This weekend, I had to work. "Work" for me involved putting on waders and hiking to several sites to do water sampling. These samples are sent to the lab for water quality analyses. As long as the work gets done on time, I can choose my own schedule. Because of this freedom and the fact that I usually choose a day when the sun is shining brightly and the temperature is moderate, it's all quite marvelous. This is why my job pays so very, very little.
I was at the 12th site of 20. It was mid-day, the sun was shining brightly, and I was filling out my last form for this site when I heard a dog barking and growling in the distance. Down the hill, near my truck, I could see an older man walking his (unleashed) dog and a middle-aged woman sauntering with her three (all unleashed) dogs, one of whom was being aggressive.
This area is town-owned open space property saved from development by some quick thinking on both the town's and the developer's parts -- and the fact that this is where the wetlands are and really no building can occur here without some costly jostling. It's big, open, meadow-ed, forested, wetland-ed, and river-ed. A really gorgeous spot...if you like that sort of thing. The only rule is that dogs must be on leash and the owners must pick up after their dogs.
This one, solitary, rule is routinely ignored by nearly everyone who sets foot on this property.
Just an hour before, when I exited the truck, I was accosted by a Great Dane whose owner sheepishly said something like, "He's so friendly!" as he jogged after his dog who had left two muddy paw prints on my chest and a spray of dog drool down my cheek.
Now, back down the hill, the man was frantically trying to keep this growling dog off his small terrier who, despite its diminutive size, was giving the larger, heavier, more aggressive dog the "ok #@*, bring it on" look. The woman, meanwhile, was strolling over, calling to her dog, "Here Trusty, good dog, good dog." Now, I'm no canine behaviorist, but even I know that telling your dog that s/he is being "good" when s/he is about to take out another animal, is asinine. But she did.
I stood in awe and watched as the older man caught up to his (unleashed) dog, scooped it up, and walked off giving the woman a cold, hard stare. She called her dog again and miraculously, it gave up on the man holding the squirming terrier. I don't think she even stopped walking the entire time. She deftly avoided the pile her other dog left on the trail. Did I even think that she would pick it up? I mean, the town only provides several stations where bags and deposits are welcome.
I felt the ire rising, and mentally squashed it down, finally finding my pen in my waders, and heading to the truck for the next site. Of course, you knew that the Clueless Dog Owner's Aggressive Dog was going to see me didn't you?
Up the hill it came barreling toward me. It stood squarely in my path and barked, then growled when I attempted to move around it. The Clueless One came up behind it and called it over. "Shouldn't your dog be on leash?!" I said. "What?" she replied as if I was the dog dung she had left down the path. "This dog should be on lead!" I stated, more firmly now as the dog eyed the part of my throat he desired most. "I'm just taking them for a swim," she said a bit uncertainly. I'm sure there was steam exiting every pore of my body.
She walked on with her pack, leaving me ticked off with humanity. As I took another incredulous look over my shoulder, another one of the pack was depositing a second gift for the trail. She was up ahead, clueless.
In case you're reading this and you agree with Clueless, here are several reasons why you're wrong:
1) Open space is for everyone, not just you. Your dog may be friendly with you, but s/he may be a raving lunatic to someone else. S/he may attack another person or another dog. S/he may frighten another person, another dog, or a child. S/he may kill another person or dog. If you won't leash your dog because it's the right thing to do, leash your dog because it's the law.
2) A woman I know is coming off a year of pain because some moron had two
untrained, unleashed mastiffs in his yard. They saw her and her dog across the
street taking a walk, ran across the street, and attacked them. She has limited mobility and huge vet and medical bills; her
dog is now afraid of other dogs; and the owner of the mastiffs is being
sued. Would you like that to happen to you?
3) You should pick up your dog's waste. Dog waste pollutes the water supply, kills fish, encourages harmful bacteria, spreads parasites. It's a disgusting pain in the ass to step in. It's not fun to smell or look at. If you don't want to pick up dog waste, don't get a dog. A plastic plant is just the thing for you. If you don't want to pick up your dog's waste because it's the right thing to do, do it because it's the law.
4) If you think dogs need to "run free". Fence your yard and knock yourself out. "Free" running dogs hurt others, can get killed by cars, other dogs, or can be killed by ingesting something it shouldn't be eating. Free running dogs can be injured by other animals.
5) If you own a dog, train your dog properly. Telling your space cadet that it is a "good dog" while it is growling, snarling, or doing something else inappropriate is reinforcing negative behaviour. Can't afford a dog training class? Go to the library and read a dog training book. Learn!
6) Yes, I do pick up after my own dogs. And yes, I keep my dogs on leash. Is it a pain in the ass? Yes, it is. But, it's the right thing to do, it's the law, and there are other beings on this earth besides me. Plus, I hate plastic plants.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
This is a permitted release?!
Last week, my friend and I were walking the river here in town. Late afternoon, the temperatures were warm, the light had that special fresh glow that can only be spring, and birdsong surrounded. The afternoon was one that almost made one forget the issues of the day. He was fishing and I was absently checking out a pair of common mergansers about 75 feet away when he yelled that the water was really warm. Apparently, last weekend he was fishing while freezing his feet off (Can I help it if the man fishes in sandals?) and today, it was comfortably warm.
The week prior had been one of those disturbingly warm spring weeks that makes me think there is definite proof to climate change. My household thermometer showed 91 degrees F in the sun one day and it hadn't rained in over two weeks. So, I supposed it was feasible that this week would have warmer water temperatures as I reached down to flick a tick off my leg and into the water. I felt sorry for the trout as with the unseasonably warm temperatures, the mergansers, my friend fishing (even though he is a catch and release guy), and the low water, it was a tough week all around. Then he said the river was rising.
Rising?! Moving quickly and frightening the birds out of their feathers, I moved toward him and noticed that the river was flowing much faster. I turned and walked upstream to where a smaller brook met and melted into the larger river. The smaller brook was running thin and sparse, but the main branch was oddly enthusiastic.
Time for a road trip. We followed the river upstream to another pond where the water was flowing under, over and around a dam. WTF?! One guy was out with a cam corder. The wetlands nearby were running high and you could only see the tips of the drowning skunk cabbage. We took a quick detour since, by now, I was curious as to what the hell was going on and my enforcement mentality was taking over...much to my eventual chagrin.
I had a hunch that it was a dam release or beaver dam break (with the help of some neanderthals) on private property. I took some photographs out of habit. We circled the large rural block and my hunch was confirmed. Dry wetland hummocks at one end of the site; gushing water at the other. The water was definitely coming from this site. Of course, it was private property and we couldn't enter, though a couple of lies came to mind to tell the neighbors, but I held off...probably because my friend was with me. The good news was that I had been on that property before for work (much to the owners' chagrin) and I knew that property well.
My friend the fisherman was irritated. Why would someone release all this water now during near drought-like conditions, warm weather, and in the spring when the rivers were just stocked? I agreed but was much less surprised. My friend is an optimist and while I admire his outlook, I obviously don't share it. Why? Because I know why someone would release all this water now. Because they can, of course. Why think of anyone else, of anyTHING else but themselves? People damage the environment when it's convenient for them, when they're bored, when they're choosing not think, when they don't care, when no one is looking. It's what they are. Calling them pond scum would offend pond scum. Really.
My friend started making a list of all the people who should be contacted and told me to get on it assuming (erroneously it proved) that my previous work experience would give my report more credence (and leave him comfortably out of it). I left my last job because I had become so occluded about the nature of mankind that I was nearly impossible to live with. (I know, you're shocked, shocked.) I hated looking at someone and thinking, "How many seconds til the lies start?"
Anyway, I left. Now, my friend was asking me to dive in...again.
So, of course, imbecile that I am, I dove. First, I was told that it was probably road work from the next town over. Then I was told it was a permitted release. Then I was told that the Inland Wetlands Commission had no jurisdiction here. Then, I was told photographs weren't conclusive of a dam break. Then, I got pissed off. So, I called the next town over and checked with the state DEP. No and yes.
No, the next town hadn't done anything. Yes, state Dam Safety had contacted the property owner last year in the late fall and told them to remove vegetation and the beaver dam as soon as possible. So, the property owner waited until a hot spring with drought-like conditions and a trout release the previous week to do the work. Brilliant.
I got the usual polite thank you and did I need anything else from the state? I could think of one or two things but while I was mentally reigning in a particular thought, I heard from the state that it's too expensive for property owners to hire a consultant (or apparently to educate themselves) before doing the work. Too expensive to hire a professional? If it's too expensive to care for a dam properly, maybe the property owners shouldn't own a dam? (Um, why does he need a huge pond anyway? Let it revert to wetland..it's cheaper!) Maybe paupers and people with prehistoric cranial cavities shouldn't be in charge of millions of gallons of water. Maybe.
Mentally bashing my head against the proverbial brick wall, I suggested adding guidance to their letters and even, brace yourself, offered to help write up any guidance they might want to offer property owners in the future. I received another polite thank you and to sum up, yes, this was a permitted release.
This is a permitted release?! If this is a permitted release and this (choose your own adjective) property owner can drain a wetland anytime he wants (it's dam/n maintenance) with no thought to fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, wildlife, birds, or heaven forbid, downstream users like kids playing in the stream...then where is the protection of the environment? or downstream users? Where did the "protection" go? Down the damn stream.
The week prior had been one of those disturbingly warm spring weeks that makes me think there is definite proof to climate change. My household thermometer showed 91 degrees F in the sun one day and it hadn't rained in over two weeks. So, I supposed it was feasible that this week would have warmer water temperatures as I reached down to flick a tick off my leg and into the water. I felt sorry for the trout as with the unseasonably warm temperatures, the mergansers, my friend fishing (even though he is a catch and release guy), and the low water, it was a tough week all around. Then he said the river was rising.
Rising?! Moving quickly and frightening the birds out of their feathers, I moved toward him and noticed that the river was flowing much faster. I turned and walked upstream to where a smaller brook met and melted into the larger river. The smaller brook was running thin and sparse, but the main branch was oddly enthusiastic.
Time for a road trip. We followed the river upstream to another pond where the water was flowing under, over and around a dam. WTF?! One guy was out with a cam corder. The wetlands nearby were running high and you could only see the tips of the drowning skunk cabbage. We took a quick detour since, by now, I was curious as to what the hell was going on and my enforcement mentality was taking over...much to my eventual chagrin.
I had a hunch that it was a dam release or beaver dam break (with the help of some neanderthals) on private property. I took some photographs out of habit. We circled the large rural block and my hunch was confirmed. Dry wetland hummocks at one end of the site; gushing water at the other. The water was definitely coming from this site. Of course, it was private property and we couldn't enter, though a couple of lies came to mind to tell the neighbors, but I held off...probably because my friend was with me. The good news was that I had been on that property before for work (much to the owners' chagrin) and I knew that property well.
My friend the fisherman was irritated. Why would someone release all this water now during near drought-like conditions, warm weather, and in the spring when the rivers were just stocked? I agreed but was much less surprised. My friend is an optimist and while I admire his outlook, I obviously don't share it. Why? Because I know why someone would release all this water now. Because they can, of course. Why think of anyone else, of anyTHING else but themselves? People damage the environment when it's convenient for them, when they're bored, when they're choosing not think, when they don't care, when no one is looking. It's what they are. Calling them pond scum would offend pond scum. Really.
My friend started making a list of all the people who should be contacted and told me to get on it assuming (erroneously it proved) that my previous work experience would give my report more credence (and leave him comfortably out of it). I left my last job because I had become so occluded about the nature of mankind that I was nearly impossible to live with. (I know, you're shocked, shocked.) I hated looking at someone and thinking, "How many seconds til the lies start?"
Anyway, I left. Now, my friend was asking me to dive in...again.
So, of course, imbecile that I am, I dove. First, I was told that it was probably road work from the next town over. Then I was told it was a permitted release. Then I was told that the Inland Wetlands Commission had no jurisdiction here. Then, I was told photographs weren't conclusive of a dam break. Then, I got pissed off. So, I called the next town over and checked with the state DEP. No and yes.
No, the next town hadn't done anything. Yes, state Dam Safety had contacted the property owner last year in the late fall and told them to remove vegetation and the beaver dam as soon as possible. So, the property owner waited until a hot spring with drought-like conditions and a trout release the previous week to do the work. Brilliant.
I got the usual polite thank you and did I need anything else from the state? I could think of one or two things but while I was mentally reigning in a particular thought, I heard from the state that it's too expensive for property owners to hire a consultant (or apparently to educate themselves) before doing the work. Too expensive to hire a professional? If it's too expensive to care for a dam properly, maybe the property owners shouldn't own a dam? (Um, why does he need a huge pond anyway? Let it revert to wetland..it's cheaper!) Maybe paupers and people with prehistoric cranial cavities shouldn't be in charge of millions of gallons of water. Maybe.
Mentally bashing my head against the proverbial brick wall, I suggested adding guidance to their letters and even, brace yourself, offered to help write up any guidance they might want to offer property owners in the future. I received another polite thank you and to sum up, yes, this was a permitted release.
This is a permitted release?! If this is a permitted release and this (choose your own adjective) property owner can drain a wetland anytime he wants (it's dam/n maintenance) with no thought to fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, wildlife, birds, or heaven forbid, downstream users like kids playing in the stream...then where is the protection of the environment? or downstream users? Where did the "protection" go? Down the damn stream.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Harangue 1: Lawn
I feel a bit schizophrenic lately as my life and profession requires me to be polite, persuasive, and patient. I must say that I don't often feel that way when faced with certain circumstances...or people. My true feelings tend to erupt (accurate word) when I'm home and my wonderful spouse listens patiently to the harangue. This is another reason for this blog. You see, although I am a curmudgeon, I do enjoy my family life and don't mean to keep alluding to hermit life. So I can now spew my harangue into the faceless void. And you, dear reader, can read or not as you see fit. And I don't need to worry about convincing you or changing your mind, or being polite!
If you do finish the harangue, I suppose I do hope you'll be educated and want to change some aspects of your life or at least read up on things to see if I'm a complete nut or not. Or you can do what most people do: nothing.
My main gripe, today, is that I don't understand how people can exist in a state so completely clueless about what they're doing in their own front yard. Even otherwise intelligent people.
Take lawns for instance. What is it with lawns?! Why do you need so damn much fertilized, pesticided, herbicided, clipped, lymed, seeded, watered, brushed (yes, I observed this with my own eyes) lawn? Do you know what an environmental wasteland lawn is? One species, almost always not native to the area, and little to nothing living in it. No beneficial insects, no butterflies, bees, birds, pollinators, no diversity, no sense. As we continue to build when every other house remains "For Sale", we wipe out more and more habitat for species other than ourselves. And how long do you think we'll be around once we've polluted our water?
For those of you not in the know, when John and Jane decide to clear every tree, bush, and plant from their yard (save the "ornamentals" -- read: not native) to create lawn, they are obliterating habitat for insects and pollinators that we need to grow crops, and make food. When additives are placed on the lawns without a soil test to determine whether they're needed, they are washed off during the next rain and enter our storm drains which, by the way, do not go to a treatment system. These storm drains are taking the additives from John and Jane's lawn and are releasing them into the rivers and streams. This polluted water is hotter than it would otherwise be because there is no dratted shade on the property. So we have hot polluted runoff killing our fish and poisoning our waters. Nice lawn!
What is it with the lawn? I rarely see an adult or child playing on the lawn. If your kids actually play on the lawn, do you really need so much lawn? Can't you have a smaller lawn area not preternaturally greened for them to play on? And then add a meadow and native platings? Wouldn't a meadow filled with native plants, flowers and butterflies be more attractive to a adults and children? Wouldn't shrubs that they can hide in be more fun? Wouldn't a permeable walkway surrounded by the plants, bushes, and trees that have lived here for hundreds of years and who have nurtured wildlife, birds and beneficial insects be more of a paradise than grass?
Then there is cutting it. Hiring people to cut, blow, -icide it. Do you know how much gas and energy that uses? And all those clippings are taken away. Why not push mow it? That will limit the size! Leave the clippings to provide nutrients back to the soil. Use less gas. Stop making so much noise.
What is lawn for? Is it supposed to make us look smart or affluent? Well, it doesn't. It just makes us look ignorant.
If you do finish the harangue, I suppose I do hope you'll be educated and want to change some aspects of your life or at least read up on things to see if I'm a complete nut or not. Or you can do what most people do: nothing.
My main gripe, today, is that I don't understand how people can exist in a state so completely clueless about what they're doing in their own front yard. Even otherwise intelligent people.
Take lawns for instance. What is it with lawns?! Why do you need so damn much fertilized, pesticided, herbicided, clipped, lymed, seeded, watered, brushed (yes, I observed this with my own eyes) lawn? Do you know what an environmental wasteland lawn is? One species, almost always not native to the area, and little to nothing living in it. No beneficial insects, no butterflies, bees, birds, pollinators, no diversity, no sense. As we continue to build when every other house remains "For Sale", we wipe out more and more habitat for species other than ourselves. And how long do you think we'll be around once we've polluted our water?
For those of you not in the know, when John and Jane decide to clear every tree, bush, and plant from their yard (save the "ornamentals" -- read: not native) to create lawn, they are obliterating habitat for insects and pollinators that we need to grow crops, and make food. When additives are placed on the lawns without a soil test to determine whether they're needed, they are washed off during the next rain and enter our storm drains which, by the way, do not go to a treatment system. These storm drains are taking the additives from John and Jane's lawn and are releasing them into the rivers and streams. This polluted water is hotter than it would otherwise be because there is no dratted shade on the property. So we have hot polluted runoff killing our fish and poisoning our waters. Nice lawn!
What is it with the lawn? I rarely see an adult or child playing on the lawn. If your kids actually play on the lawn, do you really need so much lawn? Can't you have a smaller lawn area not preternaturally greened for them to play on? And then add a meadow and native platings? Wouldn't a meadow filled with native plants, flowers and butterflies be more attractive to a adults and children? Wouldn't shrubs that they can hide in be more fun? Wouldn't a permeable walkway surrounded by the plants, bushes, and trees that have lived here for hundreds of years and who have nurtured wildlife, birds and beneficial insects be more of a paradise than grass?
Then there is cutting it. Hiring people to cut, blow, -icide it. Do you know how much gas and energy that uses? And all those clippings are taken away. Why not push mow it? That will limit the size! Leave the clippings to provide nutrients back to the soil. Use less gas. Stop making so much noise.
What is lawn for? Is it supposed to make us look smart or affluent? Well, it doesn't. It just makes us look ignorant.
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