October 30, 2014

On October 3 I blogged about going to the Czech Republic. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend that trip now, but the reason for that is a good one. Starting on November 10, I will begin a new job as Senior Analyst with Marstel Day, an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Virginia. I have a feeling this job will keep me very busy, so my blogging may slow down, at least initially. I just wanted to let you all know that.

In honor of tomorrow being Halloween, I want to blog about bats. Bats are wonderful creatures that are misunderstood and under-appreciated for a variety of reasons. Hopefully I can show you that bats are valuable and important components of the ecosystem, well worth protecting.

In Pennsylvania, there are nine common species of bats. These are: the most common one – the little brown, the big brown, the Eastern pipistrelle, the tri-colored or pygmy, the Northern long-eared, the endangered Indiana, the small-footed, the silver-haired, the red, and the largest one – the hoary bat. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, one individual bat can consume up to 500 insects per hour or more than 3,000 insects in a single night. Think about that when you’re sitting outside on a hot summer night, fighting off the mosquitos. Bats are a natural mosquito control. Bats also eat those pesky stinkbugs that like to invade your home and eat from your veggie garden. How nice is that?!

Bats fall into two categories, those that overwinter in caves and those that migrate south when it starts to get cold. Big brown bats are the last bats to enter hibernation in caves, buildings, mines and storm sewers. Hoary bats, on the other hand, migrate south for the winter. During nice weather you may find bats roosting under loose tree bark, under house shutters, or in man-made bat boxes. You might also find bats roosting in your attic. If so, do not be alarmed. Look to the Penn State guide, “A Homeowner’s Guide to Northeastern Bats and Bat Problems,” to learn tips about bat-proofing your home. Once all openings are sealed except for one, let the bats escape at night, then seal the final opening. Consider building a bat box near your house to provide them a nice alternative.

Bats are not doing very well throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada, so they could use our help. Cave bats like the endangered Indiana and the little brown are dying out in record numbers due to White Nose Syndrome (WNS), an invasive fungus that weakens the bats and until they die from starvation or predation. This syndrome was first documented in 2006 in New York, showing up in Pennsylvania in 2008. According to the National Wildlife Health Center, they have documented an approximately 80 percent decline in bat populations in the northeastern U.S. since the syndrome was discovered. They go on to say that it is very unlikely that those species of bats affected by WNS will recover quickly because bats have only one pup per year. We can help them out as much as possible by staying out of caves, especially during the winter, and disinfecting your shoes and gear after being in a cave, to limit the spread of the fungus.

Bats are busy little insect-eaters that also help pollinate flowering plants. They may not be adorable like a rabbit or kitten, but they can and should be appreciated for all they do for us and the environment. The next time you freak out about a bat flying overhead, instead think, “Hey, thanks for eating those mosquitos!”

(Photos: USGS)

Why Do Animals Migrate? October 27, 2014

I just realized this post was in my “draft” box. It was written nearly two years ago, but the message is still timely, so enjoy….

Since I just moved from one state to another I started thinking about animal migrations. Why do they do it? What motivates them to expend the time and energy required for a long distance migration? The answers are both obvious and subtle.

First of all, what is a migration? The Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom says it is “a journey with a clear purpose from one area to another, often following a well-defined route to a familiar destination, and often at a specific time or season.” However, they go on to say that there is no universally accepted definition and it’s not always easy to tell a true migration from something else. We tend to think of birds flying south for the winter as a migration, but there are many other species that migrate as well.
Migration is usually fueled by the search for food. Birds fly south to find insects, fruits and seeds that they can’t find in their more northerly habitats during the winter and caribou migrate across the tundra searching for fresh grasses. But animals may migrate for a host of other reasons including to find shelter, like the monarch butterflies flying to Mexico, searching for a mate, like male sperm whales, or fleeing an overcrowded habitat, like Norway lemmings. Even some human cultures still migrate to find fresh food for their livestock and avoid harsh climate conditions.

We tend to think of migration as a north-south journey but that isn’t always the case. Migration can occur when an animal travels up and down a mountain at certain times of the year, called altitudinal migration, as evidenced by elk and bighorn sheep in the Rocky Mountains. They spend the winters below the timberline where there is food for them to eat, and slowly advance back up the mountain as snow melts, in order to get further away from predators. Scientists believe this type of migration will take place more often in the future as the climate changes, forcing cold-loving species to move higher up into the mountains until they can go no further. Migration can also occur when aquatic animals move up and down in the water column, called diel vertical migration. Lanternfish are one species that does this. They travel from their deep habitats to shallower water at night in order to locate prey.

Why don’t animals just live somewhere with enough food and ideal habitats so they don’t have to migrate? Just imagine if all the world’s animal species lived in those rare, ideal habitats. It would be quite overcrowded, with diseases, competition, and fighting running rampant. Animals have evolved to live in certain habitats, eat certain foods, and migrate if they need to, in order to minimize competition as much as possible and ensure the continued survival of the species. Migration is one essential tool for doing so.

Clear Cuts Can be Clearly Good October 16, 2014

I’ve been working on a few outreach publications related to forestry and timber harvesting lately, and it makes me think about the myriad people who have a negative reaction when they think of cutting trees. Some people are opposed absolutely to any form of timber harvesting, while others are against certain practices like “clear cutting.” I don’t come from a forestry background, so I can sympathize with them. There was a time when I believed all clear cuts were horrible and that too many trees were being cut down, but with a bit of knowledge my opinion has changed. Perhaps I can persuade you to see clear cuts in a different light, as well.

But before I begin on the merits of (some) clear cuts I want to make absolutely clear that there can be very bad clear cuts if they are done improperly or on certain sites. A lot of thought needs to go into any timber cut BEFORE any action is taken on the ground, not during or after. It essential that a properly trained, professional forester does the work. They know that once the trees are removed there will be adequate regeneration of trees from either seeds in the ground or seeds blown in from the surrounding trees. They know that there aren’t too many deer that could impede that regeneration by eating all the saplings, or too many invasive plants that could come into the clear cut and dominate the area. They know how to prevent soil erosion by using proper best management practices for their haul and skid roads and leaving a buffer of trees along streams and rivers. Only then can a clear cut be sustainable.

If a clear cut is done correctly, many good things can come from it. There are a variety of animal species that benefit from the openings made by a clear cut, as well as from the young growth forest that comes up later (more than 200 species, in fact). Endangered golden winged warbler, chestnut sided warbler, grouse, bear, and eastern box turtle are just a small sampling. The abundant sunlight that is created with a clear cut allows sun-loving tree species like pines, aspens, black cherry and sassafras a better chance to grow and thrive. They can’t compete well with tall oaks and maples in a mature, intact forest.

(Photo: Connecticut DEP)

Clear cuts might not be attractive, and certainly, compared to a mature forest in all its fall glory they’re not. But the forest that grows up in its place will be healthier and just as magnificent. All it takes is a bit of patience and understanding to see it for what it is… healthy habitat in the making.

Want to learn more about clear cuts and other silvicultural practices? Just Google the term and look for reputable source from state bureaus of forestry. There’s a wealth of information out there.

When is Human-Wildlife Interaction too Much? October 10, 2014

On the National Geographic website today I saw a post about a shark photo that has gone viral – it was taken by a school teacher, Amanda Brewer, in a cage off the coast of South Africa. The story asks whether or not these close encounters are dangerous for the sharks. Will they start to associate the smell of bait fish with humans, thus becoming less fearful of us and perhaps more aggressive? Will our actions change the natural behavior of a species? And if it happens with sharks, does it happen in other circumstances too, like when tourists swim with dolphins or manatees, or in areas with frequent whale watching boat tours?

Photo credit – Amanda Brewer

That made me wonder… can we be so interested in seeing and learning about a species that we ultimately cause its demise? I’ve heard stories about people loving an area until it’s ruined – a popular hiking trail through a forest can become so degraded by too many people using it that the reason why people came there in the first place is destroyed. It’s easier to envision a specific location becoming degraded, but think about the behavior of an animal in a zoo. I can recall trips to the Pittsburgh Zoo in the early 80s, when the bears and other large animals were still behind bars and visitors would feed them popcorn and other junk food. Those animals no longer acted like their wild counterparts… they would pace back in forth in front of the bars, or sit up and beg for scraps. Unfortunately there are still non AZA-accredited “zoos” in the U.S. that look like that (I’ll be nice and not name names… at least in this post).

That is a very confined scenario, with thousands of human-animal interactions, so looking at it from a nature standpoint isn’t a one-to-one correlation, but I think there could be some parallels. People flock to certain places in Florida to swim with manatees. If you do a quick Google search you’ll find many companies there that offer the opportunity. The list of rules shown below is from the VisitFlorida website. How likely do you think people are to obey all these rules, or do some visitors bend them? Manatees are gentle, slow moving mammals. If they become habituated to the presence of humans the worst thing that will happen to them – and it’s bad, no lie – is that they could have more collisions with boats, possibly resulting in their injury or death. But if a great white shark becomes habituated to people, the tables are turned… it may be us that are at greater threat of death.

I love manatees, dolphins and even sharks. I love pretty much any animal I can think of, although some more than others certainly. But I can love them at a distance. If I’m going to see a manatee in the wild than I expect it to act that way, wild. The same goes for any wild creature. Let’s not love a species so much that it becomes unnatural. We have our domesticated animals for that.

What are the Best Cities for Environmental Folk? October 6, 2014

Here’s another “draft” post that was somehow forgotten about until know. I no longer plan on moving anywhere else any time soon, but I’d still love to hear people’s thoughts about the places they think are great for environmentally-minded people. Let me know your thoughts!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where I would want to live if I could find my dream job there. I’ve interviewed for jobs in less than exciting places, but am holding out hope that the right job in the right place is out there and not too far in the distant future for me. In my last blog post I talked about how much I enjoy living in a city (albeit a very small city) and that is certainly one of the criteria I am looking for – a vibrant downtown atmosphere. But what else do I need in a location in order to want to live there?

Access to the outdoors, of course, is very important to me. I want to be able to ride my bike, go for a hike, take my kayak out, etc. and not have to drive an hour to do so. That may seem to conflict with the goal of living in a city, but there are plenty of cities in the U.S. that fit the bill: Portland, OR (see photo below) and Boulder, CO to name just two that are high up on my list.

In addition to outdoor amenities I also want to live in a place with an environmental ethos: a place where they take recycling seriously, where they accommodate bike lanes and encourage public transportation, where they promote alternative energies like solar, where the zoning and city planning ensure that natural resources and open space are protected. That makes it likely that the city is progressive and willing to try new things. The two previously mentioned cities certainly fall into that category, as do places like Austin, TX, NYC, and Pittsburgh, PA (see photo below of green roof on Allegheny County Building in Pittsburgh).

What it really all boils down to though are the available (decent paying) jobs in the natural resource/ environmental protection fields, since I don’t want to veer too far from that realm. That’s where it gets a bit stickier. Trying to match up cost of living and salary in some of these cities, where many people want to live, can be tough when the majority of jobs you are qualified for are in the non-profit or governmental arenas, where salaries aren’t always so great. I was told recently that some people are willing to take the pay cut to work for an organization that they believe in. I certainly agree, to a point, but we all have bills to pay. I’ll never be one to choose a job specifically because it pays well, if it means selling out my principles and beliefs, but neither am I willing to live with five roommates and eat ramen noodles every night in order to take a job. I went through that in school and I will never willingly go back there again!

So what’s a girl to do? I hope to have the answer in the near future and will let you know what I discover. But in the meantime, if you have rave reviews about a city that fits what I’m looking for, let me know. If nothing else, I love to travel and could check it out as a vacation destination. Thanks!

Green Czech Republic October 3, 2014

On Tuesday I received some excellent news… I was selected as the team leader for the Rotary District 7390 Group Study Exchange trip to the Czech Republic and Slovakia this coming spring. I’ll lead four communications and journalism professionals on a one-month educational visit to these two countries, visiting Rotary Clubs and cultural sites along the way. I went on a similar trip, as a team member, to Germany five years ago and it was a life-changing experience. I know this will be similar, although more challenging with the added responsibilities as leader, but I’m looking forward to it all.

In honor of this upcoming adventure, I wanted to blog a bit about the environmental and conservation-related aspects of the Czech Republic. I ran across some of this information as I prepared for my interview, and have added further information that I found since then:
• According to the Czech Republic’s environmental agency, the Czech people ranks sixth in the European Union in packaging recycling and are the leaders in the EU for reusing materials from new products and energy generation (a whopping 68%!!).

• They have six UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, which are areas of the country set aside for natural resource management. There are more than 600 reserves in 119 countries across the globe.

• Unlike our country, they have ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and ratified the Kyoto Protocol, committing their country to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and acting against climate change.
• They are above the EU average for the number of acres of organic farms in the country (10.5% of their total ag lands).
• More than 71 percent of the forests in the Czech Republic are certified as sustainably managed.

Not everything is rosy in terms of the environment there. No country is perfect. They deal with air and water pollution from industry, habitat loss and impacts to species, and other issues, but those are common to just about every developed nation. But they are trying hard to clean up sins of the past and move into a more sustainable future.

Of course there is so much about the Czech Republic that I am excited to see. Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and since it wasn’t bombed during WWII, much of the old architecture remains intact. In Germany I saw a lot of restored churches, castles and other buildings… now I’ll get to see the real deal. Plus the Czech Republic is the birthplace of pilsner beer, so I won’t go thirsty while I’m there. My trip is still many, many months away, so my excitement will continue to blossom. Na shledanou (goodbye in Czech)!