Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Honeybee on butterfly milkweed on June 30, 2009
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of honeybee on milkweed on June 30, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hill Place contractor's machine compacting street base, water added, water carries limestone silt into Town Branch of Beaver Lake Watershed
Please click on image to see where limestone-dust siltation orginates and where it is going.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Free Webcast on the Clean Water Act coming up on July 1, 2009
Please click on image. It might ENLARGE a bit.
EPA's Watershed Academy to sponsor free July 1st Webcast on the Clean Water Act
EPA's Watershed Academy sponsors free Webcasts to help build the capacity of watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wednesday, July 1, 2009, the Watershed Academy will sponsor the first in a series of Webcasts about the Clean Water Act (CWA). This first Webcast will provide an introduction to the CWA including a brief history of the Act, an explanation of technology vs. water quality-based approaches, and a brief overview of key components of the Act and related EPA regulations. The Webcast will feature William (Bill) Painter, Environmental Scientist with EPA's Watershed Branch. Bill serves as a expert trainer on the CWA and is the author of a popular online Watershed Academy Web module, Introduction to the Clean Water Act, posted at http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa/ . Registration is now open at http://epa.gov/watershedwebcasts. Archived audio versions of past webcasts are also available at epa.gov/watershedwebcasts
EPA's Watershed Academy to sponsor free July 1st Webcast on the Clean Water Act
EPA's Watershed Academy sponsors free Webcasts to help build the capacity of watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wednesday, July 1, 2009, the Watershed Academy will sponsor the first in a series of Webcasts about the Clean Water Act (CWA). This first Webcast will provide an introduction to the CWA including a brief history of the Act, an explanation of technology vs. water quality-based approaches, and a brief overview of key components of the Act and related EPA regulations. The Webcast will feature William (Bill) Painter, Environmental Scientist with EPA's Watershed Branch. Bill serves as a expert trainer on the CWA and is the author of a popular online Watershed Academy Web module, Introduction to the Clean Water Act, posted at http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa/ . Registration is now open at http://epa.gov/watershedwebcasts. Archived audio versions of past webcasts are also available at epa.gov/watershedwebcasts
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Butterfly gardens easy to grow all over, especially in the black, rich soil of the Town Branch valley in south Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please click on image to ENlarge view of obedient plant on Pinnacle Foods Inc. Prairie west of World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 19, 2009, a big non-native pink flower whose name I can't remember at the moment at the entry to the trail through Pinnacle Prairie and a butterfly milkweed near WPWP.
Butterfly gardens can be grown throughout the
United States. There is a wide variety of both butterfly
attracting (nectar) plants and host (food) plants cover-
ing climates zones throughout the country.
Creating a Garden
Gardens can range in size from containers to sever-
al acres. Butterflies like sunny sites and areas sheltered
from high winds and predators. Warm, sheltered sites
are most needed in the spring and fall. Butterflies are
cold-blooded insects that can only fly well when their
body temperatures are above 70oF. They are often seen
resting on rocks, which reflect the heat of the sun help-
ing to raise their body temperatures, so be sure to
include some rocks in your garden. It’s also beneficial
to have partly shady areas, like trees or shrubs, so they
can hide when it’s cloudy or cool off if it’s very hot.
Plants that attract butterflies are usually classified
as those that areafood source,anectar source or both.
Butterflies require food plants for their larval stages and
nectar plants for the adult stage. Some larvae feed on
specifichost plants, while others will feed on a variety
of plants. If possible, include both larval host plants
and adult nectar plants in your butterfly garden.
Butterflies also like puddles. Males of several
species congregate at small rain pools, forming “puddle
clubs”. Permanent puddles are very easy to make by
buryingabucket to therim, filling it with gravel or
sand, and then pouring in liquids such as stale beer,
sweet drinks or water. Overripe fruit, allowed to sit for
afew days is a very attractive substance to butterflies
as well!
Life Cycle of A Butterfly
Butterflies go through a four-stage developmental
process known as metamorphosis (egg, larva or caterpil-
lar, pupa or chrysalis and adult). Understanding a but-
terfly’s life cycle can make butterfly watching more
enjoyable, andthis knowledge is an important asset to
those who want to understand the principles of attract-
ingbutterflies to their gardens.
Butterflies begin their life as an egg, laid either
singly or in clusters depending on the species. A very
tiny caterpillar emerges and, after consuming its egg
shell, begins feeding on its host plant. Caterpillars must
crawl out of their skin or molt, usually around five times,
before changing into a pupa. Finally, an adult butterfly
emerges, spreads its wings and flies away.
Butterflies typically lay their eggs in late spring and
hatch 3 to 6 days after they are laid. It takes 3 to 4
weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9 to 14 days to
emerge as an adult.
Host Plants
Adult female butterflies spend time searching for
food plants required by the immature caterpillar stage.
Most butterflies have specific host plants on which they
develop. For example, caterpillars of the monarch but-
terfly develop only on milkweed, while the black swal-
lowtail feeds only on parsley, dill and closely related
plants. Planting an adequate supply of the proper host
plants gives butterflies a place to lay their eggs, which
will successfully hatch and result in butterflies that will
continue to visit thegarden. Providing the necessary
food plants for the developing caterpillars also allows
production of a “native” population that can be
observed in all stages ofdevelopment.
To enjoy adult butterflies, you have to be willing to
allow their caterpillars to feed on foliage in your garden.
Food source plants that support caterpillars include the
annual marigold, snapdragon and violet; the perennial
butterfly milkweed, daisy and various herbs; the ash,
birch, cherry, dogwood, poplar and willow trees; lilac
shrubs; juniper evergreens and more.
The weediness of some host plants makes them less
than desirable for a space within your more attractive
garden beds, but they serve the same function if you
place them away in a corner of the yard. To keep them
from becoming invasive, remember to remove their
spentblooms before they go to seed.
Plants to Attract Butterflies
To attract the most butterflies, design a garden
that provides a long season of flowers (nectar plants).
The time of flowering, duration of bloom, flower color
and plant size are all important considerations when
selecting plants to attract butterflies. A wide variety of
food plants will give the greatest diversity of visitors.
Choose a mixture of annuals and perennials.
Annuals bloom all summer but must be replanted every
spring (after the last frost). Perennials bloom year after
year from the same roots but their blooming periods are
typically limited to a few weeks or months. To ensure
the availability of nectar sources throughout the sum-
mer, long-blooming annuals should be planted between
the perennials.
Try staggering wild and cultivated plants, as well as
blooming times of the day and year. Planting in mass
(several plants of the same kind) will usually attract
more butterflies, as there is more nectar available to
them at a single stop. Plants with clusters of flowers
are often better than plants with small, single flowers
because it is easier for butterflies to landon clustered
and/or larger flowers.
Many plants which attract butterflies, especially
trees and shrubs, may already be present in a specific
area. Shrubs include azalea, spirea, butterfly bush and
lilacs. Although weeds andsomenative plants are gen-
erally not welcomein a garden, allowingthem to grow
under supervision may be an option, as these plants
help attract butterflies. Try to avoid plants that readily
reseed and may take over and dominate garden sites.
Perennials, such as chives, dianthus, beebalm, but-
terfly weed, mints, black-eyed susan and purple cone-
flower offer a succession of blooms, other perennials
include coreopsis, lavender, phlox, sedum and yarrow.
Add annuals that flower all season, such as cosmos, lan-
tana, pentas,petunias, phlox, salvia and zinnias. Select
flowers with manysmall tubular flowers or florets like
liatris, goldenrod and verbena. Or chose those with sin-
gle flowers, such as marigold, daisy and sunflower.
Butterflies are attracted to flowers with strong
scents and bright colors, where they drink sweet energy-
rich nectar. Planting a variety of nectar sources will
encourage more butterflies to visit the garden.
For better butterfly viewing, plant the tallest
plants in the rear of the garden and work smaller or
shorter towardthefront.
Butterfly
Gardens
Creating, Growing and Enjoying
EARLMAYSEED&NURSERY
www.earlmay.com
SHENANDOAH, IOWA51603
Butterfly Host Plants(continued)
Trees Herbs
Ash Dill
Birch Parsley
Cherry Sweet Fennel
Dogwood
Linden
Poplar
Willow
Butterfly Attracting Plants
Annuals Perennials
Ageratum Aster
Cosmos Beebalm
Gomphrena Blanket Flower
Heliotrope Butterfly Milkweed
Lantana Coreopsis
Marigold Daisy
Nasturtium Dame’s Rocket
Nicotiana Daylily
Pentas Dianthus
Petunia Liatris
Phlox Phlox
Salvia Purple Coneflower
Snapdragon Rudbeckia
Statice Russian Sage
Sunflower Salvia
Sweet Alyssum Scabiosa
Verbena Sedum
Zinnia Veronica
Yarrow
Shrubs Herbs
Azalea Catnip
Butterfly Bush Chives
Lilacs Lavender
Mock Orange Mint
Potentilla
Viburnun
Cut Back on Insecticides
It’s difficult to have a successful butterfly garden
inalocation where insecticides are used. Pesticides,
specifically insecticides, kill not only the insects you
want to get rid of – they also kill the insects you want
tokeep, such as monarch caterpillars. Even biological
controls such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) will kill but-
terfly larvae. When treating for insect pests, always
consider non-chemical methods of pest control before
turning to pesticides.
Let Your Garden Grow
Most butterfly species over-winter nearby. This
means that their eggs, chrysalises, or larvae are likely to
be in or near your yard during the non-gardening
months. Some will even hibernate as adults. Do not
mow weed sites, cut down dead plants or dismantle
woodpiles which provide them safe shelter in the off-
season until the weather warms up.
Enjoying Your Butterfly Garden
Butterfly gardens are a great source of enjoyment
for everyone. Visiting butterflies include a variety of
different species and names, depending upon the region
of the country in which you live. To learn more about
which plants help in attracting butterflies get your copy
of National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds,
Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife by David
Mizejewski or the Earl May Perennial Guideavailable at
your local Earl May Nursery & Garden Center.
Butterfly Host Plants
Annuals Perennials
Marigold Butterfly Milkweed
Snapdragon Daisy
Violet
Shrubs Evergreens
Lilacs Juniper
IBM# 912600 750 4/08
Copyright Earl May Seed & Nursery L.C. ©
Butterfly gardens can be grown throughout the
United States. There is a wide variety of both butterfly
attracting (nectar) plants and host (food) plants cover-
ing climates zones throughout the country.
Creating a Garden
Gardens can range in size from containers to sever-
al acres. Butterflies like sunny sites and areas sheltered
from high winds and predators. Warm, sheltered sites
are most needed in the spring and fall. Butterflies are
cold-blooded insects that can only fly well when their
body temperatures are above 70oF. They are often seen
resting on rocks, which reflect the heat of the sun help-
ing to raise their body temperatures, so be sure to
include some rocks in your garden. It’s also beneficial
to have partly shady areas, like trees or shrubs, so they
can hide when it’s cloudy or cool off if it’s very hot.
Plants that attract butterflies are usually classified
as those that areafood source,anectar source or both.
Butterflies require food plants for their larval stages and
nectar plants for the adult stage. Some larvae feed on
specifichost plants, while others will feed on a variety
of plants. If possible, include both larval host plants
and adult nectar plants in your butterfly garden.
Butterflies also like puddles. Males of several
species congregate at small rain pools, forming “puddle
clubs”. Permanent puddles are very easy to make by
buryingabucket to therim, filling it with gravel or
sand, and then pouring in liquids such as stale beer,
sweet drinks or water. Overripe fruit, allowed to sit for
afew days is a very attractive substance to butterflies
as well!
Life Cycle of A Butterfly
Butterflies go through a four-stage developmental
process known as metamorphosis (egg, larva or caterpil-
lar, pupa or chrysalis and adult). Understanding a but-
terfly’s life cycle can make butterfly watching more
enjoyable, andthis knowledge is an important asset to
those who want to understand the principles of attract-
ingbutterflies to their gardens.
Butterflies begin their life as an egg, laid either
singly or in clusters depending on the species. A very
tiny caterpillar emerges and, after consuming its egg
shell, begins feeding on its host plant. Caterpillars must
crawl out of their skin or molt, usually around five times,
before changing into a pupa. Finally, an adult butterfly
emerges, spreads its wings and flies away.
Butterflies typically lay their eggs in late spring and
hatch 3 to 6 days after they are laid. It takes 3 to 4
weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9 to 14 days to
emerge as an adult.
Host Plants
Adult female butterflies spend time searching for
food plants required by the immature caterpillar stage.
Most butterflies have specific host plants on which they
develop. For example, caterpillars of the monarch but-
terfly develop only on milkweed, while the black swal-
lowtail feeds only on parsley, dill and closely related
plants. Planting an adequate supply of the proper host
plants gives butterflies a place to lay their eggs, which
will successfully hatch and result in butterflies that will
continue to visit thegarden. Providing the necessary
food plants for the developing caterpillars also allows
production of a “native” population that can be
observed in all stages ofdevelopment.
To enjoy adult butterflies, you have to be willing to
allow their caterpillars to feed on foliage in your garden.
Food source plants that support caterpillars include the
annual marigold, snapdragon and violet; the perennial
butterfly milkweed, daisy and various herbs; the ash,
birch, cherry, dogwood, poplar and willow trees; lilac
shrubs; juniper evergreens and more.
The weediness of some host plants makes them less
than desirable for a space within your more attractive
garden beds, but they serve the same function if you
place them away in a corner of the yard. To keep them
from becoming invasive, remember to remove their
spentblooms before they go to seed.
Plants to Attract Butterflies
To attract the most butterflies, design a garden
that provides a long season of flowers (nectar plants).
The time of flowering, duration of bloom, flower color
and plant size are all important considerations when
selecting plants to attract butterflies. A wide variety of
food plants will give the greatest diversity of visitors.
Choose a mixture of annuals and perennials.
Annuals bloom all summer but must be replanted every
spring (after the last frost). Perennials bloom year after
year from the same roots but their blooming periods are
typically limited to a few weeks or months. To ensure
the availability of nectar sources throughout the sum-
mer, long-blooming annuals should be planted between
the perennials.
Try staggering wild and cultivated plants, as well as
blooming times of the day and year. Planting in mass
(several plants of the same kind) will usually attract
more butterflies, as there is more nectar available to
them at a single stop. Plants with clusters of flowers
are often better than plants with small, single flowers
because it is easier for butterflies to landon clustered
and/or larger flowers.
Many plants which attract butterflies, especially
trees and shrubs, may already be present in a specific
area. Shrubs include azalea, spirea, butterfly bush and
lilacs. Although weeds andsomenative plants are gen-
erally not welcomein a garden, allowingthem to grow
under supervision may be an option, as these plants
help attract butterflies. Try to avoid plants that readily
reseed and may take over and dominate garden sites.
Perennials, such as chives, dianthus, beebalm, but-
terfly weed, mints, black-eyed susan and purple cone-
flower offer a succession of blooms, other perennials
include coreopsis, lavender, phlox, sedum and yarrow.
Add annuals that flower all season, such as cosmos, lan-
tana, pentas,petunias, phlox, salvia and zinnias. Select
flowers with manysmall tubular flowers or florets like
liatris, goldenrod and verbena. Or chose those with sin-
gle flowers, such as marigold, daisy and sunflower.
Butterflies are attracted to flowers with strong
scents and bright colors, where they drink sweet energy-
rich nectar. Planting a variety of nectar sources will
encourage more butterflies to visit the garden.
For better butterfly viewing, plant the tallest
plants in the rear of the garden and work smaller or
shorter towardthefront.
Butterfly
Gardens
Creating, Growing and Enjoying
EARLMAYSEED&NURSERY
www.earlmay.com
SHENANDOAH, IOWA51603
Butterfly Host Plants(continued)
Trees Herbs
Ash Dill
Birch Parsley
Cherry Sweet Fennel
Dogwood
Linden
Poplar
Willow
Butterfly Attracting Plants
Annuals Perennials
Ageratum Aster
Cosmos Beebalm
Gomphrena Blanket Flower
Heliotrope Butterfly Milkweed
Lantana Coreopsis
Marigold Daisy
Nasturtium Dame’s Rocket
Nicotiana Daylily
Pentas Dianthus
Petunia Liatris
Phlox Phlox
Salvia Purple Coneflower
Snapdragon Rudbeckia
Statice Russian Sage
Sunflower Salvia
Sweet Alyssum Scabiosa
Verbena Sedum
Zinnia Veronica
Yarrow
Shrubs Herbs
Azalea Catnip
Butterfly Bush Chives
Lilacs Lavender
Mock Orange Mint
Potentilla
Viburnun
Cut Back on Insecticides
It’s difficult to have a successful butterfly garden
inalocation where insecticides are used. Pesticides,
specifically insecticides, kill not only the insects you
want to get rid of – they also kill the insects you want
tokeep, such as monarch caterpillars. Even biological
controls such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) will kill but-
terfly larvae. When treating for insect pests, always
consider non-chemical methods of pest control before
turning to pesticides.
Let Your Garden Grow
Most butterfly species over-winter nearby. This
means that their eggs, chrysalises, or larvae are likely to
be in or near your yard during the non-gardening
months. Some will even hibernate as adults. Do not
mow weed sites, cut down dead plants or dismantle
woodpiles which provide them safe shelter in the off-
season until the weather warms up.
Enjoying Your Butterfly Garden
Butterfly gardens are a great source of enjoyment
for everyone. Visiting butterflies include a variety of
different species and names, depending upon the region
of the country in which you live. To learn more about
which plants help in attracting butterflies get your copy
of National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds,
Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife by David
Mizejewski or the Earl May Perennial Guideavailable at
your local Earl May Nursery & Garden Center.
Butterfly Host Plants
Annuals Perennials
Marigold Butterfly Milkweed
Snapdragon Daisy
Violet
Shrubs Evergreens
Lilacs Juniper
IBM# 912600 750 4/08
Copyright Earl May Seed & Nursery L.C. ©
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Northwest Arkansas Times says neighbors, veterans oppose apartments next to National Cemetery
The Morning News
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/06/16/news/061709fzcouncil.txt
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
New Water Tank Gets Approval; neighbors, veterans disapprove powerfully of sale-barn rezoning next to National Cemetery
By Skip Descant
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE — It took a week, but a decision among the city and residents has been reached to locate a half-million-gallon water tank on the hilltop neighborhood of Hyland Park.
A 143-foot water tank will be built on a .66-acre secluded site on Lovers Lane. The site is one of the four sites originally explored, but it was generally viewed as too expensive, in terms of land cost and needed infrastructure. This site will add about $220,000 to the cost of the project, said Dave Jurgens, Fayetteville utility director.
However, city officials have negotiated a deal with Hyland Park resident Jim Waselues for him to pay the city $75,000 for the original lot intended for the tank — known as Lot 22. In turn, Gary Combs, owner of the Lovers Lane site will donate his site to the city.
"Although I'm not crazy about spending $200,000 more, I think it shows that the city is willing to be flexible and work with people," said Bobby Ferrell a council member.
"Maybe everyone's not totally satisfied, but this is probably the best solution," said Adella Gray a council member from Ward 1.
The project was opposed by the Hyland Park Homeowner's Association that did not want a water tank in their backyards, saying it will negatively impact views, property value and the general aesthetic nature of the neighborhood.
What did not move forward was any decision regarding rezoning the old Washington County Sale Barn site. The barn intends to hold its last sale June 25, said Steve Bartholemew, one of the sale barn's owners.
A 192-unit student housing apartment development is proposed for the nine-acre site. Some 50 people showed up for the council meeting Tuesday to oppose not only the rezoning, but more largely, the development.
It wasn't just residents from the area petitioning the council to deny the downtown general rezoning, but numerous veterans from across Northwest Arkansas. A national military cemetery — the final resting place for 7,963 deceased veterans — sits adjacent to the site. Veterans would like to expand the cemetery into the sale barn site. However, no deal has been reached say veterans and Bartholemew.
"If we can just stave off this rezoning at this time, it will give us that time," said Jim Buckner, a retired lieutenant colonel and a representative of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
"There are private resources," Buckner added, and who said student housing would be "a terrible neighbor."
"In fact it would only be a beer can throw away from our veterans buried there," he continued.
"There has been no contact with us on a dollar amount," said Bartholomew. "I do know that they have talked, but there has never been a dollar amount."
Wanda Peterson, who's lived in the neighborhood since 1938 and has family buried in the cemetery, was passionate in her plea to stop the rezoning.
"I just can't bear an apartment building shadowing those graves," Peterson told the council.
Others reminded the council the current zoning is light industrial and a number of undesirable land uses could move in without the rezoning.
"The rezoning tonight is a downzoing from industrial to a downtown general," said Dustin Bartholomew, grandson to Billy Joe Bartholomew, co-owner of the Washington County Sale Barn.
"The things that could be built there at this time could be a lot more damaging than what's being proposed," Dustin Bartholomew said.
What Comes Next?
Washington County Sale Barn Rezoning
• The ordinance was left on its first reading.
• It will be considered again at the next council meeting.
For government channel schedule of reruns of the council meeting on City 16 on Cox Cable, please see
http://fayettevillearkgovernmentchannel.blogspot.com
The first rebroadcast of the June 16 city council meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. today and the second is at 7:30 p.m. today.
Rebroadcasts of the June 8 meeting of the Town Branch neighbors with the developers who want the sale barn rezoned for student apartments are set for CAT 18 on cox cable at 11 a.m. Wednesday, 3 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
I am uncertain how this affects the short takes normally run at those times. Some weeks, few short takes are recorded. In fact, the one I recorded for those time slots is mostly about the same issue! I apologize to anyone who did a short take and is bumped by this very timely production.
When all equipment is running properly, the shows run on CAT 18 are run simultaneously on the Internet from the CAT Web site for those with access to the Web but no cable television.
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/06/16/news/061709fzcouncil.txt
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
New Water Tank Gets Approval; neighbors, veterans disapprove powerfully of sale-barn rezoning next to National Cemetery
By Skip Descant
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE — It took a week, but a decision among the city and residents has been reached to locate a half-million-gallon water tank on the hilltop neighborhood of Hyland Park.
A 143-foot water tank will be built on a .66-acre secluded site on Lovers Lane. The site is one of the four sites originally explored, but it was generally viewed as too expensive, in terms of land cost and needed infrastructure. This site will add about $220,000 to the cost of the project, said Dave Jurgens, Fayetteville utility director.
However, city officials have negotiated a deal with Hyland Park resident Jim Waselues for him to pay the city $75,000 for the original lot intended for the tank — known as Lot 22. In turn, Gary Combs, owner of the Lovers Lane site will donate his site to the city.
"Although I'm not crazy about spending $200,000 more, I think it shows that the city is willing to be flexible and work with people," said Bobby Ferrell a council member.
"Maybe everyone's not totally satisfied, but this is probably the best solution," said Adella Gray a council member from Ward 1.
The project was opposed by the Hyland Park Homeowner's Association that did not want a water tank in their backyards, saying it will negatively impact views, property value and the general aesthetic nature of the neighborhood.
What did not move forward was any decision regarding rezoning the old Washington County Sale Barn site. The barn intends to hold its last sale June 25, said Steve Bartholemew, one of the sale barn's owners.
A 192-unit student housing apartment development is proposed for the nine-acre site. Some 50 people showed up for the council meeting Tuesday to oppose not only the rezoning, but more largely, the development.
It wasn't just residents from the area petitioning the council to deny the downtown general rezoning, but numerous veterans from across Northwest Arkansas. A national military cemetery — the final resting place for 7,963 deceased veterans — sits adjacent to the site. Veterans would like to expand the cemetery into the sale barn site. However, no deal has been reached say veterans and Bartholemew.
"If we can just stave off this rezoning at this time, it will give us that time," said Jim Buckner, a retired lieutenant colonel and a representative of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
"There are private resources," Buckner added, and who said student housing would be "a terrible neighbor."
"In fact it would only be a beer can throw away from our veterans buried there," he continued.
"There has been no contact with us on a dollar amount," said Bartholomew. "I do know that they have talked, but there has never been a dollar amount."
Wanda Peterson, who's lived in the neighborhood since 1938 and has family buried in the cemetery, was passionate in her plea to stop the rezoning.
"I just can't bear an apartment building shadowing those graves," Peterson told the council.
Others reminded the council the current zoning is light industrial and a number of undesirable land uses could move in without the rezoning.
"The rezoning tonight is a downzoing from industrial to a downtown general," said Dustin Bartholomew, grandson to Billy Joe Bartholomew, co-owner of the Washington County Sale Barn.
"The things that could be built there at this time could be a lot more damaging than what's being proposed," Dustin Bartholomew said.
What Comes Next?
Washington County Sale Barn Rezoning
• The ordinance was left on its first reading.
• It will be considered again at the next council meeting.
For government channel schedule of reruns of the council meeting on City 16 on Cox Cable, please see
http://fayettevillearkgovernmentchannel.blogspot.com
The first rebroadcast of the June 16 city council meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. today and the second is at 7:30 p.m. today.
Rebroadcasts of the June 8 meeting of the Town Branch neighbors with the developers who want the sale barn rezoned for student apartments are set for CAT 18 on cox cable at 11 a.m. Wednesday, 3 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
I am uncertain how this affects the short takes normally run at those times. Some weeks, few short takes are recorded. In fact, the one I recorded for those time slots is mostly about the same issue! I apologize to anyone who did a short take and is bumped by this very timely production.
When all equipment is running properly, the shows run on CAT 18 are run simultaneously on the Internet from the CAT Web site for those with access to the Web but no cable television.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Peace-garden tour photos from Saturday June 13, 2009
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of Marie Riley's Julia Ward Howe Peace Garden with OMNI sign, great spangled fritillary at Ed Laningham's Glendale Garden and Amanda Bancroft at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
The great spangled fritillary, formally known as Speryeria cybele, was sighted at all six garden sites on Saturday. While the great spangled frit nectars on many species of flower, its caterpillers must have violets as host plants in order to mature.
The great spangled fritillary, formally known as Speryeria cybele, was sighted at all six garden sites on Saturday. While the great spangled frit nectars on many species of flower, its caterpillers must have violets as host plants in order to mature.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Free concert and barbecue from 4 to 7 p.m. today
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Scrumptious barbecue brisket and hot-dogs with the trimmings
Country western concert by local artist Marshall T. Mitchell http://www.marshallmitchell.com/
All Activities, Food, and Music are FREE! Come, bring your family and friends, join us for a beautiful day in the Illinois River Watershed! Park entrance located just east of Lowe's on Zion Road.
IRWP NEWS:
Arkansas Urban Forestry Council names the IRWP as it's Outstanding Organization of the Year "in recognition of the effort, dedication and outstanding contribution in the promotion and development of the urban forest." Thank you to our friends at AUFC and this honor in recognition of the work of our sponsors, members and volunteer corps! We truly believe "Trees make better water!" and look forward to working with you in the future, combining our efforts in fulfilling our common missions through education, outreach and partnerships.
Scrumptious barbecue brisket and hot-dogs with the trimmings
Country western concert by local artist Marshall T. Mitchell http://www.marshallmitchell.com/
All Activities, Food, and Music are FREE! Come, bring your family and friends, join us for a beautiful day in the Illinois River Watershed! Park entrance located just east of Lowe's on Zion Road.
IRWP NEWS:
Arkansas Urban Forestry Council names the IRWP as it's Outstanding Organization of the Year "in recognition of the effort, dedication and outstanding contribution in the promotion and development of the urban forest." Thank you to our friends at AUFC and this honor in recognition of the work of our sponsors, members and volunteer corps! We truly believe "Trees make better water!" and look forward to working with you in the future, combining our efforts in fulfilling our common missions through education, outreach and partnerships.
Illinois River Watershed Partnership's Appreciation Day set for 2 to 7 p.m. today at Veteran's Park on the south side of Lake Fayetteville
http://aubreyshepherd.blogspot.com/2009/06/illinois-river-watershed-partnerships_06.html
Friday, June 5, 2009
Raingardens demonstrate how watershed works. Save the soil, catch water where it falls
Please click on start arrow to watch video of raingarden and prairie wetland at Seven Hills Shelter in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in May 2009.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Illinois River Watershed Partnership's appreciation Day set for Saturday June 6, 2009, at Lake Fayetteville
This Saturday, June 6, in appreciation of our IRWP sponsors, members, volunteer corps and StreamTeam members...
Illinois River Watershed Appreciation Day, Lake Fayetteville Veteran's Memorial Park
2:00 to 4:00 pm
Canoe races --- canoes and life vests provided by Lake Fayetteville Environmental Study Center
Geocaching treasure hunts --- GPS units and treasure hunt guides provided by USGS
Make your own Water-cycle beaded bracelets, enjoy Disney's Nemo and Ariel face paintings by local artists
Recycling bean bag toss, fishing and kid's games courtesy of Washington County Environmental Affairs and Benton County Extension Service
Sand volleyball with UA's Dr. Dirk Philipp!
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Scrumptious barbecue brisket and hot-dogs with the trimmings
Country western concert by local artist Marshall T. Mitchell http://www.marshallmitchell.com/
All Activities, Food, and Music are FREE! Come, bring your family and friends, join us for a beautiful day in the Illinois River Watershed! Park entrance located just east of Lowe's on Zion Road.
IRWP NEWS:
Arkansas Urban Forestry Council names the IRWP as it's Outstanding Organization of the Year "in recognition of the effort, dedication and outstanding contribution in the promotion and development of the urban forest." Thank you to our friends at AUFC and this honor in recognition of the work of our sponsors, members and volunteer corps! We truly believe "Trees make better water!" and look forward to working with you in the future, combining our efforts in fulfilling our common missions through education, outreach and partnerships.
Watershed Challenge Winners: May Online Challenge to Arkansas Science and Technology Teachers and Students
1st Place: Hector Elementary School, Hector, AR. Teacher Kathy Brunetti.
Prize: Watershed Model Enviroscape - $800 value
2nd Place: R.E. Baker Elementary School, Bentonville, AR. Teacher Phyllis Abraham.
Prize: Magellan Triton 300 GPS unit - $150 value
3rd Place: Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR. Teacher Robin Buff.
Prize: "Make Your Own Watershed" Model - $50 value
4th Place: Greenland High School, Greenland, AR. Teacher John Diesel.
Prize: Watershed Eco-Puzzle - $30 value
Congratulations to the IRWP Online Watershed Challenge May 2009 Winners!
Dr. Delia Haak
Executive Director
Illinois River Watershed Partnership
PO Box 8506
Fayetteville, AR 72703
www.irwp.org
479-238-4671
Illinois River Watershed Appreciation Day, Lake Fayetteville Veteran's Memorial Park
2:00 to 4:00 pm
Canoe races --- canoes and life vests provided by Lake Fayetteville Environmental Study Center
Geocaching treasure hunts --- GPS units and treasure hunt guides provided by USGS
Make your own Water-cycle beaded bracelets, enjoy Disney's Nemo and Ariel face paintings by local artists
Recycling bean bag toss, fishing and kid's games courtesy of Washington County Environmental Affairs and Benton County Extension Service
Sand volleyball with UA's Dr. Dirk Philipp!
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Scrumptious barbecue brisket and hot-dogs with the trimmings
Country western concert by local artist Marshall T. Mitchell http://www.marshallmitchell.com/
All Activities, Food, and Music are FREE! Come, bring your family and friends, join us for a beautiful day in the Illinois River Watershed! Park entrance located just east of Lowe's on Zion Road.
IRWP NEWS:
Arkansas Urban Forestry Council names the IRWP as it's Outstanding Organization of the Year "in recognition of the effort, dedication and outstanding contribution in the promotion and development of the urban forest." Thank you to our friends at AUFC and this honor in recognition of the work of our sponsors, members and volunteer corps! We truly believe "Trees make better water!" and look forward to working with you in the future, combining our efforts in fulfilling our common missions through education, outreach and partnerships.
Watershed Challenge Winners: May Online Challenge to Arkansas Science and Technology Teachers and Students
1st Place: Hector Elementary School, Hector, AR. Teacher Kathy Brunetti.
Prize: Watershed Model Enviroscape - $800 value
2nd Place: R.E. Baker Elementary School, Bentonville, AR. Teacher Phyllis Abraham.
Prize: Magellan Triton 300 GPS unit - $150 value
3rd Place: Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, AR. Teacher Robin Buff.
Prize: "Make Your Own Watershed" Model - $50 value
4th Place: Greenland High School, Greenland, AR. Teacher John Diesel.
Prize: Watershed Eco-Puzzle - $30 value
Congratulations to the IRWP Online Watershed Challenge May 2009 Winners!
Dr. Delia Haak
Executive Director
Illinois River Watershed Partnership
PO Box 8506
Fayetteville, AR 72703
www.irwp.org
479-238-4671
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Arkansas officials say 'Don't Do Fescue'
Arkansas “Don't Do Fescue" is theme of AGFC public campaign
JONESBORO - Tall fescue is a widely used forage crop. It is insect resistant, tolerates poor soil and climatic conditions well and has a long growing season. Unfortunately, tall fescue also has a downside.
With approximately four million acres of pasturelands planted in tall fescue, Arkansas has a great deal of this crop. According to David Long, agricultural liaison with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the agency is working diligently to help the public understand the shortcomings of this type of grass.
"The AGFC has developed a new tool in its effort to educate landowners about the toxic and negative effects of Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue to farm wildlife. A new bumper sticker entitled 'Don't Do Fescue' is now being distributed to agency employees and others interested in spreading the word," Long said. Tall fescue is a common forage grass that has been planted across Arkansas for over 40 years.
Estimates are that about 70 percent-95 percent or 4 million acres of the pasturelands planted with tall fescue in Arkansas are infected with an endophyte fungus. The fungus causes declines in bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, grassland songbirds and also limited other game populations such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey.
"The fact that the plant is actually toxic to both domestic livestock and farm wildlife species is accepted by agriculture extension specialists and wildlife biologists alike," Long said. "The plant produces chemicals causing the fescue to have very toxic qualities. The alkaloids are found throughout the plant, but are especially concentrated in the seeds and leaves," he explained.
In cattle, the fungus causes excessive body temperatures, elevated respiratory rates, loss of appetite, body weight loss, lowered fertility rates and abortion of fetuses. Dairy cows often show sharp declines in milk production. Horses are affected also with more aborted fetuses, foaling problems, weak foals and reduced or no milk production. The CES estimates that this endopytic toxin cost American beef producers up to $1 billion a year in lost profits.
"It's very important for private landowners who desire viable wildlife populations on their property to know the effects of planting fescue," Long noted. "Many species of wildlife would directly suffer these same negative effects if they were confined to the pasturelands as are livestock. However, since they are free ranging, they simply avoid the fungus infected fescue pastures, but nevertheless, this results in loss of farm wildlife habitat on these acres. You may have deer and turkey travel through tall-fescue pastures, but they rarely find food sources available they can utilize, since the aggressiveness of the fescue usually results in solid stands of the plant," Long concluded.
The grass is a sod-forming turf with thick matted growth that also limits movement of young bobwhite quail, turkey and cottontail rabbits, provides no nesting habitat for wild turkey or quail, and is extremely poor habitat for many declining grassland species of songbirds. "Bottom line, fungus infected tall-fescue pastures offer little food, cover or nesting habitat to a broad range of farm wildlife," he said.
"Tall fescue has been planted in an estimated 4 million acres of the 5.4 million acres of pasture scattered over the state and for all practical purposes is of no value to farm wildlife. With the widespread establishment of tall fescue pastures, a great loss of wildlife habitat for deer, turkey, quail, cottontails and grassland songbirds has occurred.
Many landowners now recognize this problem and are interested in eliminating tall-fescue on some or all of their acreage. However, many landowners continue to plant tall-fescue, not knowing the detrimental effects it will have to wildlife. (There is an endophyte-free variety of tall fescue available for planting but it is less viable and hardy, and still provides very limited habitat for wildlife.)
We want to educate all landowners regarding this fact because there are other planting options to providing livestock forage and wildlife habitat on their farms," Long explained.
Please help spread the word to landowners "Don't Do Fescue!" by requesting a bumper sticker to place on your vehicle. Especially if they have an interest in managing for wildlife on their farm. For more information contact David Long at 877-972-5438 or dlong@agfc.state.ar.us.
JONESBORO - Tall fescue is a widely used forage crop. It is insect resistant, tolerates poor soil and climatic conditions well and has a long growing season. Unfortunately, tall fescue also has a downside.
With approximately four million acres of pasturelands planted in tall fescue, Arkansas has a great deal of this crop. According to David Long, agricultural liaison with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the agency is working diligently to help the public understand the shortcomings of this type of grass.
"The AGFC has developed a new tool in its effort to educate landowners about the toxic and negative effects of Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue to farm wildlife. A new bumper sticker entitled 'Don't Do Fescue' is now being distributed to agency employees and others interested in spreading the word," Long said. Tall fescue is a common forage grass that has been planted across Arkansas for over 40 years.
Estimates are that about 70 percent-95 percent or 4 million acres of the pasturelands planted with tall fescue in Arkansas are infected with an endophyte fungus. The fungus causes declines in bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, grassland songbirds and also limited other game populations such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey.
"The fact that the plant is actually toxic to both domestic livestock and farm wildlife species is accepted by agriculture extension specialists and wildlife biologists alike," Long said. "The plant produces chemicals causing the fescue to have very toxic qualities. The alkaloids are found throughout the plant, but are especially concentrated in the seeds and leaves," he explained.
In cattle, the fungus causes excessive body temperatures, elevated respiratory rates, loss of appetite, body weight loss, lowered fertility rates and abortion of fetuses. Dairy cows often show sharp declines in milk production. Horses are affected also with more aborted fetuses, foaling problems, weak foals and reduced or no milk production. The CES estimates that this endopytic toxin cost American beef producers up to $1 billion a year in lost profits.
"It's very important for private landowners who desire viable wildlife populations on their property to know the effects of planting fescue," Long noted. "Many species of wildlife would directly suffer these same negative effects if they were confined to the pasturelands as are livestock. However, since they are free ranging, they simply avoid the fungus infected fescue pastures, but nevertheless, this results in loss of farm wildlife habitat on these acres. You may have deer and turkey travel through tall-fescue pastures, but they rarely find food sources available they can utilize, since the aggressiveness of the fescue usually results in solid stands of the plant," Long concluded.
The grass is a sod-forming turf with thick matted growth that also limits movement of young bobwhite quail, turkey and cottontail rabbits, provides no nesting habitat for wild turkey or quail, and is extremely poor habitat for many declining grassland species of songbirds. "Bottom line, fungus infected tall-fescue pastures offer little food, cover or nesting habitat to a broad range of farm wildlife," he said.
"Tall fescue has been planted in an estimated 4 million acres of the 5.4 million acres of pasture scattered over the state and for all practical purposes is of no value to farm wildlife. With the widespread establishment of tall fescue pastures, a great loss of wildlife habitat for deer, turkey, quail, cottontails and grassland songbirds has occurred.
Many landowners now recognize this problem and are interested in eliminating tall-fescue on some or all of their acreage. However, many landowners continue to plant tall-fescue, not knowing the detrimental effects it will have to wildlife. (There is an endophyte-free variety of tall fescue available for planting but it is less viable and hardy, and still provides very limited habitat for wildlife.)
We want to educate all landowners regarding this fact because there are other planting options to providing livestock forage and wildlife habitat on their farms," Long explained.
Please help spread the word to landowners "Don't Do Fescue!" by requesting a bumper sticker to place on your vehicle. Especially if they have an interest in managing for wildlife on their farm. For more information contact David Long at 877-972-5438 or dlong@agfc.state.ar.us.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider rezoning sale-barn property to allow multistory apartment buildings next to National Cemetery
Please click on images to ENLARGE and read.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Annual War Eagle celebration Saturday near Huntsville
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Audubon Arkansas invitation to the third annual War Eagle celebration tomorrow at Withrow Springs State Park.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Full article from NY Times on water warrior Ronald Gatto
Watershed Warrior
By ROBERT WORTH
Published: Sunday, July 1, 2001
New York Times article on a true watershed warrior
RONALD GATTO is an unlikely environmental hero. A former power-lifter, he once bench-pressed 595 pounds and his left biceps bears a tattoo of a police bulldog with handcuffs and a nightstick. He loves cars, and has two vintage Chevrolets in his garage, a green 1960 Impala and a bright red 1971 Chevelle Supersport.
But to many environmentalists, Mr. Gatto is a prophet crying out in the wilderness of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, where he works as a police captain, charged with protecting the reservoirs that serve New York City and Westchester.
He began complaining more than a decade ago that his superiors were endangering the city's water by going easy on polluters and developers who break the law.
Two years ago he filed a whistle-blower suit, arguing that the city had retaliated against him in a variety of ways -- demoting him, refusing to grant him raises, denying his unit the necessary equipment and staff to conduct investigations, and initiating criminal investigations of his conduct in an effort to discredit him. His lawyers refiled the suit in federal court in June, hoping for a speedier resolution.
A burly man with a ducktail and bulging eyes, he has gained a reputation as a fearless cop who will arrest virtually anyone -- though his usual targets are polluters who have dumped sewage or toxic chemicals. Along with a small band of other eco-cops, Mr. Gatto's job is to patrol the city's 2,000-square-mile watershed.
Stories about his arrests have become the stuff of legend.
''He can smell pollution from a speeding car, and he's tracked down leaking septic tanks with his nose,'' said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer, who has known him for years. Mr. Gatto once arrested a family friend who was illegally dumping sewage from a restaurant he owned in Mount Kisco, forcing the man to pay a $20,000 fine. ''I went back there and had a cup of coffee two months later,'' Mr. Gatto recalled. ''When I got the bill it said $20,000.''
Mr. Gatto's reputation as a Westchester Serpico may vault him into electoral politics in the county, where environmental credentials go a long way. In May, he received a ''Hero of the Planet'' award from the Yorktown Democratic Committee. Standing in front of a huge fish tank in a Chinese restaurant, he told war stories to a large and appreciative audience that included Mr. Kennedy, County Executive Andrew J. Spano, and a number of Democratic Party backers and county legislators.
''We are encouraging Ron to seek public office,'' said Joseph V. Apicella, the chairman of the Yorktown Democratic committee. ''Maybe a Congressional seat someday. Everyone wants to be an environmentalist, but few have prosecuted environmental crimes the way Ron Gatto has.''
But several former and current D.E.P. employees challenged the view of Mr. Gatto as a hero.
While acknowledging his dedication, they called him a publicity-hungry zealot who lacks the patience for teamwork, and who tends to see those who disagree with him as the enemy. (The department declined to say anything on the record, citing the lawsuit, and Mr. Gatto referred all questions about the suit to his lawyer, Jonathan Abady.)
''He clearly understood the value and importance of protecting the watershed, but there is a bit of the cowboy and self-promoter about him,'' said Marilyn Gelber, who was D.E.P. commissioner from 1994 to 1996 and now works for a private foundation.
Patricia O'Hara, a former scientist with the department, said, ''I believe he genuinely cared about enforcement, but he was a grandstander.'' When one of his bosses refused to promote Mr. Gatto in the early 1990's, he sued, charging the man with racism (Mr. Gatto's wife is African-American) and harassment. ''Ron didn't understand that he couldn't promote him because he was a loose cannon,'' Ms. O'Hara said. That suit was settled out of court.
A few environmentalists said that Mr. Gatto's tough-guy legend is spreading the false idea that protecting the environment mostly involves arresting evil-doers.
(Page 2 of 4)
''The real threats to the water supply are sewage, fertilizer and chemical runoff,'' said Peter Lehner, chief of the environmental protection bureau for the state attorney general's office, ''and these usually need to be addressed through civil litigation or public education, not criminal indictments.''
At the core of Mr. Gatto's reputation -- and his dispute with the city -- is his symbiotic relationship with Mr. Kennedy. Ever since the early 90's, Mr. Gatto has given Mr. Kennedy information about the department's activities in the watershed, which Mr. Kennedy has publicized in a series of reports blasting the city for failing to adequately protect its water.
In return, Mr. Kennedy has praised his friend, writing a glowing tribute to him as a ''Hero of the Planet'' in Time magazine last year. In 1999, he wrote, ''If he disappeared, it is doubtful that any meaningful watershed enforcement would continue.''
Mr. Kennedy has also used his political connections to press Mr. Gatto's case in the department. Several D.E.P. employees said Mr. Gatto would probably have been fired long ago if not for the environmentalist's public support.
Despite their obvious differences -- Mr. Gatto is a blue-collar son of Sicilian immigrants, while Mr. Kennedy was born a celebrity -- the two clearly have a gene in common. Both are driven risk-takers who relish a fight. And their friendship is real; when Mr. Gatto's oldest daughter was having trouble with alcohol, he said Mr. Kennedy took her to two of the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings he has attended since his own arrest for cocaine use in the 1980's.
Both men seemed defensive about the political side of their relationship, but said they had nothing to hide. Mr. Gatto offers an example: in 1993 he began urging his bosses to put up signs telling motorists when they were entering the watershed, to help minimize pollution and increase public awareness. They replied that it couldn't be done. So did Franklin E. White, the state transportation commissioner. Mr. Gatto told Mr. Kennedy, who promptly introduced him to Maria Cuomo, whose father was then governor. They had lunch together, and Mr. Gatto told her about his plan.
''Right in front of me, she faxed it to her father,'' he recalled. ''The next day, Commissioner White calls me at 7 p.m.: 'It's a great idea, we're making the signs right now.' That was politics, but in a good way.''
Ronald Gatto was raised to be a fighter. A pair of boxing gloves hangs from the wall in his den, a memento of his father, who boxed in the Golden Gloves as a young man after coming through Ellis Island from Sicily. His father also served in a tank-destroyer battalion in World War II, where he was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery after crawling across enemy lines to retrieve a document.
''He had shrapnel in his legs and back all his life,'' Mr. Gatto said, gazing admiringly at the medal.
On a tour of his house in Mohegan Lake, he led a visitor downstairs to the basement, where he keeps his new Neapolitan mastiff, Big Boy. ''These are the dogs they used to fight lions in ancient Rome,'' he shouts in a husky baritone. Big Boy is in a steel cage, barking so loud the whole house seems to shake. He is still a puppy but already 160 pounds, a monster with a wrinkled, malevolent face.
Mr. Gatto crouches slightly and stares the beast down, shouting back even louder than his bark: ''Hey! Sit! Sit!'' Overwhelmed, the animal gives in and sits down.
But he says it is his love of nature, not of battle, that led him into his current line of work. He grew up hunting and fishing along the Croton and Amawalk Rivers.
After a stint as an estate manager for Richard Gere in Pound Ridge, he discovered that the Department of Environmental Protection had its own police force. The starting salary was a mere $11,346 when he signed up in 1982 (he now makes $50,000), but he liked the idea of protecting the streams and lakes of his boyhood from polluters.
He soon found that the city's bureaucracy was hostile to making a tough enforcement effort. There were only about 25 officers assigned to patrol a 2,000-square-mile area, and there had not been an environmental arrest in decades. ''We did a lot of traffic violations,'' he recalled. ''We did everything but protect the environment.''
(Page 3 of 4)
When Mr. Gatto discovered in 1990 that workers at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and the Putnam County Hospital Center were dumping wheelbarrows of fecal matter into a trout stream that was part of the city water supply, he wrote up tickets. His supervisor responded by calling him into his office, tearing up the tickets in front of him and taking away the file, he said.
That act seems to have triggered Mr. Gatto's fighting instinct. He went public with his story, and ended up testifying at a City Council hearing in 1991 that helped lead to a restructuring of the watershed police force. It also infuriated his bosses.
''Ever since I testified, that's when they started to beat me up,'' he said.
Several former and current D.E.P. employees said Mr. Gatto was on target about the city's reluctance to enforce the law.
One reason for that reluctance, they said, is structural. The department's police force reports to its engineers, who also run some upstate sewage treatment plants that affect the city's water. Those plants have often overflowed and violated their permits, but the engineers do not want their own police force to embarrass them by writing tickets. To prevent that, Mr. Kennedy and others have claimed, they kept the force small and underpaid, and consistently deprived it of adequate equipment.
That has begun to change, perhaps partly because of the attention Mr. Gatto and Mr. Kennedy have brought to the issue.
Over the last five years the budgeted staff of the watershed police force has grown to 142, from 39, though not all those positions are filled, said Charles G. Sturcken, chief of staff at the D.E.P. And salaries, once so low that officers would routinely bolt to local police forces as soon as they had finished their training, are now competitive.
Another accusation commonly leveled at the department is more controversial, and may be impossible to prove. It is the claim that the city is soft on enforcement as a favor to powerful upstate developers and their friends in the State Legislature, which has a hand in the city's budget.
Mr. Gatto's suit includes one specific claim of influence-peddling, though it does not involve public officials. In April 1999, he discovered illegal pipes taking water from a city reservoir to a swimming pool belonging to David Sarnoff, the founder of R.C.A. He also found that half an acre of trees on city-owned land had been cut down to improve the view on the Sarnoff estate, and a fence had been built on city property.
After making a videotape of the violations, Mr. Gatto informed his boss, who, the lawsuit charges, asked him, ''Do you know who Mr. Sarnoff is?'' Later that day, according to the suit, he received a call from the D.E.P. commissioner, Joel Miele, who demanded that he relinquish the videotape. He was also told not to write up a summons.
But Mr. Miele, in a deposition taken for the lawsuit, offered a conflicting account that made the whole affair seem more or less harmless. He said that he intervened at the request of the officers involved, and that Mr. Sarnoff had a permit for the water diversion. As for the other violations, Mr. Sarnoff was sorry and eager to make amends. ''If I had Mr. Sarnoff or any of his cohorts dragged off in handcuffs for a criminalistic situation, I would have looked pretty stupid in front of a magistrate,'' Mr. Miele said.
The city has never forgiven Mr. Gatto for his public criticisms, Mr. Abady said, and has tried to harass him out of the department for years. He has some persuasive evidence for his case. Last year a D.E.P. official named Lee Siegel promoted Mr. Gatto, and was fired soon afterward. Mr. Siegel then told the press that Mr. Miele had told him, upon hiring him in 1999, to get rid of Mr. Gatto at all costs. Instead, Mr. Siegel had quickly concluded that Mr. Gatto was his best officer. (Mr. Siegel, who will appear as a witness for Mr. Gatto, is also suing the city and declined to comment on his case.)
Another former officer, Joseph Carpenter, said that throughout his time at the agency ''they were trying any way they could to get Gatto.'' Mr. Carpenter was fired just before completing his training, and he said he was told by other officers that it was because he had sided with Mr. Gatto.
(Page 4 of 4)
Mr. Gatto also claims the city has unfairly stalled his career. He once headed the Environmental Enforcement Division, which he created in 1993 to oversee patrols throughout the watershed, but the city confined him in 1999 to the much smaller area east of the Hudson River. One former department official said he wrote several glowing recommendations for Mr. Gatto, all of which mysteriously disappeared.
''It's a damn shame, the good things I've done the department doesn't acknowledge,'' Mr. Gatto said. ''I worked my tail off for them.'' He said he had made more environmental arrests than any other officer in the department, a claim the D.E.P. would neither confirm nor deny. He also made changes in the way the department patrols the watershed, instituted and taught an environmental education program in area schools, and persuaded local garbage collection companies to put up trash baskets to reduce litter around the city's reservoirs.
Mr. Miele, however, said in the deposition that Mr. Gatto's failure to rise is his own fault. He described him as ''somebody that is not a team player, who does a reasonably acceptable job in the main part, that occasionally kicks over the traces and appears to be creating more problems than he's resolving. Someone who is, I guess, filled with the sense that what he's doing is a mission for the ages.''
Whatever the reason, Mr. Gatto's relations with his employers have been excruciatingly tense for years. According to a complaint filed by his former lawyer, Jill Greenwald, his former supervisor once said that if not for the fact that Mr. Gatto is married and has children, he would shoot him.
To many environmentalists, Mr. Gatto's refusal to back down only enhances his status as a David slinging pebbles at the city's bureaucratic Goliath.
''He's like a bull,'' said Johanna Cooper, a homeowner in Pleasantville who sought Mr. Gatto's help after she discovered that a developer had destroyed a stream on her property in 1993. ''You get the feeling that in spite of any political influences he will stick to his mission.''
For good or ill, he has become an inspiration to other whistle-blowers as well.
''The coup Ron has pulled off is that as a role model, he has shown that by going to groups like us, at least you get the word out,'' said Don Meyer, general counsel of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that helped Mr. Gatto with his lawsuit. A number of other D.E.P. employees have since come to the same group about similar problems with the city, Mr. Meyer said.
For Mr. Gatto, getting the word out may be the most important thing in the end.
Whatever the courts decide about the merits of his case against the city, he is likely to be seen more favorably by the next mayoral administration. With that in mind, he chose not to run for Yorktown supervisor this spring and to hold out instead for a promotion within the department.
''The chances are we're going to get a Democratic mayor, and then Ron will have a chance for some vindication,'' Mr. Kennedy said.
Photos: Ronald Gatto playing with his son, Ronald Jr., 6, at home in Mohegan Lake. At left, Mr. Gatto, his son and his wife, Fay, at a dinner in his honor in Jefferson Valley. Also at their table are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer, left, and County Executive Andrew J. Spano. (Photographs by Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. 6); Ronald Gatto, a police captain for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, at the Amawalk Reservoir in Somers. He contends the city is punishing him because he accused it of going easy on polluters. (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. 1)
By ROBERT WORTH
Published: Sunday, July 1, 2001
New York Times article on a true watershed warrior
RONALD GATTO is an unlikely environmental hero. A former power-lifter, he once bench-pressed 595 pounds and his left biceps bears a tattoo of a police bulldog with handcuffs and a nightstick. He loves cars, and has two vintage Chevrolets in his garage, a green 1960 Impala and a bright red 1971 Chevelle Supersport.
But to many environmentalists, Mr. Gatto is a prophet crying out in the wilderness of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, where he works as a police captain, charged with protecting the reservoirs that serve New York City and Westchester.
He began complaining more than a decade ago that his superiors were endangering the city's water by going easy on polluters and developers who break the law.
Two years ago he filed a whistle-blower suit, arguing that the city had retaliated against him in a variety of ways -- demoting him, refusing to grant him raises, denying his unit the necessary equipment and staff to conduct investigations, and initiating criminal investigations of his conduct in an effort to discredit him. His lawyers refiled the suit in federal court in June, hoping for a speedier resolution.
A burly man with a ducktail and bulging eyes, he has gained a reputation as a fearless cop who will arrest virtually anyone -- though his usual targets are polluters who have dumped sewage or toxic chemicals. Along with a small band of other eco-cops, Mr. Gatto's job is to patrol the city's 2,000-square-mile watershed.
Stories about his arrests have become the stuff of legend.
''He can smell pollution from a speeding car, and he's tracked down leaking septic tanks with his nose,'' said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer, who has known him for years. Mr. Gatto once arrested a family friend who was illegally dumping sewage from a restaurant he owned in Mount Kisco, forcing the man to pay a $20,000 fine. ''I went back there and had a cup of coffee two months later,'' Mr. Gatto recalled. ''When I got the bill it said $20,000.''
Mr. Gatto's reputation as a Westchester Serpico may vault him into electoral politics in the county, where environmental credentials go a long way. In May, he received a ''Hero of the Planet'' award from the Yorktown Democratic Committee. Standing in front of a huge fish tank in a Chinese restaurant, he told war stories to a large and appreciative audience that included Mr. Kennedy, County Executive Andrew J. Spano, and a number of Democratic Party backers and county legislators.
''We are encouraging Ron to seek public office,'' said Joseph V. Apicella, the chairman of the Yorktown Democratic committee. ''Maybe a Congressional seat someday. Everyone wants to be an environmentalist, but few have prosecuted environmental crimes the way Ron Gatto has.''
But several former and current D.E.P. employees challenged the view of Mr. Gatto as a hero.
While acknowledging his dedication, they called him a publicity-hungry zealot who lacks the patience for teamwork, and who tends to see those who disagree with him as the enemy. (The department declined to say anything on the record, citing the lawsuit, and Mr. Gatto referred all questions about the suit to his lawyer, Jonathan Abady.)
''He clearly understood the value and importance of protecting the watershed, but there is a bit of the cowboy and self-promoter about him,'' said Marilyn Gelber, who was D.E.P. commissioner from 1994 to 1996 and now works for a private foundation.
Patricia O'Hara, a former scientist with the department, said, ''I believe he genuinely cared about enforcement, but he was a grandstander.'' When one of his bosses refused to promote Mr. Gatto in the early 1990's, he sued, charging the man with racism (Mr. Gatto's wife is African-American) and harassment. ''Ron didn't understand that he couldn't promote him because he was a loose cannon,'' Ms. O'Hara said. That suit was settled out of court.
A few environmentalists said that Mr. Gatto's tough-guy legend is spreading the false idea that protecting the environment mostly involves arresting evil-doers.
(Page 2 of 4)
''The real threats to the water supply are sewage, fertilizer and chemical runoff,'' said Peter Lehner, chief of the environmental protection bureau for the state attorney general's office, ''and these usually need to be addressed through civil litigation or public education, not criminal indictments.''
At the core of Mr. Gatto's reputation -- and his dispute with the city -- is his symbiotic relationship with Mr. Kennedy. Ever since the early 90's, Mr. Gatto has given Mr. Kennedy information about the department's activities in the watershed, which Mr. Kennedy has publicized in a series of reports blasting the city for failing to adequately protect its water.
In return, Mr. Kennedy has praised his friend, writing a glowing tribute to him as a ''Hero of the Planet'' in Time magazine last year. In 1999, he wrote, ''If he disappeared, it is doubtful that any meaningful watershed enforcement would continue.''
Mr. Kennedy has also used his political connections to press Mr. Gatto's case in the department. Several D.E.P. employees said Mr. Gatto would probably have been fired long ago if not for the environmentalist's public support.
Despite their obvious differences -- Mr. Gatto is a blue-collar son of Sicilian immigrants, while Mr. Kennedy was born a celebrity -- the two clearly have a gene in common. Both are driven risk-takers who relish a fight. And their friendship is real; when Mr. Gatto's oldest daughter was having trouble with alcohol, he said Mr. Kennedy took her to two of the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings he has attended since his own arrest for cocaine use in the 1980's.
Both men seemed defensive about the political side of their relationship, but said they had nothing to hide. Mr. Gatto offers an example: in 1993 he began urging his bosses to put up signs telling motorists when they were entering the watershed, to help minimize pollution and increase public awareness. They replied that it couldn't be done. So did Franklin E. White, the state transportation commissioner. Mr. Gatto told Mr. Kennedy, who promptly introduced him to Maria Cuomo, whose father was then governor. They had lunch together, and Mr. Gatto told her about his plan.
''Right in front of me, she faxed it to her father,'' he recalled. ''The next day, Commissioner White calls me at 7 p.m.: 'It's a great idea, we're making the signs right now.' That was politics, but in a good way.''
Ronald Gatto was raised to be a fighter. A pair of boxing gloves hangs from the wall in his den, a memento of his father, who boxed in the Golden Gloves as a young man after coming through Ellis Island from Sicily. His father also served in a tank-destroyer battalion in World War II, where he was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery after crawling across enemy lines to retrieve a document.
''He had shrapnel in his legs and back all his life,'' Mr. Gatto said, gazing admiringly at the medal.
On a tour of his house in Mohegan Lake, he led a visitor downstairs to the basement, where he keeps his new Neapolitan mastiff, Big Boy. ''These are the dogs they used to fight lions in ancient Rome,'' he shouts in a husky baritone. Big Boy is in a steel cage, barking so loud the whole house seems to shake. He is still a puppy but already 160 pounds, a monster with a wrinkled, malevolent face.
Mr. Gatto crouches slightly and stares the beast down, shouting back even louder than his bark: ''Hey! Sit! Sit!'' Overwhelmed, the animal gives in and sits down.
But he says it is his love of nature, not of battle, that led him into his current line of work. He grew up hunting and fishing along the Croton and Amawalk Rivers.
After a stint as an estate manager for Richard Gere in Pound Ridge, he discovered that the Department of Environmental Protection had its own police force. The starting salary was a mere $11,346 when he signed up in 1982 (he now makes $50,000), but he liked the idea of protecting the streams and lakes of his boyhood from polluters.
He soon found that the city's bureaucracy was hostile to making a tough enforcement effort. There were only about 25 officers assigned to patrol a 2,000-square-mile area, and there had not been an environmental arrest in decades. ''We did a lot of traffic violations,'' he recalled. ''We did everything but protect the environment.''
(Page 3 of 4)
When Mr. Gatto discovered in 1990 that workers at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and the Putnam County Hospital Center were dumping wheelbarrows of fecal matter into a trout stream that was part of the city water supply, he wrote up tickets. His supervisor responded by calling him into his office, tearing up the tickets in front of him and taking away the file, he said.
That act seems to have triggered Mr. Gatto's fighting instinct. He went public with his story, and ended up testifying at a City Council hearing in 1991 that helped lead to a restructuring of the watershed police force. It also infuriated his bosses.
''Ever since I testified, that's when they started to beat me up,'' he said.
Several former and current D.E.P. employees said Mr. Gatto was on target about the city's reluctance to enforce the law.
One reason for that reluctance, they said, is structural. The department's police force reports to its engineers, who also run some upstate sewage treatment plants that affect the city's water. Those plants have often overflowed and violated their permits, but the engineers do not want their own police force to embarrass them by writing tickets. To prevent that, Mr. Kennedy and others have claimed, they kept the force small and underpaid, and consistently deprived it of adequate equipment.
That has begun to change, perhaps partly because of the attention Mr. Gatto and Mr. Kennedy have brought to the issue.
Over the last five years the budgeted staff of the watershed police force has grown to 142, from 39, though not all those positions are filled, said Charles G. Sturcken, chief of staff at the D.E.P. And salaries, once so low that officers would routinely bolt to local police forces as soon as they had finished their training, are now competitive.
Another accusation commonly leveled at the department is more controversial, and may be impossible to prove. It is the claim that the city is soft on enforcement as a favor to powerful upstate developers and their friends in the State Legislature, which has a hand in the city's budget.
Mr. Gatto's suit includes one specific claim of influence-peddling, though it does not involve public officials. In April 1999, he discovered illegal pipes taking water from a city reservoir to a swimming pool belonging to David Sarnoff, the founder of R.C.A. He also found that half an acre of trees on city-owned land had been cut down to improve the view on the Sarnoff estate, and a fence had been built on city property.
After making a videotape of the violations, Mr. Gatto informed his boss, who, the lawsuit charges, asked him, ''Do you know who Mr. Sarnoff is?'' Later that day, according to the suit, he received a call from the D.E.P. commissioner, Joel Miele, who demanded that he relinquish the videotape. He was also told not to write up a summons.
But Mr. Miele, in a deposition taken for the lawsuit, offered a conflicting account that made the whole affair seem more or less harmless. He said that he intervened at the request of the officers involved, and that Mr. Sarnoff had a permit for the water diversion. As for the other violations, Mr. Sarnoff was sorry and eager to make amends. ''If I had Mr. Sarnoff or any of his cohorts dragged off in handcuffs for a criminalistic situation, I would have looked pretty stupid in front of a magistrate,'' Mr. Miele said.
The city has never forgiven Mr. Gatto for his public criticisms, Mr. Abady said, and has tried to harass him out of the department for years. He has some persuasive evidence for his case. Last year a D.E.P. official named Lee Siegel promoted Mr. Gatto, and was fired soon afterward. Mr. Siegel then told the press that Mr. Miele had told him, upon hiring him in 1999, to get rid of Mr. Gatto at all costs. Instead, Mr. Siegel had quickly concluded that Mr. Gatto was his best officer. (Mr. Siegel, who will appear as a witness for Mr. Gatto, is also suing the city and declined to comment on his case.)
Another former officer, Joseph Carpenter, said that throughout his time at the agency ''they were trying any way they could to get Gatto.'' Mr. Carpenter was fired just before completing his training, and he said he was told by other officers that it was because he had sided with Mr. Gatto.
(Page 4 of 4)
Mr. Gatto also claims the city has unfairly stalled his career. He once headed the Environmental Enforcement Division, which he created in 1993 to oversee patrols throughout the watershed, but the city confined him in 1999 to the much smaller area east of the Hudson River. One former department official said he wrote several glowing recommendations for Mr. Gatto, all of which mysteriously disappeared.
''It's a damn shame, the good things I've done the department doesn't acknowledge,'' Mr. Gatto said. ''I worked my tail off for them.'' He said he had made more environmental arrests than any other officer in the department, a claim the D.E.P. would neither confirm nor deny. He also made changes in the way the department patrols the watershed, instituted and taught an environmental education program in area schools, and persuaded local garbage collection companies to put up trash baskets to reduce litter around the city's reservoirs.
Mr. Miele, however, said in the deposition that Mr. Gatto's failure to rise is his own fault. He described him as ''somebody that is not a team player, who does a reasonably acceptable job in the main part, that occasionally kicks over the traces and appears to be creating more problems than he's resolving. Someone who is, I guess, filled with the sense that what he's doing is a mission for the ages.''
Whatever the reason, Mr. Gatto's relations with his employers have been excruciatingly tense for years. According to a complaint filed by his former lawyer, Jill Greenwald, his former supervisor once said that if not for the fact that Mr. Gatto is married and has children, he would shoot him.
To many environmentalists, Mr. Gatto's refusal to back down only enhances his status as a David slinging pebbles at the city's bureaucratic Goliath.
''He's like a bull,'' said Johanna Cooper, a homeowner in Pleasantville who sought Mr. Gatto's help after she discovered that a developer had destroyed a stream on her property in 1993. ''You get the feeling that in spite of any political influences he will stick to his mission.''
For good or ill, he has become an inspiration to other whistle-blowers as well.
''The coup Ron has pulled off is that as a role model, he has shown that by going to groups like us, at least you get the word out,'' said Don Meyer, general counsel of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that helped Mr. Gatto with his lawsuit. A number of other D.E.P. employees have since come to the same group about similar problems with the city, Mr. Meyer said.
For Mr. Gatto, getting the word out may be the most important thing in the end.
Whatever the courts decide about the merits of his case against the city, he is likely to be seen more favorably by the next mayoral administration. With that in mind, he chose not to run for Yorktown supervisor this spring and to hold out instead for a promotion within the department.
''The chances are we're going to get a Democratic mayor, and then Ron will have a chance for some vindication,'' Mr. Kennedy said.
Photos: Ronald Gatto playing with his son, Ronald Jr., 6, at home in Mohegan Lake. At left, Mr. Gatto, his son and his wife, Fay, at a dinner in his honor in Jefferson Valley. Also at their table are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer, left, and County Executive Andrew J. Spano. (Photographs by Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. 6); Ronald Gatto, a police captain for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, at the Amawalk Reservoir in Somers. He contends the city is punishing him because he accused it of going easy on polluters. (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. 1)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Brushing dirt to Town Branch muddies the water all the way to Beaver Lake
Please start arrow to view machine brushing mud from 11th Street to the curb so that the rain will wash it to the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
How close to Partner's Branch should development occur?
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Frog songs from Pinnacle Prairie adjacent to World Peace Wetland Prairie
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
FarmToTable theme of today's program in the Rose Garden of the Walton Art Center with renewable-energy lecture at Night Bird bookstore at 2 p.m.
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of OMNI Springfest poster.
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of poster.
Solar Power Struggle
Professor Richard Hutchinson of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston will speak on "The Struggle for the Solar Future" at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
An inquiry into environmental change and the obstacles and opportunities in the path of the renewable energy transition.
Sponsored by OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
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Please click on image to ENLARGE view of poster.
Solar Power Struggle
Professor Richard Hutchinson of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston will speak on "The Struggle for the Solar Future" at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
An inquiry into environmental change and the obstacles and opportunities in the path of the renewable energy transition.
Sponsored by OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
http://kbimages.blogspot.com/post-template.jpg
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