Volume 1, Issue 8

What you can do!

We would like to invite you to join us in our endeavors to preserve our rich natural heritage by signing up to be a member of the Izaak Walton League today. Your membership will help us protect America's hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage by employing common sense solutions, public education programs, and promoting the value of outdoor recreation for the benefit of our citizens. As a valued member of the League, you can sign up for our email list for press releases, conservation updates and action alerts and also receive a subscription to our quarterly magazine, Outdoor America. Click on this link to find out how: www.iwla.org/merchant2/merchant.mv?
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You can also support the conservation of our wetlands by making a tax-deductible donation to the League s American Wetlands Campaign. Your gift will help the League educate more people about the importance of wetlands and to support their active participation in wetland conservation through training and other resources. www.iwla.org/merchant2/merchant.mv?
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CONTACTS

The Izaak Walton League of America
707 Conservation Lane
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
(301)548-0150

Kami Watson
Coordinator, Save our Streams
email:kami@iwla.org

Would you like to know more about the laws and regulations that protect the wetlands in your state? The Construction Industry Compliance Assistance program has made available a State Wetlands Information Tool (SWIFT), which is a handy database that can answer a lot of your questions about how wetlands are regulated in your area. Just click on the interactive map to find out which laws and regulations apply, what kinds of permits are needed, and who the important contacts are if you need any questions answered. www.cicacenter.org/swift.html

The Environmental Protection Agency also manages a Wetlands Helpline, which is a referral service that handles requests for information on wetlands regulation, legislation and policy. The librarians that handle these calls can provide in-depth, EPA-approved information and documents addressing Federal and State regulatory programs, wetlands science, and educational outreach. Librarians also maintain an extensive list of contacts at regulatory agencies and other organizations to provide the most appropriate and accurate referrals. To find out more about this helpline, see www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands
/wetline.html.

Every year, the Environmental Law Institute, the EPA, and other Federal agencies honor individuals who have made a major contribution to wetland conservation at the National Wetlands Awards Ceremony. On May 18, the latest winners of this prestigious award will be recognized for their outstanding work in the promotion and restoration of our nation s valuable wetland ecosystems. Find out who last year s winners were, and how you can be invited to attend this year s ceremony at www2.eli.org/index.cfm.

Are you a teacher looking for an innovative way to introduce the important functions of coastal wetlands? Or are you a parent who would like to introduce your child to the wonderful world of the cattail marsh? Whether your child is in school or at home, there are many educational activities and teacher s guides that can point out some great ways to make learning about wetlands fun and interactive. One of the best online sources for environmental education resources is EE-Link, where you can find lesson plans, software, audio-visual catalogs and much more for grades K-12. Check them out at www.eelink.net. For coastal wetlands teaching tools, see the U.S. Geological Survey s guide at www.nwrc.usgs.gov/fringe
/ff_index.html. Another great wetlands-targeted resource for educators is a group of six lesson plans provided by Ducks Unlimited at www.greenwing.org/
dueducator/lesson_plans.html.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, the kids are finishing school& May is definitely the month when spring decides to arrive in full force! May has also been designated as American Wetlands Month, a time when we honor the valuable services contributed by our wetland ecosystems.

Through the past seven issues of Sights and Sounds, we have looked at the many ways our marshes, swamps, estuaries and bottomlands support our economy, protect our flood-prone communities, provide recreational activities, and inspire the artists among us. But this relationship is definitely not one-sided. Because wetlands provide so many important services to people, individuals are also finding a variety of ways to protect and maintain the health of these ecosystems. So what are a few things that you can do to keep the wetlands in your neighborhood healthy and functional?

One of the most important things that we can do is to reduce the amount of pesticides that we use in our homes and backyards. Whether you live in a small city apartment or a 10-acre farm, everything that is applied to the land or dumped down the drain eventually ends up downstream. This has a negative impact on the wetlands and stream ecosystems where those toxins accumulate. It also can have devastating effects on the health of the people who live near and use these areas. Organizations like Beyond Pesticides are working hard to inform the public about safe alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides. On their website are free fact sheets that you can download on topics that range from controlling ants and cockroaches, to how you can have a chemical-free lawn in eight easy steps. To discover more about these effective, non-toxic remedies for common household and yard pests, just click on this link: www.beyondpesticides.org/alternatives/factsheets/

Even the smallest wetland area can have significant value to the plant, animal and human communities that live nearby. If you are a landowner with a wetland on your property, the U.S. Department of Agriculture s Natural Resources Conservation Service would like to invite you to help protect this valuable acreage by joining the Wetlands Reserve Program. By offering eligible landowners technical and financial assistance towards establishing long-term conservation practices and wildlife protection, this program is just one more way to show how it really pays to protect America s wetlands! Find out more about the options available to help you restore or enhance the wetlands on your property by clicking on this link: www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/.

Even for those of us without wetland areas on our properties, there is the possibility of creating this sort of habitat in a few easy steps. Whether you live in suburbia, the countryside, or in a bustling city, wetlands of all shapes and sizes can add beautiful scenery and rich biodiversity to your surroundings. Vernal ponds are one type of wetland habitat that is extremely important for the life cycles of many frogs, birds and beneficial insects. If you would like to learn more about how to make a unique addition to your backyard, check out this link from the Izaak Walton League: http://www.iwla.org/sos/awm/#vernalguide. If you are interested in getting your school or community involved in creating or restoring a wetland, take a look at the highly successful Environmental Concern s POW (Planning of Wetlands) program: http://www.wetland.org/educ_pow.htm. Even if you live in a major city, there are still excellent opportunities for you to get involved in creating backyard wildlife habitat. Rivr Media and the National Wildlife Federation are teaming up to produce a television program that gives residents of mega-cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. a chance to help bring nature back into the lives of their urban communities. If you are interested in participating in this unique opportunity, see the following link for eligibility requirements and more information: www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/animalplanetcastingcall.cfm

As consumers we can have a profound effect on policies and practices every day, simply by choosing where to put our dollars. One of the biggest contributions we can make towards maintaining the health of our oceans and coastal wetlands is the sustainable harvest of fish. In Sights and Sounds #3, we learned that mangrove swamps and estuaries are the nurseries where 75 percent of our commercially produced fish spend the early parts of their lives. Yet some types of harvesting practices damage these wetlands and contribute to the decline of the resident fish species and other types of wildlife. The Food and Agriculture Organization s Committee of Fisheries has just adopted a voluntary  eco-labeling program for marine fisheries that utilize sustainable harvesting practices. An eco-label is a tag placed on a product that certifies it was produced in an environmentally-friendly way. These tags are a way to help consumers make informed choices about the products they are buying, so that those who wish to can support sustainable fisheries. To find out more about this innovative program, click on this link: www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/100302/index.html

In the ongoing struggle to protect our wild places, voicing our concerns to policy-makers is one of the most important ways that we can affect change. Currently, the Izaak Walton League is working with the Land Trust Alliance in a campaign to persuade Congress to protect the tax benefits for voluntary land donations. The donations, or conservation easements, have become a vital and essential part of the local conservationist s toolkit. For example, Izaak Walton League member Mike Lane of Suffolk, Virginia, is using easements to restore parts of the Dismal Swamp, Virginia s largest wetland. He is able to protect the land solely because of the tax incentives. Without them, he will no longer be able to afford doing easements.  The more incentives that can be put out there for landowners to keep their land in a natural sort of way, the better, he says. To learn more and find out how you can help protect these important conservation tools by following this link to  Tools for Action : www.lta.org.

Are you are interested in aiding a campaign to protect a uniquely valuable pocosin wetland and the hundreds of thousands of migratory waterful that utilize this area? Currently, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is working to prevent the construction of a recently proposed US Navy practice landing strip in the hauntingly beautiful 113,000 acre stretch of woodlands, lakes and bogs known as the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. See what the uproar is about and learn what you can do to help at www.ncwildlife.org/pg09_NCWildStore/pg9a2_uproar.htm

NCWRC also puts out a monthly magazine, Wildlife in North Carolina, which is dedicated to the sound conservation of North Carolina's wildlife and other interrelated natural resources and also to the environment we share with them. Each month, subscribers to this magazine can enjoy exceptional color photography and great articles on hunting, fishing, natural areas, wildlife research and our state's environment. Find out more at www.ncwildlife.org/fs_index_09_wild.htm

What better way to ensure the future existence of our wetlands resources than by introducing our children to the beauty and natural diversity of the marshes, swamps or bogs near you? Whether you team up with a community stream restoration project, join in an educational tour of a national park, or bring your child to experience the wonderful world of wetland wildlife at your local zoo, hands-on experience is one of the best ways to teach your kids about the importance of wetland ecosystems. One of the most exciting ways for kids to learn is to let them  get their hands dirty as they explore the inner workings of wetland habitats. Probably the most well-known wetland critter is the frog, whose presence just happens to be an excellent indicator of a healthy wetland. So why not get involved in a nationwide effort to monitor the frog and toad populations of the U.S.? FrogWatch USA is a program initiated by the Fish and Wildlife Service to collect state-by-state information on the population trends of America s frogs and toads, and to educate homeowners about the important services wetland ecosystems contribute to society. To learn how you can participate in this campaign, click on the following link: www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA/

There are many ways you can get involved in teaching others about wetlands. Whether you prepare a presentation about wetlands for your civic association, child s classroom, League chapter or local library, you are making a profound impact in the way people understand and appreciate the value of wetland ecosystems. You can also be a part of making wetlands conservation exciting to kids and adults alike by setting up a booth at the county fair with creative and fun educational activities about wetlands. For lots of great information and materials geared towards outreach, see our educational resources at www.iwla.org/sos/. Look for downloadable educational tools on our website later this year.

Now that American Wetlands Month is here, chances are that no matter what state you live in there are bound to be plenty of wetlands-related events nearby for you and your whole family. If you would like to find out where and when you can participate in one of these events, we currently have information on all these wetlands-related festivities on our activities calendar at www.iwla.org/sos/awm/events.

Here at the Izaak Walton League, we would like to thank you for your continued support for the conservation of our marshes, swamps, bogs and bottomland habitats. Members and allies like you are a big part of the reason our nation is beginning to realize that it really does pay to protect our wetlands! So please make sure you spread the good word about the functions and values of wetlands by passing this newsletter along to your family members, friends and neighbors.

Wetland Sights and Sounds written by Suzanne Zanelli.

Photos courtesy of:

• The Izaak Walton League of America
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• U.S. Geological Survey

Sounds courtesy of FindSounds.com

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Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America is dedicated to common sense conservation that protects America's hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage relying on solution-oriented conservation, education, and the promotion of outdoor recreation for the benefit of our citizens. The League has more than 40,000 members and supporters in 21 state divisions and more than 300 local chapters in 32 states.