Over the last six months there has been enormous opposition locally over the construction of a corporate dairy farm that is to be constructed near Warren, IL. The negative effects that this CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) would bring to the environment in this county is staggering as is the lowered quality of life to it’s neighbors and the loss of a picturesque landscape that the area is known for.
This past winter a local group opposing this CAFO was formed and they need support quickly. H.O.M.E.S, Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards, is accepting donations to pay for legal fees to fight this issue. In this David vs Goliath battle any funds will be beneficial. Thank you.
http://www.stopthemegadairy.org/how_to_help_donate_money.html Donate Money Here
http://www.stopthemegadairy.org/ HOMES website
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-big-farm-13-jun13,0,7136487.story Chicago Tribune article
http://www.thegalenaterritory.com/news_detail.cfm?id=186 The Territory Times article
The state of Wisconsin has long been a leader in the protection of natural areas. Their forward-thinking approach towards nature began 100 years ago and is still strong today. It makes great sense since their 12.8 billion dollar tourism industry relies on it and hunting and fishing is steeped in tradition there. Last week the Wisconsin State Journal had a cover story about a major push to stop new waves of invasive plants in the future. A new bill to reach the Capitol floor will give the state the power to fine individuals for selling, transporting or spreading a long list of invasive species ranging from Parrots to Maple trees. This is a major step in the right direction.
In recent decades invasive plants have increased by 1,300% and are costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually. To blame are short-minded individuals and corporations who have introduced plants, insects or fish for financial gain or for personal interest. There has always been a grey area on how to handle the issue and the exact introducer has been difficult to pin point (except when our federal government takes the blame). The new proposed rules establish a consistent classification and regulatory system for all listed invasive species. The rules will set specific restrictions on actions such as selling, transporting and planting or releasing certain species to the wild. It will allow the WDNR to work with local units of government and landowners to quickly contain new infestations of species likely to become problematic.
The list of species is broken into 5 categories: Terrestrial plants, aquatic plants, vertebrates, micro-organisms and aquatic invertebrates. In total, 187 species are on the potential list. Most already occur in Wisconsin but some are being included to be proactive, as with Emerald Ash Borer. Most interesting was seeing Dames Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) included on the list. The famed beauty from the Meadow in a Can seed mixes sold at garden centers everywhere shows itself along the countryside of Northwest Illinois each May. Can I start issuing tickets?
It will be interesting to watch this bill transpire into law and, even more, how aggressively it will be enforced. I know the nursery trade may be scrambling to adjust profit margins as Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis) and other perennial favorites are on the list. Stay tuned for more on this aggressive bill.
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/classification/ The Skinny from WDNR
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/280782 The Wisconsin Sate Journal Article
Last Saturday, February 2nd, former Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz died at 98. Earl Butz was well known by environmentalists and not positively. He became a household name in the mid-1970s for reasons that were also not positive.
An Indiana native and person that Purdue University claims with great pride, Earl Butz was appointed secretary of agriclture in 1971 and carried that role until he was forced to resigned in 1976. During his five-year tenure as Ag Secretary he was responsible for many long-term effects on America.
Destruction of Natural Areas - Butz incensed naturalists by urging farmers to “plant from fencerow to fencerow.” With this implimented, some of our last remnant prairies were plowed, high quality wetlands were drained and thick treelines that served as habitat were bulldozed. This was the last crucial wave in natural area destruction and is still in many people’s memories. Locally, there became a sharp decline in wildlife numbers, mainly among birds.
Agri-business - Butz proclaimed that farming “is now big business” and that family farms must “adapt or die.” These policy shifts coincided with the rise of major agribusiness corporations, and the decline in financial stability of the small family farm. Agri-business was a term coined in the 1980s when the change had taken full effect.
Obesity - With larger quantities of corn being produced, Butz suggested that corn syrup should replace sugar cane. High-fructose corn syrup became the standard and very unhealthy sweetener. In Greg Critser’s 2003 book Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, Critser points to Butz as the reason for obesity in America. Critser says,”In short, Butz had delivered everything the modern American consumer had wanted. Cheap, abundant and tasty calories had arrived. It was time to eat.”
Outside of the environmental and nutrition circles Butz will be remembered for his controversy. In 1974 he disturbed catholics by making fun of the Pope and in October of 1976 he was forced to resign after making racist comments while on a plane flight. Some say that it prevented Gerald Ford from being elected one month later.
Quite a testement to the power of agriculture in America and probably the only Secretary of Agriclture to ever become a household name…
Recently, a client of mine, the Harmets, entered their land into a conservation easement to much fanfare. Thier property contains several different ecosystems including a hill prairie remnant, a prairie that survived 100 plus years of grazing until the Harmets purchased the property and began management.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that limits the uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values into perpetuity, while still retaining full ownership rights and the ability to pass land on to heirs or other owners. Property taxes are usually greatly reduced or totally eleminated as well as federal income taxes for the first fifteen years, in order to encourage this type of land protection. After the conservation easement is signed it is recorded into the County of Deeds and applies to all future owners of the property. Conservation easements are customized for each parcel of land and can accomodate many unique situations. The property owners work with a land trust, who provides the legal service and all legwork. The land trust can be compensated by the land owner through a voluntary donation.
In 2006 the popularity of conservation easements accelerated due to a pension reform bill passed by Congress. The maximum deduction a donor is allowed was raised from 30% to 50% of their adjusted gross income in any year. Farmers and ranchers can deduct 100% under the new bill. Also, the carry forward period to take the deductions was extended from 5 years to 15 years. These are not to be changed for 26 years.
Although the financial benefits serve as great incentives, protecting ecosystems, scenic views, historic farms and ensuring that your family will be able to continue ownership is the real driving force. Currently there are over 1,600 not for profit land trusts in America including two in JoDaviess County.
http://www.galenagazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=142&SubsectionID=344&ArticleID=11102&TM=50068.05 The Galena Gazette’s article on Dick and Joan Harmet
http://journalstandard.com/articles/2007/11/26/news/news01.txt The Freeport Journal Standard’s article on the Harmets
http://www.lta.org/ The Land Trust Alliance
http://www.naturalland.org/ The Natural Land Institute
http://www.jdcf.org/conservation_options.htm The JoDaviess Conservation Foundation
Recently, I read a book of this same title by Curt Meine (Island Press, 2004). The book was about Aldo Leopold and the modern conservation movement. It made me think about correction lines in general and how interesting they are.
In the 1800s land surveyors divided most states west of New England up into squares to organize the land and to make for easier homesteading. The Public Land Survey System was the brainchild of Thomas Jefferson and his plan was for the land to be divided into six-mile square townships and 640 acre parcels of land called sections. This is also why our popular land parcels are in increments of 40 acres, hence “the back forty.” The resulting pattern gives us the checkerboard appearence from above that we see today: a quilt of pastures, cropfields, woodlands and city limits. When the surveyors started laying out these squares they found a problem: The earth is round. Dividing the land into perfect squares is like putting a peice of gridpaper around a tennis ball.
To solve this problem surveyors designated east-west lines as ‘correction lines,’ which occurred every 20-30 miles of latitude moving northward, to compensate for the earth’s curvature. They reoriented themselves along these baselines by shifting slightly east or west and began a straight north/south line again. As they say, ”theory meets reality.”
Here in the Midwest we have some great examples of correction lines. Mostly apparent in flat terrain rather than hilly, these reality checks are still very much with us. Ever wonder why a road comes to a T-intersection just to continue again 100 feet over? How about those strange ‘S’ curves on a seemingly straight road?
Some great examples of correction lines can be found across the entire Wisconsin/Illinois state line. This was chosen as a convenient correction line and today you can view all the way across. The above photo shows two correction lines just North of Scales Mound, IL, at the state line. Another great example is Base Line Rd. which stretches from Kane to Ogle County in Northern Illinois and another Base Line Rd. 28 miles south of that one, which serves as the boundary of 4 counties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System Public Land Survey System
Yesterday, August 14th Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, signed two important bills into legislation. Both bills promote conservation in Illinois.
House Bill 1300 creates the Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force. The Task Force will be managed by the Department of Agriculture and will be responsible for developing plans to expand the accessibility of Illinois-grown and organic foods. Specifically, the task force will identify farmland preservation opportunities and train and develop programs for conventional farmers. In addition, it will provide financial and technical support for those entering the industry and help expand development of fresh food markets in under-served communities. The state hopes this will allow for fresh produce to be made available to the inner-city and revitalize weakened rural economies. House Bill 1300 was sponsored by Sate Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) and State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago). HB 1300 goes into effect immediately.
House Bill 1780 extends the sunset date for the popular Conservation 2000 (C2000) program from 2009 to 2021. It was also renamed Partners for Conservation. Since 1996 the ‘C2000′ program has helped restore 90,000 acres of natural areas, reduced soil erosion by implementing conservation tillage programs and educated one million citizens on the importance of the environment. It has been one of the most succussful programs in the state of Illinois during the past quarter century. It was sponsored by State Representative Dan Reitz (D-Sparta) and State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Plainfield). HB 1780 will go into effect January 1, 2008.
There is no Illinois citizen participating in conservation who has not been involved with a C2000 Grant in some way and the promotion of a strong organic food market in Illinois is long overdue. These two bills make waiting for a state budget to pass just a bit more bearable.
A new report ranks Illinois in the bottom third of states on spending for open space. According to the Illinois State Land Conservation Funding report released in March, Illinois has gone from spending an average of 50 million a year in land acquisition to less than 10 million annually over the last few years.
Illinois ranks last by a large margin among Midwestern states in acres protected per capita, with only 1 percent of its land owned by the state. Illinois spent $2.67 per resident on open space annually during its peak years of investment, while Minnesota spent $5.76 and Wisconsin spent $9.80. Funding in Illinois has dropped by 80% since the early 2000s. Illinois’ drop in funding is the result of the end of a four-year program to protect open space and diversions from funds from two long-term programs, the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) and the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (NAAF). Both OSLAD and NAFF are supported by real estate transfer taxes. While that revenue increased with the real estate boom earlier this decade the state has taken away millions of dollars slated for natural areas for budgetary reasons. In fiscal year 2006, more than $35 million was diverted.
Illinios is considered to be one of the most ecologically diverse states in the country, containing hundreds of different ecosystems. The state has already lost mroe than 99.9% of its original prairies and 90% of its original wetlands. A coalition has been formed to fight this financial deficit. Visit it here: http://www.partnersforparksandwildlife.org/
A great segment on invasive species appeared on the CNN News website on June 29. This followed up a news story that came up in March on The Nature Conservancy’s website and magazine. It discussed how nurseries are agreeing with The Nature Conservancy to not sell invasive species, sometimes some of their biggest sellers. Starting with the big box retailers Meijer and Lowes, they have agreed to pull Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra italica) and Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) from their shelves in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. Although many states, including Wisconsin, have their own laws concerning the sale of invasive plants this is the first full fledged effort by an environmental group to work with retailers. In general, there are about 20 plants that remain on the list that they eventually want garden centers to stop selling.
Last year the federal government spent 631 million dollars on invasive species removal. This does not count what state, county and local agencies are doing. Estimated numbers have reached the 5 billion mark when they look at its widespread effect. Illinoisians may be aware that Honeysuckle and Buckthorn were brought in by Chicago developers in the 1950s as an ‘economical hedgerow’ between houses during the baby boom. Now, an entire industry has been created in Chicagoland and beyond to control them.
This is a big step in the right direction. Lets hope that the nursery trade will continue to cooperate in the years to come so we can create regional landscapes rather than those which are boiler plate and instantly gratifying. Read the CNN article here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/06/29/plant.invaders.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText
Over the last six months there has been enormous opposition locally over the construction of a corporate dairy farm that is to be constructed near Warren, IL. The negative effects that this CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) would bring to the environment in this county is staggering as is the lowered quality of life to it’s neighbors and the loss of a picturesque landscape that the area is known for.
