Post by Woody Williams on Jan 9, 2006 9:27:25 GMT -5
'Tis the season to do good deeds
By PHIL POTTER, Tri-State Outdoors
January 8, 2006
Any conservation group feel the need to do a good deed? If so, here are a couple of ideas worth consideration.
Public lands need help. Many sites are built on land deemed unfit for anything other than a tax write-off.
Unfortunately, many former idle lands are cursed with a smothering blanket of fescue that controls erosion and provides little else. Only a few insects, range-deprived beef cattle and desperate rabbits will eat fescue.
Worse, fescues overtake beneficial native forbs and grasses.
Fescue is best controlled by total eradication, but that costs money. The expenditure is well worth the cost to restore the total natural ecosystem allowing all manner of birds and animals to proliferate.
Individual groups could contact site managers and offer to provide funds for fescue removal. In the same breath, these groups could offer to provide natural prarie grass seed and other food-producing plants to take fescue's place.
On many public sites, food sources are ignored. There are miles of heavy weeds. Effectively, there is at least one food strip for every 40 acres of the area. Some conservation groups have machinery that enable fast planting and spraying. Some loan them and many offer to actually operate them.
But shelling out money isn't the ultimate answer toward preserving wildlife habitat.
Why not create a use tax for non-hunters and fishermen who freely use fish and wildlife areas? Why not enact legislation to force states to intelligently spend the money from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act?
These monies should be spent only on wildlife projects. Too often, some state agency manages to get sportsmen's license fees and tax money spent on playgrounds and campgrounds rather than buying or improving critical habitat.
Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee are leaders at purchasing and restoring lands for wildlife and public use. Still, individual and group donations go a long way at making good things better.
Maybe a consortium of conservation groups could "adopt" a specific state area and work with managers to make it the best in the state. Friendly competition could help keep wild places alive and thriving.
· Want wild seeds and plants for your property? Contact Genesis Nursery in Tampico, Ill., to get their 30 years of experience to program just what you need. They have 250-plus species and specialize in custom and contract growing.
Call toll free at (877) 817-5325 or send a fax to (815) 438-2222 for free catalogs and information.
· National Geographic offers a birding treasure in the form of the Complete Birds of North America book. It features 4,000 illustrations of adult and juvenile plumage plus range and migration maps. This 640-page book is the work of 25 of the nations best birders. Go to www.nationalgeographic.com. or AOL Keyword: NatGeo.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/sports/article/0,1626,ECP_735_4371476,00.html
By PHIL POTTER, Tri-State Outdoors
January 8, 2006
Any conservation group feel the need to do a good deed? If so, here are a couple of ideas worth consideration.
Public lands need help. Many sites are built on land deemed unfit for anything other than a tax write-off.
Unfortunately, many former idle lands are cursed with a smothering blanket of fescue that controls erosion and provides little else. Only a few insects, range-deprived beef cattle and desperate rabbits will eat fescue.
Worse, fescues overtake beneficial native forbs and grasses.
Fescue is best controlled by total eradication, but that costs money. The expenditure is well worth the cost to restore the total natural ecosystem allowing all manner of birds and animals to proliferate.
Individual groups could contact site managers and offer to provide funds for fescue removal. In the same breath, these groups could offer to provide natural prarie grass seed and other food-producing plants to take fescue's place.
On many public sites, food sources are ignored. There are miles of heavy weeds. Effectively, there is at least one food strip for every 40 acres of the area. Some conservation groups have machinery that enable fast planting and spraying. Some loan them and many offer to actually operate them.
But shelling out money isn't the ultimate answer toward preserving wildlife habitat.
Why not create a use tax for non-hunters and fishermen who freely use fish and wildlife areas? Why not enact legislation to force states to intelligently spend the money from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act?
These monies should be spent only on wildlife projects. Too often, some state agency manages to get sportsmen's license fees and tax money spent on playgrounds and campgrounds rather than buying or improving critical habitat.
Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee are leaders at purchasing and restoring lands for wildlife and public use. Still, individual and group donations go a long way at making good things better.
Maybe a consortium of conservation groups could "adopt" a specific state area and work with managers to make it the best in the state. Friendly competition could help keep wild places alive and thriving.
· Want wild seeds and plants for your property? Contact Genesis Nursery in Tampico, Ill., to get their 30 years of experience to program just what you need. They have 250-plus species and specialize in custom and contract growing.
Call toll free at (877) 817-5325 or send a fax to (815) 438-2222 for free catalogs and information.
· National Geographic offers a birding treasure in the form of the Complete Birds of North America book. It features 4,000 illustrations of adult and juvenile plumage plus range and migration maps. This 640-page book is the work of 25 of the nations best birders. Go to www.nationalgeographic.com. or AOL Keyword: NatGeo.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/sports/article/0,1626,ECP_735_4371476,00.html