permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@sunsite.unc.edu>]

----------------------------------
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
----=+=----
InterGarden
mailto:london@sunSITE.unc.edu
http://sunSITE.unc.edu/InterGarden
Venaura Farm
mailto:london@nuteknet.com
http://nuteknet.com/london
----------------------------------

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 11:29:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)" <sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.edu>
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture <sustag-l@listproc.wsu.edu>
Subject: Watershed Currents, Aug 22, 1997, issue #2 (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 10:10:29 -0500
From: Mark Muller <mmuller@iatp.org>
To: sustag@tricity.wsu.edu
Subject: Watershed Currents, Aug 22, 1997, issue #2

Announcing the second issue of "Watershed Currents."  This bulletin will
not be continually posted to sustag; please subscribe if you would like to
receive "Watershed Currents."  To subscribe, send e-mail to
majordomo@igc.apc.org.  Leave the subject line blank.  In the body of the
message write subscribe water-net.

                        
  --------------------------------------------------------
  Watershed Currents - Vol. 1, Number 2    August 22, 1997
  --------------------------------------------------------

                            Table of Contents                           
        
        
    - Welcome!
    - Call for American Heritage Rivers Candidates
    - Agriculture Impacts Stream Biodiversity For Many Years
    - New Conservation Buffer Initiative
    - Hawaiian Farmers Get Water Back
    - Columbia Gorge faces Challenges
    - Continued Friction Over Hog Feedlot Issues
    - Minnesota River Leaders Project Emphasizes Communication
    - Position Announcements
    - Web Sites of Interest
    - Events

                
                        
WELCOME!
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy is pleased to introduce  
"Watershed Currents," news, events, and resources about watershed  
organizing.  Our objective is to provide watershed organizations a  
networking and communications tool that is free and easy to use.        
 

"Watershed Currents" is available free of charge via e-mail.  To 
subscribe, send e-mail to majordomo@igc.apc.org.  Leave the subject line 
blank.  In the body of the message write subscribe water-net.  If you 
have any comments or suggestions, please contact Mark Muller at 
(612)870-3420, or e-mail: mmuller@iatp.org.

                        
CALL FOR AMERICAN HERITAGE RIVERS CANDIDATES
President Clinton announced in the 1997 State of the Union Address a new 
initiative, the American Heritage Rivers, to support communities'   
efforts towards economic prosperity, a healthy environment, and historic 
and cultural preservation.  10 rivers will be designated as 
American Heritage Rivers in early 1998.  The support given to 
communities surrounding designated rivers include special recognition, a 
dedicated person to act as a liaison to federal agencies, and an effort 
to attract foundation and corporate involvement.   

The application period is open from early September to early December.  
All applicants will receive a technical assistance package, including an 
invitation to an American Heritage Rivers symposium on partnering with 
government agencies, as well as relevant site-specific data and   
computer software for their river.  To receive an application, call   
1-888-40RIVER, or visit the web page at http://www.epa.gov/rivers.

                        
AGRICULTURE IMPACTS STREAM BIODIVERSITY FOR MANY YEARS
Virginia Tech researchers, in collaboration with the University of    
Minnesota, studied the effects that the negative impacts of  agriculture 
 have on the health of streams.  They found that the recovery  of stream 
 biodiversity to pre-disturbance levels may take several years.     The 
 researchers studied topographical maps and aerial photographs dating   
back to the 1950s of two tributaries of the Tennessee River. This    
information, along with satellite images, was entered into a geographic 
 information system (GIS) to create land-use maps that vary with time.  
 They then sampled the streams for biodiversity.  Diversity was greater 
 in forested rather than agricultural streams, as expected. However,    
areas that had significant forest regeneration over the last 50 years   
 had diversity levels similar to present-day agricultural areas.       

The findings suggest that forest regeneration alleviates some of the    
detrimental physical effects of conventional agriculture, but an     
increase in the diversity of organisms takes longer than expected.   

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University press release, Aug 
14,1997.

                        
NEW CONSERVATION BUFFER INITIATIVE
The USDA will help landowners install two million miles of conservation 
 buffers by the year 2002. The program was initiated by a new    
public-private partnership called the National Conservation Buffer    
initiative.     

Agricultural Secretary Dan Glickman stated that "Agricultural producers 
 and other landowners who install buffers can improve soil, air and  
water quality; enhance wildlife habitat; restore biodiversity; and  
create scenic landscapes." Glickman noted that conservation buffers are 
 a good use of marginal land, while the best land remains in crop  
production.  

MMI's FOCUS, Spring/Summer 1997, p. 31.

                        
HAWAIIAN FARMERS GET WATER BACK
Early this century, U.S. agribusinesses blasted tunnels through the   
mountains of Oahu, diverting headwaters to plantations of pineapple and 
 sugar cane. These plantations have been phased out, but the landowners 
 want to keep the water diversion for housing and industrial 
development. Traditional farmers and environmentalists are fighting    
back, however, and have successfully returned some of the diverted    
waters to their natural streams.          

An interim order has temporarily split the water 50/50 between  the   
traditional farmers and developers, but farmers hope to retain all  of  
 the water. They are claiming the water under traditional Hawaiian  
gathering rights. In addition to supporting the farmers, the water would 
 restore the habitat of an indigenous species of freshwater shrimp that 
 lives only in those streams. Furthermore, the reef habitat off-shore   
 depends on the freshwater water flow from the streams.        

The farmers are receiving legal advice from the Sierra Club Legal       
 Defense Fund. More information about the project can be obtained by    
calling (415) 627-6700.  

Mindy Penybacker, E, THE ENVIRONMENTAL MAGAZINE, Jul-Aug 1997

                        
COLUMBIA GORGE FACES CHALLENGES
The Columbia River celebrated 10 years as a National Scenic Area in    
1996, thanks to efforts of the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Friends  
 of the Columbia Gorge. TPL was able to protect nearly 16,000 acres in  
 the Gorge due to the efforts of local elected officials, particularly  
 Oregon's former U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield. The result is an 85-mile   
 corridor of astonishingly diverse terrain, located only 30 minutes from 
 downtown Portland.     

Development pressures, however, will challenge these successes. More   
than 500,000 people are predicted to move to the Portland metropolitan  
 area by 2010, and the National Scenic Area is close enough to serve as 
a  bedroom community for this new population. Secondly, current  
environmental protections on many private lands will expire soon if the 
 government does not purchase these tracts. This will allow landowners  
to build in a manner that could impact all of the adjacent public  
lands.  Furthermore, with the retirement of Senator Hatfield, advocates 
 are afraid that the land acquisition program will be dramatically  
curtailed.       

Lauri Aunan, executive director of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, feels 
 that increased awareness is the solution. "We need to bring in a new   
generation committed to protecting the Gorge," she says. "People have  a 
perception it has been saved. That's not true."     

Jonathan Nicholas, LAND AND PEOPLE, Fall 1996, pp. 20-24.

                        
CONTINUED FRICTION OVER HOG FEEDLOT ISSUES
NATIONAL - The National Resources Defense Council, the Environmental    
 Defense Fund, and the Center for Rural Affairs withdrew  from the     
National Environmental Dialogue on Pork Production (NEDPP). The groups  
 plan to work together to incorporate a pro-active agenda for a clean   
environment and sustainable pork production.  They have withdrawn from  
NEDPP because the process was too flawed and community groups were not  
adequately represented in the dialogue.  Press Release from CLEAN  WATER 
 NETWORK, Jun 24, 1997      

NORTH CAROLINA - Due to the outrage that has resulted from animal waste 
 spills and other environmental problems caused by hog operations, some 
 of the nation's largest producers are relocating to southwest Utah.    
One of the reasons cited for the move was that the citizens of Utah  
have not expressed as many environmental concerns about industrial hog  
farming as citizens of North Carolina have.  Several corporations are  
working together to build the world's largest hog operation in Utah,   
with an expected production of 2.5 million hogs annually.  AGWEEK, Aug  
 11, 1997      

IOWA - The Tama County Conservation Board is suing the Tama County     
Zoning Board of Adjustment over a ruling which allows the construction  
 of a hog lot within one mile of Otter Creek Lake and Park.  The lake  
is a popular recreation area. AGWEEK, Aug 11, 1997      

MINNESOTA - McLeod County is struggling to develop a feedlot ordinance, 
 as required by the State of Minnesota.  County officials are concerned 
 that large outside investors will build feedlots in the county,    
especially hog operations. Many local farmers, however, feel that the   
 guidelines in the draft are too rigid and would not allow them to     
expand operations in the future.  RURAL MINNESOTA, Aug 14, 1997

                        
MINNESOTA RIVER LEADERS PROJECT EMPHASIZES COMMUNICATION
The River Leaders Project is a new initiative , where people engaged in 
efforts to enhance the Mississippi River gather to share ideas,  
build common ground, and develop a shared vision. The River Leaders  
Project grew out of a luncheon last fall and two meetings were held 
this past spring. Through these meetings a number of short-term 
projects and long-term initiatives were developed. Projects currently 
discussed include investigating new funding sources for river work, 
improving coordination between cities, agencies, industry, and 
community groups, and investigating American Heritage Rivers 
designation. More information can be obtained through the Friends of 
the Mississippi River at (612) 222-2193. 

Sarah H. Clark, Friends of the Mississippi River, Summer/Fall 1997

                        
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mississippi Headwaters Board, an eight-county joint powers board    
mandated to "protect and enhance the outstanding values" of the  
Mississippi River's first 400 miles, seeks qualified candidates to fill 
the position of Director. Based in Walker, Minnesota. Call (218)  
547-7263 for a copy of the job description.    

A graduate student/research associate position is available to conduct a 
financial analysis of windbreak renovation techniques at the University 
of Minnesota.  Funding is through the National Agroforestry Center.   
Work  is part-time over the next two years.  Contact Melvin J. Baughman 
at (612) 624-0734, e-mail: mbaughma@forestry.umn.edu for more 
information.

                        
WEB SITES OF INTEREST
Know Your Watershed: The Conservation Technology Information Center's   
watershed homepage. A warehouse of information on watersheds and   
watershed organizing, including a calendar, newsletters, news releases, 
and contacts. http://www/ctic.purdue.edu/cgi-bin/KYW.exe    

River Network Online: A comprehensive list of events, information, and  
related web sites.  http://www.rivernetwork.org/~rivernet  

IATP Watershed Program: A site dedicated to watershed organizing   
including events, organizations, resources, and related sites.    
http://www.sustain.org/watershed/          

EPA's Watershed Page: An array of information about EPA's  
watershed-related programs, funding opportunities, and technical  
information.  http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/watershed/

                        
EVENTS
"Watershed Management: Moving from Theory to Implementation," May 
3-8, 1998, Denver, CO. Addresses watershed planning, protection,  
restoration, and education. Follow-up to Watershed '96. Contact Nancy  
Blatt at (800)666-0206, confinfo@wef.org.             

"Multi-Regional Meeting on Water Quality: Standards, Criteria,and 
Permitting," Aug 25-27, Hyatt Regency, St. Louis, MO. This EPA-sponsored 
event is to be an exchange of scientific, technical, and policy 
information. For more information see the web page at 
http://www.epa.gov/OST.              

"Surface Water Protection International 98 - Call for Papers," by Sep 10 
(Conference is in Dallas Apr 28-30, 1998).  Focus on wellhead and source 
water protection: area delineation, monitoring and effectiveness. 
Contact Source Water Protection '98, National Water Research Institute, 
10500 Ellis Avenue, PO Box 20865, Fountain Valley, CA 92728, fax: 
(714)378-3375, e-mail: NWRI-1@worldnet.att.net.     

"Land Stewardship Project 15th Anniversary Celebration," Sep 13, Scott 
County, MN.  Includes discussion about the work of Clean Up our River 
Environment (CURE).  Contact Rebecca Kilde, (612) 653-0618. "National 
Water Quality Watershed Project Symposium," Sep 22-26, Washington DC. 
Contact the Conservation Technology Information Center at 
(765)-494-9555, ctic@ctic.purdue.edu.         

"River of Words: Exploring Watersheds Through Poetry, Art and Ecology," 
Oct 17-19, Berkeley, CA.  Explore river and its watershed through maps, 
drawings, walks and photos. Contact Carolyn Henne, GREEN, 206 S Fifth 
Ave, Ste 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Phone (313) 761-8142, e-mail: 
chenne@green.org.     

"WEFTEC '97: The Water Environment Federation's 70th Annual Conference  
and Convention," Oct 18-27, Chicago, IL.  More than 14,000 water 
professionals congregate for technical education, exchange information, 
and networking.  Contact Water Environment Federation at (800)666-0206, 
e-mail: confinfo@wef.org.     

The Water We Drink: Ground Water in the Twin Cities Area, an extension 
course on how the Twin Cities obtains and treats groundwater, and the 
environmental threats to this water supply.  Three classes on Thursdays, 
Oct. 9-23.  For more information, call the University of Minnesotas 
Compleat and Practical Scholar at (612) 624-8880.         
  

"Managing Manure in Harmony with the Environment and the Society," Feb 
10-12, 1998. WNC Manure Management Conference, Ames, Iowa. Contact is 
Bob Ball, USDA-NRCS, Parkside Center, Suite 250, Columbia, MO 65203; 
(573) 876-0900, fax: (573) 876-0913, bobb@mo.nrcs.usda.gov.

                        
        


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Mark
Ritchie, President.  Editor: Mark Muller, e-mail iatp@iatp.org.  E-mail
versions are available free of charge. To subscribe send e-mail to
majordomo@igc.apc.org.  Leave the subject line blank.  In the body of the
message write subcribe water-net.  For information about fax or mail
subscriptions or for a list of other IATP publications, contact the
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2105 First Avenue South,
Minneapolis, MN 55404.  612-870-0453, fax: 612-870-4846,  e-mail:
iatp@iatp.org.  



___________________________________________________

Mark Muller
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
2105 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA  55404
Direct phone  612-870-3420
General phone 612-870-0453
Fax           612-870-4846
mmuller@iatp.org
www.iatp.org/iatp