Watershed Warrior

Friday, June 24, 2011

Video of slide show to run June 27-July 1, 2011, on Fayetteville Public Television

Friday, June 17, 2011

Shortakes recorded Monday, June 13, 2011, to run June 20-24, 2011, on Public Access Television at 218 on Cox Cable and U-verse 99 on AT&T as well as simulcast on the Your Media Web site

Video and still photos of interest to watershed warriors and native-plant enthusiasts

Aubunique You Tube Channel
Frou's workday video from Frisco Trail
Frou's video from Karen's Garden.

The list below includes items
Aubrey's sets of photos on Flickr at this link. At the bottom of the page, one has to click to see second and third pages of sets. Many sets have material of interest to people involved in the work of the Tree and Landscape committee, Environmental Action Committee, etc.
I have had authorization to post video longer than 15 minutes on You Tube for only a few months. So I am gradually catching up by posting old pieces that were not allowed in the past. Uploading video is a slow process.

Tree Landscape invasive pulling day at Frisco Trail still photos at bottom of Tanglewood Branch watershed set on flickr.
Still photos of Karen Rollet-Crocker native-plant garden presentation
June 8 2011 Tree Landscape meeting at this link.
May 11, 2011 Tree Landscape meeting at this link.
March 9 2011 Tree Landscape meeting at this link.
March 2011 Tree Landscape Cindi Cope and Nancy Varvil at the Library on biodiversity
Dr. Steinkraus at the Fayetteville library
Aub at Tree Landscape meeting WPWP
Aub at Nov. 10, 2011, Tree Landscape use gov channel, public accessAub at Tree Landscape city needs wetland delineator
Aubrey James Shepherd

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Identifying flies and bees: so many similarities, but some big differences

To Be a Bee or To Be a Bee Fly? Differentiating Bees from Flies
Copyright Thomas L Webster. All rights reserved.

"Summertime and the imaging is easy...Flies are flyin' and bees are a buzzin'...Oh, the Velvia's rich and your images are good lookin'...So hush, little photographer...Go out and give it a try!"

OK, George and Ira Gerschwin I'm not! Invariably the question will be asked about a flying critter, "Is this a fly or a bee?" Nature, in all her glory, has seen fit to create a myriad of insects that mimic one and another, especially when it comes to flies and bees and wasps. By now, we are all familiar with syrphid flies that look like yellow jacket wasps and robber flies that mimic bumble bees. But, how can we be sure?

What follows is a discussion of the major characteristics that will help our members differentiate between flies, bees, wasps, and flying ants. As always, there will be exceptions to some of the listed characteristics but, the characteristics taken as a whole for the particular orders, will be accurate. (Hint: Never base an ID on a single characteristic. For example, mayflies have only 2 wings, too.) Fly characteristics will appear in the left column and bee/wasp/ant characteristics will appear in the right column.

Order Diptera

Order Hymenoptera

Syrphid Fly Wing

Bumble Bee Wing

Order Diptera (Flies)...Diptera (di--two; ptera--wing) literally means "2 wings". This is, indeed, the easiest characteristic to use to differentiate a fly from a bee, wasp, or flying ant. What would normally be a hind wing becomes a reduced appendage called a "haltere". The halteres do not resemble a typical wing. The halteres are instrumental in the equilibrium of the fly while flying. Don't mistake the "calypters" for halteres. The calypter is a part of the front wing.

Order Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants)...Hymenoptera (hymen--union; ptera--wing) refers to the union of the front wing with the hind wing in flight. The leading edges of the hind wings have hooks, "hamuli", that catch the trailing edges of the front wings. The major characteristic to note, here, is that bees/wasps/flying ants have 4 wings. The hind wing is smaller than the front wing and can be greatly reduced in size. However reduced in size, the hind wing will always look like a wing.

Calliphorid Fly Head

Golden Wasp Head

A close examination of a fly's head will reveal several identifying characteristics. Typically, a fly's antennae are short and club-like. There are exceptions in which the antennae may be long, and many segmented but those species are fairly rare. Only flies have "aristae" (bristles) that arise from the antennae. Some flies, such as mosquitos and gnats, can have very long, bristly antennae that make the antennae look like miniature ostrich plumes. These antennae are said to be "plumose".
Flies have true bristles on their heads and bodies. Bristles are stout, tapering hairs. Flies, bees, and wasps can have fine, short hairs covering their heads and bodies but, between Diptera and Hymenoptera, only flies have true bristles.
The eyes of a fly pretty much dominates the head. The fly's eyes are more hemispherical in shape than a wasp's eyes or a bee's eyes. Some flies have such large, domed eyes that the eyes will touch, or nearly touch, at the top of the head. Of course, as stated before, there may be exceptions.
All flies have a proboscis (not illustrated) which they can extend. The proboscis is formed by the fusion of mouthparts and also contain a tongue. Flies do not have jaws. The "bite" of a fly is actually the proboscis piercing your skin.

I've chosen a golden wasp head for a typical Hymenoptera head. It should be readily apparent that a bee's, wasp's, or ant's head lacks bristles. Hymenoptera may be covered head to anus with fine, short hairs (see honey bee leg, below) but Hymenoptera will lack true bristles on the head. Ants may have hairs in thick or thin numbers which superficially look like bristles but they are, indeed, hairs. Also, the antenna can be quite variable. The antennae are generally multi-segmented and longer than those found on flies. Many parasitic wasps may have thin, multi-segmented antennae as long as their bodies.
Unlike flies, many Hymenoptera have jaws and can deliver a nasty bite! The jaws move side-to-side. Most wasps, carpenter bees, and leaf-cutting bees have jaws that cover a proboscis (not illustrated) with tongue. Nectar gathering Hymenopters, honey bees and bumble bees, for example, do not have jaws but have a protrusible proboscis. The proboscis is long enough to reach nectar at the bottoms of deep flowers.
In most species of Hymenoptera the eyes do not dominate the head. Rather than being dome-like, typical Hymenoptera eyes are somewhat compressed laterally. Rarely are the eyes of a bee or wasp large enough to meet on the head. Ants, on the other hand, have greatly reduced eyes.

Flesh Fly Foot

Honey Bee Hind Leg

A third characteristic to observe are the insect's feet and legs. For the majority of fly species we normally encounter the feet will have pads (pulvilli) that allow flies to crawl on smooth objects in addition to tarsal claws. Between the tarsal claws there may be an "empodium". The empodium may be a single bristle or may look like another pulvilli. Not all flies have these but most do. Wasps, bees, and ants will not have these pads.

Bee, wasp, and ant legs will never have an empodium and pulvilli. Very seldom will there be hairs attached between the tarsal claws. There may be hairs, however, that extend from the last tarsal segment. Flies will never have pollen baskets. Some flower-feeding flies may become coated with pollen but flies lack the mechanism for compacting pollen into a tight package.

Here's a little test...You photograph an insect with 2 short antennae, large hemispherical eyes, 2 wings, and 2 long, fine tails? A fly, right? Wrong! A mayfly. Flies will have halteres and never have tails! OK, maybe that wasn't fair but always look the insect over carefully to make sure you see all of the key characteristics before committing to an identification. With the key characteristics, outlined above, you should not have any difficulty separating the majority of the flies from bees, wasps, and ants.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

June 8, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville Tree and Landscape Committee includes discussion of selection of trees for fall tree giveaway and possible creation of a city tree nursery

Friday, June 10, 2011

EPA offers new clean-water-act jurisdictional guidance following Supreme Court decision: Important information for city planners and engineers and potential developers of wetland such as every bit of flatland in Fayetteville, Arkansas

A One-Hour TeleBriefing

EPA's New Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Guidance

June 17, 2011

10:00 am Pacific / 1:00 pm Eastern

View the agenda here. Register now!

Mr. Shepherd:
The April 2011 Clean Water Protection Guidance recently published by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides the agencies' views on the reach of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the Supreme Court's decisions in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC) and Rapanos v. United States (Rapanos). If adopted, this Guidance will significantly expand federal CWA jurisdiction over millions of acres of property.

In this one-hour TeleBriefing, our distinguished panel of experts in the area of environmental law and policy will address the practical implications of the new Guidance. Panelists will address a range of key issues, including:

New obligations for the regulated community
Impacts the Guidance is likely to have on state wetlands jurisdiction
Areas of potential litigation and future regulation
Practical tips for industry

Register now and call in from anywhere to hear how this highly controversial rule will impact construction, development, various other industries, and the environment.

Moderated by Jeff B. Kray, Moderator, partner at Marten Law PLLC, our distinguished panel includes Susan Parker Bodine, partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, and Kim Diana Connolly, Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo Law School.

Registration

Tuition

$125 to dial in; $175 to dial in and receive continuing education credit; $50 for each additional person on the same line who wishes to receive credit

Intended Audience

Attorneys, governmental officials, construction and real estate development professionals, consultants and planners, and anyone involved in environmental law.

Available Credits

This TeleBriefing qualifies for 1.0 Washington CLE credit. For CLE credits in other states:

We will apply for credits in the following states: AK, AL, AZ, AR, BC, CA, GA, IL, IN, LA, ME, MO, MS, NC, ND, NM, NV, NY, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY

You can self-apply for credits in: CO, FL, HI, ID, MN, MT, NE, NJ, NY, OK, TX. CLE credits currently are not available in: DE, KS, OH.

If you need other types of credits, please call.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

World Peace Wetland Prairie and Pinnacle Prairie wetland native plants featured on next week's short takes on Fayetteville Public Television

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Fayetteville transportation department to assign 5-man crew to work only on stormwater problems of immediate concern, delaying a few 'gentrification' projects awhile

Thanks to the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers for publishing the following break-through article:

FLOOD REPAIR: Drainage Outlook Changes

CITY TO PUSH BACK 2011 CONSTRUCTION, REFINE FOCUS

By Joel Walsh

Posted: June 2, 2011 at 5:54 a.m.
Updated: June 2, 2011 at 11:18 a.m.

FAYETTEVILLE — Spring floods that damaged streets, drainage and people’s homes will likely force the city to delay some of this year’s paving, sidewalk and trail work so more critical repairs can be made.
Members of Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s administration presented aldermen with 135 problem spots not immediately addressed following April flooding.
Terry Gulley, transportation services director, said he typically sees no more than a third of those calls for service at any one time.
“You just can’t get there quick enough,” Gulley said.
He estimated it would take the city’s five-member drainage crew 278 days to address all needs in the city, which include washed-out shoulders, clogged culverts and eroded ditches.
By reassigning three additional six-member crews to deal with those issues, Gulley hoped to trim the time needed to respond to service requests to three months.

Editor's note

Terry Gulley, Fayetteville transportation services director, said reassigning three six-member crews to deal with the flood-related damage would cut the response to all the service requests to about three months. This story has been modified from its original version to reflect that correction.

That change would mean a pushing back completion date for the university’s farm trail in north Fayetteville along with 40 road resurfacing projects and a dozen sidewalk construction projects.
“They’re projects that will still get done, they’re just not starting now,” said Don Marr, the mayor’s chief of staff.
“We believe that there was a greater urgency in resolving some of the potential drainage issues,” Marr said. “If I’ve had three feet of water in my house, I have a very different sense of urgency than walking on (a new) sidewalk.”

THE PROJECTS

Fayetteville’s Priorities
The following items are listed as high priority in a chart of more than 135 calls for services to the Fayetteville’s Transportation Division.
Ward 1

449 N. Assembly Dr., erosion under roadway
1115 S. Baldwin Ave., house flooding
South Buchanan Avenue and North Stone Street, clogged ditches
East Hope Street, driveway flooding

Ward 2

142 W. Cleburn St., clogged ditch and pipes
685 N. Leverett Ave., sidewalk flooding
970 N. Rush Drive, culvert collapsing
980 N. Rush Drive, basement flooding

Ward 3

1669 N. Charlee Ave., general flooding
2690 N. Colette Ave., culvert and garage flooding

Ward 4

824 N. Hall Ave., driveway flooding
North Jeremiah Place and West Emil Drive Street, buckling
401 S. Lewis Ave., house flooding
106 N. Palmer Ave., house flooding
916 N. Sang Ave., clogged ditches and garage flooding
North Sang Avenue and West Ora Drive, street flooding

Source: Fayetteville Transportation Services Division

In addition, officials want to make drainage improvement a priority in the Transportation Division’s 2012 budget.
Marr and Chris Brown, city engineer, said, with multiple big-ticket road projects slated for 2012, such as improvement to Crossover Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Cato Springs Road and Huntsville Road, it’s a good time to address drainage issues on residential streets.
“Maybe now is the time to back off of our local overlay and sidewalk program and kind of give that a break so folks traveling on these roadways under construction don’t have to put up with construction in their neighborhoods as well,” Brown said.
Gulley estimated the material cost for the calls for service at $265,000.
A price tag for larger capital improvements in 2012 is unclear, but Gulley said one project, rechanneling an aging drainage system along Scull Creek that has caused significant flooding to homes near Maple Street, Walnut Avenue, Mission Boulevard and Olive Avenue, would cost more than $1 million.
Other targeted areas for improvement are the subdivision south of Rolling Hills Drive in north Fayetteville, a section along the Hamestring Creek in west Fayetteville and more than 20 other places that are typically the first to see flooding in heavy rain.
Crews will be looking at laying pipes, rechanneling drainage and building detention ponds to slow runoff.
“We’re looking at ways to slow that water flow,” Gulley said. “We don’t just want to pipe it all to the creeks.”
Jordan told aldermen Tuesday the temptation sometimes is to ignore infrastructure improvement in favor of construction.
“But, you know, when you're letting everything else fall apart, somewhere you've got to address that drainage,” Jordan said. “We’ve got to do this.”
Ward 3 Alderman Bobby Ferrell agreed.
“To me it’s a no-brainer,” Ferrell said. “One of the primary functions of city government is water, fire, sewer, drainage.”
“It looks to me like we have some major infrastructure problems,” he added.
In order to delay projects this year in favor of responding to open calls for service, the City Council must approve adjusting this year’s budget. That will likely be done at the June 21 council meeting, Marr said.

One could only dream that people involved in this effort were subscribers to the following publication
Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.

Friday, June 3, 2011

ADEQ consideration of bad idea comes up Tuesday

Denise Parkinson

7:12pm Jun 2

The Legislative Committees are reviewing the ADEQ recommendations for UMETCO on Tuesday, June 14, at 10 am at the State Capitol building. I am STILL waiting to find out if any of the folks I have spoken with will go stand up for The Natural State and call this precedent what it is: a signal for every mining company out there to just pollute the heck outta all our water -- go right ahead because ADEQ will let you do whatever you want...

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Old Main lawn threatened by construction road plus flooding photos from Fayetteville, Arkansas

War Eagle Days: Click on the kayak photo to open full view, please

Audubon Arkansas & Partners invite you to

5th Annual War Eagle Daze

Friday-Saturday, June 3-4

Withrow Springs State Park & Huntsville Town Square

Contact Audubon's Northwest Arkansas Field Office for more information - (479) 527-0700 or clacey@audubon.org.

Audubon Arkansas
4500 Springer Blvd., Little Rock, AR 72206
(501) 244-2229 | ARaction@audubon.org

Friday, May 27, 2011

A survey of city residents to learn more about extent of recent flooding is needed before the new city master plan is approved by the Fayetteville City Council

Please click on image to view full-full screen directly from You Tube.

May 12, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville Environmental Action Committee

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Karen Rollet-Crocker to present program on landscaping with native plants at 5:30 p.m. today at her home on Mount Sequoyah

Landscaping with Native Plants

Native plants in a landscape help preserve our Ozark identity, provide food for our birds and insects and are well suited to our soils and climate. Karen Rollet Crocker, recently retired UA professor of landscape architecture, invites us to see how she is using native plants in her home landscape and to hear what she has learned during her years of designing gardens for others, including the native landscape for Compton Gardens and the heritage gardens at Peel Mansion, both in Bentonville.

Crocker’s talk and demonstration on landscaping with native plants is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10 at 5:30 p.m. at 951 N. Pembroke Road in Fayetteville . The rain date is Tuesday, May 17 at the same time.

Directions: from Mission Blvd (45) go up the hill on Rockwood Trail (.6 mi). At the top turn left on Pembroke and go to the first corner on the left side (west side).

Attendees who want starts of native plants are invited to bring a couple of small pots with soil in which to take them home.

The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Fayetteville Tree and Landscape Advisory Committee. For information, call 871-7023.

View Larger Map

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Landscaping with Native Plants
Community Events
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: 951 N. Pembroke Road, Fayetteville
Landscape Architecture Professor Karen Rollet Crocker

Contact: Fayetteville Tree and Landscape Advisory Committee
Phone: 479-871-7023

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Doug Tallamy tells us about 'Bringing Nature Home' to provide habitat for wildlife

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE for easy reading.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

11th Annual Meeting of the
American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES)

Hosted by NC State University Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

Click here to view a list of our
CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Click here to view an Attendee List

We are excited to host the 11th annual American Ecological Engineering Society Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. Our goal is to provide a forum for sharing ideas, information, and experiences among engineers, landscape architects, environmental scientists, natural resource managers, and planners working to improve ecosystem health and global sustainability.

The conference focus this year is Engineering for Ecosystem Services. We expect to have more than 100 presentations and posters focusing on ecological engineering applications in environmental restoration, wastewater and stormwater treatment, renewable energy, climate change adaptation, and sustainable food systems. The program will include invited speakers, roundtable discussions on emerging issues, posters and exhibits, field trips, and many networking opportunities. Student participation is a key element of the conference, with emphasis on design experiences and mentoring for our future ecological engineers.

Who Should Attend

The American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES) works to promote the protection and development of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with the natural environment for the benefit of both. Conference participants will include: environmental and ecological scientists, engineers; landscape architects; policy makers and planners; federal, tribal, state, and local government agency personnel; and private interests, environmental consultants, environmental interest groups, and students.

Continuing Education

This conference offers 16.5 PDHs for the 3-day event (5.5 per day) for professional engineers, approved by the NC Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. 8 CEUs have been approved for landscape architects by the NC Board of Landscape Architects; Course # 7696.

Request for Sponsors

If you are interested in being a sponsor for this meeting, please contact Dr. Greg Jennings (contact information below) or visit the Sponsor/Vendor link.

For More Information, Contact:

Greg Jennings , Professor and Extension Specialist
North Carolina State University
Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department
Campus Box 7625
Raleigh, NC 27695-7625
Phone: (919) 606-4790
Email: jenningsenv@gmail.com

General Information :

Logistics

About AEES

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Please bring children to World Peace Wetland Prairie on April 17, 2011, to celebrate Earth Day with Toucan Jam and many other local Fayetteville, Arkansas, musicians and singers

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Donna Stjerna and Kelly Mullholan's poster for Earth Day 2011 at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

World Peace Wetland Prairie EARTH DAY 2010 VIDEO
Flickr collection of sets of photos from World Peace Wetland Prairie
World Peace Wetland Prairie blog
World Peace Wetland Prairie.com
Aubrey's photos at flickr.com

2000-2005 archive of stories and photos related to creation of WPWP: www.aubunique.com

Please use link below the map to see larger view of the WPWP area, which also allows a person to travel the world by 'Google AIR' by simply using the cursor to move in any direction or search for other addresses.

View World Peace Wetland Prairie in a larger map