Environmental Conservation News

Most people buy produce from a grocery store without thinking about where it came from. Tons of produce are imported from other countries using large amounts of fossil fuel energy to get it to your store.

Even the produce raised in the United States is trucked hundreds of miles. You do have alternatives to purchasing all your produce or herbs from the grocery stores. Even if you are not a avid gardener or if you live in the city, there are ways to grow some fresh herbs and produce easily and inexpensively.

Many herbs and fresh vegetables can be grown in pots or hydroponicallyallowing you to enjoy the fresh flavor and the satisfaction of knowing you grew it yourself while saving money and energy. Window gardens can produce a wide array of herbs or small leaf lettuces without taking up much room or time. Container gardens are also an option for those with limited space or little to no yard. The containers with your fresh herbs can also be brought inside to prolong your growing season.

The Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) is a ray-finned fish and is one of our many endangered species. It is found in the waters of the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins of the United States. Its pale coloration gives rise to its name and it is closely related to the more common shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhyncus platorhynchus).

The Acipenseridae (sturgeon) family of fish originated during the Cretaceous period 70 million years ago. Pallid Sturgeons have remained basically unchanged and considered a relic of the dinosaur era. It even looks like a dinosaur with its flattened, shovel-shaped snout, bony plates and long tail that looks like it belongs on a reptile. The pallid has been called “one of the ugliest fish in North America”.

The fish is similar in appearance to the shovelnose sturgeon. The Pallid’s mouth is toothless and positioned under the snout like other sturgeons so they can suck up small fish and other food items from the bottom of the river. Its known habitat extends starting from the Missouri River in central Montana to St. Louis, the Yellowstone River of eastern Montana, and the Mississippi River around St. Louis all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The pallid sturgeon boasts to be one of the largest fish found in these river systems.

This member of the Sturgeon family is much larger averaging between 30 and 60 inches (76 and 150 cm) in length and can weigh up to 85 pounds (39 kg) when matured which takes 15 years to reach maturity. They don’t spawn frequently or on a set time schedule so this may affect their population numbers. Once they are born, barring an untimely demise, they can live up to a hundred years.

The pallid has managed to survive over millions of years withstanding events that caused many other species of fish to go extinct. Even still, their future is still uncertain. Populations of the pallid sturgeon are so small now that one of these big fish are rarely seen or caught by fishermen today. Habitat loss caused by man’s intrusion is blamed as the primary cause in the decline of populations.

Pallid sturgeons evolved for millions of years in a natural river system that had waters with meandering, braided channels and backwaters which provided different depths and flow velocities. Their habitat has been altered by dams that modify flows, reduce turbidity and lower water temperatures in vital habitats. The river habitats of the Missouri and Mississippi also have been altered by various channels and construction of dikes that narrow the rivers and cut-off backwater areas.

The impounded waters created by the addition of man-made structures, apparently do not meet the requirements of the species and successful reproduction has never been documented. It is also likely the forage base once used by pallid sturgeon has been altered affecting growth and reproduction. The largest remaining populations of pallid sturgeon appear to be in the upper Missouri River above Ft. Peck Reservoir in Montana, in the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers above Garrison Reservoir in North Dakota and Montana, in the Mississippi River below St. Louis, Missouri and near the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana.

The Pallid was listed as an endangered species on September 6, 1990 in accordance with provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). River sturgeons that were captured in the Mississippi River at Grafton, Illinois about the early 1900’s report only 1 in 500 were pallid sturgeons. The species continued to decline even further with development of dams and reservoirs on the Missouri River. There are only remnant populations of pallid sturgeon remaining in each of the remaining river habitats.

It is doubtful that any natural reproduction has occurred during the last decade (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). The first Pallid sturgeons to be successfully artificially spawned were in Missouri in 1992. A number of Federal and State hatcheries are conducting studies they hope will benefit management of the pallid. The studies include methods to improve spawning techniques in order to insure survival of brood stock and to increase production of viable eggs and fry.

Finding wild spawned pallid sturgeon gives biologists hope that efforts to restore the side channels and floodplain habitats along the lower Missouri River are being successful. In the summer of 1999, Jim Milligan and his staff of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fisheries Resources Office in Columbia, MO were able to collect the first known wild larval pallid sturgeon from the lower Missouri River. While performing a study, a search at the Lisbon Bottoms Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge reaped a special reward. A young sturgeon was collected in a restored side channel (aka as a habitat bead) where biologists and environmentalist are trying to recreate habitats.

They are creating habitats essential to the continued existence of this ancient species but these habitats will be beneficial to many different species. The location where the young sturgeon was spawned may not be known but what it is known the shallow off-channel habitats provided by the Lisbon Bottoms chute were being used by the young sturgeon as a refuge from the swift main channel currents.

Federal and state agencies are also working on identification of foods and feeding techniques to hopefully improve growth and survival of both fingerling and adult Pallid Sturgeon fish (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). It is due to the dedication of so many, that we are slowing but surely reversing destruction we have caused on this planet. Much needs to be learned and so much more work needs to be done.

Due to the efforts of those concerned along with dedicated volunteer groups such as Friends of the Big Muddy, wildlife refuges, habitats, and sanctuaries are being recreated to help many species find a home among us to survive and replenish their numbers instead of fading into history. I have worked with Friends of the Big Muddy in the past and hope to do more in the future. I encourage everyone to look inside yourself and find a way that you, too, can help. There are many organizations that work on habitats; others dedicated to recycling; still others promoting a green way of life. Everyone can do something. Even if only a single drop of water is placed in a bucket at a time, eventually the bucket will become full.

The information used to bring you this article is provided by the men and women working hard to preserve this species as well as many others. To them we all owe our gratitude. Reference: National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee. 1992. Framework for the Management of Conservation of Paddlefish and Sturgeon Species in the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.

Whooping Cranes are named for their unique calls. They are America’s tallest birds standing at four to five feet tall. These birds have a very energy-efficient style of gliding. They ride upwelling currents of warmed air and then drift back down. This movement is repeated over and over again so they are capable of flying long distances.

Hunting and habitat loss have caused whooping cranes to go nearly extinct. Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada is the only place there is a breeding wild population.

A breeding program for whooping cranes in captivity was started at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin and known as the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership Reintroduction Project. Once a population in captivity was established, the group decided the birds should be trained to fly south to Florida during winter months.

This migration of whooping cranes were led by humans and started at a wildlife refuge in Wisconsin on October 10th bound for Florida. Three ultra-light manned aircrafts led eleven whooping cranes out of the refuge area towards their first stopover 23 miles away. Unfortunately only four of them made it.

The other seven dropped out which proved how difficult it is to re-establish a wild migrating population of whooping cranes. (At one time the Whooping Crane population had dwindled to just fifteen birds.) The seven dropout birds were caught and caged for transport since they were unable to make the journey on their own.

In Operation Migration, the birds were trained using tiny manned aircrafts in order to prepare the birds to make the journey. Planes have been used in working with the cranes for ten years. This group of birds in training is known as the Eastern Migratory Population and is estimated to be comprised of 96 cranes. The total number of wild whooping cranes including those breeding in Canada is about 400. Approximately 260 wild Canadian Whooping Cranes fly to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas each winter.

This year, the group is trying to lead 11 young birds hatched this year on the migration route. Today they are still grounded in Winnebago County Illinois so cross your fingers and pray for calmer winds. Kudos to the men and women dedicated to this project. If you want to follow their progress: http://operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

You can turn a space into a garden plot, simply by utilizing a blanket of cardboard and/or newspaper. Yes, cardboard along with a thick layer of shredded mulch will do the tilling for you (You may also add and/or substitute several layers of newspaper). Come time to plant, the weed patch will be weed-free and soft enough to plant anything you like.

If you decide to use cardboard, you will need lots of it and preferably huge pieces. There are many places you can find enough cardboard for the job. Supermarkets, big chain grocery stores, furniture stores, and appliance dealers, all have lots of cardboard. Most of these may recycle their cardboard but if call and ask nicely or show up and ask in person, most will give you what they can.

Depending on the size of your garden, you may want to bring a pick-up truck, station wagon, or SUV. You might find yourself with enough cardboard to put to bed every tree, shrub, and perennial in your yard. Rest assured you can order all your favorite plants and seeds throughout the winter without wondering where to plant them in the spring.

How does it work and why does it work so well? Plants including weeds, need light to germinate and grow. Cardboard blocks the light and it kills everything beneath it, except the worms which will help to turn it into wonderful mulch. It keeps the ground from freezing tender perennials. You can hide the unsightly evidence with a two inch layer of shredded mulch on top.

Cardboard can be cut into any shape you want or don’t cut it at all. Spread it around in straight lines, curves and circles using the shredded mulch to shape the desired area. Do not cover your perennials and shrubs with the cardboard! Simply place the cardboard around the plant (cut to fit) and pile-on leaves, composted grass clippings, or pine needles over the plants.

Cardboard will slowly decompose and enrich the soil. It is a paper product made from trees and earthworms love to over-winter underneath its snuggly blanket. Best of all, cardboard kills weeds and grass. Come spring, you can simply cut through the soggy cardboard with your gardening knife, dig a hole, and easily plant your new perennials, shrubs, and annuals. You can even plant seeds or bulbs by simply by cutting an X through what’s left of the cardboard. It will provide you with a wonderful incubator for your new plants.

Overlap the edges of the cardboard so weeds receive no light to germinate during those warm winter thaws. After you lay it down, soak the cardboard with a garden hose, pile on the mulch and soak the mulch on top, too. The cardboard will help to hold moisture and keep your plants and shrubs safe through the winter. Keep adding shredded mulch throughout the next growing season and by the time the cardboard has decomposed completely, you will be able to say “bye-bye” to the weeds, their roots, and its seed.

Cardboard will retain moisture, helping plants make it successfully through intense periods of drought. I live in the Ozarks and I joke about growing rocks. My gardens were a weedy expanse of clay and rocks that we called topsoil when I moved onto the farm 6 years ago. Now, I have a healthy large garden, over-flowing each year with vegetables. My flower beds are filled with shrub roses, lilies, spring flowering shrubs and trees, and spring and summer flowering bulbs.

Try this in your garden or flower beds. You’ll be adding value to your home, growing food for your family, and recycling newspapers and cardboard into useful organic mulch.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods may have been found to have an impact on human health although the final decision is not in yet. However, GM plants have been found growing in the wild and a new study now finds the insecticides from GM crops are present in the streams of the Midwestern United States.

Jennifer Tank and some of her colleagues from the University of Notre Dame have found pollution throughout the streams of the Midwest from corn crop by-product transgenic materials for up to six months after the corn crop was harvested.

Scientists have genetically engineered transgenic corn to create its’ own insecticide. This allows farmers to save money and time since they won’t have to apply insecticide and they are able to harvest a better crop. The insecticide created by the transgenic corn deters crop pests without need for further application.

During studies by the researchers, it was determined that transgenic material from the corn enters streams in the Midwest since the majority of streams in the Corn Belt are in close proximity to corn fields. Once it enters the stream, it can be transported downstream into other bodies of water. This study surveyed 217 stream sites in northwestern Indiana six months after the crop harvest to determine the fate and persistence of insecticidal proteins.

Their findings included data showing 86 percent of the sites tested contained corn leaves, husks, cobs, and/or stalks in the active stream channel. It was common to find corn crop by-products in the agricultural streams. The researchers used sensitive laboratory tests to measure the amount of actual level of insecticidal protein from the GM corn. Dissolved residues were found in stream water samples at 23 percent of the sites during this test which was six months after the harvest.

The research performed during this study found that the consumption of GM corn by-products reduced the growth of stream insects while increasing the mortality. Aquatic and riparian predators prey on stream insects and the reduction in these insects means a reduction in their food supply. Widespread planting of these GM transgenic corn crops is having an unexpected ecosystem-scale consequence.

Big name companies have created a monopoly on GM products and put them out there for use without thought to the possible long-term effects on the health of the public or the dangers to our environment. Check out the products you use and do your homework. How many products are in your kitchen that contains a genetically modified food product?

The purpose of off-shore drilling is to provide a source of energy for the American people so that we are not dependent on another country. It should also reduce our energy costs since the wells are off our coastlines. We risk the possibility of a disaster just like the Gulf Oil Spill on a daily basis just to obtain oil and gas reserves. What would you think if you knew that you helped waste more energy per year than the energy supplied by the gas and oil mined from off-shore deposits?

Most everyone wastes food, but it is a matter of the volume and frequency that food is wasted. There are discarded loaves of bread and out-of-date yogurt cups that fall into obsolescence at the back of the fridge. Maybe there are a dozen eggs absent-mindedly left in the trunk of a car or a few pounds of ground beef aged to brown and thrown into the garbage can. Half-eaten sandwiches or fries that have grown cold added into the trash that eventually makes its’ way to the landfill. Virtually every family and every individual in this land of plenty discards a percentage of their food, whether it has spoiled or is just too much to consume.

This food loss is not something the average person will even consider, but the bean counters that crunch the numbers see it as a huge, overwhelming problem. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Loss Project, Americans discard more than 25% (approximately 25.9 million tons) of all the food produced domestically and there are some estimates significantly higher. The tragedy of this substantial waste does not end once the food hits the garbage bin.

Once all of this decomposing food gets to the landfill (whether it is contained in plastic bags or not), it continues breaking down and creates large amounts of methane gas. Methane is well known for contributing to the greenhouse effect. For example in Asia, Latin America and Africa, 40 % of methane emissions or about 37 million metric tons come from landfills.

Now comes the news (in light of the recent gulf oil disaster) from the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, that more energy is wasted in the edible food discarded by people in the United States each year than is extracted annually from the oil and gas reserves off the nation’s coastlines. (Note: This figure does not take into account waste on farms and from fishing). This loss is more than, and effectively nullifies, any contemporary attempt or strategy to improve national energy efficiency by utilizing off-shore drilling.

This is the kind of news that makes one feel utterly hopeless. However, while we may never become a zero-waste society, recent in-roads in community composting, food recovery, and gleaning have been able to make an impact on that 25% of waste. If our food waste was cut in half we would likely extend the lifespan of landfills by decades, reduce soil depletion and the application of tons of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. In order to achieve this goal, we must learn how to clean our plate like mama taught us to and manage our waste better.

Those of you who are gardeners can compost your organic waste to help build up your own flower beds and gardens. This composted waste would then be useful fertilizer to grow some of your own food, reducing the amount of produce that has to be trucked into your area. You would save money on your grocery budget, energy costs, and reduce your carbon footprint helping to save this planet that we live on. Think about the choices you make. They are after all, your choices and your decisions.

Choose to do what’s right and think before throwing away those leftovers.

Many people are searching for ways to go green, save energy and money, and to live healthier. By building a lean-to style greenhouse onto your home, you can take advantage of the sun’s rays to grow fresh, organic vegetables and even citrus trees to help provide fresh food for your family.

If you do some pre-planning into the design you can also include some passive solar heating systems to help heat your home during the winter. There are also designs to passively pre-heat your water to reduce the amount of electricity or gas it takes to produce usable hot water.

By incorporating another small room onto your house, you can build your own greenhouse/sunroom. This will help to increase the value of your home and provide hours of enjoyment for you and your family. Depending on the size, you might wish to incorporate a small breakfast table and chairs so that the family can enjoy a relaxing snack or meal together enjoying the suns’ natural warmth.

The greenhouse portion can be made as decorative as you like with terrraced beds, hanging baskets, small potted citrus trees, and possibly a small fountain or pond. On the other hand, you might prefer it to be a fully functional greenhouse growing fruit and vegetables year-round, starting your outdoor garden plants in seed trays early to maximize your growing seasons, and to keep your own houseplants in good health.

Doors can be added between the greenhouse and your home to keep the unwanted heat out during the summer while letting the additional heat into your home to help heat it during the winter. By adding multiple 55 barrels filled with water or sand, you will be able to hold the heat in the greenhouse longer each day since the water or sand in the barrels would heat up during the day. This heat would then be released slowly back into the greehouse/sunroom as the temperature of the air drops once the sun goes down. It’s sort of like a battery backup storing heat during the day while the sun is ‘charging’ the barrels and then once the sun has set the stored heat would be used to heat the room.

You can customize this set-up in any way you wish depending on how involved you want to get and your budget. In colder climates many people install pipes in the floor to help warm the floors. The same system can be used in conjunction with the greenhouse. The barrels would contain heated water, additional pipes could be run in the floor of the greenhouse and the warm water can be run into the house under the flooring to warm the floors.

Be creative, ask questions, figure out what you want from the system, and then build it. If you’re interested in conservation as well, look around for the materials to build your project at building sites and renovations. Quite often a contractor will let you have what they call scraps just so they don’t have to pay to have it hauled off. If you get permission to scavenge, make sure you clean up after yourself and don’t leave a mess. This will make it easier to get the contractor to allow someone else to scavenge in the future.

There are ways for everyone to do their part to help our planet, save valuable resources, and to live better healthier lives. Be creative, put a little effort into it, and find a better way of living using natural solar energy.

This is an excellent time to visit the outdoors and spend a little time with Mother Nature. For those of you that don’t wish to do a lot of hiking to view some of the wildlife, there are options such as the Springfield Nature Center (Springfield, MO). They have a wonderful wildlife viewing area where you can see a multitude of bird species within a very short walk. If you aren’t in my area, check your local cities for a similar place to check out our feathered friends.

Bird watching has grown in popularity and it is a wonderful way to introduce your children to the interaction of species within a habitat. While you’re letting them search for different varieties of birds among the foliage, you can speak to them about the damage humans are doing by destroying their habitats.

Extinction is a very real possibility for many of the species that you may see while on your walk. There are estimates that up to half of the species that presently exist may become extinct by the year 2100. It is not an exaggeration by a few, but a reality.

Humans have introduced foreign species to habitats which compete for the available food or they have become predators to the species already living there. Unwanted cats have become feral (wild) and are killing thousands of small birds daily as a food source. This is a result of improper care by irresponsible pet owners. Pet snakes that are no longer wanted have been turned loose in nature. Those that have adapted to the climates are also feeding on small birds and eggs.

Mankind in his infinite wisdom and arrogance has created a situation where nature is no longer in proper balance. To make nature areas safer and so that wildlife would not venture into populated areas, natural predators have been depleted in many areas allowing pests such as mice and rats to over-populate and move into residential areas. This food source also fuel the population growth of the feral cats.

Enjoy the birds while you can and maybe through proper instruction the new generations will become better stewards of this planet than we have been.

Tons of leftover food is thrown away every single day. Even the average household throws away hundreds of pounds. If you are creative, you can turn leftover food and produce peelings or scraps into more food for your table.

Pigs are omnivores. They will eat almost anything including carion, dead flesh is they happen upon something that has died. If you or a relative have enough space to put up a holding pen to raise a feeder pig, you can raise fresh pork for your freezer by feeding it all of your leftovers, scraps, and produce peelings mixed in with its’ food.

Most weaned pigs can be ready to butcher in 3 – 4 months once you get them and start feeding them. Locate a local butcher that can butcher and package the meat for you. Make sure they vacuum seal all the packages. This will ensure the quality of the pork until you are ready to use it.

You can stipulate how you want the meat cut, what roasts, hams, whether you want the hams, chops, or bacon cured, and how you want the sausage prepared. This would provide you with pork for several months while recycling your food wastes. The circle of life would be maintained while making yourself more sustainable and giving you the opportunity to know exactly what the pig ate while maturing.

Every week we add the tubes from our paper towels or toilet paper to our trash and set it out for the trash men to pick up. Many of us have gardens and can put these tubes to good use. By saving them and reusing them for another purpose you will cut down on something else that would end up in a landfill.

Collect your paper tubes throughout the year to be used in late winter or early spring. If you have a flower garden, herb garden, or produce garden you will be able to use these tubes instead of buying peat pots. These tubes are made of a thin cardboard and will decompose once planted adding to the compost in your garden. Cut the toilet paper tubes in half and depending on the length of the paper towel tubes you can cut them into three or four sections.

Stand the tubes on end and fill them with your potting medium. Insert the seed you wish to germinate. These tubes can be placed shoulder to shoulder in any type of tray, old baking pan or directly in your cold frames. Once the weather has warmed up enough to plant your garden, simply dig a small hole and insert the new plant along with the paper tube.

If you happen to be a lover of rotisserie chicken and purchase the ones in the plastic trays, make use of the tray as a mini-greenhouse. They will sit nicely on a wide window sill or on a table top close to a window. Each one can hold quite a few starter tubes and the plastic top acts like a greenhouse keeping them warm and protected. Make sure to punch a few holes in the top for air circulation.

This is the time of year to get your seeds started and what better way to save money than to reuse our ‘trash’. Be creative when walking to the trash can and make sure there isn’t something else that piece can be used for before it heads to the land fill. Help reduce our waste and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.