Bluestem Prairie followed two new pollinator bills throughout the session, pleased by the passage of both measures into law. They're now getting more attention.
Why it matters: Protecting bees is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of food can be produced economically. . . .
Minnesota has taken a stand for the bees with two new laws. One prohibits labeling plants as beneficial to pollinators if the plants have been treated with a detectable level of pesticide. And another law creates a scientific panel to investigate bee deaths and compensate beekeepers whose hives are destroyed by pesticide use.
The law provide adequate protection for farmers or others who apply pesticide. Pesticide applicators only have to pay financial damages to beekeepers if it is determined they improperly applied the pesticide. If it is determined pesticide killed bees but was applied properly, a fund set up by the state would compensate beekeepers up to $20,000 each.
Those applying pesticides — be it farmers or homeowners — have a responsibility to use them correctly and without affecting neighboring property. Pesticides are best applied very early in the morning, or better yet very late in the day as bees are not foraging at the time. And if gardeners choose to use pesticides, they should resist using them when flowers are in bloom.
The alarming collapse of pollinators is not simply a problem for beekeepers or those who love honey. About one third of the food we all eat is dependent on pollinators. That’s why the search for improved pesticides and other measures to protect bees is so important.
We've been enjoying the abundance of pollinators at our large garden we share at some friends' farm--and the bees' help with pollinating our plants. Having left milkweed for the monarch butterflies. we admire their caterpillars simply for their lovely striped selves.
Photo: A beekeeping demonstration in Fillmore County, June 2014. Via Representative Rick Hansen's Facebook page.
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Editor's note: While Minnesota's discussion of environmental policy seems to have narrowed to sulfide mining on The Range and vicinity--and for the DFL, whether or not to talk about it all--Bluestem Prairie thinks that we have more to talk about when we address concerns about progressive environmental policy in the state.
Afraid of the shadow of the Range, the DFL has reduced "messaging" this cycle to talk of economic issues--as if matter like climate change, renewable energy, soil health and water quality have no relevance to talk of jobs.
Since the environmental discussion seems to have been "focus grouped" out of campaign plans in 2014, it's up to the rest of us to have this discussion. We've asked friends to contribute posts for our summer reading series centered on the question: "What would environmental policy look like if Minnesota were a progressive state?"
Their opinions are their own, just as the assessment of the lack of discussion of environmental issues during an election year is that of the editor of Bluestem Prairie.
During the 2014 Minnesota legislative session, environmental policy victories mostly passed under the radar. For example, some of the most significant and positive policy changes in 25 years took place on recycling.
Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) led the charge with legislation that:
Set a new 75% recycling and composting goal for the Twin Cities metro area by 2030
Requires most businesses in the metro to recycle
Made a substantial increase in grants to all Minnesota counties to support recycling and composting
In addition, Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Marty expanded a ban on mercury-containing devices and placed a disposal ban on syringes and similar devices, or “sharps” that pose hazards to workers in the waste industry.
There was also an afternoon-long informational hearing in January in Rep. Wagenius’ House Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture Finance Committee that aired additional topics including extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, composting, and zero waste. The MPCA also released a cost-benefit study on container deposits, although a bill was not introduced.
Minnesota Was Already Above Average
The Perpich Administration created the Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment (SCORE) at the end of the 1980s as old dumps and landfills fell out of compliance from new federal regulations. The results from SCORE and subsequent legislation are something that most states would love to have today.
The legislature required all counties to provide “convenient” opportunities to recycle and for all cities above 5,000 in the Twin Cities metro area to have curbside recycling.
We have a hefty solid waste management tax (SWMT) of 9.75% on household garbage service and 17% on commercial garbage service. Of the roughly $70 million generated annually from the SWMT, 30% has gone to the General Fund (boo), $14.2 million goes to counties for “SCORE” grants, and the rest supports the MPCA’s solid waste activities including cleaning up old landfills.
That landfill clean-up funding and state bonding over the years allowed the MPCA to buy up more than 100 old dumps and landfills and clean them up faster and more cheaply than federal Superfund actions.
SCORE set recycling goals of 50% of all municipal solid waste (MSW) for the Twin Cities metro area and 35% for Greater Minnesota by 1996. The metro has gotten close to 50%, but Greater Minnesota blew past 35% years ago.
That public commitment spurred millions of dollars of private investment. Minnesota’s recycling economy is substantial. Three paper mills (Duluth, St. Paul, Becker) use more than half a million tons of recycled paper a year. A steel mill takes our steel cans and turns them into reinforcing rod for construction, including all the rebar for the new 35W bridge. We have a high concentration of plastic decking manufacturers that use old milk jugs and other plastics in places like Albany, Worthington, and Paynesville. In total, about 15,000 manufacturing jobs in the state owe their existence to a steady stream of recycled material.
We have a budding composting industry that can use more food waste and other compostable material, and some big companies like Walmart (love them or hate them) are pushing for anaerobic digestion of their grocery store food waste to create renewable energy.
Biggest Changes in 25 Years
Rep. Frank Hornstein—who was a Clean Water Action organizer against waste-to-energy facilities (aka garbage incinerators) in the 1980s—suggested to me that we get environmental groups together to see if there was an appetite for legislation to increase recycling and composting. Over the course of the summer we found a lot of interest. Hornstein brought in local government representatives and drafted a bill that would increase our recycling and composting goals for the Twin Cities metro, require metro businesses to recycle, and put additional money generated by the SWMT back into recycling. Much to my surprise, it all passed! Here are the deets:
The seven-county metro must hit a recycling goal (which includes composting) of 75% by 2030. The MPCA had already suggested this goal and now it is in statute.
The MPCA will distribute an additional $4 million next year to counties and $3 million in future years over the existing $14.2 million budget. Half of that must go toward composting. Many cities in the metro are already doing this, especially in Hennepin County.
Most businesses in the Twin Cities metro that generate more than four cubic yards of MSW per week must recycle.
The above items were embedded in the omnibus budget bill. The business recycling requirement was opposed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Republicans introduced a successful floor amendment to strip it out of the bill. However, Rep. Hornstein had the provision amended on the floor to a different waste-related bill carried by Rep. Melissa Hortman (SF663). Sen John Marty carried the companion bill but the Senate only went with an increased budget to counties of $750,000. The Senate accepted the House language and settled on the $4 million increase.
Rep. Melissa Hortman has been a strong advocate for getting mercury out of the environment. In the 2007-2008 session, she passed legislation that banned the sale of mercury-containing devices such as blood pressure monitoring equipment. (Rep. Erik Paulsen protested on the floor and asked, “What the heck is a sphygmomanometer, anyway?”) Her bill (sponsored in the Senate by Sen. John Marty) this year extends the ban to a wider scope of products. The bill also makes it easier for manufacturers of mercury thermostats to collect old devices and tightens the ban on formaldehyde in children’s products. Rep. Diane Loeffler got an amendment passed on the House floor to prohibit the sale of triclosan in anti-bacterial soap.
I don’t want to neglect the efforts of Rep. Mike Sundin and Sen. Chris Eaton who passed legislation in 2013 to make paint manufacturers pay for the hefty taxpayer cost of recycling and safely disposing of old paint. The paint industry is now behind this kind of legislation and laws have passed in eight states so far. Sundin and Eaton worked with the MPCA to also create similar legislation for carpet (opposed by the carpet industry) and single-use batteries (supported by three of four battery manufacturers), but those provisions were stripped out in Senate committee.
How is Rural Minnesota Doing?
Much of this year’s new legislation focuses on the Twin Cities metro. However, many rural counties have or will receive state bonding funds to upgrade their recycling centers. Redwood County should have a regional center completed soon, and this year’s bonding bill included money for a new Becker County facility.
Open burning of garbage continues to be a major problem, and it is the largest contributor to dioxin pollution in the United States. The MPCA has pushed education on local governments for many years, and the situation has improved somewhat.
To sum up, the state legislature did more in the last two years on waste issue than it has for many years.
Thank you to all the legislators who made it happen!
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They note the successful of earlier pollinator legislation in the Minnesota (both of which have made into law in some form or the other) on the campaign page:
1)SF2727 (Dibble)–Beekeeper Compensation–This bill concerns bees and other pollinators killed by pesticide. If the pesticide applicator cannot be identified or the pesticide applicator is identified and found to have followed application instructions and restrictions on the product’s label, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) could compensate the bee owner from state Pesticide Regulatory Account. The Pesticide Regulatory Account contains the fees and penalties paid to MDA by pesticide manufacturers, distributors, and applicators.
SF 2695 (Dziedzic) This bill defines “pollinator lethal insecticides,” and says that nurseries cannot label plants as pollinator-friendly if they’ve been pretreated with these pesticides. It prohibits labeling or advertising a plant, plant material, or nursery stock as beneficial to pollinators if the plant was treated with an insecticide that was absorbed by the plant and, as a result, the plant is lethal to pollinators.
Why are we not surprised to see Senator Dibble's name on a bill that's good policy? Thanks also to Senator Dziedzic.
Restitution is an old concept, and another Hansen bill, HF2908, hopes to provide for compensation when bee death caused by pesticide poisoning, establish a pollinator emergency response team, and provide a civil liability for bee deaths. The final item is restitution.
The money for compensation when "the loss of the bees was likely caused by an acute pesticide poisoning and the source and applicator of the pesticide cannot be determined" will come from the pesticide regulatory account. When an investigation determines that bee deaths came from a particular applicator, the bill provides that the applicator pay the beekeeper for the bee deaths:
A pesticide applicator that has knowingly violated the law resulting in the death of bees kept for commercial purposes is liable for any actual damages resulting from the violation, including any economic damages associated with loss or damage to bees kept. In awarding damages under this section, there is a rebuttable presumption that the economic value of a damaged or destroyed bee population is consistent with the value assigned to bees by the commissioner of agriculture . . .
It's not rocket science, but an old concept, and should help Minnesota's struggling beekeepers. This proposal shouldn't be considered controversial and deserves passage.
. . . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added new language to neonicotinoid insecticides, with a bee icon that signals the pesticide has the potential to harm bees. Earlier this year, beekeepers, including one from Minnesota, sued the EPA, arguing the agency has not effectively regulated the use of neonicotinioids.
In the meantime, consumers can effect change by asking retailers not to use the products and boycotting those that do, Engels said.
"I think we can all make a difference," she said.
Tuesday, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted 118 to 10 in favor of HF2798, a bill prohibiting plants treated with pollinator lethal insecticide from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators.
It doesn't the sale of plants treated with "pollinator lethal insecticides," merely prevents customers who wish to help bees and other pollinators from being misled. It's a truth-in-labeling consumer bill that will help Minnesotans help bees and other pollinators.
Sadly, ten legislators couldn't bring themselves to support this common sense measure. They are: Mark Anderson Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, Steve Drazkowski, Sondra Erickson, Tom Hackbarth, Jerry Hertaus, Brian Johnson, Jim Newberger, Joyce Peppin and Peggy Scott.
A friend recommends calling them Kurt Daudt and the Neonicotinoid Nine.
It's not just a feel-good measure. Pollinators are essential for a significant percentage of food from plants, ranging from apples to squash.
Meme: Bees mean life.
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Many of the names on the newly-released list of Minnesota's new silica sand advisroy panel will be familiar to Bluestem Prairie readers.
From the MPCA/DNR press release:
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have announced the membership of a new joint advisory panel that will guide the agencies as they consider possible rulemaking for the regulation of silica sand operations in Minnesota.
Members of the committee are:
Local government representatives
Beth Proctor, Lime Township
Allen Frechette, Scott County
Keith Fossen, Hay Creek Township
Lynn Schoen, City of Wabasha
Kristi Gross, Goodhue County and Minnesota Association of County Planning and ZoningAdministrators
Citizen representatives
Kelley Stanage, resident of Houston County
Katie Himanga, resident of Lake City
Jill Bathke, resident of Hennepin County
Jim McIlrath, resident of Goodhue County
Vince Ready, resident of Winona County
Industry representatives
Aaron Scott, Fairmount Minerals
Mike Wallenius, Unimin Corp.
Brett Skilbred, Jordan Sands and Industrial Sand Council
Tom Rowekamp, Sand Mine Operator in Winona County
Tara Wetzel, Mathy Construction and Aggregate and Ready Mix Associatio
The MPCA and MDNR decided to establish the panel to provide input as they implement legislation passed in 2013 calling for rulemaking on silica sand operations. The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board will also participate in the advisory committee process to receive advice on rules related to silica sand environmental review.
The committee will have its first meeting Jan. 29 and continue meeting monthly until new rules or rule revisions are proposed. This process is likely to take at least one year. Meetings of the committee will be public, with some held at the MPCA or MDNR offices in St. Paul and some likely in southeastern Minnesota.
. . .The cyclical invasion of forest tent caterpillars, which has mostly avoided northern Minnesota for the past decade, appears ready to unfold in 2014 and 2015.
Aerial surveys, released in a report this week, show forest tent caterpillars quadrupled their coverage area from a quarter-million acres of forest defoliated in 2012 to nearly 1.1 million acres in 2013.
That big jump is usually a bellwether for a major infestation, Jana Albers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forest health specialist, told the News Tribune.
Bug experts used aerial surveys of more than 16 million acres of northern and central Minnesota at what should be peak leaf-out time last June. They found all but one of the forested counties in Minnesota had at least some defoliation caused by forest tent caterpillars. . . .
There's a huge yuck factor in the invasion, and a friendly insect ally:
Forest tent caterpillars (sometimes wrongly called army worms, which are a different species) often emit a greenish-black fluid when disturbed that stains paint and clothing. During the height of defoliation, their excrement often rains down from tree branches above.
. . .Their demise also is hastened by the so-called friendly fly, a predator whose numbers build a year or so after the caterpillar numbers. Eventually, enough of the predatory flies are around that they make a huge dent in the caterpillar population. (They’re called friendly flies because they often land on people but they don’t bite people.) . . .
According to Elizabeth Frost, the blogger at Bee Informed, the technical term for insect excrement is "frass," a word which offers the state's formal rhyming poets a great opportunity.
Republican gubernatorial hopefuls Kurt Zellers and Dave Thompson want more coal and natural gas burnt, and they were not at all shy in speaking up about the issue at last night's Central Minnesota Tea Party meeting.
Both said . . . limiting government
support for renewable energy should be priorities for the state’s next
governor. . . .
Energy issues also were part of the event. Both candidates said
greater use of carbon-emitting fuels such as coal and natural gas should
be encouraged, in lieu of state support for renewable sources such as
wind or solar power.
“It might make us feel good to pass windmill legislation, even though it’s killing bald eagles,” Zellers said.
Thompson said he doesn’t believe that global warming is occurring.
the small group of scientists who opposed the consensus
on warming proceeded in the manner of lawyers, considering nothing that
would not bolster their case, and publishing mostly in pamphlets, books,
and newspapers supported by conservative interests. At some point they
were no longer skeptics — people who would try to see every side of a
case — but deniers, that is, people whose only interest was in casting
doubt upon what other scientists agreed was true.
He adds: “Deniers of the scientific consensus avoided normal scientific discourse and resorted to ad hominem attacks that cast doubt on the entire scientific community — while disrupting the lives of some researchers.”
The emergence of a self-sustaining climate change denial movement
requires a deeper explanation, though. Deep pockets and corporate
backing alone cannot create a social movement. Nor can financial motive
alone explain how vicious the attacks on climate scientists have become.
Rather, like creationism, climate change denial has spread and
established itself in the political discourse by creating a perception
of conflict. Instead of the religious conflict alleged by creationists,
however, climate change deniers allege a conflict of economic and
political ideologies. Historians and public opinion researchers like Aaron McCright and Riley Dunlap
have found this conflict is perceived to exist between free market
capitalism and a science supposedly subverted by a communist, and even
fascist, ideology disguised as environmentalism. This framing is
entwined deeply in the rhetoric and psychology of movement conservatism.
. . .Through the 2000s, leading conservatives like Governors Romney and
Pawlenty and former Speaker Gingrich recognized the threat posed by
climate change, proposing or enacting policies to limit that danger. In
the early years of the Obama administration, conservative Senators
McCain, Graham, and Lieberman joined liberal Senators Kerry and Boxer in crafting cap-and-trade legislation that would fight climate change.
But by the summer of 2010, a shift in elite conservative opinion was
apparent. In October 2009, Senator Graham had co-authored a New York Times
op-ed with Senator Kerry, declaring, “we agree that climate change is
real and threatens our economy and national security … many scientists
warn that failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will lead to global
instability and poverty that could put our nation at risk.” By June
2010, however, he abandoned the cap-and-trade plan,
explaining to reporters: “The science about global warming has changed.
… I think they’ve oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they’ve
been alarmist and the science is in question. … The whole movement has
taken a giant step backward.”
The 2012 Republican nomination battle saw Romney, Gingrich, and
Pawlenty all disavow their past support for climate science and climate
protection. In one debate, Pawlenty was challenged on his climate change
efforts as head of the National Governors Association and governor of
Minnesota, and replied:
“It was a mistake, and I’m sorry … You’re going to have a few clunkers
on your record, and we all do, and that’s one of mine. … I made a
mistake.” . . .
Zellers' political shift on clean energy
Zellers appears to be in this category of unwavering principled politicians. His coal love is relatively new. In a January 11, 2008 op-ed column archived on his official Minnesota House legislator's page, OP/ED COLUMN LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: ENERGY, Zellers wrote:
Renewable Energy Standards
Minnesota has been a national leader for many years in the area of
renewable energy, and this year the legislature passed, and the Governor
signed into law, the highest renewable energy standards in the nation.
These New renewable energy objectives set standards for electric
utilities to supply a certain percentage of their energy from renewable
sources such as wind, biomass, landfill gas, anaerobic digesters, solar
and others. All electric utilities will be required to achieve a
standard of 25% by 2025. Xcel Energy must achieve 30% by 2020 with 25%
wind energy and 5% coming from other renewable sources. . . .
Another source of renewable energy the state is putting money into is
wind energy. The legislature did this by establishing then Rural Wind
Development Revolving Loan fund to enhance wind energy development in
Minnesota. You can already see some of the progress of this in southern
and western Minnesota. If you drive on I-90 you can see wind farms
being built. Also many school districts around the state are looking
into building wind mills to power the school building and provide extra
revenue by selling the extra energy to the power companies. . . .
Conclusion
These are just a few of the major programs and bills that were passed
during this last legislative session to help make Minnesota energy
independent. Looking at these options will assist Minnesota in being a
leader and spur economic growth across the state by bringing in new
business opportunities. . . .
That is so 2008.
Crocodile tears for wildlife
No longer. Bluestem hopes Zellers' new concern for wildlife will provoke renewed scrutiny of all "takings" permits that allow for destruction of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Surely this concern isn't only restricted to the wind industry.
After all, the only Republican to support HF 425, Rick Hansen's bill to fund scientific and natural area and wellhead easement protection area acquisition near frac sand mines, withdrew his name after four days.
In an unexpected finding, most of the crops the bees were pollinating
appeared to provide their hives with little nourishment. Honey bees
gather pollen to take to their hives and feed their young. But, when the
researchers collected pollen from bees foraging on native North
American crops such as blueberries and watermelon, they found the pollen
came from other flowering plants in the area, not from the crops.
The recent memo from the USDA notes:
. . . Pollinators are essential to the production of an estimated one-third of the human diet and to
the reproduction of at least 80 percent of flowering plants. Insect-pollinated agricultural
commodities result in significant income for agricultural producers and account for over $20
billion in annual U.S. agricultural production. Honeybees, the predominant animal
pollinator for United States agriculture, require an ample and diverse supply of pollen and
nectar to thrive.
CRP provides millions of acres of vital habitat for honeybees, and has since 1986. CRP is
viewed by numerous stakeholders in the pollinator community as providing essential habitat
in a landscape that has been rapidly changing often in ways that depleted habitat well suited
for honeybees. A large concentration of CRP land has been located in the upper Midwest
and Northern Plains where perhaps as many as 50 percent of the nation's honeybee colonies
spend the summer, after providing pollination services in the south and in coastal regions.
Traditionally, CRP acres, with their abundant acres of legume rich forage, have offered the
hives a safe haven from the pressures of modem agriculture and have provided larger-scale,
natural sources of pollen and nectar essential to healthy brood rearing needed to sustain
colonies throughout the year. . . .
Take the July 9, 2013 post, Agenda 21 and the DNR. This post was originally an article by DNR Farmland Wildlife Specialist Greg Hoch in the July/August 2013 issue of Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine, Where Cattle Roam and Wild Grasses Grow.
Not that the brain trust at the Central Minnesota Tea Party is sharing that attribution. The article is simply reprinted without note of its origin or comment. Apparently, there are enough scary terms from Glenn Beck's cloud of Agenda 21 keywords to convince any red-blooded American Tea Party Patriot that the DNR is in cahoots with the United Nations by promoting conservation grazing in western Minnesota.
For those of you who don't live in close proximity of livestock, "conservation grazing" is a best management practice for pastured cattle, sheep, goats or other farm animals that's based on the application of the relatively recent application of research that demonstrates that for many plots of degraded prairie land set aside for conservation, well-managed grazing helps the native flora and fauna recover.
In the early 1900s, naturalist John Muir described livestock in the
alpine meadows of the Sierra Mountains of California as "hoofed
locusts." Later in the century, wilderness advocate Edward Abbey called
cattle in the desert Southwest "a pest and a plague." Blaming cattle for
environmental ills has long been a popular point of view of
conservationists.
However, prairie plants evolved with and are well adapted to grazing
by bison, deer, elk, and uncountable numbers of grasshoppers. The
growing parts of many prairie grasses, the meristems, are at the soil
surface, protected from both teeth and flame. In this landscape, a new
and growing practice called conservation grazing returns hooved animals to their historic place in the prairie ecosystem.
Land managers with the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and The Nature Conservancy are learning that it
isn't always enough to protect and preserve acres of land. We also need
to return ecological processes to those acres. Fire, grazing, and
climate variability are three processes that control the diversity and
productivity of tallgrass prairie. We can't do much to control annual
climate variability, but we can use prescribed fire and conservation
grazing to limit trees and other invasive plants, increase native
species richness, and improve the overall structure of grasslands.
And how is that done? By introducing blue helmets to the prairie? Nope. It's by allowing farmers and ranchers to graze their private herds on public lands and private land held by non-profits like the Nature Conservancy.
Restricting property rights, like the Agenda21phobes fear? Not exactly. This is a "working lands" approach to managing land, and it's sound business practice for producers who are responding to market demand for grassfed meat. Hoch notes:
Since agencies don't necessarily want to get into the livestock
business themselves, they rely on local ranchers to provide the cattle.
This benefits ranchers who are looking for pasture to rent for grazing
cattle, at a time when more land is being put into crop production due
to high prices of corn and other commodities.
"Allowing conservation grazing of our wildlife grasslands gives our
livestock farmers an opportunity to maintain their herds," says Don
Baloun, state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Natural Resources Conservation Service. "We get the benefit of grazing
to enhance the cover, and they get quality grasslands to maintain their
herds."
Jim Wulf, a rancher in west-central Minnesota, points to additional
benefits: "By moving cattle across different pastures, ranchers are able
to break disease and parasite cycles."
The availability of quality grasslands isn't an abstract ideological issue for farmers and ranchers in a year like this when fodder and hay is in short supply because of weather extremes; Governor Dayton has appealed to the USDA to allow some land set aside as CRP to be grazed or mown for hay.
Heck of a conspiracy for us to create and not once let the prairie chicken (or Minnesota's most beloved alien species, the ring-necked pheasant) out of the bag.
It's only fair to point out that in the same article, Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Rural Hanska) and Sen. Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls) also broke with Republican ridicule of bee habitat legislation. Moniz reports:
Torkelson and Dahms also supported the legislation that plants new
habitats for bees and provides efforts to research why the bee
populations are dramatically dwindling. The legislation was a source of
ridicule by some Republican legislators and political workers as an
example of "overreach by the DFL."
Torkelson defended the
legislation, which eventually passed in a omnibus bill, as essential for
Minnesota's agriculture. He explained the bees pollinate one-third of
all food crops. He said the ongoing phenomenon of bee habitats dying off
or collapsing puts this important process at risk.
"I understand that at first, you can think, 'we have funding for bees?' But, the bees are vital for the state," said Torkelson.
He
also said a large industry of bee keepers in Minnesota helps crops here
in the summer months, then they take their bees down to states like
Texas or California in the winter months. He said that helping the bees
in Minnesota can have a large impact around the country.
The
final bill seeks to have plants to provide food for bees planted in
state parks and provides for reports on the issues facing the bee
populations.
Readers know Bluestem has a bee in our bonnet about the House Republican Caucus using new legislation and funding for pollinator habitat as an example of "waste," when bees and other pollinators are an important part of the ag economy, as well as a key link in food production.
Many believe the insecticide’s spread to other plants has caused a
recent increase in bee deaths. The European Union passed a two year ban
on neonicotinoid pesticides in April.
While Sundberg is concerned, he still isn’t completely convinced. He will, however, take caution in the future.
“I’m not ready to point the finger and say corn farmers are killing
our bees,” he said. “But it does affect how I’m going to run my
business.” . . .
Habitat is a greater concern for the beekeeper:
Sundberg said he believes the biggest reason for losses could be a
lack of available food sources in the area. A recent trend of farmers
planting crops instead of renewing CRP contracts and cutting in road
ditches has meant less alfalfa, sweet clover, buckwheat, basswood trees
and other plants where bees collect pollen and nectar.
“It could be related to a lack of nutrition and diversity,” Sundberg
said. “We’re dependent on all this land that we don’t have control
over.”
Who represents this area? Bud Nornes. While he didn't join in the vocal, public bee-bashing, he voted against the Omnibus Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance and Policy Bill, which funded bee habitat.
Photo: A bee helps out an apple tree.
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Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 18B.05, $150,000 the first year and $150,000 the second year are from the pesticide regulatory account in the agricultural fund to: develop and use best management practices that protect pollinators by providing habitat necessary for their survival and reproduction; incorporate these practices into pesticide applicator and county agricultural inspector training; and increase public awareness of the importance of pollinators and pollinator habitat. The commissioner may transfer a portion of this appropriation to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to design habitat and measure and report the outcomes achieved under this paragraph. This is a onetime appropriation.
And this:
POLLINATOR REPORT REQUIRED. No later than January 15, 2014, the commissioner of agriculture must submit a pollinator report to the legislative committees and divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture and natural resources. The commissioner of agriculture must develop the report in consultation with the commissioners of natural resources and the Pollution Control Agency, the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and representatives of the University of Minnesota. The report must include, but is not limited to, the following:(1) a proposal to establish a pollinator bank to preserve pollinator species diversity;(2) a proposal to efficiently and effectively create and enhance pollinator nesting and foraging habitat in this state including establishment of pollinator reserves or refuges; and (3) the process and criteria the commissioner of agriculture would use to perform a special review of neonicotinoid pesticides registered by the commissioner for use in this state currently and in the future.
And this:
Article 4 (DNR Policy), section 12
Sec. 12. [84.973] POLLINATOR HABITAT PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner shall develop best management practices and habitat restoration guidelines for pollinator habitat enhancement. Best management practices and guidelines developed under this section must be used for all habitat enhancement or restoration of lands under the commissioner's control. (b) Prairie restorations conducted on state lands or with state funds must include an appropriate diversity of native species selected to provide habitat for pollinators throughout the growing season.
Doubtless we'll continue to hear the same talking point repeated; perhaps those repeating the mantra should be asked where exactly the "signage" language actually appears in statute.
So what do they have against food and the bees that help plants produce it?
Photo: A honeybee helps an apple tree produce apples.
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The ban is touted as a way to protect the tourism industry from heavy industrial truck traffic.
Pepin
County only has one operating frac sand mine but people in the towns of
Pepin and Stockholm are worried more will spring up along the bluffs
that line the Mississippi River. Pepin County Board Supervisor Bill
Mavity represents the area and has co-authored an ordinance that would
create a mine-free zone the shore from Pierce County to the mouth of the
Chippewa River.
“It’s a narrow strip of land that
houses a great deal of the tourism business in Pepin County. It’s about
10 percent of the land mass. It produces or provides about 30 percent of
the tax base for the whole county.”
At The Price of Sand, documentary filmmaker Jim Tittle has released seven short YouTube clips drawn from an interview with Dr. Thomas Power, an economist from Montana State University, where he served as Chairman of the Economics Department and taught for 40 years. Power is the author of The Economic Benefits and Costs of Frac-Sand Mining in West Central Wisconsin, a study recently released by the Wisconsin Town Association, the Wisconsin Farmers Union, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. We've embedded a copy of the study below the seven videos.
The Free Lunch Approach: Public Relations "Economic" Studies by Industry:
Multiplier Liars: Flawed assumptions and analysis in sand happy job talk
Frac Sand industry spokesters claim that every dollar of their payroll is multiplied in local communities. Some claim the value of these dollars is seven, or even sixteen times the amount paid. Here's what Power says about that (and he's not the only one questioning large multipliers):
Who Holds the Dollars? Will the frac sand industry make small town economies stronger?
Double Whammy: Extracting a mineral to extract oil and gas somewhere else?
Smell the Dirt: When a frac sand mine moves in, will it affect property values?
Buy A Truck, Make a Buck: When a new frac sand mine opens, some people borrow money, buy a truck, and go into business hauling frac sand. What's the risk?
Frac Sand See Saw: Powers answers the question, "How long will the frac sand jobs last?"
A conference committee has approved a plan to improve habitat for bees and other pollinators.
Pollinators around the country are
suffering from a complex set of problems that is causing their numbers
to plummet. This could hurt agriculture, which relies on insects to
pollinate crops.
Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin,
sponsored a bill that requires the Department of Natural Resources and
the Department of Agriculture to ensure they keep pollinators in mind as
they are restoring habitat.
One way to help is by choosing plants to ensure there is always something blooming.
"We have bees that have colony
collapse. We have bees that are impacted by pesticides. We have just a
reduction in the number of pollinators, so this is an attempt to say
throughout the state we have the right habitat," Poppe said. . . .
As farmers get underway with their spring planting, some bee farmers in Minnesota are already counting their losses.
In the last couple days one major producer reported that thousands of honey bees suddenly died.
In 2005, Minnesota was the sixth largest honey producer in the
nation. But since 2006, millions of bee colonies have died off in
Minnesota and across the nation. ...
The
service that bees and other pollinators provide allows nearly 70 percent
of all flowering plants to reproduce; the fruits and seeds from insect
pollinated plants account for over 30 percent of the foods and beverages
that we consume. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in
most terrestrial ecosystems. Fruits and seeds derived from insect
pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25 percent of
all birds, and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly
bears. However, many of our native bee pollinators are at risk, and the
status of many more is unknown. Habitat loss, alteration, and
fragmentation, pesticide use, and introduced diseases all contribute to
declines of bees.
Republicans joked about a "buzzkill" in their tweets about the legislation written by the Austin-based chair of the Ag Policy committee. Apparently, they had no idea about the job-killing consequences of bee loss as they droned on to themselves.
Here's the CBS-MN clip:
Photo: A honeybee helping out an apple grower.
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Governor Mark Dayton may have come out against a one-year moratorium on industrial sand mining while a Generic Environmental Impact Statement is conducted, but a story by Stephanie Hemphill at Minnesota Public Radio illustrates why grassroots citizen groups in Southeastern Minnesota are asking for both.
. . .The EQB is a multi-agency oversight
body that received a petition to do an in-depth study of the possible
environmental effects of frac sand mining. . . .
That kind of study would take
several years and cost a lot of money. In the meantime, the agency has
produced a 90-page report that summarizes the issues.
So far the questions outnumber the
answers regarding possible impacts on the environment, the economy and
local communities, said EQB planner Jeff Smyser.
One of those questions involves a very scary thing: sinkholes. Probably not Florida-scale sinkholes--and the water quality concerns that are related to sinkhole-producing karst geology are a whole lot more vexsome:
The report includes . . .maps of
southeastern Minnesota's unusual geology, known as karst geology, where
rich deposits of silica sand are found. That makes it tricky to predict
underground water flows, Smyser said. The limestone bedrock easily
creates sinkholes and causes unpredictable groundwater flows.
"It's kind of difficult to know
where the water's going to go, just what effects use of groundwater,
discharge of processing water is going to have because of that karst
geology out there," he said. "So that's a real tricky question that's
real hard to answer at this point."
A number of silica-sand related bills are working their way through the Minnesota legislature. Senator Matt Schmit's SF786 provides for a GEIS and a one-year moratorium; Schmit has also introduced a bill that creates setbacks to protect fish and sensitive natural areas in the driftless region. Rep. Hansen's HF906 creates standard and a technical assistance team team to help local government regulate sand mining; he also has a bill to protect wellheads and natural areas in the region.
Minnesota River rats are cheering Tuesday night's vote by citizens in Renville County's Sacred Heart Township to adopt a resolution opposing a proposed Off Highway Vehicle county park. The river enthusiasts had feared the project would disturb environmentally sensitive areas and the enjoyment of a remote stretch of the middle corridor of the Minnesota River Valley
Sacred Heart Township residents attending the annual
meeting on Tuesday evening voted 14 to 6 to adopt a resolution opposing
the park.
The resolution rescinds a vote by the board of
supervisors made last year supporting the park. It is proposed to be
developed in the Minnesota River Valley in sections 22 and 23 of the
township.
The resolution states that a majority of residents
oppose the project, are concerned about how it would adversely affect
land values, and charges that neighboring landowners and residents were
not contacted or allowed to voice their concerns in advance of passage
of the resolution last year supporting the park.
Landowners adjacent to the proposed site oppose the project, and they brought the resolution for a vote.
Dave Zaske, one of the affected landowners, said the
resolution will be sent to the Renville County board of commissioners.
He said the county board has said the fate of the park was up to the
township. He is hopeful that this resolution will lead the board to
stop pursuing the project.
The resolution raises the hopes of paddlers and anglers worried about plans to turn their stretch of the river into an ATV destination, with connected trails linking playgrounds for the snarly vehicles--and the use of legacy funds intended for preserving natural areas and water quality to create the recreation area. (Read a draft of a suggested bill--not yet introduced--here).
They fear the recreational use will not only echo down the valley corridor, but the opportunity to "mud" the bluffs will destroy natural habitat and promote erosion. Reducing the sediment load in the Minnesota River is crucial for the quality of downriver areas like Lake Pepin.
Bluestem applauds the decision of the citizens of Sacred Heart Township. One of our fondest memories is stopping on the township road that winds toward the Joseph Brown house ruins to watch a flock of 200 migrating Arctic Swans that paused in the flooded river bottoms. Their calls echoed in the valley, while another flock sang from a flooded field a half mile upstream.
Not likely to happen again if the bluffs echo with the sound of ATVs.
Photo: The ruins of an old barn that would be in the park. Phot by Tom Cherveny/West Central Tribune.
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A new labor market study published Wednesday has found that oil companies with hydraulic fracturing interests have outpaced the tobacco industry, Wall Street, and the gun lobby to become the largest employer of recent college graduates with public relations degrees.
"These days, media-savvy professionals who know how to publicize questionable scientific data in order to downplay the environmental dangers of forcing toxic fluids into the ground can pretty much write their own ticket," said Bart Hobijn of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, adding that this year at least 2,500 graduating seniors will be put to work obfuscating the levels of carcinogens in groundwater.
"And in the long term, the job demand will only increase. Fracking has become a high-growth sector in which there is an extraordinary amount of spinning to be done." When asked how he enjoyed his new position with a Pittsburgh-based fracking operator, recently hired PR manager Matt Coleman said he believed the practice is a "safe, clean way to increase our natural gas reserves and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil."
Recent developments in Wisconsin's frac sand mining industry appear to confirm this prediction. Since the formation of the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, media markets in the Upper Midwest have seen an explosive growth in cheerful tales about mine operators' kindness to animals and dedication to their neighbors' best interests.
Four sand mining companies with operations in Wisconsin have formed a
statewide association to promote sound environmental practices across
the industry.
The Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, based in Eau Claire, was
established by Badger Mining Corp. of Berlin, Wis.; U.S. Silica of
Frederick, Md.; Unimin Corp. of New Canaan, Conn.; and Fairmount
Minerals of Chardon, Ohio. . . .
“As a leader and voice of the state’s sand mining industry, our goal
is to promote a transparent discussion about all issues relating to sand
mining in Wisconsin, including land use, environmental sustainability
and economic impact,” [Rich] Budinger, [regional manager for Fairmount Minerals and association president,] said in a press release announcing the
association's formation. “We want to work cooperatively with state and
local governments and others to develop a better understanding of our
industry."
Budinger said industrial sand mining generates thousands of
family‐supporting jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in overall
economic impact to the state and local communities.
The association quickly established an ambitious work plan as they seek establish themselves as totally adorable stewards of the planet. Just last week, the Red Wing Republican Eagle reported in Wisconsin sand mines home to flourishing bat habitats:
“A lot of people think bats are
scary and creepy and kind of a pest, but they really are a very
important part of the ecosystem,” explained Lauren Evans, sustainable
development coordinator for Wisconsin Industrial Sand Co.
WISC, a
subsidiary of Fairmount Minerals, operates underground sand mining
operations in Maiden Rock and Bay City. The mines are home to the second
and third largest bat habitats in the state.
Decades ago, bats
started naturally hibernating in the tunnels left behind from mining,
Evans explained. More recently, WISC connected with officials from the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to manage the habitat. . . .
Evans said the mines recognize the importance of bats, and that’s why they’re careful to keep them unharmed.
“We just feel that we have this opportunity to help protect them as a
species so we’re going to do it to the best of our ability,” she said.
As a supplement to WISC’s underground efforts, the company also has
installed more than 15 bat boxes at its facilities in Maiden Rock, Bay
City and Hager City. Two more boxes will soon be installed at Prairie
View Elementary School in Hager City.
WISC welcomes interest from those wanting to tour its mining facilities and see the bat population up close, Evans said.
“We’re always open to working with schools and community groups,
bringing them in, showing them what we do and teaching them about the
bats.”
And environmental guys have joined hands that the frac sand industry has nothing against clean water, even though holding ponds might leak once in a while. The Republican Eagle reported in Trout Unlimited, mining company team up for river restoration:
While controversy swirls around the mining of silica sand, many of
the industry’s opponents have negative views of area mining companies.
Conversely, many other people — including members of a local Trout
Unlimited chapter — are recognizing positive attributes of one company
in particular.
Wisconsin Industrial Sand Company, a subsidiary of
Fairmount Minerals, operates underground mines in Maiden Rock and Bay
City. The facilities mine silica sand, which is often used in a process
known as hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) to extract oil and natural
gas from underground rock. WISC also operates a processing facility in
Hager City. . . .
“There are those who have questioned or
even criticized us for having this relationship, but they have not taken
into consideration all of the facts,” Kiap-TU-Wish chapter President
Kyle Amundson said. “We don’t know what fracking will bring as far as
detriments to the environment, but just because Fairmount mines sand
(and supplies silica for any number of businesses) does not mean that
they are a bad corporation.”
Sadly, not all members of Trout Unlimited are so cheerful about WISC's pseudo news. Earlier in September, the Republican Eagle reported in Trout Unlimited will celebrate Hay Creek cleanup Saturday that TU was hanging out with dirty hippies in Hay Creek Township:
Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit conservation group that has been working
to restore nearly two miles of Hay Creek after summer floods, will hold
a celebration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday Sept. 22.
The
event will feature refreshments, opportunities for trout fishing and a
presentation about silica sand mining by citizen group “Save the
Bluffs.”
It will be held on the property of Dean Rebuffoni. For directions, visit www.twincitiestu.org.
Still, the upbeat flacks aren't discouraged, no matter how loud local citizens get about plans to dig up half of the green rolling hills of Wisconsin to haul off to North Dakota's grand experiment in groundwater contamination. In the Winona Daily News, Kate Prengaman of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism reports in Conference draws 50 frac sand mining protesters:
A newly formed industry association, the Wisconsin Industrial Sand
Association, hopes to assure residents that sand mining can be done
safely and responsibly. But president Rich Budinger acknowledges that
sand miners haven’t done enough to answer community questions.
“I
wish we were doing this two years ago. I think a big part of the problem
is the misinformation,” Budinger said in an interview after the
protest.
Budinger said the four founding companies — Fairmount
Minerals, Badger Mining Corp, U.S. Silica and Unimin — have all been
producing industrial sand safely for decades. For other companies to
join the association, they have to agree to a code of conduct that
prioritizes environmental sustainability and safety.
“The growth
of our industry has created a lot of questions in Wisconsin,” Budinger
said. “We formed to promote the proper management of our industry and
provide a fact-based discussion.”
Because those fact-free freaks are causing such problems:
In recent weeks, residents of Buffalo County convinced the county zoning
board to reject two frac sand facility proposals from Menomonie-based
Glacier Sands, one for a processing plant and loading facility 1,200
feet from the Cochrane-Fountain City School. . . .
Many in Buffalo County protested the permits because of the increased
truck traffic and the potential health effects of sand dust exposure.
The mining companies promise to monitor the situation.
In an attempt to better prepare future Fox news interns, editors on-air talent and Bill O'Reilly, Congressman Tim Walz is once more trying to move legislation intended to promote the teaching of geography in America's schools.
A press release from Wisconsin's Sixth District Congressman Tom Petri (R):
Today, Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) introduced the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act, legislation that would help all young people acquire the vital global knowledge they need to compete in today’s rapidly-changing and competitive global economy.
The three congressmen contend that in order to compete, Americans must know and understand the countries and cultures that could become our economic and political partners. Additionally, the Department of Labor identifies geotechnology as one of the three fastest-growing employment fields. However, Americans ranked second to last in a survey of geographic literacy among young adults aged 18 through 24.
This legislation would provide dedicated federal funding to programs that seek to improve geography education. The bulk of the funding would support the training of geography educators across the country and provide grants to promote geography research.
Congressman Petri said, “If we want America to be safe and prosperous, we need our young people to know about the countries of the world, where they are and how the people there live. Geography is a basic discipline for anyone with a good education.
“Geographic literacy plays an important role in our nation’s economic competitiveness and national security,” said Congressman Van Hollen. “By improving our children’s understanding of the relationships between countries and cultures, we prepare them to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.”
“As a geography teacher on leave from Mankato West High School while I serve in Congress, I am proud to co-sponsor the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act,” said Congressman Walz. “It is important for our students to understand other countries and cultures in order for them to compete in a global economy. This legislation will ensure schools have the resources to improve student achievement and increase teacher training.”
Gil Grosvenor, Chairman of the National Geographic Education Foundation, said, “Congressman Van Hollen, Congressman Petri, and Congressman Walz are demonstrating their understanding of how important geographic literacy is for 21st century Americans. Understanding how the world works and how to analyze geographic problems is a critical job skill in the modern world and is essential knowledge for participation in the democratic process at all levels from local to national.”
In 2008, Walz was one of two U.S. Representatives to receive the "Geography Legislator of the Year" award from the National Geographic Education Foundation. He has long supported the TGIF bill.
Photo: In response to Fox's geographically challenged reporting, peaceful pro-union demonstrators brought "palm trees" to Madison. Via Facebook.
On Sunday, Twin Cities Daily Planet reporter Sheila Regan was my guest for a tour of places associated with the 1862 U.S. Dakota War. Regan had not traveled before to the upper Minnesota River Valley where many of the significant actions of the conflict took place, as her coverage of indigenous people's issues for the Twin Cities Daily Planet, The Circle and other publications focused on the Twin Cities.
Though the day was sweltering and part of our travels took us down dust-choked gravel road, the beauty of the wide valley impressed Sheila after driving miles through Meeker County's rolling hills and Renville County's flat farmland.
Not that either county was just drive-through. Leaving Hutchinson, we stopped at the marker near where Thaóyate Dúta (Little Crow) was murdered in 1863. The commemorative plaque on the side of Meeker County 18 used the name "Little Crow," while a red wooden stake stake near it honored the Dakota leader with his name in his own language.
2012 marks the 150th Anniversary of the U.S.- Dakota war of 1862. The
war ended with the largest one-day execution in American history, where
38 Dakota warriors were hanged on December 26, 1862 in Mankato,
Minnesota. Some 1,700 Dakota women, children, and elders were forcibly
marched to a concentration camp at Fort Snelling.
Many American Indian advocates hope to bring attention to what happened,
although there is disagreement about the best way to honor this dark
history.
Some American Indians focus on the need for better American Indian
representation both in cultural institutions such as the Minnesota
Historical Society and in school curricula. Others call for the razing
of Fort Snelling, which to them symbolizes the genocide of the Dakota
people.
I propose to write a story about the ramifications of the Dakota war for
Minnesota today, and on the events and actions that will lead up to and
mark the 2012 anniversary.
Spot.us is a tool for funding projects by freelance journalists like Regan who take on more extensive projects. Please consider visiting the Spot.us page set up for Sheila's project, and contributing what you can to help her with the expenses for the story.
The trip wasn't all business, though. As we tooled eastward on Renville County 15, I ordered Sheila to stop and back up, for there was a stand of ripe wild thicket plums beside the road.
While we grabbed a bag to put them in, we may have eaten more warm, ripe plums on the spot, the slight wild sour bite in each fruit surprising the palate inside the more familiar domestic plum sweetness.
When we reached the Lower Agency, the supervisor for the historical site noted that elders in the nearby community had observed that wild plum were now less abundant, given the use of farm chemicals.
I'll be dreaming about that sweet and biting memory of warm fruit on a northern slope for awhile, I think.
Photos: Roadside marker, photo by Sally Jo Sorensen (above); Wild Plums, photo by Sheila Regan (below).
Note: Bluestem Prairie is a Contributing Blog for the Daily Planet; we exchange articles at no cost to either venue under this agreement.
Cold wind shreds the upper branches of a
thick-waisted oak. The woods, the more dark with wet black bark, whispers
loudly, “No secrets here.”
Underbrush up and evaporated weeks ago.
Leaves rain brown. Cinch up my hood, hunch a shoulder into the blow and head
dead north on a trail of stooped-over grass where once, as heedless dogs
approached, a possum woke up with a warning hiss and bared a currycomb of teeth
filed down to puncturous steel points. Should have recognized then the
harbinger, but hate to admit to naturalistic superstitions.
Then, at the bifurcation of purpose near
the river where the first settlers must have peeled back redheaded reeds and
peered down narrow native Indian trails, one doglegging you back to where you
come from, the other a point vanishing forever far into their future, I heard
the foreboding crack of an overhead limb.
Wind’s ablowin’ thorns about like ice.
Frozen there at the exact center of What Happens Next thinking, “October,” in a
protracted, breathless instant falls faster than light an oak limb still
swelling with weather heavy in its million green sails. Boom. Far enough into
the future by just this much, it missed me and the dogs with unintentionally
beautiful claws that could rip the hide off a deer.
Well, heh heh heh, should have seen the
sign. When I was little, in the early fall when the first cold winds rattled
the windows, my Dad liked to drink a cup-or-two of green tea and then read the
leaves for me. But augury didn’t save him when the roar of the last big wave
sat him up straight in the middle of the night, then fell him like an elm.
Whistled-here the dogs and sent them
ahead around the fallen limb to reconnoiter least resistance. Thinking back,
the dialogue between wind and leaves, the possum trail, and pausing where past
and future part ways just long enough to let the oak talk to me, the oracle had
clearly spoken. The dogs, as if in response to a forecast for more thunder,
high-tailed it up the hill toward Nothing Happens while I squirmed through
knotty fingers and a snaggle of raspberry fiddle bound for Safely Home.
A few minutes later, somewhere between
here-and-there, a whimpering one-handed clap shivered through the forest as the
great oak sprawled across possum trail, sparing nothing where once its opaque
early morning shadow fell.
All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors. While progressive in outlook, she does not caucus with any political party.
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