Tips to Enhance Environmental Conciousness

The Waves of Environmental Consciousness

With all the talk about conserving our natural resources and supporting conservation efforts around the globe, you may be sitting at  home and wondering ‘well what can I do?’, thinking that one person or household could not possibly make a noticeable impact.  Think again.  Conservation efforts go far beyond reforestation and wildlife preserves.  There are so many ways that we as individuals can make a dramatic impact (albeit over time) in the way we choose to live.  Making the conscious effort to reduce, reuse and recycle has become a lifestyle for my family and while the thought may seem overwhelming at first, you can start out small and gradually build upon what you do, even getting younger members of the family involved.

Being a single mom of two children, ages 5 and 8, our endeavor to be a bit more green began a few years ago when we spent much of our time living in Vermont.  Having a large parcel of land allowed us to cultivate flower gardens, a vegetable and herb garden, and various berry bushes.   Rather than spend all sorts of money on fertilizers, we got into the habit of composting anything and everything that didn’t have a shell.  The only other precautions to take if you are going to compost on a ‘small’ scale is not to put any meat or anything with seeds into your compost bin; the seeds will sprout before you know it and the whole batch will have a longer break-down time, giving you plants where you probably didn’t intend them to grow.   When composting, there isn’t even a need to spend a lot of money and buy one of those big heavy-duty barrels you crank to turn your batch over.  We found it was just as effective to collect our compost in a bin on the counter and make a daily trip out to the barn where we kept a metal garbage can for all the scraps, using a shovel to turn the compost every week or so.  As you go through this process, you’ll get satisfaction in seeing the rich, dark, nutrient-rich soil turn up from the bottom, ready to be spread in your flower beds and garden.

Although Earth Day has come and gone, there are still plenty of things you can do throughout the rest of this year to reduce the waste that is either dumped into our landfills or incinerated only to go into our atmosphere.  Think of all the plastic containers your household discards over the course of just one week, let alone the countless amounts you will go through in an entire month or year.  Instead of tossing these containers into the trash can,  take the few extra moments to rinse them and set aside for recycling.  If you live in an area where recycling is not picked up curbside, there are plenty of ways to reuse many of these items.  For instance, haven’t we all, at some point, purchased plastic storage containers from the market or local box store?  Not to say that Rubbermaid containers aren’t great, but when you are working to reduce the amount of non-biodegradables you toss in the trash, think about how you can refill your water bottles, return your soft drink cans for the deposit (don’t throw them away; it adds up!), save the yogurt containers for art projects with the kids or to use as snack cups for them (I put everything from trail mix to fruit in them; just the right size for small hands to carry around while keeping portion control in mind).  In my house, we reuse everything from paper towel tubes (good for art projects or an easy storage solution for all those plastic shopping bags that accumulate; just shove them in the tube and you have your own ‘free’ dispenser for them!) If you are someone that already returns your bottles and cans in order to get your five cent deposit back, consider the additional value that sits right on top of those cans; did you know that by pulling the pop-top tab off the can and saving them, you can turn them into your local hospital or renal dialysis center for an important cause. 

**because of the importance of issues such as what has been discussed in this blog post, we have decided to continue this article in installments so we can address the issues discussed more fully and because we realize the average blog reader’s attention span is limited! We will continue to post installments to this post frequently.

Black Bear Conservation Efforts

They’re shadowy creatures, jet black with tooth and claw. They move silently on ninja feet. They’re big, they’re powerful, and they live among us. They’re black bears and lately they seem to be everywhere. Populations are rising and that means more contacts (and sometimes conflicts) with humans. It also means people are asking more questions about where all these bears are coming from. University of Wisconsin Madison grad student researcher Karl Malcolm wants to know too. Specifically, he wants to know how and when bears move away from their birthplaces in a process called dispersion. Malcom has radio collared more than 30 bears. The collars are advanced beyond the traditional telemetry devices of yesteryear. They each contain a GPS transmitter that allows researchers to track the bears via satellite. Funding for this research project includes support from the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Black bears are born in mid winter and are tiny and helpless – totally dependent on their drowsy, semi-hibernating mothers for warmth and nutrition. Typically the cubs will stay with their mothers the next winter as yearlings. It’s at this point that Malcolm likes to sedate the mother and her young to do a health survey (body weight, blood samples) and fit them with collars. It’s a critically timed opportunity to do so because most of these yearlings will be off on their own by the next winter’s denning season. So far, Malcolm’s dispersion study has found that bears prefer to travel through contiguous strips of forest, including creek and river bottoms. They may venture out into open areas to feed (often at night) but will return to the forest for long distance travel. This research has shed much light on the movement of juvenile bears into new areas, but what about the apparent upswing in numbers?

Another UW Madison researcher, Dave McFarland, was an important contributor to newfound knowledge about bear populations. The Wisconsin population census had long been built on a flawed baiting technique that was due for a change. For some time Michigan and Minnesota have used a much more accurate technique that involves lacing bait with tetracycline, which bonds with the bear’s skeleton and is detectable in the bones of a harvested bear. McFarland’s use of tetracycline in his population research now suggests that the number of bears roaming Wisconsin may be two times or more what was previously thought.

Working with Malcolm and McFarland is Mike Gappa, an independent bear consultant and retired WI DNR bear specialist who believes the inaccuracy started in 1985 when the estimated population was conservatively calculated to be too low. Future population estimates were built upon that faulty information and continued to be incorrect until the recent change in census methodology. The results of the tetracycline study have breathed new life into the true number of bears in the wild. As might be expected, the number of hunting tags has been modified to reflect those new numbers. Gappa also believes that as bears disperse further south from their traditional northwoods strongholds into more agricultural areas, the wealth of available food has increased body weight and decreased disease and mortality. The bears are healthier and having more cubs. And what does that mean for us humans? Get used to listening for ninja feet.

National Wild Turkey Federation

[caption id="attachment_431" align="alignleft" width="116" caption="Emblem of the National Wild Turkey Federation"][/caption]The National Wild Turkey Federation was started in 1973 and since then has grown to a membership of more than half a million hunters in more than 14 countries including the US, Canada and Mexico.
The National Wild Turkey Federation was started as a group to promote the sport of turkey hunting as a traditional sport but also to work towards wildlife conservation and the preservation of natural wildlife habitats.
The National Wild Turkey Federation works with government agencies as well as private groups and landowners to promote hunting but also to promote responsible hunting ideals and to be advocates for wild turkey.

The National Wild Turkey Federation also works to pass laws that will promote hunting as a sport and protect the wild turkey. Because the NWTF has such a large membership it has become a force to be reckoned with when lawmakers are writing and lobbying for the passage of laws that deal with hunting and wildlife.
The NWTF is dedicated to preserving the dignity and tradition of the sport of hunting. It holds national banquets that celebrate hunting and the accomplishments of hunters every year. The banquets are also fund raisers that have raised millions of dollars for all the projects that the NWTF is involved with.
In addition to doing advocacy and conservation work the NWTF also offers lots of resources to hunters like articles about hunting, gear guides, guides to the best hunting locations for both fall hunting and spring hunting, and more.
Within hunting circles the National Wild Turkey Federation is regarded as the expert in all things relating to wild turkeys and turkey hunting. If you want to be a serious turkey hunter it would be a very good idea for you to join the National Wild Turkey Federation and take advantage of all the wonderful tools that they offer to hunters.
In addition to the information that they offer for hunters the NWTF is one of the largest groups in the country working for conservation and the preservation of national wildlife habitats. With more and more wetlands, forests, and other game habitats disappearing everyday the NWTF’s focus on responsible hunting and preservation is very important.
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