Natural Soultions by Richard: Backyard Ecology

Natural Soultions by Richard: Backyard Ecology:                   BACKYARD ECOLOGY Have you ever seriously considered whether your yard has a positive or negative effect on t...

Backyard Ecology

                  BACKYARD ECOLOGY

Have you ever seriously considered whether your yard has a positive or negative effect on the environment?  Consider the following:

Watering your lawn depletes water resources.  Mowing, using aerators, leaf blowers, weed whackers, and edgers add to air pollution and eventually to global warming.  To cut your yard one time, your lawn mower emits as much pollution as a car on a 300 mile trip.

Excess fertilizers and pesticides run off into streams and lakes and destroy marine life.  Lawn clippings are over 20% of all household waste.  Lawn owners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides an acre than do farmers.  In many western states, lawn watering accounts for as much as 60 percent of urban water use.  In our country, our lawns cover over 25,000,000 acres of countryside.  We spend an estimated 30 billion dollars each year to maintain the vast green blanket.   Would you believe grass is the country's largest single crop?

As bad as the above sounds, we really haven't touched on the real negative to our perpetual care lawn system.  We have created 25 million acres of an essentially sterile environment, totally absent of any wildlife.  Nothing can live on our grass carpets.

If we look back on our country's history, we can see the development of the lawn.  Our great grandfathers were determined to win the west, conquer the wilderness, and they did.  We won.  The wilderness has surely been conquered.  In fact, most of it is long gone.  It is only natural that we inherited a slash and burn attitude.  Our great grandfathers believed when you prevailed over the wilderness, the evidence of such was no trees.  In fact, most settlers went as far as no grass.  I can still remember my grandmother sweeping her bare dirt yard.  Now, as we approach the 21st century, we have moved slightly away from the slash and burn approach.  We have started replanting the wilderness, but with controls.  In many cities, trees now line the streets.  Neatly trimmed yards meet the eye.   We are moving back toward a greener country, but in our landscaping, we are ignoring the basic essentials for wildlife habitat.  For wildlife to flourish, there must be food available as well as cover for protection.  When we remove honeysuckle and blackberry vines that look unkempt and snaky, we remove the animals that depend on the berries for food and the birds and small mammals that hide in the brambles.  One cannot randomly remove habitat if the land is to be shared.

When I moved to my present home some 25 years ago, I was proud to note a large covey of quail inhabited an old abandoned farm behind my house.  The covey has slowly shrunk until now I rarely hear a bobwhite call.  I haven't cleared any land, but in my well-intended neatness, I have bush-hogged several acres of weeds, brambles, and other small bushes.  I have inadvertently killed off the quail by removing their food supply and their cover.

Nationwide, our songbird population is plummeting.  Worldwide, we are seeing plant and animal extinction at a rate only surpassed by the great dinosaur extinction.

There are many reasons for this alarming decline in plant and animal species, but without question, one of the prime causes is loss of habitat due to urban development.

Is there any way we can reverse the trend?  Can we individually make a difference?   I believe we can if we understand a few basic principles of wildlife management and agree to share our yard with wildlife. 

Now, let's look at a few simple ideas that will let us convert our sterile green yards into an attractive wildlife compatible yard.  First, it is not just parking the riding lawn mower or bush hog.  After all, we have worked for years to alter the environment around our home.  To return it to a wildlife compatible state will require more than letting the grass grow.  It doesn't matter if your house sits on 1/4 of an acre or 10 acres, the principals are the same.  When you analyze your yard with an eye toward improving wildlife habitat, the most critical part of your yard is the backyard.  Think of the back 20 feet, or 20 yards if you have a big yard, as a wildlife corridor.  Wildlife corridors link together to allow animals to move across an area searching for food while protected by the cover it provides.  Now, consider your 20 foot wildlife corridor connected to your neighbor’s backyard to form a 40 foot corridor, which connects to your adjacent neighbor’s yard to give small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects access to food and safety.  To continue the concept to create a wildlife friendly yard, focus on the edges of your yard.  If your yard is like my yard, I could give wildlife the back 20 yards or the other edges of my yard, and they would still starve to death.  When you turn this area into wildlife habitat, you must give Mother Nature a hand.  First, we should plant a grove of nut or berry producing trees along the very edge of the lot.  Then edge the grove with berry bushes of varying heights and species.  Mow and weed this area very lightly.  In fact, your goal should be to allow this area to slowly return to its natural state.  Next, along the sides of your lot, continue with more hedgerow type plants, along with berry bushes.  In the adjacent open areas, allow native grasses and wildflowers to reclaim a portion of the area.  In order to achieve the proper balance, you must plant the wildflowers and native grasses.  Finally, in a back corner of your yard, create a small pond.  When you build your pond, set it in a natural drainage area, possibly one that would receive runoff from your roof.  When building your pond, don't be concerned about the size.  A 6' by 10' pond is adequate.  The pond depth should be around 3 feet in its deepest part and feather out to 2" to 6" in depth on one end.  I recommend a thin layer of cement to slow seepage.  After construction, add 4 inches of dirt and rocks to cover the concrete.  Your construction should allow a natural drainage spill point to carry excess water into the wooded back portion of your lot.  Stock your pond with minnows and Mother Natural will do the rest.

Finally, leave a mowed strip along the sidewalk to keep your neighbors happy.

Your new yard now has the three criterion that makes for wildlife habitat:  woodland, wetland, and grassland.

Is the natural state ready for the natural yard?  Well, let's be honest, Arkansas usually doesn't lead the nation in innovative ideas or trends.  However, we do focus on our natural heritage much more than most areas of our country.  We may be ready to take the lead in restoring our urban landscape to one more wildlife friendly.

I believe if we consider the tremendous expenditure of our resources to maintain the perpetual care yard, we will change our yards.  As our environmental awareness continues to grow, the natural yard will be the yard of choice.  Our grandchildren may very well look back on the last half of the 20th century with as much amusement as we had when we watched our great grandparents sweep dirt yards.  So join me, and be one of the first on your block to plant something other than grass and ornamental pear trees.  Soon your neighbors will start to admire your woodlands, your berry bushes, your wildflowers, and the variety of wildlife your yard attracts, and begin to follow your example.

            For further information, an excellent book is available, written by Sara Stein.  The book "Noah's Garden” focuses on restoring the ecology of our own back yards.

Natural Soultions by Richard: Yes, Money Does Grow On Trees!

Natural Soultions by Richard: Yes, Money Does Grow On Trees!:                                                                 Yes, Money Does Grow On Trees! What if you could add thousands of...

Yes, Money Does Grow On Trees!

                  

                                             Yes, Money Does Grow On Trees!

What if you could add thousands of dollars in value to your property, reduce your summer cooling cost by 20% and, if you own a retail store, increase your sales just by spending a few dollars?

            Of course, there’s not a one of us that wouldn’t jump at the chance to do that. After all, there’s something built in us as Americans that makes us want to make money, save money, and make our property more valuable.

            Well, the answer is so simple you won’t believe it; plant trees. Yep, that’s it, and there are dozens of studies to prove that the simple act of planting a tree will do exactly that.  Consider the following studies:

(1)   First and most obvious, a big shade tree next to your house will cut your electrical bills during the summer by at least 20%.

(2)   A beautiful lot full of shade trees surrounding a house will add thousands of dollars to the appraisal value. In Dallas it is common place to see home owners bring in large trees costing $15,000 to $20,000 after they finish building. They know that not only are these trees visually pleasing to the eye, but they are adding value to their property.

(3)   A recent government survey concluded that potential customers were more likely to shop in stores that had trees or other landscaping around them than stores that didn’t.  In fact, the study also concluded that customers believed the goods offered in these stores were of better quality and they were willing to pay more for them.

It’s easy to sum up the numerous advantages trees offer home owners or business owners. For the dollars spent, trees will add more value to your property than anything you can do. So this year while the planting season is still with us, head to your local nursery and buy a tree. It will pay dividends for years to come.

Natural Soultions by Richard: Let's Protect Our Wildlife Habitat

Natural Soultions by Richard: Let's Protect Our Wildlife Habitat: I am a native Arkansawyer.   I grew up literally in the woods; hunting and fishing almost every day of my early life.   As I look ba...

Let's Protect Our Wildlife Habitat

I am a native Arkansawyer.  I grew up literally in the woods; hunting and fishing almost every day of my early life.  As I look back on the changes that have occurred, I can say that, without question, the wholesale cutting of the big timber along our rivers is, by far, the biggest change in the woods.  It hasn't been many years ago when you could walk for miles through huge pin oak flats.  Today most of the old growth is gone.  Only patches remain.  Scraggly cut over timber and clear‑cut tracts replanted in pine plantations make‑up much of our forests.  Yes, there is more wooded land in Arkansas than we had 30 years ago, but I challenge anyone to truthfully say the quality of our woodlands is superior to what we had. 

It's no mystery as to what has happened to our woodlands.  Anyone that has traveled around our country or spent any time overseas has surely observed the destruction of woodlands worldwide.

We have lost 90% of our wetlands over the past 100 years, and we are still seeing them vanish at an alarming rate. The hardwood forests that covered our land years ago are systematically being replaced by pine plantations.  Bottomland hardwoods have become especially vulnerable to timber harvest, and the result is a 70% loss of bottomland hardwoods.

Now, let's look at countries that have sat back and allowed uncontrolled or unregulated timber practices to dominate their landscape.  The best examples are the European countries that we now view as being un-forested.  Those rolling hills of Scotland, England, Ireland, France, etc., aren't naturally open plains. 

These vast tracts of land broken today by only a fence row, formerly contained a majestic forest stretching across Europe and the British Isles.  As our country continues to decimate its forests and wetlands, how long will it be until we reach the European City‑Village state when only a few "nature" areas remain, and hunting is regulated to a few monitored estates.

There is one lesson in all of history that we must recognize if we are to have anything left for our grandchildren.  The lesson is very simple and straightforward.  If an area of high quality woodlands or wetlands is not protected in some manner, then it is an absolute certainty to be destroyed.  There are no exceptions, and this rule applies worldwide.

Now, let's look closely at Arkansas.  A few years ago, I interviewed one of the older citizens of the Mena area.  When I asked him what had changed the most in West Arkansas, he said, "the woods".  He told of riding through the forest by wagon, not along any road, but cross country to visit neighbors, traveling through a forest of ancient oaks scattered with pine.  The high forest canopy created an open, brush free area easily traversed by wagon.  Today?  Well, by the 1920's, our old growth forest had been cut.  As the National Forests were created and the forest service's timber management practices were initiated, slowly but surely, the character of our national forests forever changed.  Today West Arkansas is predominately pine forests with only a remnant of hardwoods remaining.  Nothing was protected, so almost everything was lost.

Today our choices are simple.  We can either sit back and listen to the timber companies tell us how they are going to manage the timber and wildlife, and then watch as we have less and less wildlife habitat each year, or we can seek to protect areas where extraordinary timber and wildlife habitat remain.  East Arkansas is active in doing just that, with its Cache‑White River Refuge Systems.  West and North Central Arkansas is protecting large wilderness areas through the National Forest Wilderness System and the National River System.  South Arkansas has the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge.  However, even with these steps in the right direction, we are only protecting a fraction of the habitat we should be protecting.

Remember, the past tells us either we protect unique wildlife habitat, or we lose it.  What are you going to do?

Natural Soultions by Richard: Greening Your Town, Part Two

Natural Soultions by Richard: Greening Your Town, Part Two: GREENING UP YOUR TOWN PART 2 Last week I talked about the need for us to move forward in our communities with new street construction...