I Love Gravel Roads

I LOVE gravel roads—narrow ones with lots of dust and bends. They are not always the best paths for travel as in the winter the twists in the road often fill with snow, making the roads unusable. But oh, in the spring, summer, and fall a gravel road is a place to wander. 

Every day on such a road dances a new dance.  A gravel road is a special place.  A place to be without company. There is a quiet happiness to be found in periodic reflections.  A time to think and to be grateful. 

I was a regular walker of gravel roads almost as soon as I had learned to walk. Sometimes I would walk at a slow and deliberate pace.  At other times I would run in most haste. A gravel road was a place that was easy for me to get along with.  A comfortable spot where my imagination had no boundaries.  A place where I could laugh loudly over nothing.  A location where I could go unseen by anything other than the hawk flying overhead, the deer hiding in the tall grass, and those mysterious creatures that escaped my sight.

True, the road could be hot and dusty in the summer, but that made me appreciate the gentle breezes it occasionally provided all the more. I would sample the raspberries that fruited for my pleasure. I would smell the delightful aromas offered by the wet soil following a rain and freshly mowed hay. My eyes were well fed by the beauty of the wildflowers that grew among the thin, young saplings bordering the road. The young trees had fled to the open spaces offered by the road ditch.  Trees do not grow well in the shadow of their parents. They grow tall away from home. Often, a car would stop. I would decline the kind offer of a ride.

 

“Why walk when you could ride?” I’d be asked.  What I was doing was so much more than walking. I was finding great pleasure in the day.

  I still walk gravel roads. I still hear nature’s softest voice as the breeze blows through the wind-catching hedge of small trees and grasses.

  Why walk when I could ride? We all leave our signature upon the land. Mine will be footprints in the dusty crown of a gravel road. I endeavor to tread lightly upon the Earth. I walk instead of riding because walking a gravel road is one joy I do not want to disappear from my life.             

Al Batt
Columnist/Speaker/Radio Personality/Storyteller

World Turns Out For Earth Hour

MILLIONS of people in cities across the U.S. and around the globe turned their lights off for one hour last night to make an unprecedented and highly visible global statement in support for action on climate change.

“ Earth Hour” was marked on six continents and in more than 400 countries, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s largest conservation organization, which organized and coordinated the inaugural global event. The official website, www.earthhour.org received over 2.4 million visitors on March 29th, alone.

Major corporations, iconic landmarks, schools, towns and villages united in this effort to raise awareness and change the way people think. Like a giant wave, lights went out at the Sydney Opera House, Wat Arun Buddhist temple in Bangkok; the Coliseum in Rome; the Royal Castle in Stockholm, the Parliament building in Budapest, London’s city hall, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Westin Peachtree Plaza--the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere, Sears Tower in Chicago and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In Israel, President Shimon Peres turned the lights of the city out with the flick of a switch.

“The true power of Earth Hour can be seen in the tremendous opportunity for individuals, governments, businesses and communities around the world to unite for a common purpose, against a common threat which affects us all,” said Carter S. Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund. “As the world witnessed on Saturday night, the simple action of turning off lights can inspire people around the world to action, and to making a serious long-term commitment to living more sustainable lives.”

The goals of Earth Hour, Roberts said, were to raise awareness of climate change, encourage participants to make long-term commitments to living more sustainable lives, and demonstrate that by working together individuals can make a difference in the fight against this global issue. That awareness shone clearly through the darkness Saturday night.

Earth Hour activities in support of this event rolled through virtually every time zone, with global participation in: Bangkok, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Fiji, Halifax, Manila, Montreal, Niagara Falls, San Juan, Scott Base (Antarctica), Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Toronto. A full list can be found at www.earthhour.org.

In the United States, Earth Hour was celebrated coast to coast, including in the flagship cities of Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL, Phoenix, AZ; and San Francisco, CA; as well as supporting cities Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Honolulu, HI; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA and St. Louis, MO and in smaller U.S. cities, such as Arlington, VA; Columbia, MO; Homer Glen, IL; La Grange, TX; and Norman, OK. In each of these cities, individuals and businesses created events to engage, enlighten and spread the message that together, each one of us can make a difference on this global issue.

Here is a sampling of results in each of Earth Hour 2008’s official participating cities:

Atlanta
Despite being hit by a highly unusual early spring tornado in the city’s downtown core two weeks ago, more than 400 buildings throughout metro Atlanta, including the storm-damaged Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel, participated in the first “lights out” event in Atlanta’s history. On the night the lights went out in Georgia, some of Atlanta’s most iconic buildings and landmarks, including the Bank of America Tower, Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, and the Georgia State Capitol went dark for one hour when Mayor Shirley Franklin pulled the symbolic light switch as part of the city’s “Sustainable Atlanta” initiative.

Chicago
The City of Chicago was the first U.S. city to sign-on to Earth Hour, and the city continued to lead by example with more than 200 buildings in the central business district alone dimming their lights. Throughout the greater metropolitan area, more than 1,400 landmarks, businesses, and organizations went dark, including the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, Navy Pier, Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, theater marquees and the golden arches at nearly 500 McDonald’s restaurants. To support Chicago’s goal of being the greenest city in the nation, Mayor Richard M. Daley declared March 29, 2008 “EARTH HOUR DAY IN CHICAGO” and encouraged everyone to be aware of the effects of global warming and the need to address climate change in our daily lives. Local power company ComEd and advertising agency Leo Burnett were leaders in dimming Chicago’s soaring skyscrapers and beautiful skyline.

Phoenix
In the Valley of the Sun, city leaders took advantage of the NCAA West Regional basketball tournament at US Airways Center to darken the exterior lights and promote the event to attendees. In addition, Mayor Phil Gordon turned off Phoenix City Hall, as well as Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks), the popular Dodge and Orpheum theatres and Arizona State University, where students led flashlight tours. Restaurants across downtown Phoenix lit candles, served “eco-tinis” and showed off glow-in-the-dark attire to guests enjoying organic Earth Hour menus.

San Francisco
In the city famous for having hearts left behind, thousands of lights were left off in the City by the Bay as San Franciscans embraced Earth Hour 2008. Iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Ghirardelli Square, and Alcatraz all went dark, as well as dozens of local restaurants. More than 70 buildings throughout downtown San Francisco’s Financial District turned off their lights, while the SF Parks Department celebrated Earth Hour with a Family Campfire and Star-gazing along the shores of the San Francisco Bay at Crissy Field.

At the San Francisco Ferry Building, a group of San Francisco dignitaries and volunteers enjoyed a program MC’d by Olympic Gold Medalist and Bay Area native Brian Boitano. The evening was capped off by comments from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and a private performance by Beach Blanket Babylon’s Tammy Nelson. Beach Blanket Babylon is a San Francisco original and the longest running musical revue in theatre history.

Extensive Corporate Support
Earth Hour 2008 was supported by national partners Hewlett Packard, Esurance and National Geographic Channel, as well as other supporting corporations including The Coca-Cola Company, CBS Outdoor, Clear Channel, Cox Enterprises, Google, The Weather Channel and others who donated their time, products and services to help spread the word and raise awareness about this global issue. Not only have these organizations turned out their lights at many of their offices in the U.S., but they also donated several millions of dollars in advertising space in recognition of Earth Hour.

Coca-Cola, for example, donated space on its prominent New York Times Square and San Francisco billboards and additional space in movie theaters, elevator screens, and shopping mall kiosks valued at $2.5 million, and darkened the digital Times Square billboard and world headquarters in Atlanta during Earth Hour.

Google darkened its home page in the countries with official Earth Hour cities to raise awareness.

Earth Hour got its start last year in Sydney, Australia, when more than 2 million people and thousands of businesses turned out their lights. While power consumption dropped more than 10 percent in that single hour, the message that climate change must be slowed shone brightly.--WWF

How Many Birds Killed By Cats?

IN AN EFFORT to drive home the importance of keeping cats indoors (in
relation to bird kills) at many of my bird-related educator workshops,
I've used the figure of "6 million birds per day" killed by cats.  I
don't remember where that figure came from; perhaps derived from the
Wisconsin study (Coleman and Temple 1996)?  I've recently been asked for
the research to support this statement (and need to confirm it myself
before I use it again).  Can anyone help me out?  Is the figure accurate?  Does it apply to
North America or only the United States?  Is there more current research to use instead?

Steven Juhlin
Assistant Nature Center Manager
Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center
Missouri Department of Conservation

Global Warming Rushes Timing of Spring

By Seth Borenstein
WASHINGTON, DC—The capital's famous cherry trees are primed to burst out in a perfect pink peak about the end of this month. Thirty years ago, the trees usually waited to bloom till around April 5. (Cherry blossoms)

In central California, the first of the field skipper sachem, a drab little butterfly, was fluttering about on March 12. Just 25 years ago, that creature predictably emerged there anywhere from mid-April to mid-May.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is longer than usual but our editors felt it was especially timely and informative.)

And sneezes are coming earlier in Philadelphia. On March 9, when allergist Dr. Donald Dvorin set up his monitor, maple pollen was already heavy in the air. Less than two decades ago, that pollen couldn't be measured until late April.

Pollen is bursting. Critters are stirring. Buds are swelling. Biologists are worrying.

"The alarm clock that all the plants and animals are listening to is running too fast," Stanford University biologist Terry Root said.

Blame global warming.

The fingerprints of man-made climate change are evident in seasonal timing changes for thousands of species on Earth, according to dozens of studies and last year's authoritative report by the Nobel Prize-winning international climate scientists. More than 30 scientists told The Associated Press how global warming is affecting plants and animals at springtime across the country, in nearly every state.

What's happening is so noticeable that scientists can track it from space. Satellites measuring when land turns green found that spring "green-up" is arriving eight hours earlier every year on average since 1982 north of the Mason-Dixon line. In much of Florida and southern Texas and Louisiana, the satellites show spring coming a tad later, and bizarrely, in a complicated way, global warming can explain that too, the scientists said.

Biological timing is called phenology. Biological spring, which this year began at 1:48 a.m. EDT today (March 21), is based on the tilt of the Earth as it circles the sun. The federal government and some university scientists are so alarmed by the changes that last fall they created a National Phenology Network at the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor these changes.

The idea, said biologist and network director Jake Weltzin, is "to better understand the changes, and more important what do they mean? How does it affect humankind?"

There are winners, losers and lots of unknowns when global warming messes with natural timing. People may appreciate the smaller heating bills from shorter winters, the longer growing season and maybe even better tasting wines from some early grape harvests. But biologists also foresee big problems.

The changes could push some species to extinction. That's because certain plants and animals are dependent on each other for food and shelter. If the plants bloom or bear fruit before animals return or surface from hibernation, the critters could starve. Also, plants that bud too early can still be whacked by a late freeze.

The young of Tree Swallows—which in upstate New York are laying eggs nine days earlier than in the 1960s—often starve in those last gasp cold snaps because insects stop flying in the cold, ornithologists said. University of Maryland biology professor David Inouye noticed an unusually early February robin in his neighborhood this year and noted, "Sometimes the early bird is the one that's killed by the winter storm."

The Checkerspot Butterfly disappeared from Stanford's Jasper Ridge preserve because shifts in rainfall patterns changed the timing of plants on which it develops. When the plant dries out too early, the caterpillars die, said Notre Dame biology professor Jessica Hellmann.

"It's an early warning sign in that it's an additional onslaught that a lot of our threatened species can't handle," Hellmann said.

It's not easy on some people either. A controlled federal field study shows that warmer temperatures and increased carbon dioxide cause earlier, longer and stronger allergy seasons.

"For wind-pollinated plants, it's probably the strongest signal we have yet of climate change," said University of Massachusetts professor of aerobiology Christine Rogers. "It's a huge health impact. Seventeen percent of the American population is allergic to pollen."

While some plants and animals use the amount of sunlight to figure out when it is spring, others base it on heat building in their tissues, much like a roasting turkey with a pop-up thermometer. Around the world, those internal thermometers are going to "pop" earlier than they once did.

This past winter's weather could send a mixed message. Globally, it was the coolest December through February since 2001 and a year of heavy snowfall. Despite that, it was still warmer than average for the 20th century.

Phenology data go back to the 14th century for harvest of wine grapes in France. There is a change in the timing of fall, but the change is biggest in spring. In the 1980s there was a sudden, big leap forward in spring blooming, scientists noticed. And spring keeps coming earlier at an accelerating rate.

Unlike sea ice in the Arctic, the way climate change is tinkering with the natural timing of day-to-day life is concrete and local. People can experience it with all five senses:

• You can see the trees and bushes blooming earlier. A photo of Lowell Cemetery, in Lowell, MA, taken May 30, 1868, shows bare limbs. But the same scene photographed May 30, 2005, by Boston University biology professor Richard Primack shows them in full spring greenery.

• You can smell the lilacs and honeysuckle. In the West they are coming out two to four days earlier each decade over more than half a century, according to a 2001 study.

• You can hear it in the birds. Scientists in Gothic, CO, have watched the first robin of spring arrive earlier each year in that mountain ghost town, marching forward from April 9 in 1981 to March 14 last year. This year, heavy snows may keep the birds away until April.

• You can feel it in your nose from increased allergies. Spring airborne pollen is being released about 20 hours earlier every year, according to a Swiss study that looked at common allergies since 1979.

• You can even taste it in the honey. Bees, which sample many plants, are producing their peak amount of honey weeks earlier. The nectar is coming from different plants now, which means noticeably different honey—at least in Highland, MD, where Wayne Esaias has been monitoring honey production since 1992. Instead of the rich, red, earthy tulip poplar honey that used to be prevalent, bees are producing lighter, fruitier black locust honey. Esaias, a NASA oceanographer as well as beekeeper, says global warming is a factor.

In Washington, seven of the last 20 Cherry Blossom Festivals have started after peak bloom. This year will be close, the National Park Service predicts. Last year, Knoxville's dogwood blooms came and went before the city's dogwood festival started. Boston's Arnold Arboretum permanently rescheduled Lilac Sunday to a May date eight days earlier than it once was.

Even western wildfires have a timing connection to global warming and are coming earlier. An early spring generally means the plants that fuel fires are drier, producing nastier fire seasons, said University of Arizona geology professor Steve Yool. It's such a good correlation that Weltzin, the phenology network director, is talking about using real-time lilac data to predict upcoming fire seasons. Lilacs, which are found in most parts of the country, offer some of the broadest climate overview data going back to the 1950s.

This year, though, it's the early red maple that's creating buzz, as well as sniffles. A New Jersey conservationist posted an urgent message on a biology listserv on Feb. 1 about the early blooming. A 2001 study found that since 1970, that tree is blossoming on average at least 19 days earlier in Washington, DC.

Such changes have "implications for the animals that are dependent on this plant," Weltzin said, as he stood beneath a blooming red maple in late February. By the time the animals arrive, "the flowers may already be done for the year." The animals may have to find a new food source.

"It's all a part of life," Weltzin said. "Timing is everything."--AP

Wildlife Officials Kill Pack's 4 Wolves

FOUR WOLVES that made up the Moccasin Lake pack in Montana were shot by Wildlife Services officials this week in the East Fork of the Boulder River drainage, south of Big Timber, after more livestock kills were confirmed.

"They're large carnivores; they're opportunistic," said Carolyn Sime, statewide wolf coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). "The comparison has been made between bears and bird feeders. It's hard to get that learned behavior turned around."

The wolves were connected to a calf kill in the same area Saturday. The next day, the wolves reportedly returned and harassed the livestock but did not kill any. On Wednesday, as Wildlife Services officials were working in the area, they received a call from a landowner that a lamb and ewe had been killed closer to Big Timber. After investigating and determining that wolves had killed the animals, the officials tracked them through the snow. They had permission to kill two of the wolves and did. They then did more investigation at the sheep kill site, called FWP and got permission to shoot the other two wolves.

"They spend a great deal of time on private land and have demonstrated an escalating pattern of keying into livestock as a food source since January," Sime said. "We work closely with Wildlife Services and area landowners, but it's an FWP decision."

The pack had a history of livestock depredations, with one calf killed a year ago. One wolf was removed from the pack then. Last year, FWP authorized the removal of three packs--21 wolves--in similar situations. Eleven cattle were killed in those incidents. The packs that were removed were the Bearmouth pack near Drummond, the Wedge pack south of Ennis and the Fleecer Mountain pack near Anaconda.

"In situations where we've removed all wolves within an area, they have recolonized within 280 days on average," Sime said. "That basically tells us that we have the opportunity to do something better next time around," such as the use of deterrents like range riders or electrified fladry--strips of flagging that hang off an electrified fence.

Brett French
Billings, MT
Billings Gazette

Court Orders Cell Tower Safeguards for Migrating Birds

WASHINGTON, DC–-A federal court of appeals last week issued a ruling ordering the Federal Communications Commission to carefully evaluate the potential adverse effects of communications towers on migratory bird populations of the Gulf Coast region.

The decision could save millions of birds killed each year in tower collisionsA panel of federal judges ruled that national environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act require the FCC to more carefully consider these possible adverse effects in its tower permitting process.

“We are very pleased by today’s ruling which will require the FCC to assess the environmental impacts of towers,” said Darin Schroeder, American Bird Conservancy’s Executive Director of Conservation Advocacy. “Given the large number of bird deaths caused by towers, an environmental review is long overdue. This is a huge victory for migratory birds and the millions of Americans who love to see them each year.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates between 5 million and 50 million birds are killed each year in collisions and other accidents caused by communications towers. In its decision, the court criticized the FCC for refusing to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when approving such towers.The court also said the FCC failed to sufficiently involve the public in its tower approval process.

“The Catch-22 … is that the Commission provides public notice of individual tower applications only after approving them,” the court wrote in its decision.

Tens of thousands of communication towers dot landscapes across the country. In Texas alone, there are over 10,000 of these towers. Each month, the FCC receives more than 20 new applications for tower construction.

The situation is critical along the Gulf Coast where thousands of communications towers dot the 1,000-mile stretch of coastline between Pt. Isabel, Texas and Tampa Bay, FL. Towers along this major migratory bird route threaten many different bird species. Exhausted from their journey across the Gulf of Mexico, these migrating songbirds collide with towers or the accompanying guy wires. In some cases, the birds confuse the blinking lights atop the cell towers with the night stars they use to navigate their journey. The birds become disoriented and begin circling the tower until they collapse from exhaustion and plummet to the ground.

The public interest law firm Earthjustice brought the case to federal court on behalf of the American Bird Conservancy. Earthjustice attorneys argued that FCC violated federal law by approving dozens of new towers each year with little or no environmental review.

“The court has clearly directed the FCC to respect national environmental laws when handing out permits for these tower.” said Earthjustice attorney Steve Roady. “FCC now must go back and carefully evaluate the environmental impacts of these towers.”

Ron Patterson
WindStar Master Naturalist
WindStar Wildlife Habitat Naturalist
Michigan Certified Nurseryman
Kentwood, MI

Is This A Felony Or Misdemeanor?

RECENTLY we learned more about the darker side of the pigeon-fancier subculture.

Last year thousands of raptors--such as Cooper's Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, and Red-tailed Hawks--had been killed in Oregon, California and Texas. These raptors were the victims of hobbyists who breed "roller pigeons," those Rock Pigeons that carry a genetic trait that causes them to stop flying and tumble in the air before righting themselves and continuing to fly.

Unfortunately, the pigeon-rolling in the air may actually look like crippled and vulnerable prey to a raptor, and many pigeon enthusiasts have been routinely killing raptors in an attempt to protect their roller pigeons.

There arose multiple arrests and charges, the result of a 16-month investigation of pigeon hobbyists and clubs in at least five states by law enforcement agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service estimated that as many as 2,000 to 3,000 raptors had been killed on the West Coast alone each year using methods that included poisoning, beating birds to death with clubs, and suffocation in plastic bags.

The 13 men charged with these crimes received little more than proverbial slaps on the wrist after pleading guilty to a Class B Misdemeanor under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). This is particularly galling since one of the species in question, Peregrine Falcon, was only removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.

Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has recently introduced legislation that would amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 so that the intentional killing of protected bird species would be considered a felony, rather than the current Class B Misdemeanor. Passage of HR 4093 could send a strong message to prosecutors and courts that Congress takes these crimes seriously. If the legislation passes, the most grievous bird-related crimes could result in significant fines (up to $50,000) and jail sentences (up to 1 year).

(Tell us if you think penalties should be a felony or stay a misdemeanor)

Paul J. Baicich
American Bird Conservancy