America’s Endangered Species Act … is also an Endangered Species

Readers of the prestigious Washington Post woke to an alarming headline last week announcing the Republican Administration’s intent to gut and/or dismantle the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This was not sensationalist journalism but, sadly, our new reality. In fact, Senate Republicans held a hearing on February 15, 2017 to effectively begin the process of weakening the ESA, an Act that was first signed into law in 1973. Chairing that hearing was Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who has a history of favouring the oil and gas industry over environmental issues. 

   

The Republicans’ war on wildlife is nothing new. They have been waging this war for a very long time. They have always viewed Nature as a direct threat to business, private land ownership and the profitability of resource exploitation industries such as logging and mining. Indeed, “since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2011, they have made 233 legislative attempts to either dismantle the Act or target specific endangered species.” (Source: IFLScience)

New this time around, however, is the fact that the Republicans are now in full control of the conversation. Politically speaking, that is. The average American, we are told, probably doesn’t agree with too much tampering to the existing ESA. It has been reported that the vast majority of Americans (fully 90%) support the Act, this according to a national poll conducted in 2015.

For more than 40 years America’s ESA has been successfully protecting species, including its iconic national symbol, the bald eagle. It has also brought the American alligator, the Stellar sea lion, the peregrine falcon and many, many other plant and animal species back from the brink of extinction. Data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that the ESA has saved 99% of listed species from extinction. In fact, scientists say that some 227 species would already be extinct without it. (Source: Center for Biological Diversity)

What does all this mean for Canada and Canadian wildlife?

We share this beautiful continent with our neighbours to the south, so what happens in the USA unfortunately doesn’t always stay in the USA. Already, biologists have pointed out the sheer lunacy of building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Wildlife does not know what a border is and migration routes traverse all three nations on this continent.

Here, around the Great Lakes, we are particularly jittery about the Republicans’ next steps and any successful attempt at destroying their ESA. We share the Great Lakes with the United States, and if biodiversity and the ecological integrity of the Great Lakes region — its watersheds, wetlands and deciduous forests — are in jeopardy to the south of us, it is going to most definitely impact the bio stability of the entire region eventually. Just as frightening would be the concurrent weakening of America’s EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Increased pollution and contamination, and an uptake in fossil fuel extraction, coal mining and fracking combined with a much-weakened ESA are a recipe for ecological and environmental disaster in the long term.

I don’t believe this is an exaggeration or alarmist rhetoric. So much of wild North America is under threat as it is. Many species are teetering on the brink while others are losing ground – literally – every day. Biodiversity is a fragile and interconnected web, so the loss of just one species affects all others. Those species that are on the brink and losing the battle need even more protection, not less. They will surely falter if protections are pulled.

Then, there is the war that Republicans feel is their right to wage – their manifest destiny – to eliminate any species (humans included) that stands in the way of their worldview, their progress, their profits. Native species in their rifle sights include most notably wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears. We should not forget to add to any list of beleaguered species under attack the west’s wild mustangs and wild burros, regularly rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The carnage is going to be gruesome.

North America is one continent. Our mountain ranges, our prairies, our lakes and our forests do not recognize borders. Wildlife crosses freely, oblivious to the politics of their survival or demise. Their only hope is our attention, our awareness and our advocacy. Hands across the border, we must reach out to our fellow environmentalists in the U.S. and show our support for their efforts and for their resistance – organizations such as the wonderful Center for Biological Diversity or the Canadian/American cooperative, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative – to name but two.

Even as we in Ontario face some battles over Ontario’s ESA in the current climate in which Wynne’s economic woes threaten to outweigh her government’s obligation to the ESA, we must not ignore what is happening in the U.S. Other countries may easily mock the Trump Administration; they can rail and rant and dismiss him as unstable or incompetent. He is. That’s not in question. But Canada is the only other country in the world together with Mexico that will directly bear the brunt of the brutal, short-sighted machinations of the new U.S. Administration. The health and wellbeing of the entire continent is at stake if the ESA and the EPA are vitiated.

We may stand some distance from the border, but we must, however, stand in opposition to any gutting of America’s ESA if we care at all about North American wildlife – indeed,  if we care at all about the future of life on earth. It is incumbent upon us to be vigilant and to work harder than ever as advocates for the voiceless. As my Twitter community of friends and followers would say – it’s time to #resist.

To follow information about Ontario’s ESA visit Ontario Nature.

To follow the USA issue visit the Center for Biological Diversity and check out their #EARTH2TRUMP movement.

Deciduous Dreams

I don’t know about you, but my eyes are starved for colour. I long to see green foliage and clear blue skies. If the bleak January landscape of white on white with shades of grey is starting to play with your psyche and if you’re not about to jet away to the Caribbean any time soon, may I suggest a quick and economical alternative?

Here is a good book all about trees, so you can pull the drapes against the drabness and indulge in deciduous dreams at your leisure. Roger Deakin’s  Wildwood, A Journey Through Trees is beautifully written, each chapter weaving facts with personal anecdotes about our complex and perhaps often unexamined relationship with wood, trees, woodlands and forests. Tree huggers unite, because there is something in this marvellous book for every interest or reason for loving trees.

Take, for example, the chapter entitled “Among Jaguars.” I turned to it believing I was going to be whisked off to the emerald rainforests of Central and South America. Not so. Deakin takes us to the Jaguar factory in Coventry, England and surprises us with some interesting data about the nuances of the walnut burr, the coveted and costly part of the walnut tree that is used exclusively to trim the mechanical beast’s dash, steering wheel and gearshift knob.

My favourite chapters, however, are “Willow” and “Ash,” two exquisite paeans in prose about two very lovely trees species that grace our lives and our landscapes here too in southwestern Ontario.

In “Willow” we learn that there are more willow varieties in the world than most of us realize, but only one, a  special variety of the white willow, is used to make the world’s best cricket bats. Yet Deakin’s curiosity for facts and stories about man’s many uses of wood through the centuries reveals an underlying reverence for trees just being, well, trees.

Of the willow he writes, ”All willows abound in life and vigour, and their pliable wands give them grace.” Willow’s genus, Salix, he reminds us, stems from the Latin verb salire, which means “to leap.” And leap they do, as willow’s natural spontaneity means that new saplings will emerge easily and readily from cuttings, all on their own and with little help from us. Willows are often planted inadvertently when we simply drive a willow fencepost into the earth or if we happened to leave a green log lying on damp ground.

Nature, so glorious, no?

As for the chapter on the Ash, I can only say – just read it, for under the spell of Deakin’s pen this great tree spreads its glorious branches across your mind ― Fraxinus excelsior, a name that exquisitely evokes its majestic essence ― making you want to run immediately to the nearest woods, find a specimen for yourself and throw your arms about it.

He writes:

“I love the skin of ash, almost human in its perfect smoothness when young, with the under-glow of green. It wrinkles and creases like elephant skin at the heels and elbows of old pleachers where they have healed. It bursts out in pimples or heat bumps where the epicormic buds are about to break out into new shoots.”

Roger Deakin passed away in 2006, shortly after writing this book. But by sharing his deep and abiding love for trees and the wooded places in this world he has reminded us of how intertwined our human lives are with those splendid giants among us who have given us fuel and furniture, ornament and shelter across the ages and who sustain us still with their grace and beauty, for whose soul is not stirred with wistful delight at the memory of a leafy canopy of green above on a hot summer day.

On a Positive Note...

Credit where credit is due, the Ontario government has done something (environmentally) right recently! Ontario is now the first province in Canada to have a Local Food Act. Forest and freshwater foods have been included in the Act, and we can thank Ontario Nature (again) for this. Why is the inclusion of forest and freshwater food important? Because forest and freshwater foods rarely garner the same attention as agriculture in the discussion of local food. Yet it is intrinsically part of the discussion in many areas of our province, most certainly our boreal north. The new Act, which will probably be proclaimed in the spring of 2014,  will provide increased recognition of the importance and value of wild habitat and the need for clean water. Kudos for that. Or should we say two green thumbs up?

 

http://www.ontarionature.org/protect/habitat/local_food_and_northern_ontario.php

Here are a few interesting links about "edible" forests:

http://northernbushcraft.com/guide.php?ctgy=edible_Berries&region=on

http://londonfoodforest.blogspot.ca/p/welcome-welcome-to-carolinian-food.html

http://www.grandriverrafting.ca/ontario-edible-plant-hike-poisonous-plants-trees






 

 

 

 

 

Ontario Nature is Going to Court

 

Ontario Nature is an organization that I respect and support. They have always been proactive and outspoken whenever wildlife, wilderness and habitat have been threatened in this province. So it is no surprise that one of nature's greatest allies in this province is, indeed, Ontario Nature.

 

To learn more about Ontario Nature's stance on the changes to our Endangered Species Act, see the link below. However, you might want to spend some time on their site and/or sign up for the newsletters, which are always well written, knowledgeable and informative.

 

A big "tree-hugging" thank-you today to a great organization, Ontario Nature!

http://www.ontarionature.org/give/your_voice_for_nature.php

A Year In Review, Part II

Tonight’s Nature London talk is In Praise of Spiders. Indeed, let’s praise all insects. Insects should not be overlooked or underestimated. Arthur V. Evans of the American Wildlife Federation aptly, and I believe reverently, calls them “the silent majority.” Small but significant, insects, spiders and butterflies are key members of a healthy ecosystem and the very foundation upon which all other life forms rely. And in order to protect all life on earth, we must value the insect kingdom. Where, for example, would we be without the pollinators?

My childhood fascination for insects was renewed in 2010. I found myself wanting to look at them “up close and personal.” By really taking the time to look at insects, butterflies and spiders you get to see how extraordinary they are and how really quite breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, everyone would agree with me that butterflies and pond damsels are beautiful; I can see how beetles and spiders might be a harder sell.

But take a closer look. And be prepared to be amazed, astonished and delighted. They are exquisitely constructed and extremely intelligent. Last summer I marveled at a host of fascinating creatures I never knew I shared space with. Ironically, my worldview actually expanded the more I focused on the tiny things. I bought books. I rummaged through the books I already owned. I scoured the Internet, with my descriptions and sketches in hand. What a joy to be able to put a name to some of these creatures! What a thrill to watch them!

I had to perform a number of rescues this summer too. Unfortunately, crickets and other insects end up in the pool on a regular basis. Even with the pool completely enclosed they manage to get in. Daily, throughout the long summer, I would sit for long periods of time with this or that insect on my finger, observing each one methodically drying off damp antennae.

Crane flies, for example, are exceedingly fussy. They make sure their gossamer wings are completely dry before they take flight. They’ll even do little test runs with their wings just to see how dry they are. If not, they keep drying themselves. They do this over and over until they are absolutely certain they can fly right. Then…they’re gone!

All of the tiny bugs and flying insects that I rescued this summer patiently let me carry them to gardens, fields or wooded areas. Bugs, beetles, ladybugs and skippers, they never flinched at my touch. I even rescued a couple of spectacular-looking fellows that I later learned were Bombardier Beetles.

And the crickets were a revelation. I carried one gorgeous big cricket over forty feet to his new home in the garden and throughout the journey he sat poised and erect on my finger, facing forward like a captain on the bridge of an ocean-going vessel, proud, alert. Did he enjoy the trip? I wonder.

And then there was the day of the magnificent Gladiator Katydid, who nonchalantly walked out of the vacuum cleaner that’s kept in the sun room. She let me carry her to the east garden, seemingly confident that she would not be harmed. She reluctantly left my hand only when I set her gently under a leaf.

As for spiders, where do I begin? The decorous Platycryptus Undatus has got to be one of the most interesting spiders we humans could ever encounter. Harmless, intelligent, inquisitive and easy-going, they seem more interested in us than fearful. Want to get to know spiders better or overcome an irrational fear of them? Start with handsome Platycryptus. You will be glad you did.

As for me, I can hardly wait for spring.

(Thanks to Nature London for the picture of Platycryptus Undatus.)

We Are The Rocks Dancing...

This is a line from Thinking Like a Mountain, Towards a Council of All Beings, written by John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming, and the "father" of the Deep Ecology Movement, Arne Naess. It is a book about ritual and prayer and healing, not only for an ailing planet but for the ailing soul, because those of us who care deeply about our planet's environmental well-being and mourn the loss of wild habitat and the extinction of species due to human folly and ignorance often endure despair and a loss of hope.

It is also a call to move beyond just thinking about nature and to start feeling what it must be like to be another species. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," said the Harper Lee character, Atticus Finch.

Well, this takes it a step further, shall we say. We are asked to put ourselves into the skin of "the others" with whom we share this planet; for example, the Swift Fox, the Bowhead Whale, the Peary Caribou, the Mountain Plover, the Lake Erie Water Snake and the Leatherback Turtle, as well as howler monkeys, hummingbirds, bottle-nosed dolphins, curlews and condors, yes, even the lichen, the weeds, the leaves and the rocks.

"In Geneva, the international tally of endangered species, kept up to date in loose leaf volumes, is becoming too heavy to lift. Where do we now record the passing of life? What funerals or farewells are appropriate?"

If we can inhabit their world in our imagination for only a few moments, perhaps we can feel reconnected to something bigger—and grander—than ourselves. We need to leave our human egos at the proverbial door.

"I find I incorporate gneiss, coal, long-threaded moss, fruits, grains, esculent roots. And am stuccoed with quadrupeds and birds all over" wrote Whitman.

The premise of Deep Ecology is that we are not isolated from nature but very much a part of it. In fact, we are Nature. One and indivisible from it. We're just another mammal here on Planet Earth.

Modern man has suffered a serious disconnect from this fact, this reality. The very real effect of this disconnect is the environmental crisis in which we find ourselves. We have big brains and wield the power, and so we have dominated the earth, but we have behaved with such careless disregard and ignorance that now even we are in peril. The Native way has been the wisest, perhaps, as their spirituality and cosmology have remained deeply respectful and connected to the earth.

Deep Ecology is not just about recycling, reusing and reducing, although these are important activities that deep ecologists engage in. Deep Ecology is about changing one's entire attitude and way of perceiving the world. It is about re-connecting with the world and realizing our role in the great scheme of things. It's about recognizing that we are not separate beings, divorced from nature.

Now, humankind is just as threatened by imminent extinction as the other species. We are just one more species that will not make it if we fail to be wise, right now, at this point in time. So given that we have this consciousness, which is surely itself a product of nature, having emerged and evolved according to the same laws as everything else, we must now use it to make a lasting change, a change that will save our planet, ourselves.

Only we can do this. Yes, we must use our intellects to do the practical work that needs to be done. And there is much work to be done. But today, on Earth Day, feel the connectedness in your bones...

Don't just say, "I am protecting the rainforest."

Be the rainforest.

Awaken your mind to a new way of being in the world.

Remember this: that every atom in your body existed before organic life emerged 4000 million years ago. We share this in common with "them," the other living species of this planet. We are atom, we are mineral, we are water, we are the elements … we are the rocks dancing.

To learn more about Deep Ecology today, please follow the link at the bottom of the blog.

Quoted text above is from Thinking Like A Mountain.

Revel in the joy of being alive today and here on Planet Earth.

Wildlife Week at the Wetland: Deer!

Spotted yesterday: "our" deer family on the move!

Did you know that white-tailed deer are relative newcomers to much of the range they now occupy in Canada? Long ago, when the first Europeans were exploring this land, this graceful mammal was found only in the most southerly parts of Canada—such as our own southern Ontario region—but not beyond Lake Nipissing to the north. The current range of the white-tailed deer in Canada is quite extensive.

What caused this change in range? Probably a combination of events, but high on the list most likely is the extent of human settlement in southern Canada, pushing deep into every corner of southwestern Ontario and pushing the deer range farther north.

Over time, southern Ontario has become increasingly urbanized, further reducing deer habitat. However, it is still possible to see them in our southern Ontario woods and bush areas. Still, between winter food shortages and the continual loss of habitat, the white-tailed deer, while having greatly expanded its overall range, has also experienced declines in population levels.

There are sixteen sub-species of white-tailed deer in North America. Only three of these species live in Canada.

Hey! It's National Wildlife Week!

Yes! All week long! And I'll be "blogging from the bog" every day this week, but in terms of wildlife, it's been very quiet here despite the fine weather and the sunshine. No sightings or observations of note. In fact, only the mallards have been making a daily appearance on the pond. But the natural world is coming to life and it's a beautiful thing.

What can you do for National Wildlife Week? Well, one of the most important things we can all do is teach our kids to appreciate/love nature. Education is the key. But not just the facts and the figures. Get out there — hike, walk, explore, learn as you go. Experiencing the natural world firsthand is the surest way of falling in love with it.

Find out what activities and events are going on in your local area to celebrate wildlife week. Even museums and science centres are getting involved, so Toronto, no need to feel left out of the fun — it's Nature Month at the ROM this April.

It's National Wildlife Week: April 4 - 10, 2010

Did you know that National Wildlife Week has been celebrated annually since 1947?

The National Wildlife Week Act was drawn up as a memorial to Jack Miner, in recognition of his outstanding conservation efforts. When the Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on April 18th, 1947, it passed without one dissenting vote. As a matter of fact, it was the first time since Canada's confederation that a Bill was passed unanimously.

That just goes to show you that parliamentarians can set partisan politics aside now and then to agree on something that matters.

While Jack Miner would be thrilled to know that we have been recognizing National Wildlife Week each year, I am not so sure he would be happy about our track record on species protection and habitat conservation. We need to do better, because Canada has far too many species on the endangered list already.

So if "we" all agreed once long ago that a national week to raise awareness for wildlife conservation was a great idea, just maybe we can get everyone to agree again, especially during the International Year of Biodiversity.

So, all in unison now, everyone say it and mean it …

WILDLIFE MATTERS TO ME!

Nature London

The McIlwraith Field Naturalists have been a part of the London Ontario community since 1864. The name of the organization honours Canadian pioneer and ornithologist Thomas McIlwraith. The group undertakes a variety of projects to promote environmental awareness, enhance habitat and protect natural areas. The club owns an 11-hectare nature reserve near Delaware. MFN members participate in the Christmas Bird Count, the annual Butterfly Count and other initiatives that encourage the study of local natural history and promote birding.

Check out their website and the Nature in the City flyer, which details the 2010 schedule of co-sponsored nature talks with the London Public Library. Of special note to wetland enthusiasts is the February 9, 2010 talk on the tenacity of wetland wildflowers: WETLAND WILDFLOWERS: Ingeniously Adapted to Life with Wet Feet.

Get to Know Your Neighbours: Watch WhoTube!

I just added a link (see Important Sites to Visit below) to one of my favourite Canadian sites: Hinterland Who's Who. This is a great site to bookmark for your kids because it's a fun site with lots of videos, pics, stories and info about our neighbours - the wild critters with whom we share this country, from our rural wetlands to our urban backyards.

Education is the key to making this world a better place. One way of making this world a better place is by appreciating nature and respecting other species. Learning to cherish our wild neighbours for what they are—not just animated Disney characters—is a great first step for kids of all ages.

A respect for wildlife taught early on truly does last a lifetime.

I know. Thanks, dad.

Wetlands and Space Exploration

Do these two have anything in common? Of course they do! As John A. Murray wrote, “Nature is the universe.” The entire universe—from the tiny fireflies that spark and glow like miniature earthbound replicas of the stars to the distant red glow of Jupiter low on the eastern horizon this July night—is one.

And we are part of this magnificence.

I started thinking about this as my father and I stood in the dark last night near the edge of the cornfield, waiting for the International Space Station, and the shuttle, to approach from the NW at 31 degrees. The serenity of this unusually cool summer evening was only punctuated by the throaty grunts of the frogs in the pond. Would they be looking up too? Hardly likely. But it was interesting to consider all of the creatures of the wetlands—slumbering or awake at this hour—and think about the wholeness of it. The sparrows had long since tucked their new brood into the nest for the night, the rabbits had hunkered down in the garden, and the deer were again safely sheltered in the woods after their nightly crossing at dusk.

And there we were, dad and I, under the constellations again, and waiting for our second sighting of the ISS. Thanks to a NASA site, we had all of the coordinates. And right on cue, there it was. When it came into view, it was unmistakable. Not a plane, not a star, most certainly not a UFO. For we had the coordinates and we knew what we were seeing: an example of what great and fine things we humans are capable of when we put our minds to it and rise above our petty but destructive squabbles here on earth. Whether or not one supports the notion of manned space exploration, one can’t help but feel a thrill of achievement.

Yes, we need to clean up the planet and take care of business here on earth. That's a given. We should be doing this, and we must be doing this. We need to protect these wild areas and these wild things. Sleeping here under the stars, they are every bit as precious as the acquisition of new knowledge. But I believe that science and technology can save us—and them. For science—opening the mind to the true nature of things—is the only way forward to saving planet Earth.

This is the best of us, up there. Learning, exploring, gathering knowledge. And perhaps most important of all, there is the cooperation and the camaraderie we could have here on earth. Are these not fine examples of noble endeavours? Now, if we could only drag some people away from their reality TV shows and make them look up. Way up.

We need to look after the entire universe. And by look after I mean, learn about it, respect it and revel in it, for this is our home. All of it. The solar system and this ecosystem. We need to think better and dream big. With optimism. We need to take it all in with wonder again. Like children. Say Wow! now and then. Isn't this something!

Because it is. It is our magnificent blue and green planet in the vast ocean of the universe. And it is all wondrous and awe-inspiring, from the constellations to these little fireflies, flickering in the dark above the cornstalks.