February 2009 |
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With freedom -Eleanor Roosevelt |
401 Rules - Public Comment Period The post cards are very important. I only got about 30 of the 401-Rules post cards returned from the previous newsletter, and I know we can do better than that! PLEASE send in the post cards: best to do it today! Since the comment period has not yet begun Please note that this post card is to be returned to FOWL (Ohio EPA will throw it out if it is received outside the comment period), and I will get it to Randy Bournique at the proper time. Of course you can also make copies of FOWL post cards and have others send them in as well. Click the flag for the
Newsletter Post Cards |
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Vernal Pool Workshops |
The Ohio Environmental Council is producing three vernal pool workshops this year: Each workshop will feature a series of topical presentations in the morning ranging from vernal pool construction to photography to fauna (I'll be doing amphibians at the two March workshops, and Ray Stewart will present on vernal pools and West Nile virus on March 7). After lunch there will be a session on how to monitor vernal pools, followed by a field trip to a local pool. |
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New Printer Donated! Old Workhorse Retired.
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The image quality of this photocopier is far superior to that of the Risograph duplicator which was, on the other hand, a real workhorse of a machine. Because of the less robust nature of our current copier this newsletter is somewhat attenuated and the mailing has been kept small. If you are not on our electronic mailing list please consider receiveing a paperless newsletter. |
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Fall Picnic Fun but (too) Small  |
Among other things, the FOWL picnics are intended to be fundraisers. We lost about $150 on this picnic, and a similar amount at the the even more sparsely attended June vegetarian picnic. Because of the expense and the time and effort involve for Scott, myself, the Wheelers, the musicians, and others to prepare for and break down these events, we are going to offer the spring picnic if enough people pre-register (see details inside). Having 100 people respond will ensure the picnic happens. Once again I invite people to participate in planning the event - scheduling the meal, the musicians, and other activities, as well as designing those other activities (games, contests, et. al.). I appreciate the realities of schedules, obligations, finances, fuel costs, etc. may constrain interest in the FOWL picnic, and need to have a handle on the situation before, well... noon on the day of the event. With the participation and involvement of the Friends of Wetlands we can produce a memorable and helpful event. Thanks for your support! |
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Time to Pass CWRA |
With the change of administrations and Congressional makeup in Washington the time has come to urge lawmakers there to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). more... |
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Corporate Water Abusers Should Not Be Trusted |
The unsustainable and consumptive practices of industrialization that have escalated over the last one hundred years have brought us to a crucial tipping point. We are facing a water crisis of monumental proportions, further exacerbated by pollution, climate changes and population growth. Two billion people now live in water-stressed regions and unless drastic action is taken by the year 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will experience water scarcity. more... |
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OEC on Board for Stream Monitoring |
Greg Lipps, a leading Ohio herpetologist and stream monitor, suggested at that time that OVC and other similar streamside industries with the potential for such disastrous spill be required to fund the acquisition and monitoring by the state of in-stream water chemistry sensors placed in rivers immediately downstream of coal slurry impoundments and similar threats to water quality. Since then I have been agitating any and all (vis., recent issues of this newsletter) in favor of this manifestly fair and appropriate measure to provide early and real-time data on such events. In the January 16 press release on coal waste concerns, the OEC supports this position, and encourages the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, already and newly sensitized to the hazards of such spills to take further steps to protect Ohio's water resources from such events. One of the issues involved in this position is the current state of the art in such equipment. There exist now tools to measure turbidity, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, redox potential, and chlorine levels, among other parameters; it seems eminently reasonable to expect that, if sensors for other specific substances are not now available (if this is the case my best guess would be that polluting industries have, at the very least, not encouraged a market for such technology in a process akin to that whereby pharmaceutical companies shy away from research on antimalarial and other such drugs that would save the most lives but make the least money) they could readily be engineered. Also, please see post card. |
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Lead Shot and Sinkers: |
Millions of pounds of lead used in hunting, fishing and shooting sports wind up in the environment each year and can threaten or kill wildlife, according to a new scientific report. Lead is a metal with no known beneficial role in biological systems, and its use in gasoline, paint, pesticides, and solder in food cans has nearly been eliminated. Although lead shot was banned for waterfowl hunting in 1991, its use in ammunition for upland hunting, shooting sports, and in fishing tackle remains common. more... |
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Effort to Save Rusty Blackbird Takes Wing: Aerial View
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more... |
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Working on a Wetland |
Sometimes FOWL is up to things that, for a number of reasons, can't be general knowledge. Last summer I ran across an extremely high-quality wetland in this part of the state that I feel is highly deserving of protection. The plant list currently stands at almost 250 species, including some that are uncommon. |
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The mailed newsletter has been run off on a Ricoh Afficio 220 copier donated by Visual Products company in Wellington via the kind efforts of Jill and Joe Budzilek, who read about the need for a copier in the last newsletter and very generously responded.
About 30 people attended the October FOWL picnic. The food was wonderful, the Smoking Fez Monkeys were amazing, and all who participated were very enthusiastic about the experience. The campfire died down at about 3 a.m.
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Last updated April 11, 2009 |
Friends of Wetlands © 2009 |
Contact webmaster@fowl.org |
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