Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wetlands Are Awesome

For most of the United States' history, wetlands were primarily seen as soggy farmland. In that spirit, wetlands were systematically drained and converted to farmland or subjected to other developments. As the country expanded, it lost about half of its wetlands (source).

Photo: Tamarack Bog Nature Preserve, Pigeon River FWA.
Rich Fields, IDNR Division of Public Information and Education
Over the past couple of decades, we have become aware of the vast array of benefits wetlands provide to the ecosystem(s) that support us. As stated on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)'s website, wetlands protect our homes, our crops, and our wildlife. Wetland restoration projects have been underway nationwide since the mid-twentieth century. Most people have heard of the Everglades, one of the most wide-reaching and successful (and expensive) wetland restoration projects to date. 

Wetlands protect our homes from floods, as well as stream or river banks from erosion, by acting as a sponge for excess water. They "naturally store and filter nutrients and sediments," which makes our drinking water cleaner. Lastly, "more than one-third of America's threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands." People use wetlands for hunting, fishing, photography, education, and more. The economic value of wetlands as stated by IDEM comes to $59.5 billion. 

As wetlands affect and protect so many parts of our lives, it comes as no surprise that efforts to restore and conserve them are undertaken by a variety of agencies, organizations, and individuals. 

So what's being done to restore and conserve wetlands in Indiana? Federal programs such as the WRP, or Wetland Reserve Program, and its sister WREP, Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program, have a presence here in Indiana. One of the most successful projects as of late was the creation of 7,200-acre Goose Pond, located in Linton, IN. Formerly a permanent easement under the management of NRCS, it is now owned and managed by the Indiana DNR. It is an invaluable resource for wildlife, hunters, birdwatchers, and area landowners.

Click here for a flyover video of Goose Pond.

Wetlands take centuries to form, and much less than that to drain. While the past few decades' successes are notable, and a step in the right direction, it will take centuries for wetlands to recover.
"...On average, restored wetlands regained only about three-quarters of their original biological performance....[Wetlands also] hold at least a quarter of the world's land-based carbon, according to the World Resources Institute’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. But restored wetlands hold less carbon—on average, 23 percent less than untouched wetlands" (GOOD Magazine).
Would you like to learn more about WRP opportunities?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Urban Soil Testing

In Indianapolis' local weekly newspaper NUVO, editors shared information about a project that tests the soil of urban neighborhoods. Free soil testing is offered to residents of two neighborhoods lying shortly northeast and west of Indy's city center. The communities are experiencing high levels of unemployment and below-average graduation rates. Additionally, high levels of lead in the communities' soil are negatively impacting local children. According to NUVO, the soil contaminants "threaten to exacerbate a host of social ills by undermining local children's ability to concentrate and learn."

An EPA grant is funding the project, which is administered by Improving Kids Environment (IKE) and IUPUI.

IKE founder Tom Nelter founded the organization to bridge what he views as a "gap that existed between the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, a regulatory agency not focused on health, and the Indiana Department of Health, which wasn’t addressing environmental issues" (NUVO).

Soil and water conservation is traditionally thought of as having a rural focus. However, the quality of our natural resources, whether they're located in a city center, in agriculture, or protected lands, affect each person individually. Environmental health is human health.

What non-ag soil and water conservation projects have you seen in your community?

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Rainforest Vs. Oil


In 2007 Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador, had a difficult choice to make. One of the most biodiverse areas of the planet was currently protected as an Ecuadorian national park (Yasuni), but the country was feeling economic pressure to destroy it in order to get at the 846 million barrels of oil that lay below. The oil there was valued at $7.2 billion USD. Sr. Correa proposed a compromise:

Pristine Yasuni National Forest
If the rest of the world donated half the value of the oil, then the rainforest would remain protected.

The United Nations Development Programme helped Ecuador to establish and administer a trust fund to manage the funds it received. Celebrities (Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio) and a host of businesses and national governments stepped up to the challenge. According to The Guardian, $116 million was donated by the December 30 cut-off date. For now, the park's most valuable sectors will remain free from oil exploitation.
Drilling for Oil in the Rainforest

GOOD Magazine writes:

"The notion that everyone has a personal and financial interest in saving the rainforest (and other ecosystems) is a relatively novel one, so it’s not surprising that the world hasn’t poured even more money into Ecuador’s coffers. This experiment has made clear, though, that the decision not to drill for oil does have financial value—over the longer term, that value could outstrip the profits of exploiting resources.

[As] Reuters’ Felix Salmon...puts it, “Oilfields, eventually, run out of oil. But untapped oilfields never do.” As long as the world depends on oil, fears climate change, and values biodiversity, Ecuador can essentially charge the world rent on benefits derived from the rainforest."