Our National Parks and Monuments Need Our Attention

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit." — Edward Abbey

Bears Ears National Monument Photo: SierraClub.org

The above quote accompanied a recent daily environmental news site. How true this statement is. Its importance rings true particularly in light of Trumps call on Friday to Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah where he told him that he will soon be announcing his plan to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears national monument which was designated in 2016. This area of over 1.3 million acres contains ancient artifacts and land that is deemed sacred to several American Indian tribes. According to several news reports Trump told Hatch “I’m approving the Bears Ears recommendation for you, Orrin.” A statement such as this is typical of the president, where decisions appear to be made for an individual or particular special interest group instead of looking at issues holistically and how a decision or policy might impact not only people today, but also future generations. 

Last week I attended the Nature Conservancy's last movie in their Future of Nature series. An American Ascent aired at the Red River Theatres, Concord, and was followed by a discussion on inclusion of American Urban minorities in the environmental movement. The movie is a documentary about nine African Americans who together climb Denali, North America's highest peak in Alaska. The movie was made to show that participation in outdoor adventures is open and achievable by all who have the desire. Hopefully a new generation of young people, who may never have visited a national park or wilderness area, will be moved to step outside and experience the wonders that nature has to offer.

The Beauty of Spring in Grand Teton National Park

Whether it be a National Park, National Monument, Wilderness or Conservation area, our nation's public lands need to be protected and need to be a welcoming place for all. Any move by the current Administration to reduce the size or protections of our national monuments will certainly be met with legal challenges.

Further, our national parks are in desperate need of funding to address much needed repairs and improvements. In spite of this, the president's proposed fiscal year 2018 budget includes a 12% cut to the Department of Interior. To address this deficit, the National Park Service is proposing significant increases in entrance fees at seventeen popular parks during peak season. The current recommendation is to increase the vehicle fee to $70, which is more than double the current fee of  $30. There is no question that our public lands need additional funding, but instead of increasing fees investments in these precious resources should be a priority for our government since the payback is more than can ever be counted. Our National Parks instill a sense of awe and wonder and inspire all who visit. It is important that the entrance fees do not impose a barrier to any citizen who may already feel that a trip to a park is out of reach.

So, please contact the president, write your congressional representative, and support environmental organizations that work toward the conservation and management of public lands. Further, write the National Park Service and tell them to keep our parks affordable. See https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/10-24-2017-fee-changes-proposal.htm for how to provide comments on the new fee structure. The deadline for feedback is November 23rd.  

Everything is Confused this Fall

There is a monarch transforming inside

At the very end of September I spotted a monarch chrysalis attached to our bulkhead. I have now seen all three stages of this butterfly in our yard this year, starting with a gorgeous caterpillar

in July (see July 4th post). Then in August an adult was sipping nectar in the garden (see August 29th post.)

I was certainly not expecting to find a chrysalis during this time of year and I was worried that it would freeze before it had a chance to transform. In fact, a few days later it got very dark and I thought that maybe it had died, but it was actually the butterfly developing inside because on October 5th, this is all that was left -

Empty Monarch cocoon

I am happy that the butterfly emerged, but I wonder if it was too late in the year for it to survive the long migration to Mexico. With the frequency and severity of hurricanes this year, perhaps it was a good thing that this butterfly got a late start.

Now, three weeks later, we have yet to experience cool days and cold nights that are typical of Autumn. In fact, this past weekend both days were over seventy degrees. We have only had two mild frosts so far. Both required me to scrape my car windows, but neither killed my tomato or basil plants. This has been a very strange fall indeed. Although the shorter days signal to the plants and animals that summer has ended, at night the crickets are still chirping and the moths are still flying around the outdoor lamps. It definitely feels more like early September than late October.

The plants in the yard are confused too. This is the first year that I remember Lavender plants having a second bloom cycle.

Lavender blooming October 22nd

And even stranger than that are yellow flowers on a Forsythia bush.

The color of the leaves indicate that summer is over, but why is this Forsythia blooming in October?

I don't have to type the words "Climate Change" to make the point that the seasons are not what they used to be. Nature is responding and as pleasant as this warm weather may seem, the long-term consequences may not be. 

EPA Approves Spraying of Dicamba for Another Year

Dicamba Damaged Soybeans (photo: University of Missouri)

This summer farmers filed a record number of complaints to EPA and state agencies related to crop damage suspected from drift as a result of the aerial spraying of weed killers formulated with  dicamba. As a result lawsuits by farmers have been filed against the manufacturers of the chemical,  Monsanto, BASF, Dupont and Pioneer, and the Arkansas State Plant Board voted in September to ban the chemical application on crops from April to November. A public hearing has been set for November. EPA, however, announced on Friday that dicamba formulations designed to be used with specially engineered herbicide resistant soybean and cotton seeds could continue to be sprayed throughout next year's growing season with certain restrictions such as training and certification for applicators, record-keeping, and prohibitions on applying during certain time of the day or when wind speeds exceed 10 miles per hour. 


According to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt "Today's actions are the result of intensive, collaborative efforts, working side by side with the states and university scientists from across the nation who have first-hand knowledge of the problem and workable solutions. Our collective efforts with our state partners ensure we are relying on the best, on-the-ground, information."

 Of course the manufacturers are pleased with the decision, with Monsanto's spokesperson, Scott Partridge, stating that he expects the planting of their dicamba-resistant soybean seeds to double next year to 40 million acres. Farmers who do not want to purchase the specially formulated seeds are not convinced that the new EPA restrictions will be adequate in protecting their own crops against incidental damage and feel that they may be forced to buy the resistant seeds to stay in business. Read NPR story here: http://nhpr.org/post/ok-epa-use-controversial-weedkiller-expected-double#stream/0.

In the meantime, researchers continue to study alternatives to controlling weeds on soybean crops.   North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center conducted trials by planting Rye as a companion crop alongside soybeans and found multiple benefits. In addition to the suppression of weeds, the rye helps prevent soil erosion and can also be harvested as forage, providing additional income.

Bees need a variety of flowers to flourish

Do we really want to keep creating herbicide resistant seeds which promote the planting of mono-culture crops and the lose of biodiversity that comes along with it? As we have seen with glyphosate and other weed killers, weeds will eventually become resistant and new stronger chemicals will need to be created.  In addition to herbicide drift, beekeepers have also reported adverse impacts in the production of honey from bees located near dicamba-treated fields. It is suspected that the lose of nectar from the "non-desired weeds" is the cause. To some, weeds are only seen as something to be destroyed. However, in the complexity of nature, destroying one element, will result in some impact(s) to another. The preferred option should always be to try and work with nature and not against it. Unfortunately when profits are at stake it can be difficult to make the right choice when a short-term solution is presented and the potential long-term consequences are hidden or ignored.

October Hike Spaulding Mountain

Sunday my friend Sue and I completed our last 4000 hike for the season - Spaulding Moutain in the Carrabessett Valley of Maine. This was our fourth time, parking at the end of the Caribou Valley Road, with it's potholes and precarious stream crossings. Actually, since our first trip to hike the Crockers in 2014, significant repairs to the road have been made, so that the drive was not as bad as expected. In the past, we have driven the four hours to this area and completed our hike all in one day. But, we have learned that this resulted in a late morning start, and a drive back through moose country at dusk. This resulted in a long journey with white-knuckled driving as moose would walk, and sometimes run directly in front of our car. To avoid dealing with these near misses, for the past two trips we have driven up the day before and spent the night at a nearby hotel. In August we stayed at the Herbert Grand in Kingfield Maine before hiking Mount Abram. For this trip, the Herbert Grand was full, so we stayed in Rangeley at the Saddleback Inn, a basic two story motel that offers a fantastic view of the lake. The accomodations were adequate, however the Pop-Tarts and bagels, do not count as breakfast in my book, so we had eggs down the hill at Rangeley's Moose Loop Cafe.

Sunset on Rangeley Lake

This plank takes the guess work out of where to cross

I did not sleep well Saturday night and woke up feeling under the weather. I was not sure that I would even be able to start the hike, let alone finish it. But it would have been hard to have come all that way and then to turn around. I am glad that I persisted, but it was slow going. We completed the nine-plus mile round-trip hike in eight hours which is almost two hours over book time. This hike is completely on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and is not one to be taken lightly. The crossing on the South Branch of the Carrabassett River was easy since the water was low and someone had installed a single plank between two large boulders. Immediately after crossing the river the trail climbed moderately and then steeply. There was little opportunity for a cardio warmup.

The climb up was grueling and great caution needed to be taken on the descent.

The first 2.3 miles we had done before two years earlier when we had hiked Sugarloaf. In retrospect, it is best to do these two mountains together and only do this stretch once. If you are in shape and can spot a car, you could add Mount Abram as part of a traverse. Another option to consider is to hike over Sugarloaf using one of the ski trails and then continue on the AT toward Spaulding.

Surprisingly, few trees had changed color. It has been unseasonably warm, and although there was frost on our windshield in the morning, there have been few nights below freezing. So, even though the days are getting shorter, the temperature is not signaling the leaves to stop their production of chlorophyll. It was a perfect day for hiking though - comfortably cool and clear.

There are some beautiful views on this stretch of the AT

Although there were no red leaves, the crimson berries of Mountain Laurel and Mountain Ash provided plenty of color.

Mountain Laurel (left) and Mountain Ash berries

After reaching the junction for the Sugarloaf summit spur, we beared right to stay on the AT. Although the section to Spaulding involves a descent and then a climb, it was not difficult. What is disappointing is the sign at the top of the mountain that reads the height as 3988 feet. According to one blogger, this peak was added to the AMCs New England 4000 footer list in 1998. Apparently recalculated USGS measurements have it at 4010 feet, which is what is shown in the Maine Mountain Guide. It would be nice for us peak baggers if the Maine Appalachian Trail Club agreed and replaced their sign. 

From a stamina perspective, I was happy when we started heading down. My knees on the other hand felt differently. We took it easy, but were still surprised that it only took us a half hour less to descend than to climb. We are happy to be done and to say goodbye to the Carrabassett Valley. If all goes well next year we will tackle the mountains of Baxter State Park!