| FOWL
Picnic VI - a Good Time |
June 18 was a perfect day. The canopy Ray had bought
for the picnic was up, and people ate vegetarian food to their
hearts' content. There were wild strawberry-rhubarb pie and bean
salads and other scrumptious fare. There were some musical instruments
and kids playing and people fishing.
more... |
Please
Participate! |
There are a number of ways you can help Ohio 's environment,
wetlands and Lake Erie :
more... |
Remember
the Enlightenment? |
When Alexander Hamilton was asked why he had not firmly ensconced
God in the U.S. Constitution he said curtly, "We forgot." On
another occasion his response was, "We didn't think we needed
foreign aid."
more... |
We Had to Get a New Duplicator! |
Our stalwart Risograph 5400 gave up the ghost, and it is old enough
so that replacement parts are not always available, so we got a newer
version of it with "low mileage" for $500 (plus $200 for
the part for the old one we had to buy. Wittco Standard, the company
that supplies these machines, did waive a service call charge, and
I was able to exchange, for usable but non-interchangeable ones for
the new machine, the recently purchased masters and ink for the old
machine. Wittco was good about getting it here in a hurry. We have
also learned that it is better for these machines not to go long
periods of time without use (the ink separates, e.g.), so anyone
wishing to do some activist copying - for perhaps a nominal donation
to FOWL? - would be welcome to do so, keep our duplicator limber,
and save printing costs. |
The OEC's 2005 Clean Water Conference:
|
"From Monitoring to Restoration"
Friday and Saturday,
September 23-24, 2005
Mohican State Park Resort
1098 Ashland County Road 3006
Perrysville , Ohio 44864
Registration is $50 per person (nonrefundable)
and includes conference materials, breakfast, lunch, and breaks.
A limited number of sleeping rooms (double occupancy) are available
free-of-charge for those more than an hour from the conference
center and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you live within an hour or prefer a single room, you may arrange
for your own lodging by calling Mohican Resort at (419) 938-5411.
Registration must be received by August 22nd to reserve a room.
Additional registrations will be accepted until September 16th,
space permitting. The conference is limited to 75 participants.
Sign up today! Registration is available on-line at
https://commerce.servlet.net/theoec/0905cw.html or
by calling (614) 487-7506. |
FOWL
and FLC to participate in Museum Program, Sept. 8 |
In Cleveland on September 8 & 9 the Cleveland Museum of
Natural History's Conservation Symposium Series presents Ephemeral Gems:
Exploring Seasonal Ponds.
more... |
Grave
threat to the Cuyahoga River , Gorge Metro Park and the environment
in Northeast Ohio |
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted Advanced
Hydro Solutions a preliminary permit to establish a hydro project
on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River immediately down stream of
the First Energy dam in Gorge Metro Park
more... |
Whiskey
Island Gets a Reprieve |
This morning at the regularly scheduled Port Authority Board meeting,
bulk stone crumbled and the people triumphed!
more... |
More
Good News for Sheldon Marsh |
Recently at the Erie County Regional Planning meeting several
of us presented comments against the request to change the zoning
from R-1 (Rural Residential) to R-3 (Residential Multi-family) adjacent
to Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve.
more... |
Chestnut
Commons |
A commercial development at the intersection of Rt. 57 and Chestnut
Ridge Rd. , Elyria , Ohio is being developed by Forest City Land
Group. On the 75 acre site there is 1.022 acres of isolated wetlands
in the jurisdiction of the OEPA and an additional 0.47 acres, and
750 linear feet of tributaries of the Black River under the jurisdiction
of the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers.
more... |
Jakmas
Property in Lorain |
I talked to Bob Gerber from Lorain who was concerned over the
move by the City of Lorain to renege on an agreement to protect
somewhere 32 acres of property deeded to it by the Jakmas family "to be
used forever for the public purposes of a park, wetland bank and/or
mitigation, passive recreational purposes and a nature preserve as
defined by O.R.C. 1517.05.", and sell it instead to a housing
developer.
more... |
Lively
OEPA Hearing on Future of Anna Martin Property in Lorain |
In 1964 Anna E. Martin deeded approximately 65 acres of wooded
land to the YWCA, with deed restrictions to keep it more or less
a natural area. In 1993 the property was sold to the Church of the
North Coast for $317,500, and the deed restrictions, previously upheld
by Lorain County Probate Judge Roberts Corts, were removed by Ohio's
Attorney General and Corts' his successor, Frank Horvath. WitAugust 14, 2006h for years had assured
the neighbors that it wanted to build things like a senior citizens'
recreation center, with all its plans being consistent with the will
of Anna Martin, but now says the economy will somehow not support
such use) is in a position to sell the property to Liberty Development
for $3,200,000 - a tidy return of %1000 per cent on its investment.
more... |
Great
Lakes Basin Water Resource Compact Current Draft Provisions |
Anyone wishing to withdraw waters from anywhere in the Great Lakes
watershed (including the rivers and their headwaters that flow into
the lakes) must meet the following criteria (these are the recommendation
in the current 2005 draft):
more... |
OEC
Files to Intervene in Lake Erie Court Case |
The public’s right to stroll along and fish from Ohio ’s
Lake Erie shore continues to come under legal attack by a small
group of private property owners.
Today, though, two prominent conservation groups representing
more than 40,000 Ohio citizens counterattacked. And helping them
make their case are an Ohio island innkeeper and a sportsman living
in Michigan.
more... |
| Michigan
Supreme Court upholds Public's Right to Walk Great Lakes Shores |
In a ruling that could send legal shock waves across Lake Erie
to Ohio, the Michigan Supreme Court yesterday ruled unanimously,
7-0, that the public has a right to walk along the 3,200 miles of
Great Lakes coastline in that state.
more... |
Improvements
to the Ohio EPA 401 Program Process: Suggestions from OEC |
Properly assert jurisdiction
All dredging of wetlands and streams causes pollutants to be released
to the waters of the state, and therefore is illegal under ORC
6111 unless a permit from the state has been obtained.
more... |
401 Improvement: FOWL Suggestions |
Bonding and licensing of delineators should be required to ensure
that they are fully competent to identify all sedges and grasses
as well as mosses and lichens.
more... |
| What the New Wetlands and Streams Impact Fees Mean |
In the 2006 operating budget bill that was signed into law by
the Governor, changes were made to the wetland and stream permitting
process. These changes include stream fees, increased wetland impact
fees, and a 180 day turnaround for issuing/denying a permit.
more... |
History of the Bulldozer Amendment |
Without warning or debate, majority Republicans in the Ohio House
amended the proposed $51 billion state operating budget bill last
April to roll back state protections for when developers seek permission
to fill and build in a wetland, lake or stream. If the amendment
had become law, the roll-back would have:
more... |
Vernal Pools and West
Nile Virus |
First, my personal views on WNV and vernal pools: You can quote
me on the viewpoints that, in terms of west nile virus, vernal
pools are NOT the main breeding areas for the mosquitoes that transmit
the disease.
more... |
Barnes Nursery:
Case Closed! |
After 5 years, the Corps has closed the Barnes Nursery case,
satisfied that the restoration has been completed satisfactorily.
FSM is very happy and tired. But there is a concern: a questionable
inlet that the Corps allowed the nursery to leave behind, and that
the nursery may want to dredge or enlarge in the future by a bogus
argument that it was pre-existing. Ohio ODNR and EPA officials
say that this inlet should eventually fill itself in.
The people at Friends of Sheldon Woods have done a heroic and
remarkable job of protecting this wonderful and rare habitat, and
deserve strong congratulations and deep gratitude. |
| Alliances with Other Wetland Friends |
John Katko has recently become a board member of the Ohio
Environmental Council, and FOWL has also become a partner.
This must be like Ralph Nader joining Kiwanis.
more... |
Because we have armored so much of the Lake Erie shoreline with
concrete and limestone boulders (in order to protect the real
estate that lies behind them), we have removed the sediment source
for much long-shore drift, and that has placed coastal marshes
at the mercy of high-powered waves, and spelled doom for many of
them. How we respond to this situation is part of
what should be addressed by the Great Lakes Restoration Plan. Read
about it in this issue - and attend one of the hearings! Source
information online at 