Tag Archives: conservation

Our Public Lands

Parks & Sanctuaries, Wildlife & Plants, , , , ,

Debates over how America’s public lands should be managed are as old as the system itself, dating back to the early 1900s when President Teddy Roosevelt pioneered our current system. Disagreements have often centered on the balance between energy or resource development and protecting wild places for recreation and wildlife. I and thousands of other American citizens have fought for decades to defend our most treasured wild places—those areas with exceptional characteristics that provide the greatest value when simply left untouched. In countless battles over the years, grassroots groups and local people, all united by the fundamental idea that our federal public lands belong to all Americans and represent a core part of our country’s heritage have worked to defend these magnificent places.

The fact is, a resounding majority of Americans support the protection of our public lands. In a 2016 Harvard Kennedy School study, more than 93% of respondents across the country said it’s important that historical sites, public lands, and national parks be protected for current and future generations.

But recently, ideas are resurfacing that seek to undermine our public lands. These efforts use misleading appeals for “states’ rights” and flawed economic information to remove protections from some of our most special places in order to extract short-term profit. Backed by powerful fossil fuel and extractive industry interests, this systematic, well-organized and multifaceted movement began at the state level and now enjoys support at the highest level of government.

Removing protection for our public lands and turning this land over to private interests for private profit would amount to theft from the American people. These public lands are our legacy. Please don’t stand by and watch this legacy be taken away from us, our children and our children’s children.

A Glimpse of a Bobcat and the Sound of a Raven

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I recently saw in a social media post by a friend that Spring is in the air. I responded that it doesn’t feel that way up here in the North Woods! We are still getting a few snow squalls daily and the cold and wind make it seem like the middle of winter to me.

None the less, I decided to take a few short walks on the country road where we live today because the sun was shining at least. Although it was crisp, I was rewarded twice today with unique wildlife sightings.

On my first walk, I happened to see a Bobcat cross the road in front of me about 25 yards and move into a shrubby field toward the south. I picked up my pace a bit and was able to catch a clear view of the cat and his “bobbed” tail before he/she vanished into the brush. Although we regularly hear and see all sorts of critters in the fields and woods around our home, the sighting of a Bobcat here was a first for me. Interestingly just a few years ago but well into warmer Spring weather I was walking in pretty much the same location when a black bear stepped out of the woods and crossed the road heading north. I not only didn’t speed up my walking pace at that time but came to a dead stop!

The Bobcat is a North American cat with two recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to local extinction by coyotes and domestic animals. (We have loads of coyotes around here.) With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of the midsized genus Lynx. It is smaller on average than the Canada lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby (or “bobbed”) tail, from which it derives its name.

Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.

As I was finishing another short walk and about the enter our front door, I heard the low gurgling call of a Common Raven. Although the Raven isn’t all that uncommon in our area, we don’t see or hear them nearly as much as we see and hear crows.

The Common Raven, also known as the Northern Raven, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 25 inches in length and 2 1/2 pounds) in mass. Common ravens can live up to 21 years in the wild, a lifespan surpassed among passerines by only a few species. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.

So, windy and cold or not…I enjoyed the brief encounter with a couple of unique north woods species.

Bird Feeding Tips for Home or Work

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Should I feed birds year-round?

It’s not necessary. Bird feeding is most helpful at times of when birds need the most energy, such as during temperature extremes, migration, and in late winter or early spring, when natural seed sources are depleted. As a matter of fact, in some locations where bears are plentiful, it is even required by some communities that bird feeders be taken down for the summer months.

Most birds don’t need your help in the summer anyway. When they are nesting and rearing their young, many birds focus on eating insects, so feeding is less necessary at those times. It is also important for young birds to learn how to find naturally occurring foods, so take a break from filling feeders in summer.

Two exceptions to this rule are hummingbirds and goldfinches. Offer your summer hummers nectar in feeders to help fuel their high metabolism and provide Nyjer seed to your goldfinches—who nest later than other birds—until thistle goes to seed.

1) Locate bird feeders at different levels

Sparrows, juncos, and towhees usually feed on the ground, while finches and cardinals feed in shrubs, and chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers feed in trees. To avoid crowding and to attract the greatest variety of species, provide table-like feeders for ground-feeding birds, hopper or tube feeders for shrub and treetop feeders, and suet feeders well off the ground for woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees.

2) Offer a variety of seeds in separate feeders

A diverse mix of seeds will attract the greatest variety of birds. To avoid waste, offer different seeds in different feeders. Black oil sunflower seed appeals to the greatest number of birds. Offer sunflower seeds, Nyjer (thistle) seeds, and peanuts in separate feeders. When using blends, choose mixtures containing sunflower seeds, millet, and cracked corn—the three most popular types of birdseed. Birds that are sunflower specialists will readily eat the sunflower seed and toss the millet and corn to the ground, to be eaten by ground-feeding birds such as sparrows and juncos. Mixtures of peanuts, nuts, and dried fruit attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, and titmice. A relatively few species prefer milo, wheat, and oats, which are featured in less expensive blends.

3) Provide suet during cool weather only

Suet (beef fat) attracts insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice. Place the suet in special feeders or net onion bags at least five feet from the ground to keep it out of the reach of dogs. Do not put out suet during hot weather as it can turn rancid; also, dripping fat can damage natural waterproofing on bird feathers.

4) Mix peanut butter and cornmeal

Peanut butter is a good substitute for suet in the summer. Mix one-part peanut butter with five parts corn meal and stuff the mixture into holes drilled in a hanging log or into the crevices of a large pinecone. This all-season mixture attracts woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and occasionally warblers.

5) Provide fruit for berry-eating birds

Fruit specialists such as robins, waxwings, bluebirds, and mockingbirds rarely eat birdseed. To attract these birds, soak raisins and currants in water overnight, then place them on a table feeder, or purchase blends with a dried fruit mixture. To attract orioles and tanagers, skewer halved oranges onto a spike near other feeders, or supply nectar feeders.

6) Provide nectar for hummingbirds

Make a sugar solution of one part white sugar to four parts water. Boil briefly to sterilize and dissolve sugar crystals; no need to add red food coloring. Hummingbird Feeders must be washed every few days with very hot water and kept scrupulously clean to prevent the growth of mold.

7) Store seed in secure metal containers

Store seed in metal garbage cans with secure lids to protect it from squirrels and mice. Keep the cans in a cool, dry location; avoid storing in the heat. Damp seeds may grow mold that can be fatal to birds. Overheating can destroy the nutrition and taste of sunflower seeds. For these reasons, it’s best not to keep seed from one winter to the next.

8) Discourage squirrels from consuming feeder foods

Squirrels are best excluded by placing feeders on a pole in an open area. Pole-mounted feeders should be about five feet off the ground and protected by a cone-shaped baffle (at least 17 inches diameter) or similar obstacle below the feeder. Locate pole-mounted feeders at least 10 feet from the nearest shrub, tree, or other tall structure. Squirrel feeders stocked with blends that are especially attractive to squirrels and chipmunks can reduce competition for high-priced foods offered at bird feeders. Place squirrel feeders far from bird feeders to further reduce competition.

9) Locate feeders to reduce window collisions

In the United States, approximately one billion birds die each year from flying into windows. Protect birds from collisions by placing feeders within three feet of windows, if possible. Mobiles and opaque decorations hanging outside windows also help to prevent bird strikes. Or attach fruit tree netting outside windows to deflect birds from the glass.

10) Keep cats indoors

Cats kill hundreds of millions of birds annually in the United States, often pouncing on ground-feeding birds and those dazed by window collisions. Responsible and caring cat owners keep their cats indoors, where they are also safer from traffic, disease, and fights with other animals. Outdoor cats are especially dangerous to birds in the spring when fledglings are on the ground. Bells on cat collars are usually ineffective for deterring predation.

11) Clean feeders and rake up spilled grain and hulls

Uneaten seed can become soggy and grow deadly mold. Empty and clean feeders twice a year (spring and fall), or more often if feeders are used during humid summers. Using a long-handled bottlebrush, scrub with dish detergent and rinse with a powerful hose; then soak in a bucket of 10 percent non-chlorine bleach solution, rinse well, and dry in the sun. In early spring, rake up spilled grain and sunflower hulls.

What bird foods should I offer?

Winter suggestions

Black-oil sunflower seed: high in fat so it provides good energy; seeds are small and thin-shelled enough for small birds to crack open.

White Proso Millet: high in protein content.

Peanuts: offer in tube-shaped metal mesh feeders designed for peanuts; use a feeder with smaller openings for peanut hearts.

Suet cakes: commercially made suet cakes fit the standard-size suet feeder (you can even find vegetarian options).

Nyjer seed: use a tube feeder with tiny holes to keep the seeds from spilling out.

Cracked corn: choose medium-sized cracked corn, as fine will quickly turn to mush and corse is too large for small-beaked birds.

Suggestions for other seasons

Spring feeding: offer fruit, baked and crushed eggshells, and nesting materials, such as human hair, pet fur, bits of string or yarn, and small strips of cloth to help nesting birds

Summer feeding: limit to nectar for hummingbirds and Nyjer seed for goldfinches

Autumn feeding: offer millet, peanuts, peanut butter, and suet cakes

How do I choose a birdfeeder?

When searching for that perfect feeder keep the following tips in mind.

Plastic, steel, or glass feeders are easier to clean than are feeders with porous surfaces, such as wood or clay.

Small feeders empty quickly, leaving less time for seeds to get wet or spoiled.

Choose feeders with no sharp edges or points; the design should allow birds to perch away from the food to keep it from becoming soiled.

Set up more than one feeder and allow ample space between them to avoid crowding.

Choose a feeder with drainage holes and add a plastic dome to keep seed dry.

The Tufted Titmouse

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The tufted titmouse is a small songbird from North America that is somewhat common, but still one of my favorite birds to watch all year long.

These birds have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead, and a short, stout bill; they have rufous-colored flanks, under the wings. The song is described as a whistled “peter-peter-peter.” (I am ready for Spring when they are among the first birds to start singing.) They make a variety of different sounds, most having a similar tone quality.

Their habitat is deciduous and mixed woods as well as gardens, parks, and shrub-land in the eastern United States; they barely range into southeastern Canada in the Great Lakes region. They are all-year residents in the area effectively circumscribed by the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeders. The birds are resident all year even in rural areas where there are few bird feeders, while it was noted in an early bird report around 1905 that many of these birds migrated south in winter.

They forage actively on branches, sometimes on the ground, mainly eating insects, especially caterpillars, but also seeds, nuts and berries. They will store food for later use. They tend to be curious about their human neighbors and can sometimes be spotted on window ledges peering into the windows seemingly to watch what’s going on inside. They tend to be a bit shyer when seen at bird feeders; their normal pattern there is to scout the feeder from the cover of trees or bushes, fly to the feeder, take a seed, and fly back to cover to eat it.

Tufted titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity, a human-made nest box, or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. If they find they find shed snakeskin, they will try to incorporate pieces of it in their nest. Their eggs are under an inch long and are white or cream-colored with brownish or purplish spots. Sometimes, a bird born the year before remains to help its parents raise the next year’s young. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round. These birds are permanent residents and often join small mixed flocks in winter.

 

Nature Connections

Communities, Golf Courses, Home Landscapes, Neighborhoods, Parks & Sanctuaries, Wildlife & Plants, ,

A friend of mine mentioned a video production that is focused on Monarch Butterflies and their migration. He is fascinated with the Monarch and the fact that the species is in a population decline.

The film he wants me to see is produced by Louie Schwartzberg, and I have yet to see it. However, in doing some web surfing for information about Schwartzberg, I found that he had given a Ted talk, that I think is just great.

The message is aimed at reminding everyone that we should all slow down, look around and really absorb the various gifts that we are given every day. We all get so wrapped up in the latest political news, the state of the economy, and all our “personal problems” that we simply don’t take the time to look beyond all of this “things” and really appreciate the wonder of nature and the world all around us.

Take just a moment and watch and listen to this presentation:

 

Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

Parks & Sanctuaries, ,

Watching the television show Sunday Morning on CBS recently, brought back memories of working to help save the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky. We moved to Henderson, Kentucky in the early 1970s, but the efforts to dam up the Red River of Kentucky and flood the gorge had started in earnest in the mid-1960s.

Years of downstream flooding was a clarion call to the Army Corp of Engineers. They simply love to build dams!  Don’t get me wrong, there are often some big benefits associated with the building of dams, but there are also often huge ecological outcomes as well. And often those outcomes are very bad.

I have always been a proponent of sustainable resource management. To me, that means that we must use natural resources in ways that benefit the present generation, but also leave resources in conditions that will allow future generations to meet their own needs. However, it is also my opinion that there are places of such ecological, historical or cultural significance that humans should simply keep their hands off!

It was my opinion back in my younger days that the Red River Gorge region of Kentucky was such an area. The short “Moment of Nature” piece on Sunday Morning made me feel happy to see that the Red River Gorge is still just as beautiful today as it was several decades ago. It took a long time and lots of meetings, but it was a good day when President Clinton signed the papers making the Red River Gorge part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System of the United States.

Enjoy the video below to see for yourself.

Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary

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Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary was formerly the home and property of Robert and Leona (Train) Rienow.  As a State University at Albany Professor, Robert Rienow was the author of numerous books about the environment, government, and civic involvement. Leona Train Rienow was also an author who produced several children’s books. Together, the Rienow’s wrote or co-authored numerous books, including The Year of the Last Eagle and their best-known A Moment in the Sun, which was the first book to focus public attention on the condition of America’s environment. This book was the inspiration for the first Earth Day.  Upon his death in 1988, the sanctuary was bequeathed to the Audubon Society of New York State and transitioned from what the Rienow’s called Hollyhock Hollow Farm to Hollyhock
Hollow Sanctuary. Today the sanctuary is open as a public-use area for passive recreation.

With over 140 acres of natural beauty, hiking trails, and distinctive geology carved out by the Onesquethaw Creek, Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Several miles of hiking trails traverse the sanctuaries woods with visitors being able to pass through several distinct habitat types as well as being witness to some historical evidence of long-past human activity. This includes numerous stone walls and even remnants of a small stone quarry where it is said that some of the stones for the building of the Brooklyn Bridge came from.

I had the pleasure of knowing Robert Rienow and it was our friendship that led him to bequeath Hollyhock Hollow to the Audubon Society of New York State, where I served as President and CEO for 25 years. That organization was headquartered at Hollyhock Hollow until my retirement and they have since relocated to Rensselaer County, NY. I am happy
that one of my sons, Kelly Dodson and his company Audubon Landscape Services has been retained by Audubon to maintain the landscapes of Hollyhock Hollow, however.

Dr. Rienow always kept his property open for public use and enjoyment. In that tradition, Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary is also open and free for public use. Historically significant and really a place where the environmental movement was born, Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary is a true treasure in the Capital Region of New York.
About twelve miles from Albany, NY, the sanctuary serves as an outdoor classroom for the nearby schools, as well as a recreational space for cross-country skiers, spelunkers, artists, and scout groups. Whether you are planning to explore the unique features of the area or are simply looking to take a long, quiet walk, visitors are welcome every day from dawn until dusk.

Directions:

From I-87, the NYS Thruway, take exit 22 for NY-144 toward NY-396/Selkirk. Turn right onto NY-144 S/River Road. Take the first right onto NY-396 W/Maple Avenue Keep right at the fork and continue to follow NY-396 W for about four miles. Turn right onto Co Rd 102/Old Quarry Road. Take the second left onto Rarick Road and continue for a third of a mile.

From Albany, take US-9W S and merge onto NY-32 S/Delmar Bypass via the ramp to Delmar. Follow NY-32 S for about three miles. At the third traffic light, turn left onto Co Rd 102/Old Quarry Road and continue for three miles. Turn right onto Rarick Road and continue for a third of a mile.

A Trip to the Singing Wilderness

Parks & Sanctuaries, Wildlife & Plants, ,

I have recently been re-reading a book titled, The Singing Wilderness, by Sigurd Olson. The

book was originally published back in 1956, but my first reading of it was in 1980. That was the year that I learned about Sigurd Olson and his fight to save the American wilderness.

In the late 1980s, I was nearing the end of several years of living in Henderson, Kentucky, and my own ongoing battles to promote conservation and environmental protection in that part of the country. Because I was planning to move from Kentucky, and as a final adventure in nature, a long-time friend of mine and I decided to make a week-long venture into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. While doing research for the planned trip, I discovered Sigurd Olson and his book. If you have never heard of Olson or The Singing Wilderness, I recommend that you do some reading about both. Or WATCH THIS FILM

We drove from Kentucky to Ely, Minnesota, which became our launching point into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Once we were all geared up by a local outfitter, we paddled off into a world of deep blue water and sky and emerald green trees. What an adventure we had! For an entire week, we saw not another person and we heard not a sound, other than the sounds created by nature. Within just a few hours all the stress that both of us had been feeling from the constant political arguments we had been involved with throughout the past months and years, simply melted away.

We plotted a daily course to a new campsite, we fished, we watched loons, we drank long, cool drinks of water directly from the lake and frequently we simply floated in the middle of some remote body of water and soaked in the sounds of “nothingness!” Many
afternoons we would cruise to some small island, come ashore for a bite to eat and then find some perfect place to sit on the shore, cast a lure or simply nod off in the blissful peace and quiet.

It took this trip for me to re-connect with nature and remember why it was that I care so much about, and fought so hard to protect the environment. In this fast-paced, and technologically-based society we live in, it is now even more important that we all re-connect with nature. You don’t have to take a week-long trip into the wilderness to do this either. But, you do need to find a “piece of nature” that you can take a stroll in, or just find a tree stump to sit on and listen. This natural spot does need to be at least far enough away from the constant noise of automobiles and the hubbub of “progress” so that you can actually hear nature speaking to you.

The re-reading of The Singing Wilderness brought back memories of that great trip in 1981 to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. What great memories it conjures up! However, in writing this post I decided to do a bit of research about this fantastic natural treasure and I am sorry to have learned about a proposed plan to create a Copper-Nickle mining operation within the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area watershed! Does the attack on nature ever stop?! I have already written to voice my opposition to this proposed, toxic disaster in the making. I urge you to visit Save The Boundary Waters and voice your own concerns.

In the meantime, find your own area of nature and go listen to what the birds, trees, and wind say to you.

“Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.” Sigurd Olson

 

Doñana National Park Spain

Parks & Sanctuaries, ,

Several years ago, I was invited to attend a meeting of the United States Golf Association, Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee that was to be held in Southern Spain. I was a member of that committee for over 20 years and I worked with and met some great people during that time. One person who was on the committee, that has since passed away, was Jimmy Patino, who was the owner of Valderrama Golf Club in Spain. In fact, Jimmy funded all the Committee expenses to hold the meeting, which he hosted at Valderrama.

My entire family joined me on this trip, which we turned into a fantastic family vacation, by extending our stay in Spain and later traveled to England for an additional week. Jimmy had previously asked if there was anything special that I wanted to do after the committee meeting concluded, and I said that we really didn’t know much about that region of Southern Spain and just wanted to explore the country-side and experience the culture and the nature of the area. Leave it to Jimmy to arrange a field trip of a lifetime and arrange a 2-day adventure to Doñana National Park!

Along with a few other people who attended the committee meeting, some Valderrama members and the naturalist of Valderrama Golf Club, we traveled by minivan to the National Park. Jimmy had significant influence in Spain. So much so, that they actually closed the park so that we had a private tour of the area!

Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It covers over 209 square miles, of which 52 square miles are a protected area. The park is an area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the delta where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It was established as a nature reserve in 1969 when the World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it. The eco-system had been under constant threat by the draining of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coast, water pollution by upriver mining, and the expansion of tourist facilities. It is named after Doña Ana de Silva y Mendoza, wife of the seventh Duke of Medina-Sidonia. Doñana National Park is a United Nations World Heritage Site.

If you ever get the chance to visit Doñana National Park, or if you are looking for a unique natural area to visit, I highly recommend this region and park of Southern Spain.