Joe’s earlier post on the fishing derby sounded really cool and made me curious, so I googled the topic of fishing derby benefits to species conservation. Rather than stumbling on the benefit of fishing derbies that Joe discussed, I stumbled upon another benefit. Apparently some fishing derbies are being planned and put on with the intention of eradicating invasive species! This article (accessible in link I attached at the bottom) discusses two ice fishing derbies put on at Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming to eradicate the area of burbots or lings that were illegally introduced years back with the tagline:

“Wanted: anglers to ding a ling or bash a burbot.”

Apparently game and fish biologists have found that these derbies successfully control this invasive fish population. They are particularly supportive of this event as these invasive species pose a significant risk to the lake’s sport fishery and to Kokanee salmon populations.

This idea that sport could double with conservation efforts put a funny image in my head. What if we had contests to get rid of all sorts of invasive species? What about a purple loosestrife, zebra mussel, or european starling derby?

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/fishing-derbies-aimed-to-eradicate-invasive-species/article_9e685c4e-baec-5bc9-89db-79824719317f.html

Modern Day Butz Mill Property

For this week’s update we decided to go a different direction; we decided to learn about what is currently going on at our site. We figured this would give us an even better idea of how much the site has changed over time.

Butz Park-a passive, neighborhood, public park. It is 1.62 acres. It is a preserved parcel adjacent to state route 22. The park is so steep no recreation features exist in the park; it is basically a remainder parcel from highway construction.
www.easton-pa.com/rec/openspace.pdfwww.easton-pa.com/rec/openspace.pdf

Safe Harbor arose from two roots, a program for the city’s poorest residents started by the Easton Drop-In Center in 1983 and a demonstrated need prompted by Lafayette College students in 1988. Soon a group was formed, 400,000$ were raised in a capital campaign, and a permanent facility was built by 1990-Safe Harbor. Government grants provide much of Safe Harbor’s funding, as well as donations from other groups and organizations. Safe HArbor is a two-story building with of housing capacity for 22 men and 14 women overnight. Safe Harbor is an emergency transitional shelter, providing clean housing for up to 120 days while residents reclaim their lives and acquire life skills needed to gain employment and permanent. In addition, during the day Safe Harbor also serves as a safe place where low-income and functionally disabled adults may receive two meals a day and social rehabilitation services. Safe Harbor serve approximately 275 homeless single adult men and women each year; 80% from Easton, 15% from Warren County, NJ, and 5% from Lehigh County. Last year over 44,000 meals were served at the center, and visitors also have access to medical checkups and testing as well as a clothing closet.
https://safeharboreaston.wordpress.com/ourhistory/

Public Works is the largest and most diverse department with roughly 100 staff members that provide and manage a wide variety of programs: wastewater treatment, sewage collections & conveyance systems, highways and roads, engineering, parks and recreation, garbage, and recycling, public buildings maintenance, parking facilities, street and traffic lights, and public motors fleets (this explains some of the stuff we saw the other day while capturing the site). The specific Public Works building by our site is the municipal complex and recycling drop-off center.
http://www.easton-pa.gov/pwabout.html

Earlier in the semester, we talked about the movement to remove dams across the United States. Originally, dams were built in order to stimulate the economy at the expense of the environment and the ecosystems of the river that was being damed. The movement to “Free the Snake” has helped shed light on how daming a river literally puts a barrier across the idea that rivers connect us. Even though the dams along the Snake are no longer in use, they continue to take their toll on the salmon population that once thrived in the river. I think that these dams are a symbol of the problems that arise when human development gets in the way of natural processes. The attached video explains some of the impacts on the salmon populations that have been caused by the dams along the snake.

P.S. – The documentary “Damnation,” which we watched the trailer for in class, is being shown in Bethlehem next week on October 15th.

“Tourists wanted an image of wilderness, not a realistically dangerous wilderness experience”

So like most millennials I have an Instagram. Now I don’t consider myself an active participant, like I don’t post pictures but I’ll go check out the pictures every once in while. One of the accounts I follow is the U.S. Department of the Interior. The department posts pictures of incredible views advertising National Parks and grand vistas with the slogan “Protecting America’s Great Outdoors and Powering our Futures”.

Seeing a post the other day reminded me of the Byerly piece and how the American view of the nature has been turned into this staged beauty meant to sell these places rather than appreciate their surroundings. This account is selling a product and trying to get people come out and see these same views for themselves.

So while I still enjoy these posts, I might look at the pictures a little differently knowing the potential reason behind them.

Check out the fall colors from #Denali #NationalPark. Termination dust – the first snowfall that sticks to mountain tops and signals that winter is coming – is visible on the Alaska Range in the background. While much of the country is getting its first look at fall colors, these views in #Alaska are only a memory. There, the days are getting shorter and sections of the park road are closed. The white of snow will rule the land until spring’s distant arrival. Photo of @Denali.NPS by Michel Hersen (www.sharetheexperience.org)

A photo posted by U.S. Department of the Interior (@usinterior) on Oct 7, 2015 at 8:26am PDT

How can they call it Badlands when the views are just so good? Badlands National Park in #SouthDakota draws visitors from around the world with its rugged beauty and rich fossil beds. It’s a place to explore the unique landscape while imagining the ancient mammals that once roamed here. #Sunrise is a particularly good time for contemplation and reflection. Photo by Harlan Humphrey (www.sharetheexperience.org) Want to be featured on @USInterior’s account? We’re partnering with @CBSThisMorning to share amazing sunrise photo from America’s national parks and other public lands. Tag your photos with #SunriseThisMorning for a chance to have one of your photos appear on our feeds!

A photo posted by U.S. Department of the Interior (@usinterior) on Oct 8, 2015 at 8:22am PDT

Can you believe this picture from #HawaiiVolcanoes #NationalPark? As water runs into the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, intense heat from the lava pool quickly turns it into steam, offering a canvas for flames and moonlight to color. It’s an extraordinary sight in a place of natural wonder and cultural importance. The crater’s name translates into “house of eternal flame” and it is known as the home of the goddess Pele, the creator of new land. Photo by Eric Leifer (www.sharetheexperience.org).

A photo posted by U.S. Department of the Interior (@usinterior) on Oct 3, 2015 at 8:25am PDT

I’ve had an annoying head cold, two exams, and barely any sleep this week, so as I plopped down after this long day, I was feeling punchy and ready to yell at someone. Luckily, I came across an email from 350.org Bucks County that begun with the words “ACTION ALERT.” According to this email, an Isreali company called Elcon has resubmitted a previously denied proposal to site a hazardous and pharmaceutical chemical waste treatment facility about 25 minutes from where I live. The rest of the email noted that the PA DEP is set to accept their proposal unless there is significant pushback from the local community. However, the request for more in-person public comments was denied. Therefore, the last hope are letters and emails sent before the deadline of October 14th. To my delight, I had anger to channel and it’s only October 8th. Inspired by last night’s Rachel Carson discussion, the letter to the editor written by Olga from Boston, and my own sense of defending my home, I wrote the following email to RA-HazWaste@pa.gov:

Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Team Leader,

This is the first photo I took. I think Ginny spotted it. I liked the way the daddy long legs was so calm as so many people were walking around it and so I tried to capture it in this image. Also the different colors of the leaves were interesting as they were mostly this lovely green color, but where they had been eaten away were instead this yellowish tint, potentially foreshadowing of what is too come.

I took this photo after looking into the tree canopy for awhile trying to identify birds. I noticed this image when I realized this young, thin tree was being overshadowed by a much larger tree in the back. Overall, I thought the backdrop of the thicker tree provided a sort of prediction towards the future of the thinner, younger tree and was really what I was trying to capture in taking the photo. I also really liked the shadowing and light I captured in the photo and I think adds some depth to the spectrum of the image.

For the last three summers I have worked at a family camp in the Sierra Nevada Mountains called the Lair of the Bear. I always miss the Lair when I am on the east coast, but reading John Muir’s vivid descriptions of Hetch Hetchy made me really miss my home away from home last night. Check out where I spend my summers:

Our Staff Area. We slept without tent tops under the stars

Playing Snappa

The top of half dome

Creekside

Pinecrest Lake

Therapy

On our fourth site visit we noticed the leaves had started to shift colors more obviously on our walk to the site. We passed the construction site on 611 where no progress ever seems to be made and over the Bushkill as we do every week.

We did not encounter the Homeless Person we usually see changing his shirt by the sign at 2:30 pm because we did not get there until 3:00 pm. Instead we were greeted on the path down to where the Delaware meets the Bushkill by a heavy-set man and his slender friend. They were both sopping wet and wore neutral colored clothing, they had beards and shaggy hair but they approached us in a friendly matter. “Getting the last swim in of the season,” the heavier man said in response to his moist appearance. He explained to us that it was quite beautiful on the other side once you pass the “Hobo hideaway.” We smiled and headed down the path; the more we come here, the more it changes.

The water level had risen significantly from the last time we had been there. A basketball floated in the water, stuck between the currents of the Bushkill and the Delaware. There was a significant increase in litter since the first time we had come here four weeks ago.

On the Delaware we observed our first look at some wildlife, some visitors from north of the border. Canadian Geese were floating in the Delaware about 200 yards upstream. I have never seen geese float on a river, I am used to see them in ponds and in big open fields as they migrate.

Over the past four weeks we have become braver in approaching the Homeless person’s dwelling. This afternoon, we were quite startled by what we discovered. There were skull face targets shot with paint guns lying out to dry. There was also a comforter lying on rocks. We wonder if the homeless person who lives here will stay here all winter, It is much to exposed to the elements for anyone to survive.