Springs beneath Bates School may be dug into to create underground storage of stormwater after Bates is demolished to make space for new high-school buildings

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

DSCN7073Clasping leaf milkweed SEED.AVI

John Rule to read from his own poetry today at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. TONIGHT!

Please click on image to enlarge to read introductory page and half of book's first poem.

Buckeye butterfly on nonnative butterfly bush in the peace-circle portion of the World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 11, 2010. You may be able to see it and many other pollinators Saturday June 12, 2010, at some of the 8 private gardens on the OMNI Tour of Peace Gardens

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Buddleia with
Precis coenea nectaring on it on June 11, 2010, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For interactive map and information about 2010 OMNI Peace Garden Tour, please see OMNI Peace Gardens blog.

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

Denver tolerates no fireworks, so why should Fayetteville weaken its rules?

The only argument that might make me hesitate to think for even a moment before condemning the current discussion by Fayetteville city government about softening the firework ordinance would be that shooting off fireworks on fourth of July is patriotic.
Visit with a Vietnam or middle-east vet living in the hillside woodlands and stream riparizn zones in south Fayetteville and ask about their reactions to the sounds of fireworks. Some may be afraid to talk to you. Others will explain exactly what their generation experienced that led to the replacement of the WWI classification of shell-shocked with "victims of post-dramatic trauma."
If you don't care about the human victims of the intrusive noise of fireworks, how about the thousands of pets that disappear in the vain attempt to escape the pain of firework noise.
Whatever one calls it, a person who has been helpless under heavy fire in battle usually doesn't enjoy fireworks. Especially if he lives as quietly as possible in a Fayetteville forested area and is awakened in his bed on the ground by assorted expensive fireworks lighting the sky above him.
Denver's zero tolerance firework policy outlined
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
POSTED: 06/30/2009 12:53:58 PM MDT
UPDATED: 06/30/2009 07:20:35 PM MDT


Fireworks that are illegal in Denver were displayed at the press conference on June 30, 2009. (THE DENVER POST | RJ SANGOSTI)
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Denver has zero tolerance for fireworks.
That means fireworks can't be stored, used, manufactured or sold in Denver.
Today, Denver police and paramedics gathered outside the emergency room at Denver Health Medical Center and used graphic pictures to illustrate why the city has the policy.
Mangled fingers. Mutilated arms. Badly burned hands and faces.
"The only things that are legal are non-ignitable items such as paper-wrapped, small poppers," said Denver Police Technician Dean Christopherson. "We allow nothing that ignites or explodes."
The prohibition includes sparklers.
"The problem with sparklers are that they burn at over a thousand degrees," he said. "They are very flammable. Anything that you have around
PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS
Read The Post's listing of major fireworks displays across Colorado.
Search The Post's events calendar for fireworks displays near you.
them could set a lot of fires."
Christopherson said another consideration is the hope that the "quality of life" can be preserved in Denver.
He said the vast majority of fireworks calls are in the evening as people try to sleep and pets are "trying to get some peace."
Setting off the fireworks wakes some and upsets the pets, he said.
Lt. Scott Homlar, a lieutenant with Denver Paramedic Division, said that annually in the United States between 8,000 and 10,000 emergency room visits are caused by fireworks injuries.
The vast majority of the blast and burn victims are kids 15 years and younger and most injuries occur in the months around July 4th, Homlar said.
"You have to understand that these are little explosives," said Homlar. "Most of the injuries are either to the head or to the extremities — to the hands, eyes, ears and facial injuries."
Christopherson said that so far this year, there have been about 350 complaints about fireworks in Denver, which is half the number of the calls at this time last year.
He said it could be the result of a down economy, a lack of available fireworks or people obeying the law.
He noted that the maximum penalty for setting off fireworks in Denver is a

Paramedic Scott Homlar of Denver Health Medical Center speaks during a press conference to outline the laws and dangers of fireworks on June 30, 2009. (THE DENVER POST | RJ SANGOSTI)
fine up to $999 and one year in jail.
Homlar said he has personally treated people injured by fireworks. "Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence," he said. "I think it is reflective of the law in Denver which makes it illegal for people to even possess the items."
Still, Homlar doesn't want to be a holiday killjoy. "We want you to have a good time, we want you to have an enjoyable 4th of July but we want you to be legal," he said.
To report the use of illegal fireworks in Denver, call police either at 311 or 720-913-2000.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com

Slide show of photos of elderberry flowers on May 27, 2010

Find more photos like this on elderberries.com

Greg Leding took the Democratic nomination for District 92 state representative by 69 percent to 31 percent over longtime legislator Bill Ramsey

Please click on image to enlarge view of Greg Leding celebrating his victory with his parents on May 18, 2010.

gregleding.com/home

Melissa Terry, former Fayetteville environmental adviser during the first Coody administration, one-time candidate for a Ward 2 city-council seat and multi-year director of the Northwest Arkansas office of Audubon Arkansas visited briefly with the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers' award-winning photographer Andy Shupe while waiting until 11 p.m. at Greg Leding's election-watch party for the election results to be announced on television.

Halter fans plentiful in downtown Fayetteville on night before senatorial primary election

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of Bill Halter and fans on Fayetteville square on May 17, 2010.

Leasing for haying

View peace at home natural area in a larger map


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Green infrastructure still being destroyed: Boozeman, Lincoln and Pryor all promised in 2009 to cooperate to get federal money appropriated to buy sale-barn property; instead, their failure to act has resulted in wet-prairie land north and west of the National Cemetery being dredged and filled for burial sites

Fayetteville National Cemetery photo set. Scroll to bottom of set for more of today's photos This didn't have to happen. Could it be related to the fact that none of the three is a U.S. military veteran? Or did they have more important people's votes in mind? The percentage of veterans who vote is pretty high. The right to vote has always been a reason for many to agree to fight to protect our Democratic form of government. Please click on image to ENLARGE view of land dredging at Fayetteville National Cemetery on April 23, 2010.

Earth Day Festival began Friday night with Caring for Creation at Mount Sequoyah; Earth Day at World Peace Wetland Prairie from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2010, offers eduction and fun for all ages

Please click on image to ENLARGE for closer view of sample photos from WPWP.

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type. For more about World Peace Wetland Prairie please see www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/ www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/   

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type.

MANY REASONS TO PROTECT LAND SUCH AS WORLD PEACE WETLAND AND PINNACLE PRAIRIE FOREVER:

World Peace Wetland Prairie is the riparian zone of a small stream that historically was fed by seep springs and rainwater from three directions when the first westward immigrants settled Fayetteville, Arkansas. World Peace Wetland Prairie has the deepest layer of dark, rich soil in its subwatershed because leaves and other vegetative matter accumulated as the flowing water slowed and soaked into the absorbent soil and enriched that soil. Pinnacle Foods Inc.'s mounded wet prairie to the west is the main source of clean water flowing to World Peace Wetland Prairie at this time. Before the railroad was built, water flowed off Rochier Hill to the northwest and from the prairie and savannah to the north of WPWP that has been replaced by fill dirt and paving for apartments. Water from the east and north slopes of the high land where Pinnacle Foods Inc. now sits flowed to WPWP along with all the water from the high ground near 15th Street, which moved north to WPWP before flowing east to the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River. Such remnants of prairie help keep the water where it falls and recharge the groundwater. Like the many similar remnants of such prairie in our diverse geographical area, WPWP and Pinnacle Prairie are the surface manifestation of a significant bedrock fault. Such sunken wetland is a characteristic feature that appears above geological faults worldwide. The Karst map of Washington County Arkansas shows the WPWP watershed in red, meaning that it is a critical groundwater recharge area. Preserving such depressional wetland in our city is the least expensive way to reduce downstream flooding and siltation of our water supply. Hundreds of native plants grow. Many birds and other wildlife prosper on healthy wetland vegetation. And prairie vegetation sequesters carbon dioxide and cleans the ground water.

KEEP the WATER where it FALLS!

List of some of Fayetteville's Earth Day activities starting Friday, April 16, 2010

John Bame and Fayetteville High School students look at old rail trestle and discarded rail ties blocking construction of city trail through old tunnel under existing Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

I might not have discovered this for some time had not John Bame brought some FHS students to World Peace Wetland Prairie and then taken them on a walk of the Pinnacle Prairie Trail and the part of Tsa-La-Gi Trail as yet uncompleted from the Hill Place Apartments through the old rail tunnel to the west to Razorback Road and beyond. Thanks to the environmentally aware students for caring and wanting to learn more about the delicate geography and geology of our city.
Please click on image to enlarge view of railroad ties over mouth of tunnel and then watch video below the photo to learn reaction of workers when they learned that the ties should not be dumped there.

Rail ties being dumped in mouth of tunnel in Fayetteville AR

Aubrey james | MySpace Video

The Fayetteville city trail administrator telephoned the railroad manager in Springdale an hour later and the railroad official confirmed that the ties were not to be dumped there but were to be dumped at Cato Springs Road. Rail ties are creosoted and very dangerous to human beings and other living things when the chemicals leach into the watershed.

Restore clean-water act to original strength Now!

Please double-click "view as webpage" link near top right to see full post.

March 22, 2010  View as Webpage | Forward | Subscribe   Dear Aubrey, If you think the Clean Water Act protects your drinking water from pollution, think again. Please take action today to ensure fundamental safeguards for clean water in our streams, rivers, and lakes. A confusing 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act has left the fate of 60 percent of the nation’s stream miles -– that provide drinking water for 117 million Americans –- in legal limbo. As a result, as reported in The New York Times, polluters are now claiming complete exemptions from reporting what they dump into local streams. Congress can resolve this problem by passing legislation to restore full federal protection for all our waters. Help us ensure that all of our nation’s waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Urge your representative to support introducing and passing the Clean Water Restoration Act today. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Katherine Baer Senior Director, Clean Water Program

To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org. To update your profile or change your preferences click here. To unsubscribe click here.  American Rivers ©2010

I would like to express grave concern over the loss of protection for many of our small streams that provide clean drinking water for 117 million Americans in communities across the country. Supreme Court decisions in the Rapanos and Carabell cases have made it confusing and burdensome for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect small streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

As a result, enforcement actions against polluters have declined sharply the EPA estimates that over 1,000 cases have been shelved or dropped altogether. More recently it has become clear that some polluters are using the decisions as a justification to avoid any permitting and reporting requirements for discharging pollutants into our waters.

For the Clean Water Act to fulfill its goal of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, all waters must receive protection corresponding with Congress' original intent when passing this landmark law. Upstream waters must be protected from pollution and destruction if we expect downstream waters to be fit for swimming, drinking, and fish and wildlife, and downstream communities to be safe from flooding.

I urge you to act in the interest of preserving clean water for healthy communities and wildlife. Please support introduction and passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would clarify the definition of waters to eliminate uncertainty and ensure clean water in accordance with the goals of the Clean Water Act.

Thank you for your consideration.

A few faces from Washington County Democratic Central Committee on MARCH 15, 2010

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.

World Peace Wetland Prairie spider milkweed, false indigo bush, dogbane, blue-eyed grass and cottontail rabbit photographed on May 21, 2009

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of a sample of what you won't see on Earthday at World Peace Wetland Prairie but may see again if you visit in May. Native wildflowers and tall grass emerge later than the typical nonnative species found in many gardens in Arkansas.

Photo above reveals view northwest with Amorpha fructicosa bush in bloom. Also known as false indigo or indigo bush on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.



Cottontail rabbit reluctant to leave his grazing area and hoping photographer will back away on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

In photo above, the tiny blue-eyed grass is seen growing near a tall dogbane or Indian Hemp plant.

Above, Asclepias viridis, also known as spider milkweed or antelope horns, is nearing full bloom. Viridis is the earliest of the milkweeds to bloom in Northwest Arkansas.


Above is an instance of a tall dogbane or Indian hemp plant with a shorter spider milkweed at right.
Dogbane seems always to pop out of the ground before the milkweed and the leaves of the two are similar. Both are plentiful at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
For more photos of wildflowers at WPWP, please see
WPWP wildflowers

Partners for Better Housing to have final say in selecting firm to plan low-income housing project in woods and wetland along south Fayetteville stream

NWAOnline.com

Design Firm Chosen

HOUSING PROJECT NATURE FRIENDLY

By Skip Descant

Thursday, March 4, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — Protecting water and trees was a high priority in the selection of a landscape architecture and engineering firm to design plans for an affordable housing community in the Walker Park neighborhood in south Fayetteville.

“We don’t want to just have the typical mow everything down and start over,” said Kyle Cook, a Fayetteville alderman and a member of the selection committee that chose Community By Design as the firm to work on the Houses at Willow Bend project.

At least half of the proposed development’s rental units will be accessible to low- and very low-income residents — four-person families earning less than either $39,300 or $24,550, respectively. Homes for sale will be priced between $100,000 and $125,000.

The project involves construction of a 72-unit mixed rental and owner-occupied housing development on a 7.7-acre site along Washington Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. The site is fairly wooded and includes a stream.

“We want to work with what’s there,” Cook said.

Karen Minkel, director of Fayetteville strategic planning and internal consulting, also served on the selection committee.

“Broadly, the selection committee looked at firms that demonstrated familiarity with the site, engineering and landscape architecture experience with both affordable housing and mixed-income housing projects,” Minkel said.

“And there’s also an architect,” Cook noted. “I thought that was a good addition, to have an architect on board.”

Brian Teague, owner of Community By Design, could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

The $8 million to $10 million project is being led by the Fayetteville Partners For Better Housing, an extension of the Fayetteville Housing Authority. In December, the nonprofit group requested $150,000 from the Fayetteville Public Facilities Board to pay for the preliminary design stage of the project. That money did not come through, said Hugh Earnest, a member of Fayetteville Partners’ board of directors.

“We’ve gone ahead and continued the effort to hire a landscape architect and we just have to figure out how to pay them,” Earnest said Wednesday as he drove back to Fayetteville from New Orleans, where he was attending an affordable housing conference.

Earnest said he’s looking at a variety of funding options.

“There’s no silver bullet,” he said.

“We are hopeful that we can pull enough stuff together so that we can get a federal home loan in March or April,” Earnest said. Federal Home Loan Banks provide low-cost funding for lending institutions to be used for home financing for affordable housing, small businesses and other uses.

Another option, said Earnest, could be federal stimulus money through Community Development Block Grants.

Twelve design firms competed for the project. The list was culled to three: Community By Design, Appian Centre for Design and McClelland Consulting Engineers, all of which have offices in Fayetteville.

Cell Tower on MLK to be considered by Fayetteville Planning Commission tonight

Please click on images to ENLARGE view: Bottom photo is view north from Brenda's Bigger Burger. The tower will be built north of the building across MLK from Brenda's, if approved.

Planning Commission Planning Commissioners Officers Sean Trumbo, Chair Craig Honchell Jeremy Kennedy Audy Lack, Vice-Chair Christine Myres Porter Winston Matthew Cabe, Secretary Jim Zant Final Agenda City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Planning Commission Meeting February 22, 2010 A meeting of the Fayetteville Planning Commission will be held on February 22, 2010 at 5:30 PM in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Call to Order Roll Call Agenda Session Presentations, Reports and Discussion Items: 1. Applications for new and incumbent Planning Commissioners are due February 26th. 2. Nominating Committee Meeting for the election of officers. Consent: 1. Approval of the minutes from the Monday, February 8, 2010 meeting. Old Business: 2. CUP 10-3501: Conditional Use Permit (3484 W. WEDINGTON/SHOPPES AT WEDINGTON, 401): Submitted by MCCLELLAND CONSULTING ENGINEERS, INC. for property located at 3484 W. WEDINGTON DRIVE. The property is zoned C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 2.24 acres. The request is for a conditional use permit to allow a 10,000 square foot church (Use Unit 4) in the C-1 zoning district. Planner: Andrew Garner The applicant has requested this item be tabled indefinitely. New Business: 3. CUP 10-3508: Conditional Use Permit (GREEN LEAF RENTAL OFFICE, 440): Submitted by THOMAS J. EMBACH for property located at 1028 N. BETTY JO DRIVE. The property is zoned RMF-24, MULTI FAMILY - 24 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.97 acres. The request is for a 544 s.f. structure to be located on the subject property and used as a rental office for the Greenleaf Apartments. Planner: Andrew Garner 4. CUP 10-3512: Conditional Use Permit (CELL TOWER/HILL & MLK, JR.BLVD, 522): Submitted by SMITH TWO-WAY RADIO for property located SOUTHEAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF HILL AVENUE AND THE RAILROAD TRACKS. The property is zoned C-2, THOROUGHFARE COMMERCIAL and contains approximately 0.12 acres. The request is for a 150 ft. 'flag pole type' cellular tower on the subject property. Planner: Dara Sanders