residents of the city. Many important issues have first surfaced when one person showed up and shared at Council of Neighborhoods. Chances are good that you may get to meet the people who are running for half the positions on the the City Council. And other candidates for public office also may be there. People who attend are not required to speak but have the opportunity to speak on Government Channel or simply meet representatives of other neighborhoods before and after the meeting and suggest subjects for future agendas. If you have never been contacted by anyone from your neighborhood association or don't believe there is an organization in your neighborhood, you can give your address to Julie McQuade, whose contact information is at the bottom of the agenda below, and she can tell you whether one exists and who to contact or how to form one if none exists. Everyone is always welcome at Council of Neighborhoods and often multiple city employees are on hand to answer questions and offer advice on problems people may mention during the meeting. I hope to be early and help create a "quorum." If you have never attended, please give it a try. If you can't attend, watch for the broadcast on Government Channel starting Friday, Saturday or Sunday or one day next week. The Government Channel schedule for the coming week usually is online on Friday afternoon. Of course, if we don't show up, there may not be a quorum and the meeting won't be recorded and shown on City 16.

AGENDA FOR A MEETING OF THE

FAYETTEVILLE COUNCIL OF NEIGHBORHOODS

Thursday, August 26, 2010, 6:00 p.m.

Room 326, City Hall

Call to Order

1. Introduction of neighborhood representatives

2. No minutes from July meeting to approve.

3. Eco-Logical Communities - Michele Halsell

4. Certified Community Habitat

5. Chairman’s report

6. Treasurer’s report

7. Neighborhood Updates & Announcements

8. September 30, 2010 Meeting - Candidate Forum

Adjourn

Julie McQuadeCommunity Outreach Coordinator
City of Fayetteville

113 West Mountain, Suite 320

Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-8302

www.accessfayetteville.org

TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) 479-521-1316

Two such wetland plants growing together are a strong indicator of wetland

2010-08-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE and widen view of Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) and Verbena hastata (swamp vervain) growing together on south Fayetteville wetland.

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

2010-07-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

DSCN7073Clasping leaf milkweed SEED.AVI

2010-07-18T14:54:00.000-05:00

John Rule to read from his own poetry today at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. TONIGHT!

2010-06-22T17:22:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to enlarge to read introductory page and half of book's first poem.

Buckeye butterfly on nonnative butterfly bush in the peace-circle portion of the World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 11, 2010. You may be able to see it and many other pollinators Saturday June 12, 2010, at some of the 8 private gardens on the OMNI Tour of Peace Gardens

2010-06-11T19:29:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Buddleia with
Precis coenea nectaring on it on June 11, 2010, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For interactive map and information about 2010 OMNI Peace Garden Tour, please see OMNI Peace Gardens blog.

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

2010-06-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

Denver tolerates no fireworks, so why should Fayetteville weaken its rules?

2010-05-30T01:45:00.002-05:00

The only argument that might make me hesitate to think for even a moment before condemning the current discussion by Fayetteville city government about softening the firework ordinance would be that shooting off fireworks on fourth of July is patriotic.

Visit with a Vietnam or middle-east vet living in the hillside woodlands and stream riparizn zones in south Fayetteville and ask about their reactions to the sounds of fireworks. Some may be afraid to talk to you. Others will explain exactly what their generation experienced that led to the replacement of the WWI classification of shell-shocked with "victims of post-dramatic trauma."

If you don't care about the human victims of the intrusive noise of fireworks, how about the thousands of pets that disappear in the vain attempt to escape the pain of firework noise.

Whatever one calls it, a person who has been helpless under heavy fire in battle usually doesn't enjoy fireworks. Especially if he lives as quietly as possible in a Fayetteville forested area and is awakened in his bed on the ground by assorted expensive fireworks lighting the sky above him.

Denver's zero tolerance firework policy outlined

By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post

POSTED: 06/30/2009 12:53:58 PM MDT

UPDATED: 06/30/2009 07:20:35 PM MDT

Fireworks that are illegal in Denver were displayed at the press conference on June 30, 2009. (THE DENVER POST | RJ SANGOSTI)

Denver has zero tolerance for fireworks.

That means fireworks can't be stored, used, manufactured or sold in Denver.

Today, Denver police and paramedics gathered outside the emergency room at Denver Health Medical Center and used graphic pictures to illustrate why the city has the policy.

Mangled fingers. Mutilated arms. Badly burned hands and faces.

"The only things that are legal are non-ignitable items such as paper-wrapped, small poppers," said Denver Police Technician Dean Christopherson. "We allow nothing that ignites or explodes."

The prohibition includes sparklers.

"The problem with sparklers are that they burn at over a thousand degrees," he said. "They are very flammable. Anything that you have around

PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS

them could set a lot of fires."

Christopherson said another consideration is the hope that the "quality of life" can be preserved in Denver.

He said the vast majority of fireworks calls are in the evening as people try to sleep and pets are "trying to get some peace."

Setting off the fireworks wakes some and upsets the pets, he said.

Lt. Scott Homlar, a lieutenant with Denver Paramedic Division, said that annually in the United States between 8,000 and 10,000 emergency room visits are caused by fireworks injuries.

The vast majority of the blast and burn victims are kids 15 years and younger and most injuries occur in the months around July 4th, Homlar said.

"You have to understand that these are little explosives," said Homlar. "Most of the injuries are either to the head or to the extremities — to the hands, eyes, ears and facial injuries."

Christopherson said that so far this year, there have been about 350 complaints about fireworks in Denver, which is half the number of the calls at this time last year.

He said it could be the result of a down economy, a lack of available fireworks or people obeying the law.

He noted that the maximum penalty for setting off fireworks in Denver is a

Paramedic Scott Homlar of Denver Health Medical Center speaks during a press conference to outline the laws and dangers of fireworks on June 30, 2009. (THE DENVER POST | RJ SANGOSTI)

fine up to $999 and one year in jail.

Homlar said he has personally treated people injured by fireworks. "Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence," he said. "I think it is reflective of the law in Denver which makes it illegal for people to even possess the items."

Still, Homlar doesn't want to be a holiday killjoy. "We want you to have a good time, we want you to have an enjoyable 4th of July but we want you to be legal," he said.

To report the use of illegal fireworks in Denver, call police either at 311 or 720-913-2000.

Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com

Greg Leding took the Democratic nomination for District 92 state representative by 69 percent to 31 percent over longtime legislator Bill Ramsey

2010-05-19T02:32:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to enlarge view of Greg Leding celebrating his victory with his parents on May 18, 2010.

gregleding.com/home

Melissa Terry, former Fayetteville environmental adviser during the first Coody administration, one-time candidate for a Ward 2 city-council seat and multi-year director of the Northwest Arkansas office of Audubon Arkansas visited briefly with the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers' award-winning photographer Andy Shupe while waiting until 11 p.m. at Greg Leding's election-watch party for the election results to be announced on television.

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Farm Bill programs may be used for conserving pollinators!

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Farm Bill can be used for conservation of pollinators

Technical Note No.78, August 2008 1

Using Farm Bill Programs for

Pollinator Conservation

Introduction

More than 30 percent of our food relies on insect pol-

lination, which is overwhelmingly provided by bees.

The annual value of crops pollinated by wild, native

bees in the United States is estimated at $3 billion.

Native bees have declined due to habitat loss and the

careless use of pesticides, among other factors. At the

same time, managed colonies of European honey bees

have suffered a 50 percent decline in recent decades

and face immediate threats from invasive diseases,

pests, and a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse

Disorder.

Recent research has shown that wild native bees,

which number more than 4,000 species in North Amer-

ica, can contribute substantially to crop pollination

on farms where their habitat needs are met (fig. 1). In

some cases like squash production in New Jersey, na-

tive bees can provide 100 percent of necessary pollina-

tion. As hives of European honey bees become scarcer

and more expensive, restoring native pollinators

becomes ever more important. And while individual

native bee species are susceptible to particular pests, a

diverse community of many species has been shown to

provide consistent pollination services since declines

are buffered by other species that are flourishing.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008,

otherwise known as the Farm Bill, authorizes the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) to undertake a

broad range of incentive-based conservation programs

on agricultural land (table 1). Many of these programs

rely on conservation practices that can be used to cre-

ate or improve pollinator habitat. Previous USDA rule-

making established the promotion and conservation of

pollinator habitat as a Conservation Security Program

goal and a priority for the Conservation Reserve Pro-

gram’s State Acres for Wildlife (SAFE) practice. New

language in the 2008 Farm Bill makes pollinators and

their habitat a priority for every USDA land manager

and conservationist. The new Farm Bill authorizes

special consideration when determining payments for

practices that promote pollinator habitat during En-

vironmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) imple-

mentation. It requires that native and managed pollina-

tors be considered during the review or development

of Farm Bill conservation practice standards. Most

important of all, the new Farm Bill authorizes the Sec-

retary of Agriculture to encourage “the development

of habitat for native and managed pollinators; and the

use of conservation practices that encourage native

and managed pollinators” during administration of any

conservation program. Congress has recognized that

pollinators are a crucial part of the healthy landscape

panorama, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service (NRCS) participation will be vital to this effort.

Fortunately, the NRCS already offers many opportu-

nities to conserve and create habitat for pollinators

using existing programs and practices. NRCS conser-

vation practices that address habitat needs for native

bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, flies,

Figure 1 Leaf-cutter and mason bees in the genus Osmia

are among the most important native crop pol-

linators. (Photo by Mace Vaughan, The Xerces

Society for Invertebrate Conservation)

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Program Purpose Land eligibility Type of assistance

Conservation Reserve

Enhancement Program

(CREP)

Land retirement program that helps agricul-

tural producers protect environmentally sensi-

tive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife

habitat, and safeguard ground and surface wa-

ter. An offshoot of the Conservation Reserve

Program, CREP emphasizes partnerships

among State, Tribal, or local governments,

private groups, and the USDA.

Lands that address an agriculture-related en-

vironmental issue of State or National signifi-

cance such as impacts to water supplies, loss of

critical habitat for threatened and endangered

wildlife species, soil erosion, and reduced habi-

tat for fish populations such as salmon. Enroll-

ment in a State is limited to specific geographic

areas and practices; about half the States have

CREP programs.

Annual payment plus cost-share of up to 50% of

the eligible costs to install the practice. CREP

contracts require a 10- to 15-year commitment

to keep lands out of agricultural production.

CREP is administered by FSA; NRCS provides

technical assistance. Contact NRCS or Farm

Services Agency (FSA) State or local office.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=hom

e&subject=copr&topic=cep

Conservation Reserve

Program (CRP)

Land retirement program encourages farmers

to convert highly erodible cropland or other

environmentally sensitive acreage to vegeta-

tive cover such as tame or native grasses,

wildlife plantings, trees, filterstrips, or ripar-

ian buffers. Addresses issues raised by State,

regional, and National conservation initiatives.

Highly erodible land, wetland, streamside areas

in pasture land, certain other lands. Eligible

wetlands must have been cropped 3 of 10

previous years, highly erodible cropland 4 of

6 previous years. Pollinators are high priority

wildlife under CRP practice CP38 Safe Acres

for Wildlife Enhancement.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/

safe08.pdf

50% cost-share for establishing permanent

cover and conservation practices, and annual

rental payments for land enrolled in 10- to 15-

year contracts. Additional financial incentives

are available for some practices. CRP is

administered by FSA; NRCS provides technical

land eligibility determinations, conservation

planning, and practice implementation. Contact

NRCS or FSA State or local office.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=hom

e&subject=copr&topic=crp

Conservation Stewardship

Program (CSP) (formerly

Conservation Security

Program)

Addresses resource concerns comprehensive-

ly by 1) undertaking additional conservation

activities; and 2) improving, maintaining, and

managing existing conservation activities. The

CSP encourages farmers to broadly improve

their conservation effort to protect water and

air quality, improve soil quality, store carbon

in soils, add wildlife habitat, conserve water,

and save energy.

Private and Tribal agricultural land, and forest-

ed land incidental to agriculture. Land convert-

ed to cropland since 2008 is not eligible.

Annual payments based on expenses, foregone

income, and environmental benefits; 5-year

contracts renewable for another 5 years. Contact

NRCS State or local office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp

Environmental Quality

Incentives Program (EQIP)

Promotes agricultural production and environ-

mental quality as compatible National goals by

helping eligible participants install or imple-

ment structural and management practices.

Land on which agricultural commodities, live-

stock, or forest-related products are produced.

Up to 75% cost-share for installed conservation

practices or 100% of foregone income; contracts

run 1 year past last practice installation, up to

10 years. Up to 3 years of incentive payments for

certain management practices. Special payment

consideration for practices that promote pollina-

tor habitat. Contact NRCS State or local office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip

Table 1 Major Farm Bill conservation programs that can be used to promote pollinators on working lands. All programs are voluntary. Please see the NRCS Web site for more information (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/), and visit the USDA Service Center Locator to find USDA offices that administer these programs

(http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app).

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Program Purpose Land eligibility Type of assistance

Grassland Reserve

Program (GRP)

Help owners and operators protect graz-

ing uses and related conservation values by

restoring and conserving eligible land through

rental contracts, easements, and restoration

agreements.

Historical grassland used primarily for graz-

ing that has high conservation, ecological, or

archeological value.

50% cost-share for restoration; annual payment

up to 75% of the grazing value of the land for 10-,

15-, or 20-year rental contracts, or easement pay-

ments no greater than fair market value less the

encumbered grazing value for permanent ease-

ments or easements for the maximum duration

allowed under State law. GRP is jointly admin-

istered by NRCS, FSA, and U.S. Forest Service.

Contact NRCS or FSA State or local office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/GRP

Wetland Reserve Program

(WRP)

Land retirement program to restore, protect,

or enhance wetlands on private or Tribal

lands.

Farmed wetland or wetland converted to

agriculture before 1985, together with function-

ally dependent adjacent land, or cropland or

grassland that was used for agricultural produc-

tion prior to natural flooding.

Private lands: 1) Permanent easement payment

equal to forgone value plus 100% of restoration

costs; or 2) 30-year easement payment (75% of

forgone value) plus 75% of restoration costs; or

3) restoration cost-share agreement (usually 10

years) with payment of 75% of restoration costs.

Tribal lands: restored through any combination

of 2 and 3. Contact NRCS State or local office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp

Wildlife Habitat Incentive

Program (WHIP)

Develop wildlife habitat on private and Tribal

lands.

High-priority fish and wildlife habitats, espe-

cially habitat for declining species, otherwise

unfunded beneficial practices, or locally deter-

mined fish and wildlife priority habitats.

Up to 75% cost-share for conservation practices

under standard 5- to 10-year contracts, or higher

cost-share for a limited number of 15-year con-

tracts. Contact NRCS State or local office.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip

(http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app).

Using Farm Bill Programs for Pollinator Conservation

Technical Note No. 78, August 2008

and hummingbirds, can have a great overall ecologi-

cal benefit, and improve balance sheets for growers of

adjacent insect-pollinated crops (fig. 2).

This technical note outlines opportunities within cur-

rent Farm Bill programs to implement pollinator con-

servation actions on the ground, especially what the

NRCS field conservationists can do at the local or field

level (Field-level opportunities). The field-level advice

primarily explores how current conservation practices

(e.g., Practice 340 —Cover Crop) can be used to benefit

pollinators. Secondly, this technical note identifies op-

portunities for NRCS State, area, basin, and watershed

offices to support conservation of crop-pollinating

native bees and provide and enhance pollinator habitat

during land or wildlife habitat improvement activities

(State-level opportunities). At the State level, support

for pollinators and their habitats includes developing

biology technology notes with State-appropriate plant

lists, conservation program enhancement job sheets,

and other guidance documents for field office conser-

vationists.

We specifically promote native bees because of their

economic importance for agriculture and their key-

stone role in the healthy and complex food webs that

support diverse wildlife. However, conservation prac-

tices implemented for native bees will also greatly ben-

efit an array of other pollinators and beneficial insects,

including managed and feral European honey bees,

butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, and the preda-

tors and parasites of crop pests. It is these insects that

feed wildlife either directly or by producing many of

the plant fruits that sustain birds and mammals and,

thereby, help hold natural systems together.

Field-level opportunities

Incorporating pollinators into current conser-

vation practices

Tables 2 and 3 provide details on how current con-

servation practices can be used to benefit pollina-

tors, particularly crop-pollinating native bees. Native

pollinator conservation practices provide natural or

seasonal habitat to: 1) increase the abundance of pol-

len and nectar while ensuring that plants are in flower

from early in the spring (e.g., willow) through late fall

(e.g., goldenrod); 2) add or protect potential nest sites;

and 3) provide a refuge from pesticides. Whenever

possible, conservationists should use native plants

since native pollinators and other wildlife are adapted

to them for food and shelter. Most of the conservation

practices outlined in table 2 allow field office planners

to include diverse flowering plants that provide se-

quential bloom throughout the growing season. Some

practices allow for creation or protection of nest sites,

such as snags or stable untilled ground for solitary

bees, or small cavities (usually created by rodents)

for bumble bees. Any practice that increases areas of

natural habitat that are not sprayed with pesticides

or implements buffers to reduce pesticide drift will

minimize harm to native pollinators. (See the Xerces

Society publication Farming for Bees: Guidelines for

Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms for more

information.)

Table 2 lists conservation practices alphabetically and

describes the potential for each practice to supply or

improve habitat for pollinators. The pollinator notes

column describes pollinator habitat components that

can be provided by each practice and offers recom-

mendations for management practices that require

careful timing of management activities (e.g., mowing

or fire) to benefit or reduce harm to pollinators. Table

3 presents the general habitat requirements of pollina-

tors and lists the conservation practices that can be

used to supply these requirements.

Figure 2 Creation of hedgerows at Butler Farm in Win-

ters, CA, will provide pollinator nest sites, ref-

uge, and forage. (Photo by Mace Vaughan, The

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation)

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Conservation practice (unit) Code Pollinator notes

Alley Cropping (acre) 311 Can include native trees, shrubs and vines (e.g., black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), Rubus spp., etc.) or row covers (e.g., various legumes) that provide nectar or pollen.

Note: Black locust should be used with care because it is invasive in certain habitats outside of its natural range.

Channel Bank Vegetation (acre) 322 Can include diverse flowering trees, shrubs, vines, and forbs. Channel banks provide a unique opportunity to supply early-flowering willow and, in dry areas, late flowering native forbs (e.g., goldenrod (Solidago spp.)). These stable areas

of habitat also may support solitary bee ground-nests where the soil surface is accessible, or bumble bees where vegeta-tion becomes dense or duff layers accumulate.

Conservation Cover (acre) 327 Can include diverse forbs (e.g., various legumes) to increase plant diversity and ensure flowers are in bloom for as long as possible, providing nectar and pollen throughout the season.

Conservation Crop Rotation (acre) 328 Cover crops used during conservation crop rotations can include forbs (e.g., various legumes, buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), phacelia (Phacelia spp.), etc.) that provide abundant forage for pollinators. Insecticides should not be applied to

these conservation covers. Moving insect-pollinated crops no more than 800 feet during the rotation may help maintain local populations of native bees that have become established because of a specific crop or conservation cover.

Constructed Wetland (acre) 656 Can include stable soil as nesting substrate in more upland areas, as well as plants that provide pollen and nectar for native bees and other pollinators. Possible plant genera with obligate or facultative wetland species include: Asclepias,

Bidens, Cephalanthus, Cornus, Crataegus, Epilobium, Eupatorium, Hibiscus, Hypericum, Iris, Juncus, Ledum, Lobelia, Ludwigia, Lysimachia, Mimulus, Ranunculus, Rhexia, Rhododendron, Ribes, Rosa, Rubus, Salix, Solidago,

Spiraea, and Vaccinium. Look for appropriate wetland plants for the region from these and other genera.

Contour Buffer Strips (acre) 332 Can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. In addition, mowing only every 2 or 3 years to benefit wildlife also will benefit nesting bumble bees. To protect bumble bee nests, mowing should occur

in the late fall when colonies have died for the year and queens are overwintering.

Cover Crop (acre) 340 Can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Look for a diverse mix of cov-er crop plant species that come into bloom at different times and provide a sequence of bloom throughout the year. Some

examples include clover (Trifolium spp.), phacelia (Phacelia spp.), and buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.). Many “beneficial insect” cover crop blends include plant species that will also provide forage for pollinators.

Critical Area Planting (acre) 342 Can include flowering plant species that provide abundant pollen and nectar for native bees and other pollinators. Planted areas may support stable soil for ground-nesting solitary bees, or dense vegeta tion under which bumble bee

queens may hibernate or build nests.

Early Successional Habitat Development/Management (acre) 647 This management practice is important for maintaining open and sunny habitat for pollinators. Note: To minimize damage to pollinator populations, disturbance practices should be implemented only every 2 to 3

years in rotation and, ideally, on only 30% or less of the overall site. This allows for habitat heterogeneity and opportuni-ties for recoloni zation of non-treated habitat. For example, managers could mow or burn a small portion of the habitat

(less than 1/3 of the site each year or two) on a 3- to 6-year cycle. Alternatively, they could treat a fifth of the site each year, on a 5-year cycle. In addition, when possible, disturbance practices should be implemented when most pollinators

are inactive, such as from late fall to early spring. For details, see the Xerces Society publication Pollinators in Natural Areas: A Primer on Habitat Management.

Field Border (foot) 386 Can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Strive for a mix of forbs, vines, and shrubs that come into bloom at different times throughout the year. Site management (for example, mowing) should

occur in the late fall to minimize impacts on pollen and nectar sources used by pollinators. Alternatively, allowing field borders to become overgrown may provide nesting habitat for bumble bees, as well as abundant forage. Stable (untilled)

field borders may provide opportunities for solitary bees to nest in the soil.

Table 2 Conservation practices that can be used to create or enhance pollinator habitat

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Conservation practice (unit) Code Pollinator notes

Filter Strip (acre) 393 Can include legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Look for a diverse mix of cover crop plant species that come into bloom at different times and provide a sequence of bloom throughout the year. Site manage-

ment (for example, mowing or burning) should occur in late fall to early spring to minimize impacts on pollinators.

Grassed Waterway (acre) 412 Can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. In dry regions, these sites may be able to support flowering forbs with higher water requirements and thus provide bloom later in the summer.

Hedgerow Planting (foot) 422 Can include forbs, vines, and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Look for a diverse mix of plant spe-cies that come into bloom at different times and provide a sequence of bloom throughout the year. Bee nesting sites also

may be incorporated, including semi-bare ground or wooden block nests. Including strips of unmowed grasses and forbs along the edge of the hedgerow may provide nesting opportunities for bumble bees. This practice also can help reduce

the drift of pesticides into areas of pollinator habitat.

Herbaceous Wind Barriers (foot) 603 Can include diverse forbs and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Look for a diverse mix of plant spe-cies that come into bloom at different times and provide a sequence of bloom throughout the year.

Multi-Story Cropping (acre) 379 Can include woody plants carefully chosen to supply pollen and nectar for pollinators. Look for mixes of plants that flower at different times throughout the growing season and can support populations of pollinators over time.

Pasture and Hay Planting (acre) 512 Can include diverse legumes (e.g., alfalfa) or other forbs that, when in bloom, provide pollen and nectar for native bees.

Pest Management (acre) 595 In general, implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for a crop reduces the use and impact of pest control chemi-cals on pollinators. In addition, plant species commonly used in IPM to support the beneficial insects that help manage

pests also can support bees. Examples of these plants include: phacelia (Phacelia spp.), sunflowers (Helianthus spp.), buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), and yarrow (Achillea spp.). Pest management practices also can include replacement of

invasive or exotic plant species with flowering native trees, shrubs, vines, legumes, or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. Look for a diverse mix of plant species that come into bloom at different times and provide a

sequence of bloom throughout the year.

Prescribed Burning (acre) 338 Can greatly benefit pollinators by maintaining a diverse mix of open, early succes sional habitat in various stages of habi-tat maturity.

Note: It is best if: 1) only 30% or less of a site is burned at any one time to allow for recolonization by pollinators from adjacent habitat; 2) burning occurs only every 3 to 6 years; and 3) burning occurs when pollinators are least active, such

as when most plants have senesced or in the fall.

Prescribed Forestry (acre) 409 Can help maintain open understory and forest gaps that support diverse forbs and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. Standing dead trees may be kept or drilled with smooth 3- to 6-inch deep holes to provide nesting sites for

bees.

Prescribed Grazing (acre) 528 Can help maintain early successional habitat and its associated flowering plants. Ensure that grazing objectives include a diverse plant community that incorporates legumes, forbs, and appropriate flowering woody species to create floral and

structural diversity.

Range Planting (acre) 550 Can include diverse legumes, other forbs and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees.

Residue and Tillage Management, No-Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed (acre) 329 Can protect bees that are nesting in the ground at the base of the plants they pollinate. Soil tillage digs up these nests (located 0.5 to 3 feet underground) or blocks emergence of new adult bees bred the proceeding year.

Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (acre) 643 Can be used to provide diverse locally grown native forage (forbs, shrubs, vines, and trees) and nesting resources for pol-linators. Many specialist pollinators that are closely tied to rare plants or habitats may significantly benefit from efforts to

protect rare habitat. In addition, certain rare plants require pollinators to reproduce. Note: Pollinator plants should only be planted if they were part of the rare ecosystem you are trying to restore.

Table 2 Conservation practices that can be used to create or enhance pollinator habitat—Continued

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Conservation practice (unit) Code Pollinator notes

Riparian Forest Buffer (acre) 391 Can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. The stable habitat may supply nest sites to solitary ground and wood-tunnel nesting bees, as well as bumble bees. This practice also can

help reduce drift of pesticides onto areas of pollinator habitat.

Riparian Herbaceous Cover (acre) 390 Can include diverse forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. In drier parts of the U.S., many of these forbs flower in the late summer and fall, when pollinator forage is needed most.

Silvopasture Establishment (acre) 381 If grazing intensity is low enough to allow for plants to flower, this practice can include legumes and other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for bees. Trees and shrubs that provide pollen and nectar also can be planted.

Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (acre) 395 Plants chosen for adjoining riparian areas can include trees, shrubs, and forbs that provide pollen and nectar for pollina-tors. Maximizing plant diversity along riparian corridors will result in more pollinators and other terrestrial insects to

feed fish in the streams.

Streambank and Shoreline Protec-tion (foot) 580 If vegetation is used for streambank protection, plants can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. Good candidates include willow (Salix spp.), dogwood (Cornus spp.), and goldenrod

(Solidago spp.).

Stripcropping (acre) 585 Can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for native bees. If insect pollinated crops are grown, plants used in adjacent strips of vegetative cover may be carefully chosen to provide a complementary bloom

period to the crop, such that the flowers available in the field are extended over a longer period of time.

Tree/Shrub Establishment (acre) 612 Can include trees, shrubs, and vines especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. Woody plants with pithy stems (e.g., elderberry (Sambucus spp.), boxelder (Acer negundo), and raspberries (Rubus spp.) also may be cho-

sen to provide potential nest sites for solitary bees that nest in wood stems.

Upland Wildlife Habitat Manage-ment (acre) 645 Can include managing for pollinator forage or pollinator nest sites, such as including nest blocks or snags for solitary bees that nest in tunnels in wood, access to bare soil for ground-nesting solitary bees, and small mammal burrows or

overgrown grass cover for bumble bees. Note: Please see Early Successional Habitat Development/Management (647) and Prescribed Burning (338) for manage-

ment techniques that minimize the disruption of pollinator communities.

Vegetative Barriers (foot) 601 Can include plants that provide pollen and nectar for pollinators.

Wetland Enhancement (acre) 659 Wetland and adjacent upland can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pol-linators. Snags can be protected or nest blocks for bees erected.

Wetland Restoration (acre) 657 Wetland and adjacent upland can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pol-linators. Snags can be protected or nest blocks for bees erected.

Wetland Wildlife Habitat Manage-ment (acre) 644 Wetland and adjacent upland can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pol-linators. Snags can be protected or nest blocks for bees erected.

Note: Please see Early Successional Habitat Development/Management (647) and Prescribed Burning (338) for manage-ment techniques that minimize the disruption of pollinator communities.

Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establish-ment (foot) 380 Can include trees, shrubs, vines, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. Windbreaks and shelter belts are a good place to put nesting structures for native bees, and they can help reduce drift of insecticides

onto a site.

Windbreak/Shelterbelt Renovation (foot) 650 Can include trees, shrubs, vines, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. If appropriate, dead trees and snags may be kept or drilled with holes to provide nesting sites for bees.

Table 2 Conservation practices that can be used to create or enhance pollinator habitat—Continued

Note: Many FSA-sponsored CRP and CREP conservation practices are similar in name and intent, so the recommendations in this table can often be applied to them.

Using Farm Bill Programs for Pollinator Conservation

Technical Note No. 78, August 2008

Pollinator resource Code and conservation practice (unit)

Forage (diverse sources of pollen and nec-

tar that support pollinators from early in the

spring to late in the fall)

311—Alley Cropping (acre)

322—Channel Bank Vegetation (acre)

327—Conservation Cover (acre)

328—Conservation Crop Rotation (acre)

656—Constructed Wetland (acre)

332—Contour Buffer Strips (acre)

340—Cover Crop (acre)

342—Critical Area Planting (acre)

386—Field Border (foot)

393—Filter Strip (acre)

412—Grassed Waterway (acre)

422—Hedgerow Planting (foot)

603—Herbaceous Wind Barriers (foot)

379—Multi-Story Cropping (acre)

512—Pasture and Hay Planting (acre)

595—Pest Management (acre)

409—Prescribed Forestry (acre)

528—Prescribed Grazing (acre)

550—Range Planting (acre)

643—Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (acre)

391—Riparian Forest Buffer (acre)

390—Riparian Herbaceous Cover (acre)

381—Silvopasture Establishment (acre)

395—Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (acre)

580—Streambank and Shoreline Protection (foot)

585—Stripcropping (acre)

612—Tree/Shrub Establishment (acre)

645—Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

601—Vegetative Barriers (foot)

659—Wetland Enhancement (acre)

657—Wetland Restoration (acre)

644—Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

380—Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (foot)

650—Windbreak/Shelterbelt Renovation (foot)

Nest sites (stable ground, holes in wood,

cavities for bumble bees, or overwintering

sites for bumble bee queens)

322—Channel Bank Vegetation (acre)

656—Constructed Wetland (acre)

332—Contour Buffer Strips (acre)

342—Critical Area Planting (acre)

386—Field Border (foot)

422—Hedgerow Planting (foot)

409—Prescribed Forestry (acre)

329—Residue and Tillage Management, No-Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed (acre)

643—Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (acre)

391—Riparian Forest Buffer (acre)

612—Tree/Shrub Establishment (acre)

645—Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

659—Wetland Enhancement (acre)

657—Wetland Restoration (acre)

644—Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

380—Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (foot)

650—Windbreak/Shelterbelt Renovation (foot)

Table 3 Pollinator requirements and the conservation practices that can be used to provide them in the field

9Technical Note No. 78, August 2008

Using Farm Bill Programs for Pollinator Conservation

Pollinator resource Code and conservation practice (unit)

Pesticide protection (refuge from spray,

buffers to drift, etc.)

322—Channel Bank Vegetation (acre)

656—Constructed Wetland (acre)

342—Critical Area Planting (acre)

422—Hedgerow Planting (foot)

391—Riparian Forest Buffer (acre)

657—Wetland Restoration (acre)

380—Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (foot)

Site management for pollinators 647—Early Successional Habitat Development or Management (acre)

595—Pest Management (acre)

338—Prescribed Burning (acre)

409—Prescribed Forestry (acre)

528—Prescribed Grazing (acre)

643—Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (acre)

645—Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

644—Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management (acre)

Table 3 Pollinator requirements and the conservation practices that can be used to provide them in the field—Continued

State-level opportunities

Pollinator conservation biology technical

notes

Each State can develop pollinator conservation biol-

ogy tech ni cal notes to help field conserva tionists

promote pollinators in their conservation planning and

implementation. Ideally, the notes will:

• Emphasize the importance of leaving as much

land as possible in relatively natural condition

since many pollinators require this for successful

completion of their life cycles.

• Provide details on the native and nonnative

plants used by native bees (or other pollinators

such as butterflies) that could be included in

various conservation practices throughout the

State. Important information to include for each

plant is flowering period and suitable habitat

conditions for planting, as well as information on

seeding rates.

• Stress the importance of having many plant spe-

cies in bloom throughout the growing season.

In practice, this means providing at least three

blooming pollinator plants during spring, sum-

mer, and fall.

• Highlight the importance of nest sites for crop

pollinating native bees. These nest sites include:

– partially bare, well-drained ground for solitary

ground-nesting bees

– narrow tunnels in standing dead wood or

plants with pithy stems for solitary tunnel-

nesting bees

– small cavities, such as abandoned rodent bur-

rows or areas of overgrown, fallen grass for

bumble bees

Oregon, New Jersey, and Montana NRCS State Offices

have produced pollinator conservation biology techni-

cal notes, and others are in the making. The Xerces

Society drew from these sources and other technical

materials to create a template of a State technical

note. These documents and others referenced in State-

level opportunities are listed with Web locations in

table 4, as are complementary Fish and Wildlife Habi-

tat Management Leaflets produced by the Agricultural

Wildlife Conservation Center. These documents are also

available at the PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.

gov/pollinators/NRCSdocuments.html).

10 U

. 7

, A

Description or title Document type Scope Web location (if available)

Bats (PDF; 935 KB) Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet U.S. http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=18509.wba

Butterflies (PDF; 2312 KB) Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet U.S. http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=18479.wba

Conservation Cover: Wild-flower Meadow for Wildlife

and Pollinators 327a (PDF; 95 KB)

Conservation Practice Job Sheet Virginia http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/references/public/VA/327a_Cover_Crop_Wildflower_js_Final.pdf

County Irrigated Land Information MT 2008 (DOC;

79 KB)

Conservation Project Ranking Criteria Montana http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/eqip2008/irrigatedland2008.html

CSP Wildlife Enhancement Activity - Pollinator Areas

(PDF; 74 KB)

Conservation Security Program, Enhancement

Activity Job Sheet

Alabama ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/AL/tech/csp08/al_pollinator_areas.pdf

EQIP Ranking Instructions SD FY08 (DOC; 389 KB) Conservation Project Ranking Criteria South Dakota

EQIP Ranking Summary Sheet–NRCS MT Madison

County 2005 (PDF; 73 KB)

Conservation Project Ranking Criteria Montana

Factors Affecting Butterfly Use of Filter Strips in South-

west Minnesota (PDF; 1639 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Leaflet Minnesota ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WHMI/WEB/pdf/TechnicalLeaflets/Butterfly.pdf

Habitat Development for Pollinator Insects MT-20

(PDF; 47 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note Montana ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MT/www/technical/biology/Biology_Tech_Note_MT20_Rev3.pdf

Habitat Development for Pollinators NJ (PDF; 102

KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note New Jersey http://www.nj.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/documents/NJ_BIO_TECH_NOTE-Pollinators.pdf

Montana Native Plants for Pollinator-Friendly Plantings

(PDF; 1982 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note Montana ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MT/www/technical/plants/pollinator.pdf

Native Pollinators (PDF; 4730 KB) Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet U.S. http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=18497.wba

NRCS Pollinator Tech Note TEMPLATE–Xerces (DOC;

649 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note U.S.

Plant Management for Na-tive, Culturally Significant

Plants EPL40 (PDF; 67 KB)

Conservation Security Program, Enhancement

Activity Job Sheet

U.S. http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/Jobsheets/EPL40_Native_Culturally_Significant_Plants.pdf

Table 4 NRCS documents for pollinator conservation and enhancement

. 7

, A

Description or title Document type Scope Web location (if available)

Plant Management for Nec-tar Corridors EPL41 (PDF;

788 KB)

Conservation Security Program, Enhancement

Activity Job Sheet

U.S. http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/Jobsheets/EPL41_Nectar_Corridors.pdf

Plants for Pollinators in Or-egon PM 13 (PDF; 402 KB) Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note Oregon ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/OR/Technical_Notes/Plant%20Materials/PMC13.pdf

Plants for Pollinators in the Intermountain West PM 2

(PDF; 1405 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Technical Note Intermountain West http://www.plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/pubs/idpmstn7641.pdf

Pollinator Ranking Form Final SD (XLS; 103 KB) Conservation Project Ranking Criteria South Dakota

Pollinators South Dakota Fact Sheet SD–FS–55 (PDF;

72 KB)

Pollinator Conservation Biology Fact Sheet South Dakota

Ruby-throated hummingbird (PDF; 416 KB) Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet U.S. ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WHMI/WEB/pdf/RUBYthroated1.pdf

WHIP Ranking Template Questions SD 2008 (PDF;

150 KB)

Conservation Project Ranking Criteria South Dakota ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/SD/win/Intranet/Bulletins/FY08_Bulletins/WHIP%20Instructions.pdf

Table 4 NRCS documents for pollinator conservation and enhancement

Using Farm Bill Programs for Pollinator Conservation

Technical Note No. 78, August 2008

Pollinator conservation job sheets

States can also develop pollinator conservation job

sheets. For example, Virginia has produced a Conser-

vation Cover job sheet on establishing and maintaining

wildflower meadows for wildlife and pollinators (fig.

3). This job sheet provides general criteria and specifi-

cations, details on site maintenance, lists of appropri-

ate plants, and tools for site planning.

Conservation project ranking criteria

States can include a line item that provides additional

points during scoring if proposed conservation proj-

ects address the flowering or nesting needs of pollina-

tors. In Montana, an EQIP or WHIP line item awards

20 additional points for projects that include sequen-

tially blooming pollinator-friendly plants. South Dako-

ta and California have also developed project ranking

criteria that support pollinators.

Conservation Security Program, pollinator

enhancements

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) includes

enhance ments that may be pulled into State programs

to conserve pollinators. Nectar Corridors (CSP En-

hancement Activity Job Sheet for Plant Management

EPL41) and Native, Culturally Significant Plants

(EPL40) both provide additional incentives for incor-

poration of pollinator habitat into CSP contracts. In

addition, an enhancement specifically for pollinator

habitat is available for the 2008 Conservation Security

Program sign-up. The Conservation Security Program

was replaced by the Conservation Stewardship Pro-

gram in May 2008, but, these enhancements will con-

tinue in similar form.

Other State opportunities

NRCS State programs can add pollinator habitat crite-

ria to their existing Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Guides,

or develop specific documents that assess pollinator

habitat. They can also incorporate information on pol-

linators into their State vegetation guides.

Plant Materials Center assistance

Regional NRCS Plant Materials Centers (PMC) and

plant material specialists can develop field trials to test

individual plants or combinations of plant materials

with a native pollinator focus. The Corvallis PMC (Cor-

vallis, OR), Rose Lake PMC (East Lansing, MI), Lock-

eford PMC (Locke ford, CA), and the National PMC

(Beltsville, MD) are currently developing demonstra-

tion insectary plantings and recommendations for pol-

linator seeding mixes. PMC staff can work with States

to produce regional pollinator conservation biology

technical notes and other documents.

State office assistance

The NRCS Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center

and several private foundations funded the Xerces

Society to provide NRCS State Offices with technical

support to help implement pollinator conservation

measures. Please contact Mace Vaughan

(mace@xerces.org) if you are interested in this ser-

vice.

For more information about pollinator conservation

measures, please see the NRCS Ecological Sciences

Division publications (http://www.nrcs.usda.

gov/technical/ECS/database/technotes.html), or

visit the Xerces Society (http://www.xerces.org/

pollinator-conservation-agriculture/) or the Pollinator

Partnership (http://www.pollinator.org/).

Figure 3 Fire can be used in meadows, prairies, and sa-

vannahs to encourage forbs that feed and shelter

pollinators. (Photo by Jeff Vanaga, NRCS)plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Using_Farm_Bill_Programs_for_Pollinator_Conservation.pdf

Green infrastructure still being destroyed: Boozeman, Lincoln and Pryor all promised in 2009 to cooperate to get federal money appropriated to buy sale-barn property; instead, their failure to act has resulted in wet-prairie land north and west of the National Cemetery being dredged and filled for burial sites

2010-04-24T09:43:00.002-05:00

Fayetteville National Cemetery photo set. Scroll to bottom of set for more of today's photos This didn't have to happen. Could it be related to the fact that none of the three is a U.S. military veteran? Or did they have more important people's votes in mind? The percentage of veterans who vote is pretty high. The right to vote has always been a reason for many to agree to fight to protect our Democratic form of government. Please click on image to ENLARGE view of land dredging at Fayetteville National Cemetery on April 23, 2010.

Earth Day Festival began Friday night with Caring for Creation at Mount Sequoyah; Earth Day at World Peace Wetland Prairie from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2010, offers eduction and fun for all ages

2010-04-16T23:29:00.003-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE for closer view of sample photos from WPWP.

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type. For more about World Peace Wetland Prairie please see www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/ www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type.

MANY REASONS TO PROTECT LAND SUCH AS WORLD PEACE WETLAND AND PINNACLE PRAIRIE FOREVER:

World Peace Wetland Prairie is the riparian zone of a small stream that historically was fed by seep springs and rainwater from three directions when the first westward immigrants settled Fayetteville, Arkansas. World Peace Wetland Prairie has the deepest layer of dark, rich soil in its subwatershed because leaves and other vegetative matter accumulated as the flowing water slowed and soaked into the absorbent soil and enriched that soil. Pinnacle Foods Inc.'s mounded wet prairie to the west is the main source of clean water flowing to World Peace Wetland Prairie at this time. Before the railroad was built, water flowed off Rochier Hill to the northwest and from the prairie and savannah to the north of WPWP that has been replaced by fill dirt and paving for apartments. Water from the east and north slopes of the high land where Pinnacle Foods Inc. now sits flowed to WPWP along with all the water from the high ground near 15th Street, which moved north to WPWP before flowing east to the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River. Such remnants of prairie help keep the water where it falls and recharge the groundwater. Like the many similar remnants of such prairie in our diverse geographical area, WPWP and Pinnacle Prairie are the surface manifestation of a significant bedrock fault. Such sunken wetland is a characteristic feature that appears above geological faults worldwide. The Karst map of Washington County Arkansas shows the WPWP watershed in red, meaning that it is a critical groundwater recharge area. Preserving such depressional wetland in our city is the least expensive way to reduce downstream flooding and siltation of our water supply. Hundreds of native plants grow. Many birds and other wildlife prosper on healthy wetland vegetation. And prairie vegetation sequesters carbon dioxide and cleans the ground water.

KEEP the WATER where it FALLS!

John Bame and Fayetteville High School students look at old rail trestle and discarded rail ties blocking construction of city trail through old tunnel under existing Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

2010-03-31T15:08:00.002-05:00

I might not have discovered this for some time had not John Bame brought some FHS students to World Peace Wetland Prairie and then taken them on a walk of the Pinnacle Prairie Trail and the part of Tsa-La-Gi Trail as yet uncompleted from the Hill Place Apartments through the old rail tunnel to the west to Razorback Road and beyond. Thanks to the environmentally aware students for caring and wanting to learn more about the delicate geography and geology of our city.
Please click on image to enlarge view of railroad ties over mouth of tunnel and then watch video below the photo to learn reaction of workers when they learned that the ties should not be dumped there.

Rail ties being dumped in mouth of tunnel in Fayetteville AR

Aubrey james | MySpace Video

The Fayetteville city trail administrator telephoned the railroad manager in Springdale an hour later and the railroad official confirmed that the ties were not to be dumped there but were to be dumped at Cato Springs Road. Rail ties are creosoted and very dangerous to human beings and other living things when the chemicals leach into the watershed.

Arkansas Highway Department plan to stop flow of sediment to Mulberry River from Pig Trail repair site will cost $1.6 million

2010-03-26T09:29:00.001-05:00

Please click on byline of Adam Wallworth to go to newspaper online and view full story and previous stories on the pollution of Mountain Creek and the Mulberry River.
See video by Tom Shuessler below. Click on video to find high-definition view on You Tube. Also, watch CAT 18 on Cox Cable at 11 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. today for Schuessler's short slide show and description of what has been happening in recent weeks at the highway construction site on the Pig Trail (Arkansas 23). Programs on CAT also may be viewed simulcast online at www.catfayetteville.org
at 11 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. today. Click on WATCH ONLINE near right top corner of page.

By Adam Wallworth

Friday, March 26, 2010

LITTLE ROCK — State highway officials have begun work on a $1.6 million plan to stop the flow of sediment from an Arkansas 23 construction project into a Mulberry River tributary as state and federal environmental regulators consider penalties for the pollution.

“Even if they were to completely be able to remediate the site right now, that still doesn’t necessarily resolve any possible penalty,” said Ryan Benefield, deputy director of the Arkansas Departmentof Environmental Quality.

Benefield said the department will continue its enforcement action against the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department while it reviews a mitigation plan that the agency submitted Wednesday.

The plan comes in response to reports by environmental inspector Jeff Tyler, who detailed runoff problems that caused sediment to flow into a tributary of Mountain Creek half a mile downhill from the Arkansas 23 construction site.

Tyler began monitoring the site after a resident about 5 miles downstream complained about sediment in Mountain Creek, which feeds the Mulberry River.

Heavy rains caused the collapse of a 1, 200-foot section of Arkansas 23, a 19-mile stretch also known as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway, in March 2008. A second collapse prompted the state to close the road in December after repair work had begun.

The Highway Department approved a $1.6 million change order to address runoff problems Wednesday.

Most of the mitigation cost - $1.3 million - stems from removing dirt and rocks from the roadbed and alongside Arkansas 23 where contractor Kesser International is rebuilding the road, said Randy Ort, Highway Department spokesman.

That waste material had been leveled, seeded and mulched, but then heavy rain caused it to start sliding, according to officials.

Kesser International has already started building a gravel road to accommodate the heavy equipment needed to remove the material, Ort said.

The flow of underground water that caused the road to collapse in the first place is causing the sediment-runoff problem, Ort said.

Repairs are intended to stabilize the hillside, but there is no guarantee there won’t be another slide.

“It’s going to happen again, maybe not here, but up there again,” Ort said. “We’ve had slides all over north Arkansas, but most don’t impair roadways.”

The mitigation plan also calls for digging a trench along the base of the roadway to direct rainwater into two natural channels, Ort said. The channels will be lined with rock, he said.

The hillside will be seeded and mulched, but until that vegetation takes hold, wattles will be used to control surface runoff. Wattles are similar to sandbags and are used to stop sediment while still allowing water to flow through.

Benefield said he expects his staff to submit a draft consent administrative order next week to outline steps the Highway Department and Kesser International need to take to fix the problem.

At a minimum, the order will require the Highway Department to implement its plan as submitted, Benefield said. The order could include additional remediation steps and a fine.

Biologists have said sediment 2- to 10-inches deep has choked out aquatic life in the tributary and in Mountain Creek, although the pollution dissipates quickly in the Mulberry River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also pursuing enforcement action against the Highway Department and was expected to send a notice late Thursday or today, said Kyle Clark, chief of its enforcement branch and regulatory division.

Clark said the Highway Department will have 14 days to respond, but the Corps will likely accept any plan approved by the state environmental department.

State Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, said she is waiting to hear back from Teresa Marks, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and will continue to monitor the project. Whitaker questioned Highway Department officials about the runoff problem during the Legislature’s recent fiscal session.

Benefield said the consent administrative order will provide a legal framework to ensure that the Highway Department follows through with its plan and takes any needed future action. He said he expects the department to continue to cooperate.

Benefield couldn’t say whether the Highway Department has been subject to a consent administrative order before.

“I think it is fair to say it is uncommon, given the amount of work performed by the Highway Department,” he said.

Highway officials don’t plan to remove a portion of the spoil material that broke loose and slid into the tributary of Mountain Creek. Biologists have said removing that material could do more harm than good.

Arkansas, Pages 11 on 03/26/2010

Ask Congress to restore Clean Water Act now

2010-03-22T10:19:00.001-05:00

Please double-click "view as webpage" link near top right to see full post.

March 22, 2010	View as Webpage \| Forward \| Subscribe

	Dear Aubrey, If you think the Clean Water Act protects your drinking water from pollution, think again. Please take action today to ensure fundamental safeguards for clean water in our streams, rivers, and lakes. A confusing 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act has left the fate of 60 percent of the nation’s stream miles -– that provide drinking water for 117 million Americans –- in legal limbo. As a result, as reported in The New York Times, polluters are now claiming complete exemptions from reporting what they dump into local streams. Congress can resolve this problem by passing legislation to restore full federal protection for all our waters. Help us ensure that all of our nation’s waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Urge your representative to support introducing and passing the Clean Water Restoration Act today. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Katherine Baer Senior Director, Clean Water Program

To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org.
To update your profile or change your preferences click here. To unsubscribe click here.

I would like to express grave concern over the loss of protection for many of our small streams that provide clean drinking water for 117 million Americans in communities across the country. Supreme Court decisions in the Rapanos and Carabell cases have made it confusing and burdensome for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect small streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

As a result, enforcement actions against polluters have declined sharply the EPA estimates that over 1,000 cases have been shelved or dropped altogether. More recently it has become clear that some polluters are using the decisions as a justification to avoid any permitting and reporting requirements for discharging pollutants into our waters.

For the Clean Water Act to fulfill its goal of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, all waters must receive protection corresponding with Congress' original intent when passing this landmark law. Upstream waters must be protected from pollution and destruction if we expect downstream waters to be fit for swimming, drinking, and fish and wildlife, and downstream communities to be safe from flooding.

I urge you to act in the interest of preserving clean water for healthy communities and wildlife. Please support introduction and passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would clarify the definition of waters to eliminate uncertainty and ensure clean water in accordance with the goals of the Clean Water Act.

Thank you for your consideration.

World Peace Wetland Prairie spider milkweed, false indigo bush, dogbane, blue-eyed grass and cottontail rabbit photographed on May 21, 2009

2010-03-12T10:34:00.001-06:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of a sample of what you won't see on Earthday at World Peace Wetland Prairie but may see again if you visit in May. Native wildflowers and tall grass emerge later than the typical nonnative species found in many gardens in Arkansas.

Photo above reveals view northwest with Amorpha fructicosa bush in bloom. Also known as false indigo or indigo bush on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

Cottontail rabbit reluctant to leave his grazing area and hoping photographer will back away on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

In photo above, the tiny blue-eyed grass is seen growing near a tall dogbane or Indian Hemp plant.

Above, Asclepias viridis, also known as spider milkweed or antelope horns, is nearing full bloom. Viridis is the earliest of the milkweeds to bloom in Northwest Arkansas.

Above is an instance of a tall dogbane or Indian hemp plant with a shorter spider milkweed at right.
Dogbane seems always to pop out of the ground before the milkweed and the leaves of the two are similar. Both are plentiful at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
For more photos of wildflowers at WPWP, please see
WPWP wildflowers

Tom Schuessler's video of desecration of Mountain Creek, a tributary of the Mulberry River, off Arkansas 23

2010-03-08T23:30:00.003-06:00

Typical Illinois River tributary southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has siltation caused by Highway Department's dredging of roadside ditches

2010-02-27T17:29:00.001-06:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of stream that enters the Illinois River. This one is near a highway and shows signs of dumping of assorted material in the creek. Worse, however, is that Arkansas Highway and Transportation workers mow and then dredge out ditches from which water from the highway carries silt into the stream. That reduces the success of many native species that inhabit the stream. It is easy to haul out the junk and debris. But silt is difficult to remove. Neither should be in the stream. Thoughtless people dump the junk into creeks. Well-paid workers dredge the ditches and cause the erosion at taxpayer expense!

Photo montage of World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas

2010-02-09T12:03:00.001-06:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE and navigate up and down, right and left, to see whole montage.

Montage by Lauren D. Hawkins with photos by Aubrey James Shepherd

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites all to open house from 3 to 6 p.m. today

2010-02-06T11:25:00.001-06:00

View Larger Map

OMNI Center for Peace Justice and Ecology opens new house to all TODAY!
Office Phone: (479)935-4422
omni.center.for.pje@gmail.com
“OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
educates and empowers people to actively
build a non-violent, sustainable and just world.”
Saturday,
February 2010
3:00—6:00 PM
3274 N. Lee Ave
OMNI CENTER for PEACE, JUSTICE & ECOLOGY
You are invited to celebrate the dedication of
OMNI Center’s new building! Enjoy music, re-
freshments, good fellowship, speakers, and
tours! Learn more than 35 ways to be involved
in OMNI. Help build a culture of peace in an
earth restored, that includes everyone.
Children
Welcome!
Handicap
Access
Refreshments
Will Be
Served!
Open House!

January 31, 2010, birds of World Peace Wetland Prairie searching for bare ground and free seed

2010-01-31T13:57:00.001-06:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of assorted birds. Many more species are around today, such as red-winged blackbirds, bluejays, cardinals and many others whose names and photos are more difficult to collect.

Natural Resources Conservation Service removed some pretty healthy riparian vegetation from Scull Creek but left some bad spots with targeted debris blocking stream flow

2009-12-24T19:40:00.002-06:00

Please click on images to ENLARGE.

The Scull Creek trail bridge at Ash Street and Chestnut Avenue has had this same debris hung up on it for maybe three months or more since the worst flood of the fall of 2009 sent water flowing over the bridge, but the NCRS contractors ignored it and spent a lot of their time paid for by federal money cutting live trees from the riparian zone and overflow areas of Scull Creek and other streams in Fayetteville, such as the Town Branch.

The good news is that the native wildflowers along the same stretch of trail in the Scull Creek riparian zone were mostly left standing. That means more seed to sprout in spring and more seed for the wild birds to eat. The square stems with now-wrinkled huge leaves still forming water-holding structures along them are cup flowers. a species that grew 10 feet tall and more at World Peace Wetland Prairie and many other prairie areas in Northwest Arkansas in 2009.

By morning, tall grass and tall wildflower seed and other sources such as this native smartweed near Scull Creek and native buckbrush and nonnative China honeysuckle and nonnative privet berries will be among the few places for migrating birds to feed if the snowfall is as predicted.

Wouldn't the birds love it if the trash were picked up from the ditches running from the streets and the apartment dwellers would actually help?

Remember that birdfeeders are important for wintering birds but that every stick of vegetation and every square foot of natural soil left in place are more important for birds and other wildlife.

Democrat/Gazette December 21, 2009, editorial advocating saving sale-barn land for Fayetteville National Cemetery pleases majority of veterans and neighbors, but the problem is that saving Town Branch homeowners from flooding downhill from the cemetery is still being ignored: VA already at work preparing to dredge and fill wetland and pipe stormwater directly to Hill Avenue and thus to the 11th Street bridge on the Town Branch

2009-12-22T22:21:00.002-06:00

Please click on individual photos to ENLARGE view of wetland area along the north edge of the Fayetteville National Cemetery being prepared for dredging and filling for grave sites. The depressional wetland developed over centuries because it is above a bedrock karst area where groundwater sinks into the underground caverns and aquifers and reduces surface-water flooding. When it is piped to the Town Branch it will further aggravate the flooding danger between Ellis and Van Buren avenues already created by the University of Arkansas' failure properly to manage stormwater on the campus and by paving and development along Martin Luther King Boulevard and on the Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project.

Save acres for vets

Now buy the land for the cemetery

Monday, December 21, 2009

Print item

LITTLE ROCK — LIKE WARM Arkansas Christmases, dry eyes after It’s a Wonderful Life, and little boys from the Natural State scribbling “LSU gear” on their annual wish lists, some things are just not meant to be. That’s the way it seems with the controversial student apartments that apparently won’t be built in south Fayetteville. You know, where Washington County’s historic livestock auction house operated until June.
A lawsuit that sought to override the city’s denial of a rezoning request seems to be kaput. Campus Crest developers of North Carolina wanted to buy the property from the auction house’s owner, Bill Joe Bartholomew, and build 500 apartments on the property. But the drawn-out legal ordeal surrounding this purchase became just too much to bear. Mr. Bartholomew now wants his suit dismissed.
The proposed sale to Campus Crest became a flashpoint for veterans and others last summer. They wanted to secure the site across Government Avenue from the city’s National Cemetery so they might preserve the sacred nature of that location. They basically argued that more student apartments in an overbuilt Fayetteville wasn’t an appropriate use of the land. They had a point. The former auction barn parcel does provide an ideally located space to enlarge this rapidly filling cemetery.
Fayetteville’s council denied Mr. Bartholomew’s request to rezone his property. The rezoning would have sealed the sale and enabled Campus Crest to purchase and develop the property. That’s when Mr. Bartholomew filed his suit against the city.

This latest development means the corporation that oversees the cemetery’s operation, Congress, the national office of Veteran’s Affairs, and veterans’ organizations need to find a way to purchase this property. The space needs to be preserved and protected as a final resting place for our veterans in the decades to come.

Aubrey Shepherd's posts that ought to be seen by everyone

Short takes on Cox 218 and AT&T channel 99 something for today through the weekend

December 20, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville AR city council draws comment on several important local issues on a 3-hour, 37-minute video

Developers keep chipping away at Northwest Arkansas prairie and former prairie:

High water after rain in Northwest Arkansas as seen at confluence of West Fork of the White River and the Town Branch of the West Fork

October 27, 2011, Fayettevillle Council of Neighborhoods meeting includes discussion of failure of cities to move forward with low-impact development practices to protect Beaver Lake watershed

Jim Bemis provides video from Fayetteville Telecom Board subcommittee meeting of September 30, 2011

Video of Ward Four meeting at 7 p.m. September 26 includes explanation of importance of renewing sales tax by vote on Oct. 11, 2011. See detail below

Please click on image below to ENLARGE for reading. Click on the enlargement for even easier reading.Monday, September 26, 2011

Town Branch Neighborhood Association meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011, welcomes everyone who chooses to attend

to discuss plan for apartment complex adjacent to National Cemetery, streamside-protection ordinance, neighborhood watch, urban wildlife-habitat certification of private property, natural-yard option approved by City Council and anything of importance in our neighborhood and city

Greg Howe has resigned to take a job in a wonderful place to the northwest. His final meeting of Fayetteville's Tree and Landscape Committee, now known as the Urban Forestry Board

Traditional landscapes suck Energy, Water and Money, says Neil Diboll at The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

« Welcome to The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

The Future of Gardening by Neil Diboll

University of Vermont ExtensionDepartment of Plant and Soil Science

Doug Tallamy tells us about 'Bringing Nature Home' to provide habitat for wildlife

Please bring children to World Peace Wetland Prairie to celebrate Earth Day on April 17, 2011, to celebrate Earth Day with Toucan Jam and many other local Fayetteville, Arkansas, musicians and singers

Shortakes to run April 11-15, 2011, on Fayetteville public-access televion, channel 218 on Cox Cable

March 14, 2011, video recorded at Community Access Television with Aubrey Shepherd's photos from Bruce Walker Memorial at George's on March 13, 2011: To run next week on Cox 218 on your big-screen TV

Fayetteville AR Council of Neighbors finally had a quorum on February 24, 2011, and took care of some business after four months without an 'official' meeting

Night before Streamside Ordinance was passed by City Council, it was discussed during Ward 4 meeting

September 18, 2006, video of eroded fill dirt washing off the Aspen Ridge (now Hill Place) construction site at 11th Street and South Duncan Avenue

Jim Bemis speaks at Telecom Board meeting on December 16, 2010

Cox Cable changes of interest to viewers of Fayetteville's public channels

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...

Cox Cable pulls surprise on city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with plan to move public-access, government channel and educational channel to EXPENSIVE digital tier of channels: So much for open government when thousands of people will not be able to afford access to the public channels

aubunique: A few more words from David Whitaker on election e...

Election-eve comment from David Whitaker, Northwest Arkansas' candidate to take seat in House of Representatives from 3rd congressional disctrict

Comments on riparian ordinance during October 2010 meeting of Fayetteville Planning Commission by Fran Deane Alexander and Aubrey James Shepherd

Aubrey Shepherd quoted on UATV on October 20, 2010, on significance of demolition of old grain elevator in south Fayetteville, Arkansas

Highway Commission vote could end mowing and dredging practices that cause erosion, loss of wildlife habitat and decrease beauty of roadsides in Arkansas

aubunique: Fayetteville's David Whitaker's debate with mayor ...

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...

Aug9 aubrey.asf

Please attend tonight's meeting of the Council of Neighborhoods: Agenda below

Two such wetland plants growing together are a strong indicator of wetland

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

DSCN7073Clasping leaf milkweed SEED.AVI

John Rule to read from his own poetry today at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. TONIGHT!

Buckeye butterfly on nonnative butterfly bush in the peace-circle portion of the World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 11, 2010. You may be able to see it and many other pollinators Saturday June 12, 2010, at some of the 8 private gardens on the OMNI Tour of Peace Gardens

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

Denver tolerates no fireworks, so why should Fayetteville weaken its rules?

Denver's zero tolerance firework policy outlined

PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS

Greg Leding took the Democratic nomination for District 92 state representative by 69 percent to 31 percent over longtime legislator Bill Ramsey

Halter fans plentiful in downtown Fayetteville on night before senatorial primary election

Farm Bill programs may be used for conserving pollinators!

Earth Day Festival began Friday night with Caring for Creation at Mount Sequoyah; Earth Day at World Peace Wetland Prairie from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2010, offers eduction and fun for all ages

John Bame and Fayetteville High School students look at old rail trestle and discarded rail ties blocking construction of city trail through old tunnel under existing Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

Arkansas Highway Department plan to stop flow of sediment to Mulberry River from Pig Trail repair site will cost $1.6 million

Highway agency works to stem sediment flow into stream

Ask Congress to restore Clean Water Act now

World Peace Wetland Prairie spider milkweed, false indigo bush, dogbane, blue-eyed grass and cottontail rabbit photographed on May 21, 2009

Tom Schuessler's video of desecration of Mountain Creek, a tributary of the Mulberry River, off Arkansas 23

Typical Illinois River tributary southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has siltation caused by Highway Department's dredging of roadside ditches

Photo montage of World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites all to open house from 3 to 6 p.m. today

January 31, 2010, birds of World Peace Wetland Prairie searching for bare ground and free seed

Natural Resources Conservation Service removed some pretty healthy riparian vegetation from Scull Creek but left some bad spots with targeted debris blocking stream flow

Save acres for vets

Now buy the land for the cemetery

Please click on image below to ENLARGE for reading. Click on the enlargement for even easier reading.

Monday, September 26, 2011

University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science