March 2007

Click the flag for the
Newsletter Post Cards
with e-mail alternatives.

Help select the official amphibian
for the State of Ohio.
Take the one minute survey.

Participate in OEC's Environmental Lobby Day

The Ohio Environmental Council holds an annual lobbying day, Tuesday, March 27, complete with training and briefings on important environmental issues in Ohio.

A Breath of Air

Last November's election changed the political landscape in Ohio and in Washington; we now have a Democratic governor and a slightly more Democratic state legislature, and control of both houses of Congress has changed political parties.

Computer Donation
Request Responses

In the previous newsletter I solicited help for shoring up the FOWL computer situation; a number of people responded very generously to my plea. Among them Laurie Von Mehren, Bill Sullivan, and my dear friend John Erb, who lives in Berkeley CA, were particularly generous.

FOWL Spring Wetland Walks

To sign up for a walk and to get directions, please register (440) 324-7522.

Razin' the Woods in Sheffield

There is an extensive mature Lake Plain Pin Oak swamp forest and some beautiful marshland that extends for about a quarter mile on both sides of the Norfolk & Western railroad spur line that runs between North Abbe and Harris Roads in Sheffield. Some of the trees were 2-3 feet in diameter. Or, I guess I should say, was a forest. This winter much of the wettest areas has been destroyed by logging.

A very good development in all this is that, thanks to Tom and Trustee Ron Forster, Sheffield now has a new ordinance requiring a local permit for logging and proving for fines of several thousand dollars per tree cut over a certain diameter in violation of the ordinance.

Click image for a larger version.

Vermilion TWP.
Wetlands Threatened?

Willow Creek Golf Course is just west of the Lorain County line north of Darrow Rd., which is part of an old sandy Lake Erie beach ridge.

FOWL Appearance at
OEC Wetlands Conference

On Saturday, February 3, I spoke to about 15 people about mole salamander breeding, our polyploids, and aspects of state and federal regulation of wetlands at The Clean Water Conference produced by the Ohio Environmental Council at the Mohican State Park lodge.

From the
Buckeye Forest Council

This last August, the Ohio Division of Forestry sold a piece of our natural heritage in the Hocking State Forest for $172,000 to Glatfelter paper products company. 

Carp Exclusion Act

Our continued enjoyment of the Great Lakes is in jeopardy. The threat posed by the Asian carp to our family experiences such as fishing and boating on the Great Lakes is enormous.

Midview Wetlands Filled

About 5 years ago the Midview School District (under a Superintendent that is now gone) filled several acres of high quality buttonbush wetlands near the high school as part of a plan for expansion of school facilities. No permit was sought or granted.

Report on Factory Farms

Oversight of water pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) in Ohio is currently in the hands of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). ODA is seeking U.S. EPA permission to take over the job of monitoring and policing CAFO water pollution in the state, which would mark the first time in U.S. history that a state agriculture agency is entrusted with such a responsibility.

Protecting the Environment - Bush-Style

Now it turns out that Wooldridge and Donald Duncan, chief lobbyist for Conoco-Phillips (the nation's third largest energy producer) were romantically involved. Thus we now have the edifying spectacle of regulators literally in bed with those being regulated.

A Meeting with
Congressman Kucinich

At the request of Representative Kucinich, his aide Marty Gelfand organized a meeting of area environmental workers to discuss concerns about a plan to alter rules in order to allow the U.S. Coast Guard to have weapons training in Lake Erie.

Ohio Botanical Symposium

Botanists, naturalists and native plant enthusiasts encouraged to attend the day-long event. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road on Friday, March 30.

An Urgent Call to the Defense of Our American Shores

Here follows the text of my testimony before the Coast Guard at the hearing in November Until I reached the podium I was not sure I should go through with this presentation. But when I saw Congressman Kucinich seated nearby I thought, "What the heck; this is as valid a way to make a point as any," took a deep breath, and dove in. This testimony elicited stony stares from the panel of Coast Guard officials seated before me, a grin from Congressman Kucinich, and the only round of applause at the hearing.

Comment on WCPN about Congressman Kucinich

During the discussion, Maag called Kucinich "a clown" and said, "He's lazy. And he doesn't do his job."

Vernal Pools:
Ohio's Official Wetland?

Vernal pools can be found in all 88 counties in Ohio and provide habitat for a plethora of animals including migratory birds, turtles, snakes, frogs and toads, salamanders, and hundreds of invertebrates. 

Ohio's State Amphibian

Many people, realizing that the bullfrog has become so common in Ohio because it is better able to withstand the effects of pollution than our other amphibian species and has thus out competed and displaced populations of them, felt that this was a great project but a less than optimal choice.

Dr. Matson and our
Amphibian Populations

Dr. Tim Matson is the Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. In this issue we focus on the work and preliminary findings of one worker on issues dealing with declining amphibian populations in northeastern Ohio.

Nanotechnology Risks
to the Environment

Simply put, nanotechnology is the science of the small. Nano-science and nanotechnology involve studying and working with matter on an ultra-small scale. 

The Lake (Erie) Plain

Lake Erie was formed during the ice age when the glaciers scooped out and broadened the valley through which a river now named the Erigan flowed. As the glacier receded the meltwater ponded at its southern rim to form the early stages of the lake, the earliest of which we have named Lake Maumee.