Raju the crying elephant finally free!

Raju the crying elephant is finally officially free.   His previous "owner" had sued Wildlife SOS for his return, but a judge blocked it.

"Wildlife SOS argued in court that an elephant cannot be owned by someone under Indian law as they are all owned by the government, and that only a licence from the Chief Wildlife Warden is proof of ownership. According to Wildlife SOS, Raju's previous owners could not produce such a certificate."

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/raju-the-crying-elephant-decreed-free-by-a-court-in-india-9897224.html

Thank you, Wildlife SOS.  
http://www.wildlifesos.org/
https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/raju

MATC caretakers bring down thousands of pounds of trash

 I met Ian last year while camping at the Horns Pond shelter area.  He single-handedly triggered an avalanche of volunteer work which cleaned up an old Fire Warden's cabin site (of which I played one small part).   Over the years the place had been completely trashed out.

http://www.matc.org/assets/Resolved-Refuse-Removal-ATJourneys-MarApr2014.pdf

The MATC caretakers at Horns Pond in Maine also perform another critical duty - they compost human waste.   At altitude the temperature is too low and the soil is too thin for normal microbial activity to do it, so they backpack (literally) tons of bark chips up the mountain, mix it into giant tubs of waste, and compost it.   Anything non-biodegradable (soda cans, tampons, etc) they pick out and then pack down to town.

Town of Foster Conservation Commission!

I recently joined the town of Foster Conservation Commission.  I'm looking forward to working with the Land Trust, Planning Board and Northern RI Conservation District. 

Later this year we'll be running a program for town members to build and install bat houses on their properties.  Bats face a number of challenges including loss of habitat, "white nose syndrome" and light pollution.   By installing bat houses in suitable areas you can help give them as many chances as possible.

Another initiative we're taking on is the conversion of the Town truck fleet and heating oil usage to "BioHeat", or a blend of biodiesel and traditional fuel.   This offers increased efficiencies, reduced pollution, reduced carbon footprint, and provides an opportunity to use fuel produced right here in RI.  Many municipalities around the country run their heavy vehicle fleet on biodiesel blends, and I have run it in my car.

Some links:
http://www.townoffoster.com/conservation.htm
http://nricd.org/
https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/
http://www.newportbiodiesel.com/

Consequences, how do they work?

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Fifteen hikers from a church group who failed to return from a day hike in the Southern California mountains were exhausted and losing daylight, so they decided to build a fire and wait until Monday morning, when a helicopter plucked them safely out of the wilderness.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's helicopter rescued the hikers - 11 adults and four teens - and they were driven to a nature center to be reunited with anxious family and friends.

...

Last summer, the U.S. Forest Service finally closed off access to the Upper Falls because people were ignoring warning signs and climbing unauthorized, steep, crumbling trails into Angeles National Forest, resulting in rescues and deaths.

http://www.abc27.com/story/27342886/15-hikers-from-california-church-group-found-safe

I hope they got a bill for the helicopter ride.

Update: Elephant freed after 50 years of begging for food may end up back with his "owners"

Raju (a rescued elephant) may end up back with his owners because they owned him.

Before


After

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739152/Raju-crying-elephant-faces-life-chains-cruel-former-owners-launch-legal-battle-win-back.html

World record alligator found in Alabama USA, then shot

I found this online earlier.  I suppose it's more meaningful if the animal is used completely - food, tools, leather, etc.   I'm not sure that's the case here.  This guy was the king of the river, a genetic masterpiece.  Just ... why?
http://www.al.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2014/08/new_state_record_potential_wor.html

 

According to WWF, evolution is keeping up and passing hunting pressure in some places.   Elephants more frequently lack tusks, bighorn sheep's horns aren't quite so ... big anymore.  We're weeding out the giants.   Natural selection and environmental pressure have always existed, but always tuning the animals for optimum survivability.   With external human influence this remains true - but survivability under what conditions? 

Thanks Japan, so much for not whaling the Antarctic

I thought we had moved past the hunter-gatherer stage of civilization.   Is this a mother and calf?  It turns out that whale meat is not popular in Japan, but a throwback to food people ate after WWII.

http://www.treehugger.com/ocean-conservation/it-was-too-good-last-japan-step-efforts-resume-whale-hunting-antarctica.html

Scientists miss the boat on how evolution works

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/08/pyrenees-brown-bear-pyros-sexual-castration-segregation

""If he keeps up this sexual vigour and dominant attitude for a few more years, the other males in the mountains have no chance of mating with any of the females," José Enrique Arró, the councillor who oversees environmental issues in the Val d'Aran, told La Vanguardia.

Clearly, Mr Arro doesn't understand how natural selection works.   This behavior that he's complaining about is exactly the proper behavior - the biggest, toughest, most energetic, best hunter wins, and by extension so do his children.

This is how the world works; in some societies where everyone has to have a "fair chance" it's clearly incomprehensible.

$1,250,000 worth of plastic, metal and toxic chemicals to be dumped into the ocean

In the name of science.   People are looking to drop drones into hurricanes to better study them.  Where do all the shredded parts end up, including all the good lithium ion and other interesting chemicals in the batteries?   As someone who lives on the East Coast, I understand the destructive power of hurricanes, and the need to track them, but given that a) you can't do anything about them anyway, and b) we have dozens of different radar/photo images of the hurricanes, and c) years of modeling data already, why throw millions of dollars of plastic into the Gulf Stream?

"...And the small drones are disposable — once they hit the water, they won't be recovered..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/27/drones-hurricane-research_n_5398485.html

Repost: cows with holes cut into their stomachs

Cows are being fitted with holes cut into their rumens for "inspection", ostensibly to allow researchers to better understand how they're digesting their food.   It's not enough that they're born, the males killed for veal, the remainders fattened on a high calorie diet and then slaughtered, but people apparently feel the need to cut into them while alive.  Have some respect.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/cows-with-windows-in-their-sides-graze-in-europe/story-e6frfrnr-1226927032843

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Why your lasagna garden sucks

I'm putting the finishing touches on the garden this year, recovering it from a year of disuse.   This entailed a lot of digging, leveling, picking and raking.  The previous owner had the rows going perpendicular to the gradient of the hill, which ensured standing water on the high side of each row.  This gave rise to the notion that "the area isn't good for a garden".   Newly levelled with rows at about a 30 degree angle to the gradient, I think I have a better chance.

I have an early harvest - a harvest of trash that is.  The previous owner was a no-till/lasagna gardener.  A great, labor-saving idea provided you have the right materials; alternating layers of "green" and "brown" compost separated by paper/cardboard/etc.   What is not part of the equation, is all the plastic packing tape attached to said cardboard.  Combining the torn and rotten cardboard and the plastic tape I ended up with two full wheelbarrows of trash.   The weeds and other organic material (and bits of cardboard too far gone) ended up raked into a corner, uphill from the garden so that as they rot the nutrients flow downhill.  Here's the last pile (along with a lot of smallish rocks which I've raked out of the beds).

 

 As you can see there's little shreds of non-degrading plastic all over the place.  Put a rake down, drag it over the ground, and you find some.  While you can argue that it helps keep the soil from clumping, so does sand.

Ok, rant over.   This fall I'm probably going to adopt some kind of lasagna technique to cover up the garden for winter.   I don't mind the odd mouse nest (hey it's just nitrogen) and it will help the worms winter over.   One thing I've used in the past is that "contractor paper" - the heavy brown kraft style paper which you can get at your local Big Box store.   I'll smother that with the last few batches of lawn clippings and be good to go.
Moral: Plastic is not compostable!

Putting in the garden

The garden is almost ready.   The total fenced area is about 1800 sq ft, but I'm only cultivating about 1000 sq ft.   The rest will be used for chickens.  I have a 6' wide path around the garden area, which I call the "chicken moat" - no bugs will be safe.   How is this related to LNT?  Plan Ahead and Prepare, and Dispose of Waste Properly - by growing food that I need, and composting the chaff, I reduce my overall footprint - my Trace, if you will.


Here's the main garden area - note the birdfeeder, which allows me to convert seed into nitrogen.

Next up is the old potato garden - a little wet, but the previous owner pulled 75 lbs of potatoes out of it.   Clearly needs a little help.

Separate and up near the house is the berry patch and rhubarb.

Mint appears impossible to kill.   Despite being repeatedly mowed last year, it's roaring back up.

 

Some ornamental quince - we got some fruit out of it last year, hard as a rock.   It's super high in pectin however, so it's going to get added to my jams and jellies.  The hummingbirds are fond of the red blooms.

No pictures of the herb garden, but the garlic, sage and oregano is exploding already.  It all overwintered, which surprised me.   The rosemary died, which also surprised me but I guess it's not hardy in this zone - and last winter was a doozy.

Predators affect all aspects of their environment

I just found this article, although its a few months old now, on the Beeb:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140128-how-wolves-saved-a-famous-park

I knew that the reintroduction and protection of wolves in Yellowstone had a beneficial impact on the elk and buffalo populations, but this is the first time I learned that this cascaded into a healthier environment overall.   Because the predatory pressure on the elk was previously removed, their numbers expanded to the point where the land couldn't sustain them without detrimental impact.  By reintroducing wolves into the equation, the elk both lost numbers and had to modify their behavior; this allowed the overgrazed trees to bounce back to a health level.

Everything has an impact.

Don't pee in the pool!

Absent any recent knowledge about chemistry, and also a pre-21st century mindset that the world was large, and that actions in 1 place don't impact others, they dumped chemical weapons into the ocean.

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/65000-tonnes-nazi-chemical-weapons-were-dumped-baltic-sea-70-years-ago.html

Sadly this seems to still be common, albeit regulated practice: http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_mp_ocean_dumping.html

Japan stops whaling in the Antarctic, picks it up in the Pacific

You win some, you lose some.   After international pressure to stop whaling in the Antarctic, Japan has started up in the Pacific.   http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27079462

I have to ask - why?  People in Japan don't eat whale meat.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9330828/Seventy-five-per-cent-of-Japanese-whale-meat-unsold.html

You don't really learn much that we don't already know by killing them.   "He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."  --J.R.R. Tolkien

Factory farming leaves a pretty big trace

Factory farming is a huge breeding ground for bacteria and disease, and the rapid turnover of the animals once they reach slaughter size speeds the generational process.   Couple this with non-local feed sources (China) where you have little control over the conditions where the food is produced, and it's frankly surprising that this doesn't happen more often.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/04/16/bacon-pork-prices-rise-as-diarrhea-virus-wipes-out-michigan-pigs/

Intensive farming practices like this exceed the capacity of the environment to absorb the changes, leading to issues with runoff and pollution.   A measured approach to reduction of meat consumption is the only way out of this bind.

Vernal Pools

Vernal pools are a critical protein source in the food chain.  A healthy pool is the home for frogs and salamanders; their young grow and migrate outwards from the pool where they are consumed by larger animals.  The pools also provide a source of fresh water for insects, mammals and birds.   This picture was taken on my farm, we take many steps to ensure that this pool remains healthy - keep the dog out of the water, avoid mowing or disturbing anywhere near it, remove the odd bit of blow-in garbage (looking at you, mylar balloons) etc. 

 

Sacred albino moose killed by hunters

A rare albino moose, considered a sacred "spirit animal" by Nova Scotia's indigenous Mi’kmaq people, was killed last week by visiting hunters unaware of its spiritual significance.

You don't need to be aware of what other people think about the animal, you just need to realize that it's rare and an interesting thing, and that others might want to see it as well.  Everyone's seen a moose, but only a few got to see this one.  A key tenet of Leave No Trace (besides Respect Wildlife) is "Be considerate of other visitors".  These guys ruined it for everyone else.

http://www.treehugger.com/endangered-species/sacred-white-moose-killed-hunters.html

Firefighters in western Hampden County came to the rescue of four hikers who became lost in the woods on Thursday evening.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/54865661/ns/local_news-springfield_ma/t/hikers-rescued-after-search-chester/

"Fristik said that firefighters had to go through some very steep and difficult terrain in their efforts to find the other two hikers."

Know your route, take proper gear.   People risk life and limb to save you.

Guy Waterman & The Waterman Fund

Backwoods Ethics and Wilderness Ethics are two of my favorite books.  These books, by Laura and Guy Waterman, helped shape my summer in 2002, and every day from that point onward.
Check out the Waterman Fund at http://www.watermanfund.org/

"Without some management, wildness cannot survive the number of people who seek to enjoy it," they write. "But with too much management, or the wrong kind, we can destroy the spiritual component of wildness in our zeal to preserve its physical side."

The books are here:
http://www.amazon.com/Backwoods-Ethics-Low-Impact-Camping-Edition/dp/088150257X
http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Ethics-Preserving-Wildness-Appreciation/dp/0881502561

These two books will change how you view both the back and front-country.

Repost - Do you choose the right path?

I can't really add much to this post on the LNT.org website.
https://lnt.org/blog/do-you-choose-right-path

PS. Don't do this.  Plan ahead and prepare!  If you had waterproof shoes, you would never need to expand the path.

A Moral basis for wildlife conservation

Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body has issued a fatwa, or edict, against illegal wildlife trafficking.

This unprecedented step by the Indonesian Council of Ulama, in the country with the world's largest Muslim population, declares illegal hunting or illegal trading of endangered species to be haram (forbidden).

Link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140304-fatwa-indonesia-wildlife-trafficking-koran-world/

Key to the preservation of wildlife is the acceptance of the premise that they have intrinsic value, whether observed or not.   This is a matter of some debate.

One of the principles of Leave No Trace is "Respect Wildlife".  Whether or not you agree with the other tenets of the Muslim faith, there are those who do, and this guidance will hopefully help shape behavior in an area of the world undergoing massive change.

 

"Respect Wildlife" forms a basis of Leave No Trace ethics for a couple of reasons.    First is a sort of quantum logic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29), whereby your observation (or killing) of the animal changes the animal, i.e. leaving a trace.  Wild animals that come into contact with humans and fed or harassed change their behaviors, which has a ripple effect throughout the local food chain.   A harassed fox might burn critical energy avoiding you, and miss it's next kill.   Without food, its kits may starve.  Without enough foxes, the rodents multiply, then die off because of overpopulation.   Classic predator-prey response, except the human input into the equation forces the balance out of kilter.

The University of Michigan describes it thus: http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/predation/predation.html

But here's the graph showing the population swings.

So why is this important?   Recall point 7 of the LNT ethics: Be Considerate of Other Visitors.   Imagine that you have had an outdoor experience, but fed or harassed (or killed) a bunch of animals.  What happens to the next person who wants to have that same experience?

Group of hikers rescued from Appalachian Trail

Five wet and cold female hikers were rescued off the Appalachian Trail on Wednesday morning after calling 911 for help.

"The hikers had a sleeping bag and a two-person tent with them. When they called for help, Willis said the sleeping bag was the only item they had that was dry.  They said they were unable to get a fire started and couldn’t find any water, said Willis, who described them as novice hikers."

While it's obviously a good thing that no permanent harm was done to anyone, we have to examine what happened here.   Did the existence of the cell phone offer a false sense of security?  Did nobody check the weather?
The relative ease of access to the Appalachian Trail (or any of the backcountry locations on the East Coast) makes this sort of thing more likely.


Ultimately, rescuers had to head out in 50mph winds, at night, in the snow, to save the hikers.  This isn't responsible.  Plan ahead and prepare!

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/03/26/5-hikers-rescued-overnight-on-appalachian-trail/6914875/

Welcome

Welcome to Ed's Leave No Trace Blog.
The more I think about the seven principles of LNT, the more universally I can see them applied.  I'm going to use this forum to link to, discuss, criticize and popularize things that I see in the world, relating them back to the seven core concepts.