2006 John Muir Chapter Autumn Assembly -- October 6-8
* Hosted by the Southeast Gateway Group
* Volunteer to help -- contact any SEGG ExCom member.
* If you can’t volunteer, be sure to attend all or part of this exciting and stimulating event

View of Lake Michigan taken during the Door County Outing, March 3-5.
Photo by John Berge

Southeast Gateway Group Joins Forces With Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters
by Betsy Georg

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters (WLCV) has opened a new office in Racine. In order to be effective, conservationists in Kenosha and Racine counties must work together on local environmental issues. The importance of this kind of organization is illustrated by an incident which occurred last August.

Emily Miota, of the WLCV, learned that the Racine County Board would be voting on a resolution to put the Board on record opposing NR115, a proposed rule change regarding shoreland zoning. The changes were supported by the conservation community. Unfortunately Emily learned this the day the vote was scheduled. Although she tried to contact people by e-mail and to reach them by phone, there was simply not enough time. The resolution passed. The DNR is now reworking NR115. This effort may take another year, and the result may be a less environmentally responsible rule. Although the NR115 delay is not primarily attributable to the passage of the Racine County Board resolution, the fact that the resolution passed with little input from the environmental community indicates a need for closer monitoring at the county level. Emily hopes to help us be more tuned in to local environmental issues that may be brewing unnoticed.

The Southeast Gateway Group is delighted to work with the WLCV to help the local conservation community advocate for environmental issues more effectively at the grassroots level. By working together we can be more effective as we seek to influence policies adopted by local governments.

The Southeast Gateway Group is delighted to work with the WLCV to help the local conservation community advocate for environmental issues at the grassroots level. By working together we can be more effective as we seek to influence policies adopted by local governments.

This effort, however, is just beginning. At a recent United Environmental Council forum, members of different environmental groups expressed an interest in becoming more involved in issue advocacy as individuals. There was also interest in learning what organizations could do politically without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

Many questions, however, remain. These questions involve how the effort should be structured, which issues should be addressed, and what strategies should be used. One thought was to develop an environmental agenda outlining a vision for the area. Each of the member groups could deal with environmental issues at the county level as well as those arising in municipalities. Policy monitoring would keep people informed of issues coming before governmental bodies.

If you have ideas or suggestions, if you wish to become involved in this effort or if you just want to welcome Emily and the WLCV to our neck of the woods, you can contact her by phone at (262) 898-7354 or by e-mail at emily AT conservationvoters.org.

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Calendar:

April 6: Conservation Committee Meeting at Berges’ house, 1529 Crabapple Dr., Racine, at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, directions or other information.

April 10: Conservation Congress County Meetings at 7:00 p.m. in Bristol Grade School, 20121 83rd Street, Bristol, for Kenosha County; in Union Grove High School, 3433 S. Colony Ave., Union Grove, for Racine County; and Delavan/Darien High School, 150 Cummings, Delavan for Walworth County.

April 13: Executive Committee Meeting at the Northside Kenosha Public Library, 1500 27th Ave., Kenosha at 7:00 pm.

April 15: Third Saturday Hike and Lunch -- Harrington Beach State Park on the shore of Lake Michigan in Ozaukee County. Explore this 637 acre park and learn about the spring wildflowers that carpet the ground. The park includes Lake Michigan beach, a white cedar lowland forest, an upland area offering panoramic views, and is the site of a former limestone quarry, now Quarry Lake, with a historical trail that highlights its history. Meet at the Welcome Center on the lakeshore (not at the office at the park entrance) at 10:00 a.m. Take Hwy. I-43 North to the Belgium, Lake Church Exit and go east, about 3 miles, to the park entrance. A state park sticker is required and, because of the distance, carpooling is strongly encouraged. Please contact Dana Huck, (262) 639-0465 or dhuck1 AT wi.rr.com, if you plan to attend and for carpooling information.

April 20: Special program on invasive species. Meet at Pringle Nature Center, Kenosha, at 5:30 p.m. for a hike in the woods behind the nature center. We’ll have a soup and sandwich buffet in the nature center after the hike, followed by a presentation and handouts on invasive species. The hike and presentation will be led by Nan Calvert. For more information, see page four.

April 22: Earthday and Workday at Colonial Park from 8:30 a.m. to noon. We will be removing garlic mustard and other invasive species and planting native shrubs (if we get our applied for grant). Meet at the bridge between Colonial and Lincoln Parks with garden-type clothing, gloves and garden tools.

April 29: Highway 38 Cleanup. Meet at Bob and Betty Gericke’s house, 3927 North Lane, Franksville, for equipment and assignments at 9:00 a.m. There will be a potluck lunch after the cleanup. Call Bob or Betty at (262) 886-9057 for directions or additional information. Our next highway cleanup dates are July 29 at 8:30 a.m. and September 30; please mark your calendars.

May 1: Southeast Sierran Deadline. Send articles, etc., electronically by using the information on the back page, or send by mail to: Gary Zumach, 2548 Pinehurst Ave., Racine, WI 53403.

May 4: Conservation Committee Meeting at Berges’ house, 1529 Crabapple Dr., Racine, at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, directions or other information.

May 11: Executive Committee Meeting at the Northside Kenosha Public Library, 1500 27th Ave., Kenosha at 7:00 pm.

May 18: Our annual spring banquet will be held at the Fireside Restaurant, 2801 30th Avenue, Kenosha. Cocktails will be at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:00 p.m., followed by a program on using natural landscaping for water quality and esthetics, presented by Bill Sasse from WIN. See page four for details.

May 20: Third Saturday Hike and Lunch. Hike the White River State Trail. The trail goes past numerous bridges, scenic vistas, farmlands, wetlands, and quaint towns. We will learn about the historic village of Lyons where the town hall is a restored 1887 structure. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the trail head on Mill Street in Lyons, south of Highway 36, between Burlington and Lake Geneva. For lunch we will go to Juanita’s orchard for a spring cookout among the apple blossoms. Juanita will provide the meat and buns, beverages, plates and eating utensils. Please bring a side dish to pass. The orchard is at 8311 W. 5-Mile Rd., Raymond (about 1/2 way between I-94 and Highway 45 on 5-Mile Rd.) Please RSVP by email to jjp72696 AT aol.com. The White River State Trail requires a daily pass for bicycles, but not for hikers. Please contact Dana Huck, (262) 639-0465 or dhuck1 AT wi.rr.com, if you plan to attend and for carpooling information.

May 27: Workday at Colonial Park from 8:30 a.m. to noon. We will be removing garlic mustard and other invasive species and planting native perennial species (if we get our applied for grant). Meet at the bridge between Colonial and Lincoln Parks with garden-type clothing, gloves and garden tools.

June 1: Conservation Committee Meeting at Berges’ house, 1529 Crabapple Dr., Racine, at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, directions or other information.

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From the Chair…
by Nancy Hennessy

Costa Rica had been on my travel wish list for a long time. Well, I finally went. In February I spent two weeks in Costa Rica. It definitely lives up to its reputation as nature’s wonderland. It’s a tropical paradise with beautiful beaches, volcanoes, jungles and cloud forests, more bird species than in all of North America and more kinds of butterflies than in all of Africa. Unfortunately, Costa Rica’s rapid transformation from an agricultural to a tourism-based economy is taking a toll. Many beautiful and unique Costa Rican tourist destinations are suffering from overuse and overdevelopment. The promise of economic progress from development is hard to resist.

Much of my stay was off the beaten path at small sustainable hotels and locally owned reserves. Community-based ecotourism projects are part of an effort in Costa Rica to integrate sustainable agriculture, conservation and ecotourism. My favorite stay was at Reserva Los Campesinos, a small, isolated reserve of 34 hectares (14 acres) of primary and secondary forest. It is about two hours inland, over rugged roads, from the famous, much visited Manuel Antonio National Park, yet it is a world away. I stayed in a rustic cabina, was wakened in the morning by howler monkeys, hiked on steep jungle trails -- trying not to step on the leafcutter ants, learned about the medicinal properties of many plants and enjoyed an amazing array of colorful birds and fluttering Blue Morpho butterflies.

Back at the lodge, hot and sweaty after a morning of hiking, a 127 meter long hanging bridge led me to a pristine waterfall and swimming hole. Los Campesinos lodge was built and run by a small farming community. The community is dedicated to sustainable organic farming and the reforestation of the reserve’s hurricane damaged hillsides in order to protect the watershed. Income generated from the lodge helps to support community efforts and preserve the local culture. I came away from my two weeks off the beaten path inspired by what I found in Costa Rica and impressed with the dedication of the citizen conservationists and the success of community-based tourism projects.

Now I am back in Wisconsin where the pressure for development in the name of economic progress has become intense. After successfully sweeping aside many protections to clear the way for development with the cleverly named Jobs Creation Act, the powerful development voices in the state legislature are trying to further weaken the DNR. I was impressed with our own citizen conservationists who came forward to speak out at the recent hearing Republican Senators Cathy Stepp and Dave Zien held in our corner of the state. The intent of the hearing was clearly to demonize the DNR. The challenge for us is to get our elected officials to hear us and if they refuse to listen, to elect those who will.

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Green Award
The Green Award is presented annually at our May Dinner Meeting. The award, which includes a $100 stipend, is given to promote environ-mental awareness among students. The award has been used to support such things as attendance at environmental conferences, travel to environmentally significant places and environmental projects or presentations. The recipient of the award and up to two guests will be invited to attend our dinner meeting on May 18, 2006 to receive the award. To apply or nominate someone, please contact Barry Thomas by May 1, 2006. Phone: (262) 859-2960 or e-mail: bthomas6 AT wi.rr.com .

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Program Notes:

We have two very interesting and fun programs coming up.

On April 20, we will be at Pringle Nature Center, which is located in Bristol Woods County Park, south of Highway 50 on county highway MB (160th Ave.), Kenosha. Follow the driveway into the county park all the way to the last parking area. We will meet at 5:30 p.m. between the parking lot and the nature center. We will begin with a hike in the woods behind Pringle Nature Center, led by Nan Calvert, which should help us learn to identify invasive species. There also should be lots of beautiful wildflowers in the woods that we can appreciate.

This will be followed by a soup and sandwich buffet inside the nature center. Then Nan will give a powerpoint presentation with handouts on invasive species. This engaging and knowledgeable lady, coupled with a beautiful setting, should make for an interesting evening.

May 18 is our spring banquet. We will meet at 5:30 p.m. for drinks (pay on your own) at the Fireside Restaurant, 2801 30th Ave., Kenosha. We have their side room reserved. Dinner will be at 6:00 p.m. The cost will be $16.00.

Please choose from one of the following dinners: 1. Grilled pork chops: two chops, choice of potato, soup or salad, and Italian bread. 2. Chicken Kiev: Boneless breast of chicken filled with an herb butter sauce and a side of garlic noodles, soup or salad, and Italian bread. 3. Baked cod, with choice of potato, spaghetti, or garlic noodles; soup or salad; and Italian bread. 4. Cheese manicotti, with soup or salad, and Italian bread. All include coffee or tea, tax, and tip. Following dinner, we will have a program given by Bill Sasse of Watershed Initiative Network, on using natural landscaping for water quality and esthetics. In April we will learn what to pull out. In May, we will learn what to put in! Please RSVP, tell me how many are coming, and specify your choice of entree no later than Sunday, May 14th. You may e-mail Juanita at jjp72696 AT aol.com, or call (262) 835-7791.

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Earthday is a Workday
by John Berge

Earthday will be celebrated in Racine on April 22 with projects all over the Greater Racine Area. We hope you will find a project and contribute your time efforts and talent to it. We especially hope that you will join us in our continuing project to improve Colonial Park by removing alien species and planting native species along the Root River Pathway through Colonial Park.

We have applied for a Sustainable Racine and/or Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) grant to buy native shrubs and herbaceous perennials to plant along the hillside formed by the ramp leading up to the bridge between Colonial Park and Lincoln Park. Melissa Warner wrote the applications which have been approved by our Group’s Conservation and Executive Committees. When stressing “native species” she was not only referring to those native to southeast Wisconsin, but specifically to the Root River watershed whenever possible. The objectives are: to prevent erosion in this area, to eliminate a short cut, to upgrade the quality of this native mesic woodland, and to continue to inform the public of the need for replacing alien species with native species in the City’s only specifically-named natural area. We are constrained by the City (and common sense) to low growing plants in this area so as to not obstruct the view of cyclists and pedestrians as they come off the bridge.

But whether or not we receive this grant and can purchase the low growing shrubs by April 22, there is plenty of work to be done removing invasive, alien species. Over the past years we have made considerable progress removing garlic mustard, buckthorn, honeysuckle, burdock, dames rocket and others, but there is still much to be done. So please join us and the Environmental Club from St. Catherine’s High School on April 22 from 8:30 to noon. Meet us by the bridge between Colonial and Lincoln Parks wearing gardening-type clothing with work gloves, weed diggers or clippers, and an eager attitude. If you don’t feel confident in recognizing these invasive, alien species, we will be there to train you and assign an area and companions to work with. We should have water and snacks available from Sustainable Racine and other sponsors.

This program is open to all Sierrans and their neighbors...bring a friend or two.


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Wisconsin Land Legacy Report
by Lila Berge

A couple of years ago, several SEGG members and others from southeast Wisconsin spent an evening at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) office in Milwaukee looking at regional maps, listening to and talking with DNR representatives, voting with colored stickers and filling out questionnaires. We made recommendations of natural areas we felt were worthy of protection or purchase for conservation and recreational purposes. Others took part in similar events across the state. As a result of DNR evaluation of this input, 229 "Legacy Places" in 16 ecological landscapes are now included in their final report. Each Legacy Place is described briefly and rated from one to five stars for its conservation significance and recreation potential. The report is a tool for conservationists and science teachers looking for projects and class visits. It is hoped and expected that elected officials and governmental staffs will use it as they make land use decisions affecting forests, shores and wetlands. Copies of the "Wisconsin Land Legacy Report" are available for $15 each plus $8 shipping and handling. It can be ordered by calling (800) 362-7253 or by visiting DNR Service Centers.

Places in southeast Wisconsin that are listed include: Big Muskego Lake, Bong Grassland, Root River, Mukwonago River and Jericho Creek, Sugar Creek Valley, Chiwaukee Prairie, Des Plaines River Floodplain, the Kenosha Pike River and many more. If you are looking for places to hike, canoe or otherwise recreate, the DNR and I recommend you visit these Legacy Places...but leave no traces.

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It Can Be Done…
by John Berge
At a time when members of the Sierra Club, locally and across the country, are urging city mayors to sign the U.S. Mayors Agreement on Climate Control, reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 7% less than 1990, it is good to see that S. C. Johnson (SCJ) is already way ahead of them. They show us that it can be done.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized SCJ as one of the first corporations to achieve its voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals set through the EPA's Climate Leaders program.

As a charter member of the EPA's Climate Leaders program, SCJ made the aggressive commitment to reduce its GHG emissions per pound of product by 23 percent from 2000 to 2005.

By 2005 SCJ reduced GHGs by 24 percent, and impressively doubled the company's commitment of an 8 percent absolute reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by reaching 16 percent.

"SC Johnson made this commitment to reduce GHG emissions because it it's right for our business, right for our community and right for the environment," said Scott Johnson, Vice President of Global Environmental and Safety Actions. "This accomplishment marks the continuation of our long-standing commitment to environmental leadership."

Launched in 2002, SC Johnson was the first consumer products company to be a charter member of the Climate Leaders program. The voluntary government / industry partnership challenges business to develop a comprehensive GHG emissions inventory for their activities and then to set aggressive, long-term emissions reduction goals.

"By achieving their greenhouse gas reduction goals, these leading companies are proving that doing what is good for the environment is also good for business," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, in an EPA press release. "EPA is working hand-in-hand with business to voluntarily reduce their climate footprints in cost-effective ways."

SCJ significantly reduced its GHG emissions through the use of two gas turbine systems installed at Waxdale. SCJ embarked on the co-generation plan in 2003 with the start up of the first turbine, which produces 3,200 kilowatts of electricity and 19,000 pounds of steam per hour, using only landfill gas.

After its first year of operation, Waxdale's emissions of carbon dioxide and other GHGs dropped more than 25 percent and fossil fuel energy use was slashed by nearly 50 percent.

With the 2005 completion of the second turbine, which uses a mixture of natural and landfill gases, SCJ reduced GHG emissions by an additional 20,000 tons per year, bringing total emissions reductions from the co-generation system to 52,000 tons per year. That's equivalent to the amount of GHGs generated by 5,200 automobiles annually.

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Bottled Water "Hurting the Ecosystem"
by John Berge

The Sierra Club and other environ-mental organizations in Wisconsin have fought against the bottling of water in Wisconsin to preserve the Great Lakes and the smaller lakes, streams and springs. Remember "No Way, Perrier"? Now a new study by the Earth Policy Institute points out the high cost to the environment just for the bottles.

"Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing, producing unnecessary waste and consuming vast quantities of energy," according to Emily Arnold, author of the report. Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water which is subject to more stringent regulations, it can end up costing 10,000 times more. At $2.50 per liter, bottled water costs more than gasoline!

On our recent trip to Southeast Asia it was necessary for our health that we drink bottled water at all times. In contrast, the United States, where tap water is generally safe, is the largest consumer of bottled water in the world. Americans drank 26 billion liters of bottled water in 2004, the last year for which data is available.

This has resulted in massive costs for packaging the water, usually in bottles of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polymer derived from oil, and then transporting it by boat, train and/or truck. "Making bottles to meet American demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year. Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year," according to the study.
Unless the bottles are recycled, disposing of them poses other environmental risks. Our highway cleanups and walks around the neighborhood show that many Americans are not into recycling yet. Discarded bottles are not only an eyesore, but pose health risks as breeding places for mosquitoes, carriers of malaria, West Nile virus and other diseases.

The information printed here was taken from an article printed in "The Nation", an English language newspaper printed in Bangkok, Thailand, which I read while drinking bottled water.

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Happy Trails -- Unhappy Trails
by Lila Berge

Congratulations to the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation (IAPTF) on their 25th --or 34th -- or 48th -- Anniversary. Two-thirds of Wisconsin was shaped by massive ice glaciers, creating our thousands of inland lakes, streams, rivers, eskers and moraines as they slowly retreated. The Ice Age Trail starts on the shores of Green Bay in Door County and follows the path of the farthest glacial advance for over 1,000 miles across our beautiful state. Its western end is at the Interstate State Park Ice Age Reserve unit at the Dalles of the St. Croix River.

In 1958, a group of citizens started the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation. In 1971, the State of Wisconsin, in cooperation with the National Park Service created the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. In 1980, the U. S. Congress officially recognized it as a National Scenic Trail. Pick your anniversary year.

My favorite segment is located 15 miles east of Wausau, called the Dells of the Eau Claire River, in a Marathon County Park on Highway Z. There are 24 IAPTF chapters that take care of the Trail in their area. Of the 24 Chapters, the closest ones to the Southeast Gateway Group are the Walworth / Jefferson and Waukesha / Milwaukee County chapters. Trail work is done by volunteers, especially trained Mobile Skills Crews. All segments are open to the public. SEGG Sierrans have hiked various segments on our Third Saturday Hikes, on IAPTF Trail Days and other events. For membership, volunteer information and maps, contact the IAPTF at 207 E. Buffalo Street, Suite 515, Milwaukee, WI, 53202-5712, (800) 227-0046, or iat AT iceagetrail.org.

Unfortunately, all ATV riders do not respect "Foot Traffic Only" signs. When a 48-inch wide vehicle tears down a 24-inch wide foot path on fragile, hilly soil, a great deal of damage occurs to the trail, the peaceful environment and possibly any hiker in the way. The number of ATV's in the state is growing rapidly. Last year there were about 275,000 registered in the state, about half are used exclusively for farming, and the rest for recreation. There is an ATV association, with a website, which is very well funded by gasoline taxes, registration fees and the manufacturers. The latter are also known for ads that lead to rogue behavior.

The IAPTF has met with the DNR and ATV Association to discuss the problems. The DNR is setting up an incident report form. Funding for Recreational Law Enforcement Officers in counties, especially in the northwest, where problems occur frequently, is needed. Staffing for snowmobile enforcement officers was obtained recently. On September 29, 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in the Governor's Office by the Presidents of the two associations committing the ATV and IAPTF organizations to work together for enforcement and funds to repair the damage done by ATV's to foot trails. The MOU was also endorsed by the DNR.

Hikers can damage trails if they leave trash behind, go off-trail creating switchbacks or new paths, pick flowers or dig up plants, take historical artifacts, create a fire hazard, or camp in undesignated areas. Always follow rules regarding pets. Be careful if you walk on a trail where bikes are permitted, and don’t bike on a trail posted for foot traffic only. Report any incident or needed repairs to the DNR and the IAPTF.

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New Urban Myth: Formosan Termites May be in Mulch
by John Berge
The following e-mail message from an unnamed DNR Forester was recently wildly circulated: “If you use mulch around your house be very careful about buying mulch this year. After the Hurricane(s) in New Orleans many trees were blown over. These trees were then turned into mulch and the state is trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will come and haul it away. So it will be showing up in Home Depot and Lowes at dirt cheap prices with one huge problem: Formosan Termites will be the bonus in many of those bags. New Orleans is one of the few areas in the country where the Formosan Termites has gotten a strong hold and most of the trees blown down were already badly infested with those termites. Now we may have the worst case of transporting a problem to all parts of the country that we have ever had. These termites can eat a house in no time at all and we have no good control against them, so tell your friends that own homes to avoid cheap mulch and know were it came from.” 

This is a good and reasonable warning, although possibly more alarming than it should be. According to UW-Extension entomologist Phil Pellitterri, the Formosan termite is subterranean and subtropical. Being subterranean, it would not survive long out of its habitat. Being subtropical, it probably would not survive our winter temperatures. In addition, Louisiana has two quarantines in place covering wood and cellulosic materials from the parishes affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. According to Matthew Keppinger, Assistant Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry, "All woody debris in the quarantined areas is going to an approved landfill within the designated quarantine area. There are a multitude of government (state and federal) agencies that are looking at this debris every day as it is deposited into these landfills. The contractors mulching and hauling the debris know the regulations and are abiding by them according to the quarantine requirements."

But we can add another layer of protection by being aware of the threat, reading the labels on any wood mulch we buy, and not buying any from the hurricane zone. Why, with all the foul-ups that have occurred with the handling of this disaster, should we put our trust into these state and federal agencies? Why take the chance that this termite might survive its displacement from its habitat, the trip through the shredder and our winter weather? We have seen other semitropical insects that have survived to attack our native species. Being forewarned, it is better to be safe than sorry.

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Book Review:
"Traces of Eden: The Last of the American Wilderness"
by John Berge

Nishantha Gunawardena, a Sri Lankan by birth but now living in Rochester, Minnesota, was astounded and impressed by his first views of the natural beauty of the United States and at the rate we were destroying it with "humanity's restless engine noises and boisterous chaos." As a newcomer to our land and artist with a camera, he saw things that many of us have experienced and much that we might not have seen. For three years he traveled across the United States recording on film and digital media card the unspoiled portions of nature that are still here and worthy of our protection.

The name of the book that resulted from these travels is "Traces of Eden: The Last of the American Wilderness" ...one hundred sixty pages of artistic photo-graphs and short, but powerful, essays on wilderness and wild things from the Florida Keys to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, from Acadia National Park in Maine to the Islands of Hawaii, from the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin to the Big Bend National Park in Texas. There are sweeping panoramic shots accentuated by the colors of sunrise and sunset, and there are fascinating close-ups. I never was able to figure out his scheme for arranging his pictures, so an alligator in the Everglades is followed by a scene from Denali which is followed by a rocky beach in Maine. All are well composed photographs. Since there is no index, one must browse through this 8.5 x 11-inch hard cover coffee-table book, skipping and jumping along with the photographer/author throughout the wild places of the United States. Maybe that isn’t so bad an idea.

The book was printed in Hong Kong and possibly the printer is to blame for the generally dark aspect of almost all of the photographs. In some cases, much appears to be lost in the dark; in others one's mood may be darkened from that which should be an enjoyable, vicarious experience. I will bring the book, generously given by the author, to our next Group meetings so you can scan it first hand.

The book was published by TOE Books, 5087 51st St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901 and sells for $34.95. It was brought to my attention by the author as a possible fund raiser for the Southeast Gateway Group. Because we are already selling beautiful nature photographs taken by members of the Group, selling of this book at a suitably elevated price as a fund raiser was deemed to be a potential conflict with our own sales. If you want a book for your coffee table which covers much of the wilderness in the United States with excellently composed photographs, this book may be just what you want. If you want excellently composed and beautifully printed photographs to hang on your walls, come to any of our meetings and choose from the selection that Gary Zumach will have on display. If you can’t come to any meeting, contact Gary at (262) 498-2656 or gzumach AT wi.net. Your purchases will help support the programs and activities of our Southeast Gateway Group.

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Fellow Carnivores Beware
by Lila Berge

The growing use of carbon monoxide (CO) as a "pigment fixative" in meat and tuna could fool the customer into thinking the meat is fresh when it isn't. The following article is excerpted from a recent article in the "Washington Post Weekly" and has not appeared in local papers.

"Case ready" meats are hermetically sealed in clear plastic wrap immediately after slaughter. This meat stays red when the package is spiked with CO because this gas binds to a muscle protein called myoglobin and it stays a bright pink almost indefinitely.

This use of carbon monoxide started about five years ago with Pactiv Corporation of Lake Forest, IL. The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the assertion that CO was a "color fixative" not a “color additive” which would have to pass a rigorous review. The gas is harmless to health at levels used, so FDA decided CO falls under the regulatory category "GRAS", generally recognized as safe. Tyson Foods is one of three meat packagers given permission to zap their meat products with CO.

Do you as a customer deserve to have such meat packages labeled? Or don't you look at the color of meat to indicate freshness and safety? Until such labeling is mandatory, or such use of CO is banned as it is in Europe, look at the package date, but also watch for slime formation and bulging of the plastic wrap, since off odors may not be obvious until after the sealed package is opened. Or become a vegetarian.