An era of land conservation in Louisiana

I am currently reading the August Book of the Month - The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, by Jack E Davis, and delved into the history of many of the largest refuges in Louisiana. Edward Avery McIlhenny was the force behind three big wildlife refuges, by buying or orchestrating their creation. 

I shared some of this on Twitter but here goes in more detail:

1. State Wildlife Refuge
Edward McIlhenny, of Tabasco family fame, was an avid conservationist who fought to save egrets from poaching and outright slaughter in the late 1800s. He set aside property at Avery Island, his family's place, to help raise egrets in safety from hunters. He succeeded there and expanded his efforts to conserving more land in Louisiana. In 1911, He and Charles Willis Ward bought 13,000 acres and donated it to the state for use as a wildlife refuge. That today is State Wildlife Refuge.   

2. Marsh Island Wildlife Refuge
Olivia Sage, widow of millionaire Russell Sage, used her inheritance for philanthropy. Ward & McIlhenny convinced her to buy Marsh Island, around 76,000 acres in Vermilion Bay, and donate it to the state of Louisiana for bird conservation. She did it right away and today we have Marsh Island Wildlife Refuge.

3.  Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
McIlhenny yet again bought a large tract of land and was instrumental in its protection for wildlife. He bought 86,000 acres of wetland on the coast with borrowed money, and then found a benefactor in the millionaire John D Rockefeller to buy the land from him and donate it to Louisiana for use as a wildlife refuge. The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge is still going strong today.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund

Yesterday, 1 October 2018, the Land and Water Conservation Fund expired. It's insane to me that programs like that do expire, but that's another point. ESPECIALLY programs that don't cost the taxpayers any money and are for the good of all people.

If you've never heard of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), here's the basic primer. 

The LWCF "is a Federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all Americans. The main emphases of the fund are recreation and the protection of national natural treasures in the forms of parks and protected forest and wildlife areas." [source] 

So the whole point of the LWCF is basically to secure land for the enjoyment of the general public. Which is pretty awesome, in my opinion, and those politicians in the 1960s maybe got a few things right. 

So far, in the last 50 years, the LWCF has protected 5 million acres of land all over the country. You can see a map of all the projects HERE that was put together by The Wilderness Society.  

Funding for LWCF comes energy company royalties. Oil and gas companies pay royalties to the federal government to conduct offshore drilling. A portion of those revenues goes to fund the LWCF. That money is then used to buy land for public access and use. So at no cost to me or you the taxpayers (and at no additional cost to the energy companies - because they were paying this money anyway), we get funding for conservation works, parks, public lands, and other related projects. This is everything. 

And Congress got lazy and let it lapse. It isn't the first time. And maybe it won't be the last time. But honestly it SHOULD be the last time. Permanent reauthorization of the LWCF is a no-brainer and tell your Senators/Representatives as much. 

There are currently multiple bills that have been introduced. 

1) S.569 "Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act" 

2) S.896 "A bill to permanent reauthorize LWCF"

3) HR.502 "To permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund"

4) HR.6759 "Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act"

Less legalese updates can be found on the LWCF Coalition page HERE. 

It seems likely that they will come to an agreement, and permanent funding could be possible. But continued support and action is important so keep telling your Senators & Reps!

Take action by signing the LWCF Coalition Letter HERE.

News articles: 

Expired: Congress Fails to Reauthorize Land and Water Conservation Fund GearJunkie, 10/1/2018

Congress allows parks program to expire over the weekend Think Progress, 10/1/2018

More information:  

LWCF Coalition

Mapping the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)

The Wilderness Society, accessed 2 October 2018

Why LWCF Matters

Continental Divide Trail Coalition, accessed 2 October 2018

It's time to #SaveLWCF

Pacific Crest Trail Association, accessed 2 October 2018

LWCF: A Win for Conservation and Our Economy, but Only if Congress Acts

The Nature Conservancy, accessed 2 October 2018

Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Wilderness Society, accessed 2 October 2018

Land and Water Conservation Fund

Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2018

Plastic is a Problem

Plastic is everywhere. Literally everywhere. It's in the microbeads in toiletries, it's woven into clothing as synthetic fibers, it's the waxy coating on a paper cup, it's in shiny wrapping paper that's ubiquitous at holidays, it's in everything we consume on a daily basis and don't even realize it. The microfibers and microbeads end up in the water supply and are literally everywhere. 

Plastic is cheap, durable, and can be used in almost anything. From a business perspective, I understand; from an environmental perspective, I'm appalled. 

The biggest problem with plastics are the single use plastics. That includes straws, cigarette filters, cups from drive thru restaurants, plastic zippy bags from the kitchen, food jars, milk jugs, yogurt containers, plastic bags of any kind, drink lids, to go cutlery, drink bottles, single person water bottles, and the list goes on and on. It's nearly never ending. 

That plastic single use straw you didn't really need to drink your soda at the restaurant where you ate lunch isn't recyclable, and will end up in the trash, and therefore in a landfill, and maybe one day end up in the ocean, and then in a sea turtle. That may sound extreme, but it happens. 

Straws are the gateway plastic.       

Yesterday I encountered single use plastic no fewer than 4 times even though I spent most of my day at home yesterday and ate out only for breakfast because I was desperate and late for work. 

#1 - Smoothie King to go cup and lid

#2 - Smoothie King straw

#3 - Film packaging on a package of ground beef

#4 - Plastic jar of spaghetti sauce

Single use plastics are often not recyclable, or are not recycled even when they are recyclable. 

But then there are the bigger battles. My Smoothie King cup was unfortunately plastic, but that's an improvement over styrofoam, so also my cup was fortunately plastic. I can't recycle the straw they gave me and they wouldn't take it back at the window so I ended up just giving in and using it. The battles continues on every day. 

There is reason to hope, of course. There always is. Hope is never fully lost. 

There are simple actionable tasks you can do daily to reduce your plastic consumption. To name a few: 

1) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

2) Refuse a straw. You don't need it. You habitually think you do, but you don't. 

3) Say no to the plastic bag. Bring your own reusable bags to the shop. 

4) Use a reusable and refillable water bottle instead of single use bottles. 

5) Bring a reusable container for leftovers if you go out to eat. 

6) Pack your meals in reusable containers instead of plastic baggies. 

7) Avoid toiletries with microbeads in them

8) Don't buy items that are wrapped in plastic

9) Lunch takeout in the workday is easily solved - keep reusable cutlery, napkins, & a straw in your desk

10) Buy in bulk and store the extra so you can reduce packaging!

11) DON'T LITTER. 

I personally already bring reusable bags to the grocery by keeping a stash in my car. I also have reusable produce bags. I have metal straws stashed in my car and desk at work. I have a stash of spoons leftover from the froyo place that I leave in my desk and take home and wash periodically. I typically bring my lunch in plastic containers but they're reusable. I have a reusable Camelbak water bottle that I have been toting around with me since Flagstaff AZ in 2009. It's plastic but going on 10 years old now. That's a lot of single use bottles saved! I don't eat takeout often but generally I will not get a drink if possible. When I drink sodas I tend to drink them in cans to limit plastic consumption but also soda consumption by volume. 

Like everyone I have areas to work on. I end up at Subway once a week or so and end up with the plastic bag. However I at least reuse the plastic bags I do end up with to clean the cat litter box (though I could probably be more environmentally friendly here too, hmm....). I still need to focus more on plastic packaging at the grocery store, which is the hardest place to reduce consumption because the options are often limited. 

Despite the prevalence and ease of single use plastics, we don't need them. Do your part. Reduce your use of plastic in your everyday life. Recycle what you do end up with. 

Sign the National Geographic pledge to reduce your plastic consumption HERE. 

Organizations doing good work

Plastic Pollution Coalition

National Geographic: Planet or Plastic?

The Ocean Cleanup

4Ocean

More information: 

WE MADE PLASTIC. WE DEPEND ON IT. NOW WE'RE DROWNING IN IT.

National Geographic, accessed 27 September 2018

Get Started Living Plastic Free

Plastic Pollution Coalition, accessed 27 September 2018

Fast Facts About Plastic Pollution

National Geographic, accessed 27 September 2018

Fact Sheet: Single Use Plastics

Earth Day Network, accessed 27 September 2018

LESSONS FROM PLASTIC FREE JULY

Bee's Wrap, accessed  27 September 2018  

Half a billion plastic straws are used and discarded every day. What an unacceptable waste

Los Angeles Times, accessed 27 September 2018

Plastic Pollution

Our World in Data, accessed 27 September 2018  

OC Book of the Month

I've decided to start reading 1 special conservation related book each month. Some will be new to me, some will be re-reads. I read pretty extensively in general, but haven't been focusing on science/conservation relevant material in awhile. This whole social media awareness/advocacy endeavor has reignited my spark so I am dedicated to going through the books related to this field.

I will alternate picks between classic books or iconic authors from the field, and newer more current reads.

If you'd like to join me on this educational and inspirational journey, check out our online book club on Goodreads! I have also been sharing quotes from each month's books using #ocbookofthemonth from @outdoorconserv :)

1. Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey (September 2018): Review
2. Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future, Edward Struzik (October 2018): Review
3. Our National Parks, John Muir (November 2018): Review
4. Silent Spring, Rachel Carson (December 2018): Review
5. Who Rules the Earth?, Paul Steinberg (January 2019): Review
6. A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold (February 2019) Review
7. Sea Change, Sylvia Earle (March 2019) Review
8. The Future of Life, EO Wilson (April 2019) Review
9. The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert (May 2019) Review
10.  The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner (June 2019) Review
11. Grizzly Years, Doug Peacock (July 2019) Review
12. The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, Jack E Davis (August 2019)

Readings

I'm an avid reader, and incredible nerd, so I have read tons of books related to the outdoors, nature, conservation, hunting, recreation, all kinds of science, physics, land ethics, and on. Here are my recommended readings, and I will only recommend a book if I've actually read it myself. These are alphabetical by book title, and mostly nonfiction but there are a handful of fiction books out there with themes appropriate to the cause that I will include. Also I will expand on this list the more books I read and want to recommend.

Come join the conversation on Goodreads at the official Outdoor Conservation Book Club!


A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking

A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Barkskins, Annie Proulx [fiction]

Bayou Farewell, Mike Tidwell

Cathedral of the Wild: An African Journey Home, Boyd Varty

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey

Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future, Edward Struzik

Grizzly Years, Doug Peacock

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How It Can Renew America, Thomas L Friedman

Island, Aldous Huxley [fiction]

Jimmy Bluefeather, Kim Heacox [fiction]

Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv

Our National Parks, John Muir

Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen

Pale Blue Dot, Carl Sagan

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, Terry Tempest Williams

Rising Tide, John M Barry

Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans, Sylvia Earle

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

Tip of the Iceberg, Mark Adams

The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner

The Big Burn, Timothy Egan

The Great Deluge, Douglas Brinkley

The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins

The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, Jack E Davis

The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks, Terry Tempest Williams

The Future of Life, EO Wilson

The Lorax, Dr Seuss [fiction]

The Ravaging Tide, Mike Tidwell

The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert

Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, Bill Nye

Who Rules the Earth? Paul Steinberg

Organizations

There's many resources and organizations out there for wildlife, conservation, restoration, advocacy, science, national parks, refuges, forests, rainforests, birds, sharks, and preservation in general. Below are the ones I have found, which will also be updated over time.

African Wildlife Conservation Fund

African Wildlife Foundation

Alliance for America's Fish and Wildlife

American Bird Conservancy

American Hiking Society

American Rivers

Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life

Appalachian Mountain Club's Conservation Action Network

Audubon Action Network

BirdLife International

Center for Biological Diversity

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Coastal Conservation Association

Conservation Alliance

Conservation Fund

Conservation International

Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean

Conservation Leadership Programme

Defenders of Wildlife

Delta Waterfowl

Ducks Unlimited

Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders

Environmental Defense Fund

Environmental Leadership Program

Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative

Environment America

Freshwater Future

Grand Canyon Trust

Grand Staircase Escalante Partners

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance

Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund

Gulf Restoration Network

Institute for Conservation Leadership

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Izaak Walton League of America

Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance

Leave No Trace

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Louisiana Environmental Action Network

Louisiana Wildlife Federation

MantaWatch

Marine Conservation Institute

Marine Conservation Society

Mississippi Wildlife Federation

National Conservation Leadership Institute

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

National Forest Foundation

National Park Foundation

National Parks Conservation Association

National Wildlife Federation

North Carolina Conservation Network

Ocean Conservancy

Oklahoma Conservation Leadership Academy

Outdoor Alliance

Outward Bound

Painted Dog Foundation

Project AWARE

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Rainforest Action Network

Sierra Club

Student Conservation Association

Surfrider Foundation

The Nature Conservancy

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Washington Trails Association

Waterkeeper Alliance

Wildcoast

Wildlife Alliance

Wildlife Conservation Network

Wildlife Conservation Society

Wild South

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

World Wildlife Fund

Wyoming Outdoor Council

Definitions

We all have to start somewhere, so we might as well start at the basics. Definitions of words used in the scientific world are often very different from their everyday use. So let's start with the basics, the founding blocks of everything we will be talking about, and define these terms that will pop up so often. I will add to this reference definition list as necessary!

Climate Change: The current state of Earth's climate where average yearly mean temperature is increasing, sea levels are rising, and local weather events becomes more severe, frequent, and unpredictable. Often simplified as "global warming" but in reality while the globe is warming, there's also rising sea levels, ocean acidification, melting polar ice caps, and species extinctions to name a few. Historically the world has warmed and cooled many times over, but always naturally and not caused or exacerbated by humans. We are currently in anthropogenic climate change, because human activities are the main factor and source [source].

Conservation Biology: "The management of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions." [source] I couldn't have said it better myself, though I often refer to it just as "conservation".

Ecology: Wikipedia sums it up nicely - "the branch of biology which studies the interactions among organisms and their environment". [source]

Ecosystem: "...a community made up of living organisms and nonliving components such as air, water, and mineral soil." [source] Example: white-tailed deer, the forest they live in, and the stream that runs through the forest could be an ecosystem.

Eradication: The complete and utter removal of something. In ecology, to eradicate a species means to remove all individuals of that species from a place. Example: Eradicating (removing) all rats from an island.

Erosion: The natural process where material is removed from one place by wind energy, water energy, or another natural activity. Example: Waves lapping against a shoreline, gradually removing soil and moving it elsewhere is a classic example of erosion. This differs from subsidence in that the material is removed, not compacted.

Herbivory: The eating of plants, generally by animals (deer, nutria, etc).

Invasive: In ecology this is a species that is not native to a location, and spreads prolifically while wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

Native: Belonging to a specific place. Example: Baldcypress trees are native to Louisiana.

Outdoors: The great wide open; anywhere outside; in nature; free from human built confines; and my happy place. I use this term more broadly to mean anywhere in nature and to encompass all natural features - birds, plants, mountains, geological features, basically anything not man-made. There's no doors here and nothing but adventure and love to be had.

Preservation: The process of protecting something in its existing state.

Species: A group of organisms that can interbreed, have the same features, and are distinct from other groups of organisms. Example: Humans (Homo sapiens), or my favorite bird the Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus).

Stewardship: An ethical and actual responsibility to safeguard, protect, and conserve the natural environment and all its pieces.

Subsidence: The natural process where land gradual gradual compacts and/or sinks, decreasing the overall elevation of the surface. This is a common feature and process in wetland landscapes. This differs from erosion in that the material sinks, but is not removed.

Sustainability: The process of maintaining and sustaining a resource at a viable level in such a way that it causes equilibrium between consumption and renewal. Example: Cutting down 10 trees for timber and planting 10 new ones for future use is sustainable because there's no net loss.

Theory: In science, a theory is well tested, repeatedly proven, and one of the most proven of scientific knowledge. Theories are developed and proven after hypothesis testing and repeated experiment. The US National Academy of Sciences defines theory as: "a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Many scientific theories are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them substantially." [source]