The World Water Monitoring Day Program has expanded. For the first time, participants can monitor their water any time between March 22 and December 31, 2009. In 2008, monitoring was limited to September 18 through December 18.
The goal of the World Water Monitoring Day Program is to engage one million people in one hundred countries in monitoring local waterways by 2012. In 2008, 73,510 people participated worldwide, which was a 60% increase from 2007, according to the program’s Year in Review. People can participate on their own or they can work as a team through their school, university, community, or common-interest group.
Participants test water for dissolved oxygen levels, pH, temperature, and turbidity (clarity). They report results on the World Water Monitoring Day Web site.
World Water Monitoring Day is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens in conducting basic monitoring of their local water bodies. For more information about the program, how to participate, or past results, go to the World Water Monitoring Day Web site: http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Floodplain Restoration Project Launched
The Nature Conservancy in Iowa is working to restore habitat on an 80 ac floodplain that is rich in biological diversity. The Nature Conservancy’s Swamp White Oak savanna, in southeastern Iowa, is the focus of this project. In the past, fire and seasonal floods limited plant growth and maintained the delicate ecosystem. Recently, however, inadequate fires have not limited growth leading to unnatural tree density. As a result, new oak trees have not had a chance to grow. In addition, floods have been so severe that they have interfered with native populations. Invasive plant species, including reed canary grass and garlic mustard, are also upsetting the natural balance of the savanna.
Research by Connie Dettman Rose will be used as a guide for the restoration plans. Rose has extensively studied survey records of native species.
“Restoration efforts will include opening of the closed canopy to a more savanna-like condition and invasive species removal. We will then return fire to the landscape,” said Jennifer Filipiak, director of conservation science for the Conservancy in Iowa.
For more information on this restoration effort, view the full article here.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Farming Practices Need Change to be Sustainable
To accommodate the increasing world population and climate change, farming methods must be both productive and sustainable. Shivaji Pandev, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Plant Production and Protection Division, advocated for strategic improvements to farming practices throughout the world at the IVth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in New Delhi.
"The world has no alternative to pursuing Sustainable Crop Production Intensification to meet the growing food and feed demand, to alleviate poverty and to protect its natural resources. Conservation Agriculture is an essential element of that Intensification," Pandey said.
To increase production, farmers throughout the world have made similar mistakes: ploughing too often, applying too much fertilizer or pesticide, or providing too much irrigation water. While these strategies may appear effective in the short-term, they have long term consequences that reduce productivity.
To increase production effectively over the long term, farming practice changes should be focused on conservation agriculture, which is a practice that eliminates ploughing and includes the use of crop rotation and permanent soil cover.
Conservation agriculture helps increase productivity, but it has additional benefits as well. It reduces the carbon footprint created by farming and reduces water loss since healthy soil loses less water to evaporation. For more detail about Pandev’s presentation or recommendations, view the full article here.
"The world has no alternative to pursuing Sustainable Crop Production Intensification to meet the growing food and feed demand, to alleviate poverty and to protect its natural resources. Conservation Agriculture is an essential element of that Intensification," Pandey said.
To increase production, farmers throughout the world have made similar mistakes: ploughing too often, applying too much fertilizer or pesticide, or providing too much irrigation water. While these strategies may appear effective in the short-term, they have long term consequences that reduce productivity.
To increase production effectively over the long term, farming practice changes should be focused on conservation agriculture, which is a practice that eliminates ploughing and includes the use of crop rotation and permanent soil cover.
Conservation agriculture helps increase productivity, but it has additional benefits as well. It reduces the carbon footprint created by farming and reduces water loss since healthy soil loses less water to evaporation. For more detail about Pandev’s presentation or recommendations, view the full article here.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
SWCS Publishes Book: Relationship with the Land
The Soil and Water Conservation Society has released a new book: Relationship with the Land. This collection of essays was edited by Mark Anderson-Wilk.
“Though we still live from the land, as we always have and always must, we now live with the land less than ever before,” Wendell Berry, “Living with the Land” chapter.
Cherish the work started by conservation fathers Aldo Leopold and Hugh Hammond Bennett, learn about the growth of conservation ethic, and challenge yourself to consider future conservation implications, all by reading one book. Relationship with the Land includes a collection of the most thought-provoking articles that have appeared in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation within the last 60 years, as well as two invited essays that bring an international perspective and a controversial idea to the conservation conversation.
Relationship with the Land includes four sections:
· Hugh Hammond Bennett and the Soil Conservation Movement
· Aldo Leopold and the Land Ethic
· Development of Conservation Thought on Land Stewardship and Natural Resource Values
· The Future of the Conservation Land Ethic
“Each of us has the right to own and enjoy property, whether that property is a dollar bill, a book, or an acre of farmland…We cannot use the dollar to pay for commission of a crime, or the book to hit somebody over the head, or that farmland in a way that diminishes the private or public values of our neighbors,” Neil Sampson, “Achieving Public Values on Private Land” chapter.
“While the claim of the moral “high ground” on the basis of values may be personally gratifying, it has diverted needed attention away from understanding why land owners may be unwilling or unable to act on these values.” Pete Nowak, “Of What Value are Values in Resource Management?”
Relationship with the Land is now available at the SWCS Online Store.
ISBN 978-0-9769432-6-6
“Though we still live from the land, as we always have and always must, we now live with the land less than ever before,” Wendell Berry, “Living with the Land” chapter.
Cherish the work started by conservation fathers Aldo Leopold and Hugh Hammond Bennett, learn about the growth of conservation ethic, and challenge yourself to consider future conservation implications, all by reading one book. Relationship with the Land includes a collection of the most thought-provoking articles that have appeared in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation within the last 60 years, as well as two invited essays that bring an international perspective and a controversial idea to the conservation conversation.
Relationship with the Land includes four sections:
· Hugh Hammond Bennett and the Soil Conservation Movement
· Aldo Leopold and the Land Ethic
· Development of Conservation Thought on Land Stewardship and Natural Resource Values
· The Future of the Conservation Land Ethic
“Each of us has the right to own and enjoy property, whether that property is a dollar bill, a book, or an acre of farmland…We cannot use the dollar to pay for commission of a crime, or the book to hit somebody over the head, or that farmland in a way that diminishes the private or public values of our neighbors,” Neil Sampson, “Achieving Public Values on Private Land” chapter.
“While the claim of the moral “high ground” on the basis of values may be personally gratifying, it has diverted needed attention away from understanding why land owners may be unwilling or unable to act on these values.” Pete Nowak, “Of What Value are Values in Resource Management?”
Relationship with the Land is now available at the SWCS Online Store.
ISBN 978-0-9769432-6-6
Sunday, February 8, 2009
IOWA: State seeks more wetlands to fight pollution runoff
By PHILIP BRASHER, Des Moines Register
pbrasher@dmreg.com
Adel, Ia. - State agriculture officials think they have the solution to the pollution problems caused by water that drains off the state's farms: Drain the water faster.
Shallow ponds like the one created with federal money on a Dallas County farm can destroy much of the pollution that runs off neighboring corn fields and eventually into Des Moines-area water supplies and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
Read the article...
Don't just read it, talk about it! Post your thoughts below in the comments or on the SWCS Network at http://swcsnetwork.ning.com/
pbrasher@dmreg.com
Adel, Ia. - State agriculture officials think they have the solution to the pollution problems caused by water that drains off the state's farms: Drain the water faster.
Shallow ponds like the one created with federal money on a Dallas County farm can destroy much of the pollution that runs off neighboring corn fields and eventually into Des Moines-area water supplies and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
Read the article...
Don't just read it, talk about it! Post your thoughts below in the comments or on the SWCS Network at http://swcsnetwork.ning.com/
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Conservation Project Begins in Hawaii
The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation and the State of Hawaii have teamed up to improve water quality, increase groundwater recharge, filter agricultural runoff to preserve reef diversity, restore habitat, and control invasive species.
"USDA is proud to collaborate with the State of Hawaii on this important agreement that will improve the state's water quality and wildlife habitat. It will protect the Hawaiian Islands' vital watersheds and riparian areas on marginal pastureland and cropland," said Carolyn Cooksie, acting administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency.
The partnership, which is based on a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreement, will encourage preservation and restoration of land on Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai, and Oahu. The goal for this project is to enroll 2,000 acres for forest restoration and 13,000 acres for wetland restoration.
Participation in this program is voluntary, and the signup date will be announced soon. For more information about available practices and incentives, click here.
"USDA is proud to collaborate with the State of Hawaii on this important agreement that will improve the state's water quality and wildlife habitat. It will protect the Hawaiian Islands' vital watersheds and riparian areas on marginal pastureland and cropland," said Carolyn Cooksie, acting administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency.
The partnership, which is based on a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreement, will encourage preservation and restoration of land on Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai, and Oahu. The goal for this project is to enroll 2,000 acres for forest restoration and 13,000 acres for wetland restoration.
Participation in this program is voluntary, and the signup date will be announced soon. For more information about available practices and incentives, click here.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Provide Shelter for Wildlife and Conservation
Winter challenges the survival skills of even the healthiest wildlife. Winter shelters help protect animals from drifting snow, reduce wind chill exposure, and provide protection from predators.
Conservation benefits can also be achieved by providing winter cover such as a cattail slough at least 10 acres in size or a woody cover planting consisting of conifers and shrubs.
If you own land, consider making it easier for wildlife by providing cover and/or a food source on your property. If you want to add shelter to your property, work with what you already have. For example, you could add one or two rows of pine trees to an existing field windbreak.
Some government programs, like the Conservation Reserve Program, are set up to promote conservation and can also provide information on shelter benefits.
Conservation benefits can also be achieved by providing winter cover such as a cattail slough at least 10 acres in size or a woody cover planting consisting of conifers and shrubs.
If you own land, consider making it easier for wildlife by providing cover and/or a food source on your property. If you want to add shelter to your property, work with what you already have. For example, you could add one or two rows of pine trees to an existing field windbreak.
Some government programs, like the Conservation Reserve Program, are set up to promote conservation and can also provide information on shelter benefits.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)