Quack If You Like Prairie Potholes: USFWS Wants to Preserve 1.94M Acres

If you think the 48,000 acres proposed for the Tony Dean Cheyenne River National Grassland Wilderness is a big deal, check this out: Mr. Kurtz reads about an ambitious conservation project proposed by our friends at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. USFWS wants to create a Dakota Grassland Conservation Area that would preserve 240,000 acres of wetlands and 1.7 million acres of grassland in the Prairie Pothole region.

That isn't Florida! It's the Dakota Grassland Conservation Area
proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It's bigger than Florida.

Don't worry: USFWS isn't kicking us all out of East River. They plan to pay landowners not to tear up native prairie. USFWS estimates that over half of this untilled ground will be developed for farming or housing or some other use over the next 34 years. Such development would seriously degrade what USFWS calls "the backbone of North America’s 'duck factory' and critical habitat for many wetland- and grassland-dependent migratory birds."

To protect this habitat, Fish & Wildlife would buy conservation easements. Landowners keep their property rights and control over public access. Farmers can still farm the wetlands during naturally dry years and graze and hay the grasslands. The land stays on the tax rolls, so local governments don't lose out on revenue. On the budget side, this federal spending appears deficit-neutral: the money comes primarily "from oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf, excess motorboat fuel tax revenues, and sale of surplus Federal property."

USFWS is hosting three public meetings next week across the Prairie Pothole Region to talk about the plan and gets folks' input:

• December 14, 2010: Minot, ND, 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Sleep Inn–Inn and Suites, 2400 10th Street SW
• December 15, 2010: Jamestown, ND, 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Gladstone Inn and Suites, 111 2nd Street NE
• December 16, 2010: Huron, SD, 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Crossroads Hotel, 100 4th Street SW

This grassland proposal looks like a good deal for all parties concerned, from budget hawks to ducks and geese. But Uncle Sam welcomes your two-cents' worth. If you can't make the meetings, you can submit comments by e-mail to planning team leader Nick Kaczor.

Tar Sands Oil Kills Ducks; TransCanada Spoils Roads

If you still aren't mad at TransCanada for slurping up $10.5 million in tax refunds that South Dakota could have used to fund education and roads (see Rep. Mitch Fargen's duly indignant comments at the Madison Chamber forum last week), how about getting mad at them for poaching ducks?

Well, I suppose it's not poaching, and it's not TransCanada directly, but they are part of tar sands industry that is killing ducks without a hunting license, ducks that you and your law-abiding, South Dakota license-holding pals could joyfully and legally blast from the sky. Reports Plains Justice:

Just a week after paying a CAN$3 million fine for the deaths of 1600 ducks that landed on its tailing ponds in 2008, Canada tar sands extractor Syncrude had to euthanize 230 ducks that landed on its tar sands tailing ponds this week (there was good coverage of the story out of Calgary). To look at their website, you’d think Syncrude was an environmental organization, but they’ve been unable to resolve the lethal combination of highly toxic tailings ponds and a huge migratory waterfowl corridor. In spite of reassurances from industry and the Canadian government that the 2008 event was a mistake that would never happen again, here we are [Carrie La Seur, "230 More Ducks Dead in Tar Sands Tailing Ponds," Plains Justice Today, 2010.10.28].

TransCanada is more directly responsible for some road wreckage here on the Great Plains. Just as has been the case in South Dakota, Kansas officials and residents are struggling with road damage caused by construction last year of TransCanada's Keystone pipeline.

So thanks to our addiction to foreign oil, you'll have fewer ducks to shoot and you'll burn more gas trying to get to those ducks as you detour around wrecked roads on TransCanada's pipeline route.

High Water at Lake Herman: Algae, Weeds, Snails!

I got to break out the waders and boonie hat and play Junior Science Ranger again yesterday: we had another round of water sampling as part of our area lake bacteria monitoring project yesterday. Samples so far this year have come in relatively clean. Bacteria counts have been well below the maximum state and EPA standards for safe swimming and other recreation. (You still take a swig at your own risk.) We've had some soupy and stinky algae days, but yesterday the water seemed remarkably clear—not northern Minnesota clear, but we'll take what we can get.

Lake Herman has dropped significantly in the past dry week, perhaps as much as a foot. But the lake is still remarkably high at my home shoreline and at my two water sampling sites at Camp Lakodia and, pictured above, the south tributary on Rick Doblar's land. (Click each photo for bigger view.)

Looking north toward the state park... see the brown triangle beyond the tree? Usually, that's all green grass. But the water was high enough in June to inundate that low ground alongside the tributary and drown the grass.

That usually dry ground is still plenty wet. Out at the tip is the point where I usually drop my gear on dry ground and wade in to take samples.

Lake Herman's south bay is about a meter deep just off shore and stays that depth for quite a ways out. The water is rife with what my biologist friends say is sago pondweed. Good for ducks and geese, bad for your boat prop.

Snails dig sago pondweed, too.

Nature Conservancy Ordway Prairie HQ Open House July 24

Hey, here's something I didn't know about: The Nature Conservancy runs the Samuel H. Ordway, Jr. Memorial Preserve up west of Leola in McPherson County. No campsites or other facilities, just a visitor trail and 7800 acres of mostly untilled prairie. Oh yeah, and 250 head of bison. (Remember, bison are not pets! They will step on you!)

The Ordway Prairie is part of a larger stretch of 135,000 acres—about 210 square miles—of untilled prairie that reaches up to North Dakota. Sounds like a lot of beautiful open country.

The Ordway Prairie is the largest preserve owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy in South Dakota. The Nature Conservancy is working on preserving ten other sites in our fair state. The Ordway Prairie pings onto my radar by announcing an open house at its headquarters on July 24. The open house will be the first time the public can come in and see the new energy-efficient building. Some highlights in the construction:

1. south-facing windows for natural light and passive solar heat in winter
   
2. light-colored roof and wide overhangs to reduce heat in summer
3. lots of recycled material in the doors, windows, and steel
4. efficient appliances and low-flow water fixtures

And coming up: a wind turbine and solar panel to produce energy on site.

Canadian Tar Sands Company Liable for Duck Deaths

If South Dakota's sportsmen are concerned about preserving waterfowl for our recreation and tourism industry, they should be concerned about the expanding Keystone pipeline system and the dirty tar sands oil TransCanada will transport. Even if those pipelines never leak and pollute South Dakota's wetlands, the production of the oil they carry has already killed wildlife in Alberta.

I reported on duck deaths in the toxic tar sands tailings ponds in 2008; now an Alberta court has found tar sands producer Syncrude guilty of killing nearly 1600 ducks (well over anyone's limit). Syncrude faces up to 800,000 dollars Canadian in fines for its negligence.

Syncrude initially reported that 500 ducks were killed when it didn't maintain its bird-shooing cannons in working order. The company now admits it lowballed that number: the actual count was more like 1600. Gee, oil companies underestimating the impact of their mistakes... where have I heard that before?

SDSU Prof Studies Climate Change Impact on Prairie Wetlands

So the scholars in the South Dakota Legislature want more "balanced" instruction in our schools about climate change? Perhaps they can turn to our own Dr. W. Carter Johnson. The South Dakota native and SDSU Professor of Ecology is doing important work studying the effects of climate change right in our backyard. His latest work on the Prairie Pothole Region just made the pages of Bioscience. Johnson and his fellow researchers find we will likely lose water, grasses, waterfowl, and other species.

In other words, we'll have fewer of the critters from the shooting of which we derive so much pleasure and revenue.

Dr. Johnson explained some of his findings on the Feb. 11 Dakota Midday on SDPB. Perhaps we can plat that tape for the kids in class to balance out the uninformed raving they here on the news from their astrologically inclined legislators.

Johnson, W., B. Werner, G. Guntenspergen, R. Voldseth, B. Millett, D. Naugle, M. Tulbure, R. Carroll, J. Tracy, and C. Olawsky. "Prairie Wetland Complexes as Landscape Functional Units in a Changing Climate. " Bioscience 60.2 (2010): 128-140. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. See PDFs of this paper and other work on wetlands and climate change here.

Legislative Roundup: Toothless Legislation, Jail Bait, Beavers...

This week in the South Dakota State Legislature:

Genocide Concerns Us, But Keep Investing in Iran: The Senate Retirement Laws Committee stamped SB 21 "Do Pass." They did amend the state's request for unfettered investment in terrorist states. The amendment calls on the State Investment Council to "engage and promote compliance" with federal divestiture laws and authorizes the Legislature to "express its concerns" about state investments that may fund evildoers. In other words, more toothless paperwork. No sign yet of Rep. Lederman's promised legislation to outright ban the state from investing in Iran. Stay tuned....

Sex Sex Sex...: And you thought the budget would be all our legislators had on their minds. There are a slew of proposals relating to sex offenders and the life sentences our state imposes on them. There's also HB 1110, which eases the penalty for statutory rape for certain young and restless penetrators fondlers.

[Update 2010.01.24: HB 1110 primary sponsor Rep. Rich Engels drops by the comment section to clarify! See below! This bill is about sexual contact, not sexual penetration! Errors from the original post are corrected below—sorry for the mess!]

(Read carefully: this is tricky!) Right now, sex with someone under 16 is a Class 3 felony. However, if you're less than three years older than the victim, it's only a Class 1 misdemeanor.

HB 1110 changes the law to read thus:

If the victim is at least thirteen years of age and the actor is less than five years older than the victim, the actor is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Let's try to clarify, kids:

Under HB 1110, if you are this old...	...[correction] serious necking is a felony if she/he's this old (or younger)	..but a misdemeanor if she/he's this old
16	12	13–15
17	12	13–15
18	13	14–15
19	14	15
20	15

Correction: The rules on rape remain the same. basically, kids, don't go all the way! If either party is under 16, it may be rape... and it's probably stupid. And for pete's sake, don't do it a second time: HB 1110 makes second offense a Class 2 felony.

So under HB 1110, two legal adults, one 19, one 18, could perform the same act, sex heavy petting with a 14-year-old. The 19-year-old could get 15 years in the pen and a $30K fine. The 18-year-old could get a year in the county jail and a $2K fine.

Hmm... could we just issue stainless steel underpants to everyone and hand out keys with high school diplomas? (Now that would cut the drop-out rate.)

Darn You Beavers!: In the unnecessary legislation department, HB 1113 adds prairie dogs, raccoons, skunks, and beavers to list of critters GF&P can target on the animal damage control list. Thing is, current statute already says that list can include "other wild animals" deemed injurious to the general welfare. I guess certain legislators just want to say, "Skunks! Coons! Beavers! We mean you!"

Update 13:05 CST: But wait, there's more!

Tightening the Auto Insurance Noose: Driving without insurance could get harder: SB 87 would require folks registering any noncommercial motor vehicle to show their proof of insurance to the county treasurer.

Make Your Own Gun, Dodge Federal Rules!: A majority of the Legislature has already signed on to sponsor SB 89, which will exempt firearms, firearm accessories, and ammo made and used exclusively in South Dakota from federal regulations. Do whatever you want with your weapons, as long as you don't invade Minnesota.

Sure enough, the "Firearms Freedom Act" is a coordinated national effort. SB 89 copies language used in a "Firearms Freedom Act" proposed in Minnesota last year. Montana led the way, passing the first version of said law last year and now fighting Uncle Sam in court to keep it. Interestingly, the NRA may not be supporting this law.

Open Fields? HB 1067 Requires Landowner Permission for Conservation Officers to Do Their Job

Representative Mike Verchio from Hill City has lobbed a handful of bills and resolutions onto the South Dakota state legislature's agenda. Among them, House Bill 1067 seeks to restrict conservation officers' access to private land. Verchio's bill would require the game warden to get landowner or lessee permission to enter private land. The bill does make reasonable suspicion and hot-pursuit exceptions, but it creates a barrier to compliance checks, where the conservation officer approaches hunters and fishers to check licenses and limits.

South Dakota Game Fish & Parks offers this defense of compliance checks:

Since the earliest days of statehood, conservation officers have carried out their enforcement responsibilities through the use of compliance checks here in South Dakota. These informal contacts with hunters and anglers in the field provide the public with assurance that laws and regulations established by the South Dakota Legislature and Game, Fish and Parks Commission are being followed. By Game, Fish and Parks Policy, conservation officers are allowed to go onto private land to conduct compliance checks in “open fields” only when they have visible evidence that hunting or fishing is actually occurring. Compliance checks provide a critically important deterrent to anyone who might consider violating the wildlife laws of the state. Without the ability to make personal contact with a hunter or angler in the field, it would be all but impossible for a conservation officer to know if that person had the proper license, was abiding by the bag limits, or was adhering to the numerous other restrictions enacted to protect and manage wildlife for the citizens of our state [Emmett J. Keyser, Asst. Director, Field Operations, "Compliance Checks Critical to Wildlife Conservation," South Dakota Game Fish & Parks].

So if we require conservation officers to get landowner permission, will we reduce the effectiveness of compliance checks? Some landowners would surely deny game wardens entry, and their land could then become free-fire zones for those (few, I hope) unlicensed, unscrupulous hunters.

I wonder if there's an analogy to sobriety checkpoints. I'm not fond of checkpoints, but I understand the argument that we're on public roads, driving's a privilege, etc. In enforcing hunting laws and protecting wildlife, game wardens have a tougher job than the highway patrol. The activity the HP is monitoring takes place on public roads (if you want to drive drunk and back into a tree in your own yard, well, I guess that's your business). The public resources GF&P is charged to protect are distributed across private land.

HB 1067 will bring up some useful discussion of private property rights and the Open Fields Doctrine. What do you think? Does the need to manage wildlife for the benefit of all who enjoy hunting and fishing outweigh private property rights? Weigh in here and with your legislators!

Enemy Swim Pre-Schoolers Process Deer

If the folks at PETA didn't like the name of Spearfish High School, the curriculum at Enemy Swim Day School should send them up a wall. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate weekly Sota Iya Ye Yapi reports that the Enemy Swim pre-schoolers recently learned how to process a deer. The pix show the little ones getting up close and personal with Bambi, holding her legs while the older fellas slice her open, and even getting to sample some of the fresh venison.

Show of hands, parents: how many of your kids learned anything that useful—or tasty—in school today?

And I wonder: would processing deer count as part of the "Project-Based Learning" the Sioux Falls School District is spending millions of dollars to implement?

Notes from Tonight's City Commission Agenda: LAIC Handout, Vote Question, Sidewalks, Beavers, and Bugs!

I'm perusing the Madison City Commission agenda packet for tonight's meeting, at which Dwaine Chapel will ask the city for yet another zero-accountability handout for the Lake Area Improvement Corporation. The agenda packet doesn't even include a letter from the LAIC indicating how much of our tax dollars they might ask for, or for what purposes. Wouldn't want to much information getting out to the public, would we, LAIC?

I notice a slight discrepancy in the minutes from last week's meeting: the minutes report (on page 16 of the 36-page agenda packet) that the vote to hand out $125K to cover James River Equipment's Highway 34 turning lane was unanimous. However, the Madison Daily Leader reported the vote was 4–1, with Nick Abraham dissenting (perhaps on faulty geographic reasoning, but so be it).

So which is it? Nick, did you vote no or not?

Also of interest are the packet of letters from residents requesting extensions on their sidewalk installation deadlines. Most refer to complications with lining up a contractor. One handwritten note, however, makes a rather more pointed argument. I transcribe verbatim from page 32 of the agena packet:

To whoever it may concern:

Could we please get an extension on our sidewalk? I am employed by Gehl Co.—only working 6 days per month. Our funds can't handle it now. Such a project right now with the economy and Gehl employees.

David Anderson

Perhaps the city will be as generous with Mr. Anderson as they are with the LAIC and big business.

Randy Schaefer is also among the folks requesting a little more time to install that darn sidewalk. He appears indirectly a second time in the minutes: his Silver Creek Circle development is among five miscreant properties listed in the mayor's report (page 36) as having tall grass and weeds. Great Scotts! Cut the guy a break—he's boning up on all those messy Regents issues.

Someone also complained to the mayor about the need for some more mowing along the bike trail. Good work, kids! A while back, I did see what appeared to be a private citizen taking matters into his own hands and mowing along the trail towards its eatern terminus. He even had the courtesy to go back over the trail with his rider mower and blow the grass off the pavement. Nice!

Also in the mayor's report: complaints about a horse in the yard on Northwest 6th Street, beaver activity on Silver Creek, and (today's piéce de resistance) bug bites at a motel. It must be fun to be mayor.

Brookings County Doubles Gopher Bounty -- Puts Bang in Economic Stimulus?

Brookings County may have just hit on the best economic stimulus idea ever: give people money to shoot varmints! Beset with gophers digging up all of the good green earth, the Brookings County Commission has doubled the bounty it offers for gophers from $1 to $2.

I can hear the gunfire now. For $2 a head (or tail, or whatever's left after you pop the little critter with your .22), I'd happily join the gopher hunt. Heck, we poison and shoot gophers on our well-ventilated land for free: we'd be rich if Lake County offered such critter cash.

Now think how perfect this plan is for economic stimulus. Americans love shooting stuff. They've been buying guns hand over pistol grip since Obama's election. There's synergy to be had here! Why not spend public stimulus dollars to reward Americans for using those guns to actually serve the public good by eradicating varmints? And we all know target practice on a live opponent is much more rewarding than tin cans or clay pigeons.

Fewer gopher holes, better aim, and more money for consumer spending: heck of a deal! Kudos to Brookings County for finally figuring out the way to put the bang in the stimulus buck. Happy shooting!

South Dakota: Bear Crossing!

A black bear visited Milbank, South Dakota, a couple weeks ago. I think it was originally bearing for Brookings to give Pat Powers something to worry about besides mountain lions. Fortunately for PP and all tasty bloggers to the south, said bear headed back to North Dakota, where it met an untimely demise at a farm near Fairmount.

Memo to bears and drunks alike: keep your paws off people's houses, and don't look in the windows.

South Dakota State Wildlife director Tony Leif assures us the bear visit was "probably unique" since there's no habitat suitable for bear (or anyone else?) in North Dakota.

But if it wasn't, remember: if you meet a bear, be respectful. Stand tall, wave your arms, and talk to the bear, preferably in a loud, low voice (if possible, play Isaac Hayes).

Of course, maybe the bears are coming to South Dakota to help keep down our moose population, and that could be a good thing. Moose can be just as dangerous as bears. (Moose will trample you—ouch!) Over a 29-year period in British Columbia, bear and moose each killed 19 people. During that same period, mountain lions killed only five people... and horses killed 47.

Secretary LaHood Gives Us the Bird (Data)

...sorry, couldn't resist!

Another small step for government transparency: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he'll overrrule the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to keep bird-plane collision data secret. The FAA tried to sneak this rule by, but public comments on the proposal ran 5 to 1 against.

This one's a no-brainer. The government has data on public safety hazards. Citizens have a right to know about such hazards. The data should be open, period. And if that data might discourage travelers from using some airports, perhaps that will simply motivate some airports to improve their bird-safety measures... or open up more special goose seasons. Either way, the public wins.

Eagle Eyes Madville Times

Lake Herman neighbor Zeno VanErdwyk captured this lovely photo of a bald eagle over Lake Herman early last month. The Madison Daily Leader gave the photo front page coverage, and rightly so, as it is a remarkable image of our feathered national symbol gracing our county with a visit. (Conservative friends, feel free to imagine all those sitting ducks as Europe. ;-) )


Just today another neighbor pointed out something we both missed on first viewing. Upper left, behind the trees, little green house... that's home. Madville Times World Headquarters. Pretty cool.

Reason #47 I Like Living on Lake Herman

Sights and sounds from the front porch:



Try not to think of the couple dozen tons of goose poop our feathered friends contribute to Lake Herman each during their stay. :-)

Tony Dean Memorial: 2000 Acres of Open Land

A fund drive is underway to establish Tony Dean's Acres, a 2000-acre memorial to the renowned South Dakota outdoorsman and conservation advocate who died last October. The memorial fund has raised over $26K so far; they'll need about eight times that to move the project forward.

In the fundraising e-mail Mr. Powers posted Monday, Dean's wife Dar says, "Tony always wanted the average person to be able to enjoy the great outdoors. We hope the people who enjoyed Tony’s shows and writing will step up and enable us to do this for him.”

What more fitting memorial could we create for Tony Dean? A statue serves to glorify one person. Tony Dean's Acres will raise up all people and offer them more access to the glory of nature.

Find out more and make a donation at the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation website.

--------------
Political note: The memorial organizers say they haven't picked out a site yet, though they envision getting some mixed wetlands/grasslands in central South Dakota. I can't help wondering: if Lake County had a suitable stretch of wildlife habitat for the memorial and the planners came a-calling, would Linda Hilde oppose the plan, saying a growing tax base is more important than providing spaces where the average person can enjoy the great outdoors?

Must Be Nuts to Be Out in This Weather...

...or just a little squirrelly.

This little guy was out on a limb this windy morning out in front of the Mundt Library eating berries.

I can still see the road... and the Moonlite! Nothing the Jeep can't handle.

HB 1004 on Mountain Lions: Shoot 'Em and Stuff 'Em!

The Game Fish and Parks Agency Review Committee gets the early bird prize: they have filed the first five House bills for the 2009 session of the South Dakota Legislature. One measure sure to warm the cockles of PP's anti-feline heart: HB 1004, a measure to provide for the killing and dispostion of mountain lions. HB 1004 says if a mountain lion threatens you, any other person, or your livestock or pets, you can shoot it, no questions asked. You can also then keep the dead cat, stuff and mount it over your fireplace. No selling, trading, or bartering lion parts, though!

Come to Madison -- Learn About Carp!

The wily carp gets a night of its own here in Madison on Thursday. Some really smart guys—Matthew Hennen and Michael Brown of SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries Science, and Todd St. Sauver and Dave Luccheri of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks—are coming to town to talk about past and current research on our friend the carp and the impact of the big fish in our local lakes. Program begins Thursday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. at the Ruth Habeger Science Center auditorium at DSU. (If I can knock out my Advanced Database final for Dr. Shan early, I might have to drop by!)

No word on whether snacks (carp d'oeuvres?) will be served, but plenty of food for thought will be available. Come find out whether those flying silver carp will be invading our placid little watershed anytime soon.

p.s.: As I Google carp info, up swims this tasty headline from NPR: "Asian Carp: Can't Beat Them? Eat Them."