Friends of Wetlands - Blog

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ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:28:00 +0000

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Don't Forget About Lake Erie (IJC Public Meeting in Toledo)

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:03:00 +0000

From Kristy Meyer at the Ohio Environmental Council

I wanted to make sure that you were all aware about a public meeting that the International Joint Commission will be holding on March 25^th at 7:00 pm at the University of Toledo, Lake Erie Center. They will be talking about the Upper Great Lakes Water Levels. Apparently, the study was undertaken because of concern about falling lake levels in the upper Great Lakes. There are some folks that are pushing hard to further control the amount of water that Lake Erie and Lake Ontario receive. It seemed to me that we should all be very interested in this study, particularly because they are talking about holding back water, which would impact Lake Erie and the amount of water within our Great Lake for wildlife, drinking water, manufacturing, agriculture, recreational opportunities, etc. Below is a link to a press release about these hearings.

Here is why you should attend:

The report Impacts on Upper Great Lakes Water Levels: St. Clair River concludes the first phase of a study of the upper Great Lakes. It examines the physical changes in the St. Clair River since 1962 and recommends that measures to remediate the increased conveyance, or water carrying capacity, of the river not be undertaken at this time. It also recommends that mitigation measures in the St. Clair River be examined as part of the comprehensive assessment of the future effects of climate change in the second phase of the study.
The IJC will consider the views of the public on the recommendations of its Study Board before it reports to the governments of Canada and the United States on matters related to the St. Clair River and their impacts on upper Great Lakes water levels.

FOWL Takes a Giant Step Forward

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:13:00 +0000

At the meeting last Sunday the Steering Committee in charge of 're-booting' the organization made decisive progress on a number of fronts. A New FOWL Board of Directors and Officers were chosen.

Ray Stewart - President
Shirley Tomosillo - Secretary
Marge Diamond - Treasurer
John Pais
Mike Wagner
Daryl Davis
Helen Kopp
Kathleen Bradley

This is an excellent core of Wetland Stewards with a long history of contributing to FOWL. Among these board members we have a great pool of diverse talents. Their enthusiasm is delightfully strong. They are digging right in to do the work of the organization. Follow up on membership and tabling will continue on March 7th at the Presidential Offices (Rays' house) at 2pm.
There is still plenty of room for more members to step up and pitch in. We have immediate need for graphics/visual arts talents as we prepare materials for the Earthfest 2010 tabling at the Zoo and other locations. Let me know if you can help.
Membership
Based on the poll results from 31 respondents to the simple survey, membership contributions have been adjusted. Basic membership level is now $20 with a student/senior level of $10. The 'Lifetime' membership is discontinued. All those who have contributed at the lifetime level will continue to enjoy that status. With our new membership committee headed by Mike Wagner, we will be taking steps to assure timely updates of membership status and develop a routine process for keeping annual memberships coming in.

Non-profit status
The federal 501(c)3 application process will soon be streamlined with an online application. The cost will be greatly reduced. When this is rolled out in 2010, we will be moving forward with the non-profit application.
By-laws
A standard set of by-laws were introduced for the boards consideration. Several modifications were recommended. These will be the subject of upcoming board meetings with the goal of adopting them before the June 19th picnic/annual meeting/fundraiser.

Mascot
In other swift and decisive action, based on the results of our Simple Survey, FOWL has adopted the Spotted Salamander as its mascot.

Congratulations Ambystoma maculatum.

Friends of Wetlands New Mission Statement

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:26:00 +0000

Although we haven't officially adopted it yet, this is the current version based upon board input.

Friends of Wetlands will encourage the highest quality of habitat protection for wetlands by

providing education on the functions and values of wetlands;
training citizen scientists to report data on local wetlands; and
promoting strongly protective public policy.

Further comments are welcome.

Funding for Louisiana coastal restoration in Obama's budget

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:01:00 +0000

By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune

February 03, 2010, 6:29AM

Louisiana's fight to save its shrinking coastline will get vital help in the Obama administration's proposed 2011 budget, which includes $35.6 million for larger coastal restoration projects.
It's the first time that the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration program has received federal construction funding, a significant milestone for the state.
"The fact that coastal restoration in Louisiana is one of the only new construction projects requested by the president ... is a clear message that the tide is turning,'' said Garret Graves, adviser to Gov. Bobby Jindal. "For over 80 years, our state has lost over 2,300 square miles of coastal land; finally the federal government can join us in implementing solutions.''
That's critically important given the short window of time -- less than a decade -- that experts say remains for restoring the coast.
Projects that have been designed and are ready to build will get $19 million of the money, with the biggest share going to build wetlands with sediment removed from the Mississippi River during routine dredging. That's a smart approach that makes use of a resource that's now being wasted.

Great Lakes News

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:50:00 +0000

U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, in collaboration with 15 other federal agencies, have made restoring the Great Lakes a national priority.
Signaling a commitment beyond measure of past promises, in February 2009, President Obama proposed $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This Action Plan describes how the Initiative will be executed from 2010 through 2014.

Notably;

Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration, including bringing wetlands and other habitat back to life, and the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the entire 530,000 acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands for the purpose of strategically targeting restoration and protection efforts in a science-based manner (pages 33-35)

This could be a great time to be a wetland advocacy group!

Spring Events

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:43:00 +0000

With the FOWL newsletter down we are relying on electronic communications to our members. Spring is a very busy time. A variety of FOWL sponsored and other wetland events are being offered. Please pass this information on to anyone who might be interested.

March 13th Reptile Conference - Columbus
March 24th NEOWC Public Meeting 6-9:15pm - Canalway, Cleveland
March 28 FOWL Duck Walk at the Beaver Marsh 11am Peninsula
April 9 Ecowatch Green Gala Landerhaven
April 10 Managing Wetlands for Biodiversity Conference Ashland
April 15 Earth day at NASA Glenn 10am - 2pm Cleveland
April 17 OEC Vernal Pools Richland
April 17 WRLC Garlic Mustard Pull at Wendtwood 1 - 4pm - Columbia Station
April 18 FOWL at Earthfest Cleveland Zoo
April 24 FOWL Vernal Pool Hike at Denny Jordan's Amherst
May 6 & 7 Great Lakes Compact Meeting Ann Arbor Michigan

Organizational Meeting

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:31:00 +0000

Press the play triangle for an important message.

Our next meeting on February 21st, at 2pm at the Elyria Public Library, West River branch near Midway Mall is open to all members. Hoping that more people will show up, we have selected this larger meeting space. Please come with ideas for tabling at Earth Day Events, nominations for Board Members, and plans for our future.

The 're-boot' Fowl Meeting Feb. 21, 2010

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Fowl Meeting Feb. 21, 2010
If you read the December Friends of Wetlands Newsletter you are aware that there are some dramatic changes taking place at FOWL. Our founder and president since 1991, John Katko, has resigned. He is spending much of his time in California these days.
In the interest of restructuring the leadership of FOWL we are meeting to consider how and where we go from here. The first such meeting was last week. Meeting minutes can be found at http://freindsofwetlands.pbworks.com. In two hours we barely got started with our agenda. Our next step is to develop a new board of directors.
Since John bore the burden of duties for FOWL, several new leaders are needed to take on and share responsibilities. FOWL will likely take a new direction and character as the leadership is reconstituted. We have begun a Call for Nominations to the FOWL Board of Directors. Our goal is to have a new leadership to present to the members in time for the FOWL Picnic on June 19th. I am beginning to think of this as a 're-boot' of FOWL since it looks like we are starting all over again. I hope it is more like an upgrade.
It is time that the organization rethink what it is about. Please consider adding your thought and talents to this process. Our next 're-boot' meeting will be on Sunday Feb. 21 at the Elyria Public Library, West River Branch at 2pm. See events.fowl.org for details. If you would like to contribute but cannot attend, you can email me or start a discussion at http://blog.fowl.org.

Ohio Reptile Research and Conservation Conference

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the Ohio Reptile Research and Conservation Conference to be held on Saturday, March 13, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Ohio Biological Survey, invited speakers from the Midwest will present findings of recent research and conservation projects involving Ohio’s snakes, turtles, and lizards.

The Conference will start with setup and registration from 8:30-9:00 AM. Paper presentations will commence at 9:00 AM. Lunch will be provided as part of the regular registration fee of $35 ($25 for students). All registrants to the conference will also receive an inaugural Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp (a $15 value). On-site registration fees are the same, but with no lunch. The conference concludes at 5 PM.

For details see: http://www.ohioamphibians.com/reptile/index.html

Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise

Friends of Wetlands - Blog: Creating Shallow Water Wetlands

wjim25@att.net (bigjim) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Friends of Wetlands - Blog: Creating Shallow Water Wetlands

http://valleyforgewetland.shutterfly.com/
Join me at my wetland website by clicking on this link.

Creating Shallow Water Wetlands

wjim25@att.net (bigjim) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:58:00 +0000

In the spring of 2007 a project was undertaken to build a shallow water wetland in a courtyard of Valley Forge High School, Parma Hts, Ohio. Looking back at my time spent working on this project, it is an amazing success. The school is using this wetland as a working lab for the biology, art and chemistry students. It really is true that if you build it they will come. There is never a day that we are not amazed by the activities of this man-made wetland. Check out the link to my website for this wetland and make sure you look at all the pages right of the home page. I was told many times that it was impossible to make this happen but as you will see in my website nothing is impossible if you really want it to happen. But of course, it is all up to you.

35 truck loads of hand dug clay was wheelbarrowed through the hallways and dumped in the front of the school. A total of 125 students, teachers , administrators and alumni worked to make this project a great success. It is planted with native pants and we will work to improve it as we go. The wetland has since been register with the National Wildlife Federation.

"Flash floods have increased in urban area over the last 20 years. This is in part by the loss of wetlands from Northeast Ohio and the urban sprawl that has occured leaving much of the land covered in concrete and putting the bulk of runoff in the sewers which quickly dump into streams and then major rivers.

This is a one of a kind project design of a wetland that will also be a nature center. The students will design a way to divert rain water from the school roof to the wetland, dig the wetland to specific standards for sustaining life, remove non-native species of plants and replace with native ones, stock wetland with wildlife, create learning posts and guide brochures, design a website, design and conduct tours for visitors, design hands-on experiments easily performed by students and grade appropriate according to state content standards.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES INCLUDE

. Working with adults and organizations

. Stewardship toward the wetland

. Knowledge of wetland ecosystem

. Organism identification

. Invasive species and management

. Water quality and water cycles through the seasons

. Need for wetlands to manage flooding

PLANTS INCLUDE: INSECTS INCLUDE: ANIMALS INCLUDE:

Nodding wild onion prairie Odantes (Dragon flies) Amphibians

Marsh milkweed Blue dasher Green frogs

Sky blue aster Eastern pondhawk Toads

New England aster butter Familiar bluet Reptiles/snapping turtle

Marigold wild senna Skimming bluet Sparrows

Purple coneflower prairie Common whitetail Finches

Showy sunflower prairie Widow skimmer Cardinals

Wild yellow iris Twelve-spotted skimmer Blue jays

Dense blazing star Black saddlebags Chickadees

Giant blue lobelia Common baskettail Tufted tit-mouse

Common mountain mint Dot-tailed whiteface Blue heron

Royal catchfly Eastern amberwing Green heron

Stiff goldenrod big bluestem Ruby meadow hawk Mallard ducks

Culvers root American rubyspot Canadian geese

Smooth Ironweed Violet dancer

Cup plant

At Valley Forge, we have created a living land lab to educate students about eleviating the flash floods around urban areas, wetland management, native vs. non-native organisms, classification of organisms, pollution, recycling, food webs, and populations." ( from Wetland pamphlet compiled at Valley Forge Highschool for tour of the Friends of Big Creek organization, 2009)"

This information was compiled by Jon Komar a biology teacher at Valley Forge HS and also Jim Wohl who is a Backyard Habitat Steward of the National Wildlife Federation and steering committee member of Friend of Big Creek Watershed.

Winter Solstice Spotted Salamander

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Spotted Salamander
Seen in Ohio Snow

As reported on Ohio Vernal Pool Partnership by Tim Mason, a spotted salamander was photographed on Sunday December 20th, 2009 walking across the snow at The Dawes Arboretum.

Now, doesn't this tenaciousness cold-blooded creature represent the spirit of Ohio better than the bullfrog that simply won't be seen for another 5 months.

When choosing an Ohio State amphibian, let's adopt this critter to represent our spirit, style and ruggedness in the Great State of Ohio.

Lake Erie wetlands break down harmful chemical compounds

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Thanks to Kathleen for bringing this to our attention:

COLUMBUS, OH – Beyond being a haven for wildlife and plant life, wetland areas provide the right mix of chemical compounds and physical characteristics to break down harmful pollutants, according to Ohio Sea Grant research from Dr. Yo Chin, Professor of Geology at Ohio State University.

Chin and his graduate student Ale Hakala have determined that over time, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), an antifungal chemical now banned for use on most crops in the U.S., can be reduced to pentachloroaniline (PCA), a compound that should be more readily broken down by wetland bacteria.

Chin studied the process at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve in Huron, Ohio, using a technique he has perfected over more than a decade that slowly pulls water out of sediment in an oxygen-free environment. Keeping oxygen out is important because the main catalyst in the PCNB-to-PCA reaction is a form of iron scientists call iron 2 (or, Fe(II)). If even the smallest amount of oxygen gets in, the iron oxidizes to Fe(III), commonly known as rust, thereby ruining the experiment.

In the laboratory setting, when the water from the sediment had been chemically stabilized, the reaction turning PCNB to PCA was completed in two hours. But, surprisingly, the same reaction took one week when the team used water that hadn’t been stabilized—the way it would be found in the wetland. This discovery opened Chin’s eyes.

“Everything we’ve done, everything anyone has done with these pore waters, was based on manipulated compounds,” he says. “In nature, the compounds aren’t manipulated in that way, so the reaction takes a week instead of two hours. Doing it in the lab allows you to control things, but the take-home message here is that nature doesn’t want to be controlled.”

To read more about this Ohio Sea Grant-funded research, visit http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/twineline/v31i4.pdf

The Ohio State University’s Ohio Sea Grant College Program is part of NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 30 Sea Grant Programs dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. For information on Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu.

###

Contact:Dr. Yo Chin, Ohio State University, chin.15@osu.edu, 614.292.6953

What's Next?

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:07:00 +0000

John Katko, FOWL's founder and President for life has officially abdicated his position. He does so with the best intentions. Nonetheless, we are left without any clear transition plans. There is no process in place to succeed him. With the holidays quickly approaching, I doubt that any immediate action will be taken. I suggest that plans be made to call concerned members together in mid-January. Alice has, again, graciously agreed to host and accommodate a meeting similar to the picnic planning meeting of last summer. In the mean time, This blog would be an excellent place to propose agenda items, discuss concerns and provide opinions. The following is the text of John's most recent communication;

Hello all, I'm hoping that at least some of the group of people receiving this email will have some discussion about where and when an idea session concerning the future of FOWL (if there is to be one) can occur. Each person on this list has some resources and/or skills that would really benefit FOWL and make it a much more effective organization, from artistry to science knowledge to community involvement to understanding and interacting with government activities to organizing volunteer efforts to a hundred other gifts. If you know of anyone that should be included in this process I would be glad to add her/his name and email address. I am of the opinion that my "benevolent dictatorship" of FOWL (as Kathleen so sweetly puts it), while allowing a certain quick-footedness and strong direction, has stymied the group and held it back in many ways. I know that so many of our members and participants have a lot to offer, and hope some of them will take the opportunity to make FOWL their own, so to speak. One of the current most important resources for this development is the availability of people who can guide discussion in a positive and constructive way. My hope, then, is that an agreed meeting time and place be developed through communication among this group of people, so that I can put this as an announcement in the upcoming, probably very brief, newsletter (which I very much hope to have completed by the beginning of December at the latest). Unless advised otherwise, I think it would be proper to thus include any of FOWL's interested members in this process. I am not now planning on attending any such meeting; I feel it is important to remove myself from the discussion of FOWL's future and the decisions that are thereby reached since I won't be the main force behind it any longer. I would be delighted to consult with people who have questions and ideas if they choose. I hope not to lose all contact with FOWL activities; I especially love the educational aspects of wetlands natural history and would be delighted to provide what resources I have in this area in whatever way my circumstances allow. It would be extremely sad for me to witness the end of FOWL. After 18 years it has become a very important part of what I am. My experience with this effort has been trying, joyous, fulfilling, energizing, character-building, and full of companionship and humble gratitude and acknowledgment of the commitment and spirited intent of others. I do think of FOWL as more of a tribe than a formal organization (though it might be good to alter that) - of like-minded people who can come together to support a common passion without succumbing to the tragedy of amplified differences. One of the most consistent points that I got as feedback from the FOWL picnics is how much so many of the participants enjoyed the company of the others. After the initial responses - many of which expressed ideas about 501(c)3 status for FOWL, there has been little if any activity towards planning its next incarnation. I hope that people will communicate and let me know about any meeting time and place that is decided upon.

John

Correspondence with Denny Jordan

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:27:00 +0000

I have just read the blog concerning the discussion of non-profit status for the group. I have heard (no personal experience) that there are some advantages to going non-profit, but it also creates a few handcuffs, and requires a large increase in time spent meeting, processing paperwork, and creates a need for someone or several someones to dedicate a lot of time just to the upkeep of the machinery of the non-profit. And often times the people that have to fill the bureaucratic positions lose the ability to do whatever their original goal was (field work, education or whatever). I have no reason to believe that becoming a non-profit would be bad, but I think it should be well discussed and not rushed into.

Ohio Prairie Association

On a total side note... As I get closer to retirement, I am attempting to put more time and work into my property on Baumhart Road in Henrietta Township. It has a channelized stream, headwaters of Beaver Creek, and some of the old stream meanders remain behind a here and there levee from the channelizing. Some of these do have use by frogs and salamanders, but I need to look at what I should do to protect or enhance the area. Part of the area was damaged by some BAD loggers using BAD techniques including the total destruction of one vernal pool and a skid road going right through another. I am a geologist by training and a generalist by nature. I am attempting to do a prairie restoration on part of the property and looking at constructing a pond/wetland. If there is a time for an evaluation of the existing pools in the spring it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the e-mail and info. I had test holes for the pond dug yesterday and am waiting for the LCSW engineers to give their feedback. I am trying to do this the right way and have had consultation from some experienced people. A while back when we had purchased the second piece of property at that location my wife and I, both science teachers, had thought about having a teaching/learning place as a way to pass some time and stay involved. We have been huge fans of The Wilderness Center down our way and have used it with our students on several occasions as well as enjoyed some good old adult learning of our own through some of their many offerings. We envisioned a smaller version of that. The addition of the pond and creation of a sizeable prairie are for aesthetics, wildlife, preservation, my enjoyment and the possibility of education. I have worked with Randy Carmel (fellow teacher) down here on several prairie restoration projects. The two of us and several other adults are working with groups of Wooster students on restoration in the Wright Marsh area which is part of the Killbuck Marsh complex on Rt 226 just north of Shreve. The Ohio Division of Wildlife has kindly given us permission to work on about 10-15 acres of their land right by the parking area. We have a nice piece of prairie going with hopes to continue expansion over the full available acreage. I got into prairies several years ago after going to Leopold's "Shack" and visiting several existing native prairies, and several restoration projects. I was blown away and have been dabbling in it and learning tons ever since. I have a nice section of what used to be my yard down here that now flowers beautifully, attracts wildlife, and also doesn't need to be mowed! Thanks for the info with Mr. Blakeman and the Ohio Prairie Association, sounds like a great contact. I will definitely be in touch with them. After 15 years of playing, exploring, reading and picking people's brains I am still learning an incredible amount. Plus we are experiencing incredible growth here in Wayne Co and see the same in Holmes Co just to our south and watch as every year another prairie remnant goes under the bulldozer. We have been doing all of this as an educational process but are also trying to build a "safe and protected" seed bank.
Your visit last year was much appreciated. I would welcome the bio survey, and don't mind if a group shows up in the spring. If you think it is worthy I would welcome people showing up for a spring hike. The weekend of 4/17-18 sounds good right now. I will be heading to Arizona to visit my son and his family to assist in the welcoming of grandchild number 5 somewhere around 4/4. If all goes well we should be back before then.
I have a couple of maps of the property, including the ones that come with the Lorain Co Soil Survey bible (electronic version) and a regular quadrangle map, but would love to have a detailed map. I have played a lot with the google earth stuff also. I probably would need something with a 1 foot contour level to show much as the terrain is incredibly flat!

FOWL has been great for me, and I have not even been truly involved yet. I would like to see its membership and volunteer funding build, but worry about it becoming more structure and less function. A large part of FOWL's appeal I think is the field work and enjoyment of the outdoors. A lot of people not only dislike the "office work" but they dread it. The system has many advantages, but a long time ago someone said something about "paid directors" tend to become more like dictators. After a while it almost seems as though the raising of funds becomes more important than the raising of voices, and the enjoyment and education. And it seems that grass roots organizations maintain their passion and purpose longer. I know that funding and tax exemptions sound very appealing, but they come at a cost. And you and I through our jobs understand what processing large volumes of paperwork involves! Not one of my passions or strong points! And speaking of large volumes of paperwork, I think this has gone on long enough! Thanks for your help and I look forward to getting together with you all soon.
denny jordan

The Wilderness Center

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:55:00 +0000

1) Hello everyone! Most of you know we hosted 2 vernal pool workshops this year. Well, yesterday, we started digging our very own new pool. This Saturday (October 31st) we are looking for volunteers to help us finish the digging. We’ll provide all the tools and lunch. It will be muddy work, but should be fun! We hope to do the final grading and berm-building, and seed it with annual rye. We’ll start at 10:00 and work until 12 or 12:30, then have lunch. You might want to bring a change of clothes! Please let me know if you plan to come so I can round up enough shovels, etc.

2) The other opportunity is setting up salamander transects on Thursday, Oct. 29th . Jack Taylor (OCVN 2009) and I laid out the lines and got everything ready. We need help hauling and laying out the brick coverboards. We’ll start at 9:30 and should be done before lunch.

Sorry for the short notice on theses events!

Carrie

Carrie Elvey, Naturalist
The Wilderness Center, Inc.
PO Box 202
Wilmot, OH 44689
330-359-5235

Portage Parks

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:44:00 +0000

The Park District has an opportunity to do a wetland plant survey near Potter Creek in Suffield Township in order to fill some grant match hours we’ve promised.I am looking for volunteers and I thought of you right away, since you may be knowledgeable in this area! I would need a few helpful leaders to help out the other volunteers who may not be quite as experienced, but willing!
Would you be available Saturday November 7, Saturday November 14 or Sunday November 15?I am surveying a few key volunteers before I set the date.
Please let me know if you’d be willing and available to help out!
Thanks,

Susan Blair
The Portage Park District
128 North Prospect Street
Ravenna, OH 44266
330.297.7728

Friends of Wetlands Velvet Revolution?

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:52:00 +0000

There has been a very interesting series of emails bouncing around among some of our members. I am taking the liberty of posting this discussion to the blog and hope that the discussion continues and broadens. A FOWL reformation may occur as these ideas bear fruit.
I have invited those people who were included in these emails to join the blog. If you would like permission to post, contact me, ray@fowl.org. If you would just like to read and comment to what others post, you do not need any additional permission.

It began with an email from Kathleen Bradley to the OEC.

I did not bring up Friends of Wetlands when we were discussing individual groups because our situation is different than most. FOWL is run under a benevolent dictatorship of John Katko (OEC board member), who is a renowned expert on Carex species and other flora and fauna related to wetlands. He lives for the environment and he is wonderful in that respect. And he is afraid on nobody.

We have gently suggested to John over the years the benefits of becoming a 501c3, but he does not want the restrictions on our political activities that come with that IRS status. We exist on donations and memberships. We do work with other organizations such as OEC, WRLC and CMNH.

We do primarily education on wetlands- their functions, values and why they need to be protected. We lead field trips in the spring to vernal pools- open to all. We publish a FOWL Newsletter several times a year and have a website, www.fowl.org that also keeps the information out there. We also have a blog. Ray Stewart is our knowledgeable web & blog guru and John's right hand man. Ray is a high school biology teacher in Elyria.

We also lobby for wetlands with elected officials, EPA and USACE reps and against, most times, developers and others with bad reputations for damaging the environment.

Since John has retired from teaching, he does consulting, free, as far as I know, on wetlands delineation type things. He is widely respected by Jim Bissell and others. He scopes out some wonderful properties to save them from the bulldozer. He has assisted at several of the OEC Vernal Pool trainings, as has Ray.

One of our most active members, Daryl Davis, has split off and helped organize the Brooklyn Center Naturalists. I'd like them to come on board as one of our groups, if they are interested.

Memberships in FOWL are still $5.00 a year for individuals, $10 for families and $50.00 for lifetime memberships. Be sure to check out our website- you'll learn a lot. Hope to see you at our spring field trips.

Best regards,
Kathleen Bradley

President Obama Takes Crucial Step for Wetlands

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:38:00 +0000


Restoration efforts will benefit critical Louisiana coastal habitat.

"On the eve of the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Obama took a crucial step toward saving Louisiana's nationally important coastal wetlands that provide natural hurricane protection, essential economic benefits and vital habitat for birds and other wildlife," says Dr. Paul Kemp, Vice President of Audubon's Louisiana Coastal Initiative and a recognized coastal expert. One of the worst disasters in our nation's history, Hurricane Katrina made its landfall in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality announced it was creating a new federal interagency task force to coordinate the "economic and environmental resiliency" of Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast region. Audubon and other conservation groups have called for White House intervention in what is widely viewed as a stagnant process – now overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – for bolstering coastal wetlands.

Audubon and other national and regional conservation groups are urging bold actions to reconnect the Mississippi River to its delta in Louisiana, thereby allowing sediment and freshwater to maintain and rebuild coastal marshes that help lessen storm surges, provide critical wildlife habitat, protect oil and gas infrastructure, and serve as nurseries for shrimp and other valuable aquatic species. Primarily because of the separation of the Mississippi River from its delta by levees, Louisiana has lost more than 1.2 million acres of coastal land in the last 75 years, representing about 80 percent of all coastal land loss in the United States. Louisiana continues to lose the equivalent of up to 32 football fields of coastal land each day.

From: I Love Mountains

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:07:00 +0000

We have great news!

The Obama Administration has heard you! Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed all 79 mountaintop removal permits they were reviewing on temporary reprieve. This represents the biggest step ever taken toward reining in the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains by mountaintop removal coal mining.

The release of a list of 79 permits begins a 14-day countdown in which the EPA regional offices must respond to the EPA headquarters' recommendations. While we applaud the current decision by the EPA, these permits could still be approved.

The EPA's announcement is part of a coordination procedure outlined in a "memorandum of understanding" between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Interior to deal with a backlog of permits held up by litigation over the past few years. The EPA has promised a more stringent and transparent review of all mountaintop removal valley fill permit applications, and as of today they have delivered.

The EPA is requesting public comment during these 14 days and we need to send them the message loud and clear to stand firm. No more mountains or communities should be blasted off the map.

However, the EPA is not currently set up to receive these comments, so we will be sending you an alert early next week, providing the tools you need to thank the EPA and to make sure the regional offices keep these mountains and communities safe from mountaintop removal coal mining.

In the mean time, we have set up a new page on iLoveMountains.org where you can see the location and track of the status of the permits pending before the EPA. You can view the permit map and see videos of nearby communities threatened by mountaintop removal at:

http://ilovemountains.org/epa-permit-list/

Filling of wetlands continues

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:13:00 +0000

Sunday, August 30, 2009 9:23 PM

By Spencer Hunt

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

More than 477 acres have been covered since plan stalled in 2006

A state plan to better protect streams and wetlands from development stalled three years ago after business groups complained that it would cost too much to comply.

In the meantime, from 2006 to 2008, more than 477 acres of wetlands and 106 miles of streams were filled in, according to Ohio Environmental Protection Agency records.

"It's become more and more frustrating," said Trent Dougherty, staff attorney for the Ohio Environmental Council. "We're still living under rules that ultimately aren't as protective as these new rules would be."

When developers fill in streams and wetlands to build homes, shopping malls and offices, they must build wetlands and small streams to replace what they destroy.

But studies showed that these replacement streams and wetlands prove to be poor substitutes. That's when the Ohio EPA proposed new rules that would make developers make more exact copies of what they destroyed, down to the species of plants and the frogs, salamanders and insects that live in them.

But developers balked.

"With the severe economic depression we're in, it may not be wise to move boldly ahead with new rules and regulations that would slow development down," said Vincent Squillace, vice president of the Ohio Home Builders Association.

EPA officials say they're working with business and environmental groups on a compromise.

"It takes time to hear everybody, write things down and so forth," explained Linda Oros, an agency spokeswoman.

What does all of this mean to the rest of us?

Small streams are ecologically valuable because they provide habitat for fish and mussels and slow the flow of rain water, which in turn reduces flooding problems.

Wetlands shelter amphibians and insects and act as filters to keep fertilizers and pesticides out of drinking water supplies.

EPA officials used to think that simply replacing wetlands was good enough. But an agency report in 2006 found that half of the wetlands that developers built were either "poor" or "shallow, unvegetated ponds."

All of the wetlands surveyed in the report were in "banks," large pre-built wetlands where developers can buy shares to quickly satisfy their wetland repair and restoration obligations. Such banks are often miles away from the destroyed streams and wetlands they are supposed to replace.

The proposed rules include the kinds of plants necessary for different types wetlands, including skunk cabbage and sedges found in "forest seep" wetlands, and would grade the replacements on the number of animal species that live in them, including insect larvae.

"You're talking about getting back the true cost of the ecological loss," said Anthony Sasson, the Ohio Nature Conservancy's freshwater conservation coordinator.

"We're losing, environmentally, right now."

Jennifer Klein, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's environmental policy expert, said the new standards would exceed federal rules and are unnecessary.

One recent change to federal standards, enacted in April 2008, lists wetland banks as the federal government's preferred option for developers. That appears to conflict with a provision in the state's proposal that replacement wetlands be built closer to construction sites.

Randy Bournique, supervisor of the agency's wetland permitting program, said there is nothing in federal law that keeps the Ohio EPA from enacting more restrictive, or protective, standards.

He said he's optimistic that a compromise set of rules could emerge in October.

shunt@dispatch.com

August 09 Newsletter

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:29:00 +0000

The electronic newsletter for Aug. 09 is slower than usual coming out. Most have recieved the mailed version a few days ago. Silly me, while ramping up for school I chose to reformat the newsletter page using javascript that I barely understand. Dreamweaver has a little utility that is called spry. I am using a spry 'accordion'.
It would be helpful for members to send me comments about the change. Does it work for you? Is it better than before? Are there broken links or something unforgivable overlooked?
With school starting up, I will be tweeking as time permits. Outside input would be most helpful.

OVPP has new video series

ray@fowl.org (Ray) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:20:00 +0000

Nice job David!