Five Projects Funded
By Melissa Warner
At its semiannual meeting in November, the Resource Committee of the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) awarded grants totaling $27,336 to five applicants.
Monitoring the water quality in the Pike River is the aim of a team from the UW-Parkside Geosciences Department. As the region becomes more developed, they reason, it will be important to know how the water quality is affected. Their main objective is to obtain baseline data on temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and specific conductance by using a multi-sensor probe installed in a stilling well. The data will be collected and downloaded onto a laptop computer for later analysis. Access to the data through the UW-Parkside web page will increase awareness of watershed issues with both local teachers and students as well as with the general public.
The Gathering Waters Conservancy (GWC) aims to build a network of open space champions within the Root-Pike Watershed. With support and training from the GWC, these individuals will work to protect the remaining wetlands, river corridors and wildlife habitats, particularly those identified by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
(SEWRPC) in its 1997 report. The GWC will help these champions select sites for protection, and then build community awareness and develop partnerships with the local business community that will support and enable protection. The WIN grant will allow the GWC to extend its work, already begun in the Greater Milwaukee Area, to the Root-Pike.
A third project will be a manual on how to landscape the many retention/detention basins that dot our area. While these basins do a fine job of holding storm runoff, they nevertheless allow excess nutrients to enter the lakes and rivers, thereby decreasing water quality. Working with the Lake Pointe Estates Homeowners Association (see Watershed Connection, issue one) has convinced JoAnn Gillespie that there's a better way. Combining professional expertise with experience, Gillespie will create the manual that will show municipalities, neighborhoods and developers how to use native plants to improve water quality. The right plants in the landscape will take up nutrients, decrease erosion and sedimentation, and provide food and habitat for wildlife. Once published, the manual will be available to schools and libraries, as well as to the general public.
The Kenosha Public Museum will take advantage of its wonderful lakeside location to create a program for fourth and fifth graders. With the Great Lakes as the focus, students will learn about the formation of the lakes and the Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Native American legends will set the scene. Activities will demonstrate the effects of glaciation on the geological history of the Great Lakes. Using water samples drawn directly from the Kenosha Harbor, students will use basic water analysis equipment to test water quality. While learning about both native and exotic inhabitants of the lake, students will search for zooplankton in the water samples. Finally they will learn how pollutants enter the ecosystem. Constructing and experimenting with water filtration systems will enable students to discover some ways to remove pollutants. Sessions will conclude with youngsters showing, perhaps with a poster activity, how they will protect the lakes.
The DNR and local sport fishing groups have long sponsored urban fishing experiences for youth. The Friends of Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse will use their grant to create an educational component to the fishing program at the Mill Pond. Materials for children will show how clean water is important to good fishing, and, in turn, how their good habits in the watershed will result in cleaner water for fish and other ecosystem inhabitants.
Southeast Gateway Group Calendar:
February 6: Conservation Committee will meet at John Berge's house, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 for information.
February 13, 7:00 p.m.: Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Meeting at Messiah Lutheran Church located at 3015 Pritchard Drive in Racine. All members are welcome.
February 14-15: Wisconsin Stewardship Network Annual Meeting in Stevens Point. For information, see: www.wsn.org.wsnconference/wsn2003annualconference.html
February 15: Hike/Ski/Snowshoe at Pringle Nature Center. Meet at 10:00 a.m. in the Nature Center parking lot. Following the hike, we'll have lunch at Twin Oaks, Hwys. 45 & K. To get to Pringle Nature Center, from Kenosha: take Hwy. 50 west, turn south at Hwy. H. Continue on Hwy. H until you reach Hwy. C (Wilmot Road). Stay on Hwy. C until you reach Hwy. MB, then turn left. The entrance to Bristol Woods and the Pringle Nature Center is on the right side of Hwy. MB. Contact Dana Huck, (262) 639-0465 for information.
February 20: Hydrogen Economy. Wayne Stroessner will speak. Wayne is a retired High School science teacher from Random Lake. He will speak on hydrogen energy use as an alternative to fossil fuels. Messiah Lutheran Church, 3015 Pritchard Drive and Durand Avenue, Racine, Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m.
March 1: Deadline for the April-May issue of the Southeast Sierran.
March 6: Conservation Committee will meet at John Berge's house, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 for information.
March 7-9, Weekend: Hike? or Ski? Wagon Trail Resort, Door County’s Ellison Bay. Rented nicely furnished condos, about $30/person/night. Call Mary Ann Ortmayer for information (262) 554-5058. Deposit Required.
March 13, 7:00 p.m.: Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Meeting at Messiah Lutheran Church located at 3015 Pritchard Drive in Racine. All members are welcome.
March 15: Hike at Natureland Park in Walworth County. Natureland County Park on Territorial Road near the southern end of Whitewater Lake. Lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Contact Dana Huck, (262) 639-0465 for information on time and directions.
March 20: Natural landscaping techniques. The speaker will be John Schluckebrier, horticulture educator, from the Kenosha county UW-Extension Office. He will also discuss some invasive plant problems. We will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Kenosha Public Museum.
April 8, 7:00 p.m.: Waters of Wisconsin to the world, a drop of life. Presentation by David Kuckuk, director of Sheboygan's Ellwood H. May Environmental Park. We want to share with you the great adventure that covered 700 miles of water trails in Wisconsin. Take an imaginary ride in a canoe or kayak and learn how technology can change the way you look at rivers. This program will give you a better understanding and appreciation of the biodiversity of our state's water system. Learn about the three different water trails that make up this fascinating journey across Wisconsin. This program will be presented at the Golden Rondelle, 1525 Howe St. in Racine. Reservations are required, call (262) 260-2154.
Hi. I'm your new Group Chair, Dian Sorenson. Although I am not new to the Sierra club, I am new to this position and have a lot to learn about running a meeting and knowing the issues. I will work hard at staying informed and learning my job.
Our 2003 Planning Meeting, held January 18, attended by 14 people, was beneficial. New ideas for getting more of our membership active and publicity for our meetings were discussed, as well as new ideas for outings and programs. I believe in the future we will see exciting and interesting approaches to entice more of our members to attend our meetings and outings more often. Of course, our monthly meetings are always informative.
We will continue to work toward a county-wide household hazardous waste disposal program, as well as in opposition to the use of coal in the Oak Creek coal-fired power plant expansion, along with other issues as they confront us. As I see it, environmental rollbacks by our federal and state governments are major issues. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We need your continued support.
We still need members to support our endeavors and invite anyone to become involved and join a committee. If you're interested in any particular issue, give me a call. If you have ideas for outings, programs, etc., give me a call.
I am looking for a volunteer who would be able to set up coffee, tea, juice and snacks at our monthly meetings, held every third Thursday in either Kenosha or Racine. Either one person each at two locations or one person to do both locations. If you're interested, call me for details. Your help would be appreciated.
Feel free to call me: (262) 633-6974. (No email.) I hope to see you at our next meeting, February 20.
Group Executive Committee Elections
In results reported by the Elections Committee at the January 8, 2003 Executive Committee meeting, John Berge and Nancy Hennessy were reelected to two-year terms on the Southeast Gateway Executive Committee. Newly elected was Richard Rodenbeck who last year served the Group as Treasurer. The number of ballots cast was small, presumably since the Nominating Committee was unable to come up with sufficient volunteers to make it a contested ballot. There were no write-in votes cast.
After the ballots were printed, it was discovered that a fourth position on the ExCom should have been on the ballot since Donna Peterson's term also expired at the end of 2002. To fill that position, according to the Group's Bylaws, the Executive Committee elected Roz McHugh of Pleasant Prairie to a full two-year term. In order to make sure such an error does not occur again, a spreadsheet was constructed with all the Executive Committee and Group Chairs listed from the start of the Group back in 1982 up through the present. This spreadsheet will be made available to future Nominating Committees and others who might need it. If you would like a copy, contact John Berge at the address listed on the back of this newsletter. There is considerable uncertainty in the make-up of the Executive Committee in 1982 and 1983, so if someone can help to fill that information gap, would they also contact him.
Going off the ExCom are Dana Huck and Donna Peterson. Dana has been on the ExCom for five years, serving as Treasurer and Group Chair. Donna has completed a two-year term and had previously finished out an unexpired term. She has been the Environmental Education Chair from the early conception of that program and also served as Co-Chair of the Membership and 20th-Anniversary Committees. We thank them both for the work they have done and hopefully will continue to do for the Group and the Sierra Club.
Dian Sorenson was unanimously elected the Southeast Gateway Group's Chair at the January 8, 2003, meeting of the Executive Committee, and Frank Egerton was elected Vice-Chair. Nancy Hennessy and Rich Rodenbeck were reelected as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Elections were delayed one month because of the delay in getting the ExCom ballots to the membership last fall.
Nancy was also elected as the Delegate to the John Muir Chapter Executive Committee with Dian as Alternate Delegate. With the smaller Group Executive Committee instituted in 2002, down from nine to seven members, it has become necessary for all ExCom members to take a more active roll in the governance and operation of the Group.
Earth Day Activities
By John Berge
Earth Day, while actually on April 22, will be celebrated in the Racine area on Saturday, April 26 this year. An ad hoc planning committee has been meeting to plan the activities for the day. The Sierra Club was represented by Melissa Warner and John Berge of the Group's Conservation Committee. The planning committee is co-chaired by Bonnie Prochaska of Sustainable Racine and Marilyn Pelky of the Volunteer Center of Racine.
This has been declared the year to stress protection of our water, so a number of key projects are planned along or near the Root River and Lake Michigan, including the following:
The planting along the Root River Pathway in Colonial Park will be the Sierra Club's project, so we want to see a large number of our members there with spades, trowels and watering cans. See the accompanying article for more details.
There will also be tables at two locations for distribution of literature and petitions from participating organizations and directions to the various work sites for those who haven't already committed themselves to one of the various projects. These tables will be located at the Island Park and Lakeview pavilions. This will give an opportunity to participate for those who are not physically up to more strenuous work.
The Volunteer Center of Racine has volunteered to be the place to call for those who want to work on Earth Day. Their name and telephone number will be prominently included in all flyers, ads and articles about these Earth Day activities. They will have data sheets from each of the "captains" of the several activities so that people can find out what to bring and where to go.
I had a great deal of difficulty finding out about Earth Day activities in Walworth County, so we would greatly appreciate hearing from one or more of our Walworth County members who is either involved with this or knows who is. We can still get the information into the next Southeast Sierran. Lis Friemoth of the UW-Extension in Walworth County reports that "lots of things are in the works but no firm activities to fill you in on". Call me at (262) 633-8455 or email me at bergejw@wi.net.
Last year Kenosha did not have many Earth Day activities going on, and the lady who was expected to be in charge this year is currently on an extended leave.
The Southeast Gateway Group, in conjunction and cooperation with the Public Works Department of the City of Racine, is in the process of applying for a grant from the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network
(WIN) in order to buy native plants to repair the damaged and disturbed area along the Root River Pathway in Colonial Park. Much of the rest of the Pathway goes through urban parks, but Colonial Park is, and should remain, a natural area. The disturbed area is generally about 10 feet wide, extending 1/2 to 3/4 mile along the Root River, but in a few areas, it widens to about 45 feet. On the assumption that the grant application is approved, the plants may be purchased through the city or county for planting on April 26, the Saturday that Racine has planned its Earth Day activities.
Botanist, naturalist and ecologist Richard Barloga is our consultant for suggesting what plants should be planted here and what we should avoid. The area is wooded, wet, and frequently flooded in the spring, being just a few yards away from the Root River. Thanks to those who put in the pathway, most of the disturbed area is on the side of the trail away from the river. The pathway is crushed rock in Colonial Park rather than the blacktop over the rest of its length. The City is also applying for a larger WIN grant to install some educational signage in this area.
If our grant application is not approved, or is not approved in time, the disturbed area will be allowed to reseed (and reweed?) itself, since neither the City nor our Group has the funds at this time to buy the native plants necessary to do the job. But there will be plenty of other projects on April 26 for Sierrans to apply themselves. As the biggest and most powerful grassroots environmental organization, we should have the best presence to celebrate this year's Earth Day from 8:30 in the morning to noon. Call the Volunteer Center of Racine at (262) 886-9612 to sign up and check for locations and additional information.
Beach Grooming Study Yields Promising Results
By Melissa Warner
How often have "Beach Closings" been in the news? Far too often--over 27 times in 2002 for Racine's North Beach alone. The City of Racine uses Esherichia coli counts to determine beach advisories. Because E. coli are associated with fecal material, they are an indication of contaminated water. Elevated bacteria levels keep pollution in the news, and people out of the water.
Keep Our Beaches Open (KOBO) and other groups realized that elevated counts often followed rain events, fueling speculation that pollutants in storm drains or faulty sewer lines were the culprit. Other suggested causes included the numerous seagulls and other shore birds.
However, Julie Kinzelman, microbiologist with the Racine City Health Department, wondered if the currently used mechanical beach grooming method could also be contributing to the problem. In the summer of 2001 the Health Department investigated the effect of grooming techniques on the fecal load of foreshore sands. For a two week period they groomed some beach sections with the standard mechanical apparatus, and hand raked other areas, some daily, some twice a week. As a control, other areas were left untreated.
At first there was little difference in the E. coli counts, but then it rained. The bacteria count in the mechanically groomed area skyrocketed. Was the rain a significant factor? Or was it an anomaly? The hypothesis was that the hand raking exposed more seagull feces to the sun's UV rays, instead of burying them where it's dark and moist--a perfect environment for bacteria growth. Another study was needed.
Because raking the beaches by hand is not a practical solution, an alternate technique was devised for the second study. Setting the mechanical groomer to rake 2.5 cm (1 inch) deep instead of only 0.5 cm, and omitting the finishing bar that smoothes the sand, resulted in a rough appearance, similar to that of hand raking. The prediction was that the deeper grooming would result in fewer bacteria. Over the course of the month there were three rain events, and the hypothesis was
confirmed: whenever the sand was wet, bacteria counts were lower with the deeper grooming.
Future research is planned to correlate the E. coli in the sand to the counts obtained in water samples that actually close the beaches. In the meantime, the Parks and Recreation Department staff will groom Racine's shores with the new technique, and we anticipate fewer beach closings in 2003.
The Bush Administration has targeted additional environmental laws that were meant to protect federal lands. Under the guise of "increased efficiency", both environmental analysis and public comment provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are being "reevaluated", (read minimized or eliminated). The President wants to waive numerous NEPA provisions for logging public lands.
In addition, the Interior Department issued rules on January 6 that would make it easier for western states and local governments to claim rights of way on hundreds of millions of acres of federal lands. This would include areas in our national parks, refuges and forests that were previously off-limits to mining, road building and other commercial activities. They intend to use the new rules to revive a provision of the 1866 mining act known as Revised Statute 2477 even though Congress repealed the law in 1976 when it passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The Interior Departments new rules would get rid of a 12-year statute of limitations and allow "entities" other than the owner of record to file claims and give federal agencies other than the Bureau of Land Management greater say in the disposition of the land.
These new rules, for example, would allow counties in Utah to validate their claims for rights of way through Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to make roads out of obscure trails. In Alaska, the state has claimed 24 routes in Denali National Park and Preserve for new roads. And in California, San Berdino County has claimed wagon roads, trails and horse and footpaths to make up to 2,567 miles of roads in the Mojave National Preserve. These data were taken from a Washington Post article by Eric Pianin printed on January 7, 2003.
Plans are also underway in the Bush Administration to redefine the types of waterways protected under the Clean Water Act. New rules proposed would make it easier to pollute, fill or destroy ecologically critical aquatic habitat. Is there any doubt that we must renew and redouble our fight to "Protect America's Environment For our Families and For our Future"?
CREP Approved for More Townships in Walworth County
Farmers in three counties are no longer eligible to participate in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) because their Land Conservation Departments have refused to participate in the program. Kenosha County is one of the three. But this has allowed a number of townships to be added to the program. Among these added townships are Geneva, Lyons, Walworth, Linn and Bloomfield in Walworth County. No additional townships for Racine County were listed in the December issue of Wisconsin Ag Connection.
CREP is a program to supply mostly federal funds for water quality and habitat improvements such as buffers along streams and rivers and reserved grasslands. The federal CREP allows each state a total of 100,000 acres of CREP eligible lands, including 15,000 in grasslands. The goals of the program include:
The Southeast Gateway Group's Conservation Chair was one of the people who spoke before the Racine County Board last March to have them reconsider their initial refusal. Two weeks later the Board voted for Racine County participation in the program.
Eligibility for this program was one of the rationales for making buffer strips voluntary in Wisconsin so as to provide funds to farmers who install these buffer strips. According to Dick Wolkowski, UW-Madison soil scientist, properly designed and maintained filter strips can remove 90 percent or more of pollutants from runoff. Wolkowski said that the effectiveness depends upon a number of factors including soil porosity, vegetation, the age of the filter strip, runoff volume, slope and management of the strip. According to an Arkansas study, a 20-foot strip removed just over 90 percent of sediment, a 30-foot strip removed about 95 percent of sediment, and 40- and 50-foot strips 98 percent of sediments. Much of the fertilizer lost to runoff is absorbed onto the sediment so this is also removed.
The Woods and Wetlands Group of the Illinois
Chapter of the Sierra Club had asked our help in pressuring Wisconsin
politicians to help remove the sediments and phosphorus which come down the Fox
River into Illinois from Wisconsin. They said that the dredged material from the
River were rich enough to sell as fertilizer! Wisconsin farmers should not be
shipping that top soil and fertilizer to Illinois. It is unfortunate that we did
not receive information in time so that our Kenosha Sierrans could also speak
out for participation in the program and help protect the Pike and Fox Rivers.
Rechargeable Battery Recycling
John Reindl, Recycling Manager for Dane County and
who was our speaker on Household Hazardous Waste last February, has notified us
that the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) has announced that
they will cover all costs for municipal programs for recycling rechargeable
batteries. On the assumption that county governments will also be eligible, this
is one more argument that the cost to the county tax payer can be minimal for
our proposed county-wide, multi-site, regularly-scheduled, broad-based Household
Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection and disposal system for Racine County. Through
visits to and interviews with several counties, the Conservation Committee has
found that costs varied from $.30 to $1.10 per person per year even without this
reimbursement program. The Conservation Committee is preparing brochures and
petitions to take out to organizations, meetings and Earth Day activities to
convince the Racine County Board that there is a groundswell of interest in HHW
collection and safe disposal.
How much did you spend to gas up your car or cars last year? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the driver of an average, newer car will spend $868 for gas while driving about 15,000 miles per year. If one drives a more expensive car, an SUV or a larger pick-up truck, one would spend between $1,000 and $1,400 just for gas. These figures are based on gas prices averaging $1.40 per gallon, so these numbers can be increased proportionately when gas goes up.
According to "Catalyst", the new UCS magazine, "existing technologies can be used to improve fuel economy while maintaining size, safety and performance. Available technologies--variable valve engines, continuously variable transmissions, low rolling resistance tires, lighter high-strength bodies and better aerodynamic designs--could improve the fuel economy of pickups and other light trucks by 27 to 32 percent." The added cost of about $500 per vehicle would pay for itself in about 18 months. Engineering students at the University of Wisconsin in Madison converted a large SUV with off-the-shelf-technology to give 40 miles per gallon!
If you are interested in learning how much you would save with the new technologies, read the UCS study of the 50 most popular car and truck models on their web site, www.ucsusa.org.
It may interest you to know that two of the members of your Group's Executive Committee drive hybrid automobiles which give them much better mileage and pollute the air much less than the rest of us.
