Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
Earth Day is many things to many people but it has been and always will be a political event. While Gaylord Nelson and others created the day to celebrate the natural beauty and vitality of Earth and the steps then undertaken to protect it, another purpose was to mobilize the political will to take more decisive action to protect our environment and natural resources.
As many have noted oh so many times in the last six months, probably the single most important political struggle on behalf of conservation in Wisconsin is the renewal of the Stewardship Program. Key to winning is convincing enough Republican legislators to support renewal. Gathering Waters has provided wonderful information on how to contact your legislators here. Please, please follow those directions to urge your legislators to support Stewardship. Please, please, please do so if your state senator or representative is a Republican.
Stewardship is for the Birds
From Gathering Water’s email today: Did you know that at least 1,810 Knowles-Nelson Stewardship projects have been implemented within a mile of Wisconsin's 93 Important Bird Areas? Those projects have invested $231,042,096 (not to mention matching dollars) and protected at least 149,300 acres. Wow.
What is an important bird area? Simply put, important bird areas are places that have been identified as areas of critical importance for birds. That might be a nesting area for a threatened species, a crucial migratory stopover spot, or habitats for bird species who only thrive in a particular area.
Madison Audubon photo
A bit of advice in making your request effective:
Just about all the state's conservation organizations supporting Stewardship profusely thanked Governor Evers for his $70 million Stewardship proposal—authorization of the program for 10 years with $70 million allocated for each year. He deserves this thanks and praise.
But in light of the Republicans' fraught relationship with the Governor, I recommend you focus your message on the need for a long-term, robustly funded Stewardship program. I don't know that wording it as a request for the Republican legislator to support the Governor's proposal has any chance of success.
The more you can personalize your request the better. If, for example, using any Stewardship-funded property has been important for you and your family during the COVID era, please mention that.
This Earth Day, what’s your motivation?
This blog has moved in a necessary but somewhat dreary direction. That's been true of several articles and letters I've read in connection with this Earth Day. With the changed climate severely damaging our earth a bit more every day, we encounter lots of earnest advice to change our ways—for example, stopping or severely reducing our use of fossil fuels, meat, air travel, automobiles. I won't argue with those admonitions but joy is sometimes better motivation than duty.
Brook trout photo by Jason Ross/USFWS Midwest
A good reason to protect the Earth and our natural resources is the delight, joy, fun, happiness we can find in them. The other day I ran into the most extraordinary hatch of caddis, a genus of aquatic insects, on a nearby stream. The little, gray bugs were everywhere: on the water, on the shore, in the air above the stream. They were flying, swarming, dancing on the surface, hiding in the grass. The water was clear, the sun was bright, and the trout were happy. One very nice fish breached, launched his whole body over a foot out of the water. That's a lot of energy for one little bug. Forgive the anthropomorphism, but I think he was as happy as I was. I was laughing out loud. I didn't even catch many fish (the bright sun and clear water don't favor the angler) but I didn't care. Just to connect to that energy, abundance and vitality was joyful and restorative.
Joy in Nature inspiration #1
A great example of a fun, joyful experience in nature: watching a Purple Gallinule forage! This video by Arlene Koziol shows how its silly-long toes and lightweight body allows it to walk on top of the lily pads and search underneath for insects.
Joy in Nature inspiration #2-5
So take some time this week to make Earth Day a new event: Mirth Day. Think a bit about what you must enjoy in our local nature and do it. Bird, hike, bike, ramble, find a trout or a trout lily. From what my birder friends tell me, the warblers should be around to spread some joy as they do so well. Talk to yourself about what you are enjoying; smile and laugh.
Lots of our plant and animal friends are rejuvenating this spring. We should join them.
Take care,
Topf Wells, Madison Audubon board of directors and advocacy committee chair
