Urban Wildlife Conference and the Leslie Street Spit
I spent most of this week at the International Urban Wildlife Management and Planning Conference here in Austin. http://urbanwildlife2011.tpwd.state.tx.us/
I gave a presentation on Marginal Nature which was put in the "nontraditional habitats" group along with golf courses and airports. The traditional habitats were green space, open space [vague terrain, no?], parks, preserves, greenways, etc.. Management talks focused on fostering traditional habitats to welcome nonhumans into the city and talks focused on managing the nonhumans when they misbehave. All talks focused on human control, design, and making "nature" satisfy our needs in the city. Disappointing over all.
One other presentation addressed marginal nature and wastelands. It was by Jenny Foster from York University in Toronto. She talked about the Leslie Street Spit, the peninsula of land jutting out into the lake from downtown Toronto created through dumping construction waste. Now colonized by nonhumans [it is an IBA] and defended by human nature lovers http://www.friendsofthespit.ca/ . The responses to the Spit are similar to some of the responses I see here at Hornsby Bend http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/cer2.htm but the mobilization of the Friends group is more institutionalized and formal.
Besides this Canadian, there were some Europeans attending who were also puzzled by the traditional/nontraditional division of the talks. More on that soon.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Cosmopolitan Communities
In my research on marginal nature, I was surprised to find such strong cultural influences on the perceptions of urban ecologists about the value of wasteland habitats. Cultural influences are found in differences in attitudes and practices between European and American urban ecologists. One finding of urban ecology has been that the ecosystems of cities of similar temperate regions of the world share species, and, perhaps, their plant communities are evolving as a generalized temperate urban plant community. In America, this homogenization of species is seen as something which must be stopped and native species must be defended against foreign invaders.
Urban ecology in Europe is more accepting of these unique population dynamics of urban ecosystems. For them, the given conditions of urban ecosystems are that species composition is very dynamic and that global connectivity is a defining feature of that dynamic community. Although European urban ecologists take invasive species seriously, they are more accepting of introduced species as part of the long history of cosmopolitan mixing. From this perspective, non-native species additions to biodiversity in urban ecosystems, and so the European view of urban ecosystems is that, “although wild and rather specialist species may be missing, cities are great havens for biodiversity, in terms of both ecology and species, even in industrial areas.” (Bradshaw 2002) This contrasts with the views of many American urban ecologists, who generally insist that urban growth “replaces the native species that are lost with widespread “weedy” nonnative species (and) this replacement constitutes the process of biotic homogenization that threatens to reduce the biological uniqueness of local ecosystems.” (McKinney 2003)
Urban wastelands have been studied in both European and American cities, but, where European ecologists celebrate wasteland species diversity, American ecologists describe them as degraded habitat. From the American perspective, wastelands are the weedlands and biological slums from which invasions are launched on remnants of first nature. European urban ecologists have shown more interest and have had more opportunity to study urban “wasteland” sites due to the urban destruction left after World War II, and this research dating to the late 1940s has fostered more openness to species introductions as inevitable results of an urbanizing world. Sukopp observed of Berlin that wasteland sites are,
"…the field laboratories where possibly new and well-adapted ecotypes of our native or naturalized wild plants will originate in the changed environmental conditions. Ecosystems which have developed in urban conditions may be the prevailing ecosystems of the future. Many of the most resistant plants in our industrial areas and in cities do not originate from Central Europe, but are non-natives." (Sukopp 1979)
His openness to engaging the unique conditions of urban ecosystems (and wasteland sites in particular) without resorting to qualitative comparisons with lost native ecosystems is reflected in his rhetoric and his practice of urban ecology. Sukopp does invoke a cultural perspective on wasteland plant communities, but, rather than bemoan the lost of homeland purity like American ecologists do, he suggests that this dynamic mixture of native and non-native species evokes the social mission of urban settlements, and so he characterizes them as “cosmopolitan communities.”
More on Berlin and Sukopp's biodiversity work http://infolib.hua.edu.vn/Fulltext/ChuyenDe2009/CD311/46.pdf
In my research on marginal nature, I was surprised to find such strong cultural influences on the perceptions of urban ecologists about the value of wasteland habitats. Cultural influences are found in differences in attitudes and practices between European and American urban ecologists. One finding of urban ecology has been that the ecosystems of cities of similar temperate regions of the world share species, and, perhaps, their plant communities are evolving as a generalized temperate urban plant community. In America, this homogenization of species is seen as something which must be stopped and native species must be defended against foreign invaders.
Urban ecology in Europe is more accepting of these unique population dynamics of urban ecosystems. For them, the given conditions of urban ecosystems are that species composition is very dynamic and that global connectivity is a defining feature of that dynamic community. Although European urban ecologists take invasive species seriously, they are more accepting of introduced species as part of the long history of cosmopolitan mixing. From this perspective, non-native species additions to biodiversity in urban ecosystems, and so the European view of urban ecosystems is that, “although wild and rather specialist species may be missing, cities are great havens for biodiversity, in terms of both ecology and species, even in industrial areas.” (Bradshaw 2002) This contrasts with the views of many American urban ecologists, who generally insist that urban growth “replaces the native species that are lost with widespread “weedy” nonnative species (and) this replacement constitutes the process of biotic homogenization that threatens to reduce the biological uniqueness of local ecosystems.” (McKinney 2003)
Urban wastelands have been studied in both European and American cities, but, where European ecologists celebrate wasteland species diversity, American ecologists describe them as degraded habitat. From the American perspective, wastelands are the weedlands and biological slums from which invasions are launched on remnants of first nature. European urban ecologists have shown more interest and have had more opportunity to study urban “wasteland” sites due to the urban destruction left after World War II, and this research dating to the late 1940s has fostered more openness to species introductions as inevitable results of an urbanizing world. Sukopp observed of Berlin that wasteland sites are,
"…the field laboratories where possibly new and well-adapted ecotypes of our native or naturalized wild plants will originate in the changed environmental conditions. Ecosystems which have developed in urban conditions may be the prevailing ecosystems of the future. Many of the most resistant plants in our industrial areas and in cities do not originate from Central Europe, but are non-natives." (Sukopp 1979)
His openness to engaging the unique conditions of urban ecosystems (and wasteland sites in particular) without resorting to qualitative comparisons with lost native ecosystems is reflected in his rhetoric and his practice of urban ecology. Sukopp does invoke a cultural perspective on wasteland plant communities, but, rather than bemoan the lost of homeland purity like American ecologists do, he suggests that this dynamic mixture of native and non-native species evokes the social mission of urban settlements, and so he characterizes them as “cosmopolitan communities.”
More on Berlin and Sukopp's biodiversity work http://infolib.hua.edu.vn/Fulltext/ChuyenDe2009/CD311/46.pdf
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, May 06, 2011
Life on Waller Creek, Austin, Texas
Since I arrived in Austin in 1988, I have explored its urban creeks. Waller Creek has been my main focus since it flows through the University of Texas campus and the Austin Water headquarters is on its banks. With others, we have mapped its "invasive" "are they really native" palms http://www.biosci.utexas.edu/prc/DigFlora/00WallerPalmCensus.html and we have worked with the UT Texas Memorial Museum to clean up the creek on campus and monitor its biodiversity http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/waller/
My own exploration has been focused on Waller Creek as a study site for marginal nature - images here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/webUpload?uname=110071841493767971267&aid=5603735479554621425
Now they will build a tunnel to take its storm flows away from its low reach so that we can "develop" that area. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/wallercreek/ Some will make lots of money, and some will be out of a home. So it goes.
The dynamic of marginal nature is regular disturbance and unexpected response. I will continue to monitor for the response to this latest disturbance.
More on Waller Creek in Prof. Joseph Jones great book, Life on Waller Creek http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3215936M/Life_on_Waller_Creek Joe Jones was a wonderful man who I met in 1988 not knowing who he was, just an old guy with a bucket poking around on the creek like me. At that time, he was busy doing a small part in a movie by one of his students...Richard Linklater's Slacker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacker_(film) in which he appears near the end as an older man talking into his tape recorder as he walks the streets of Austin.
More on Joe Jones here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jay_Jones
See how urban creeks lead you onwards...
Since I arrived in Austin in 1988, I have explored its urban creeks. Waller Creek has been my main focus since it flows through the University of Texas campus and the Austin Water headquarters is on its banks. With others, we have mapped its "invasive" "are they really native" palms http://www.biosci.utexas.edu/prc/DigFlora/00WallerPalmCensus.html and we have worked with the UT Texas Memorial Museum to clean up the creek on campus and monitor its biodiversity http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/waller/
My own exploration has been focused on Waller Creek as a study site for marginal nature - images here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/webUpload?uname=110071841493767971267&aid=5603735479554621425
Now they will build a tunnel to take its storm flows away from its low reach so that we can "develop" that area. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/wallercreek/ Some will make lots of money, and some will be out of a home. So it goes.
The dynamic of marginal nature is regular disturbance and unexpected response. I will continue to monitor for the response to this latest disturbance.
More on Waller Creek in Prof. Joseph Jones great book, Life on Waller Creek http://openlibrary.org/books/OL3215936M/Life_on_Waller_Creek Joe Jones was a wonderful man who I met in 1988 not knowing who he was, just an old guy with a bucket poking around on the creek like me. At that time, he was busy doing a small part in a movie by one of his students...Richard Linklater's Slacker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacker_(film) in which he appears near the end as an older man talking into his tape recorder as he walks the streets of Austin.
More on Joe Jones here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jay_Jones
See how urban creeks lead you onwards...
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
More tales from zoopolis (the mongrel hordes roam the city)
'Ransacking' raccoons hit Chicago lakefront
'This is all the fault of the general public that comes out and tries to feed what they think is a Disney-like creature'
BY LISA DONOVAN
Staff Reporter
ldonovan@suntimes.com
Last Modified: May 3, 2011 02:13AM
Chicago’s lakefront is like a giant hotel for hundreds of species of birds, rabbits, foxes and coyotes. But an influx of raccoons has led to a mass eviction in recent weeks.
About 120 of the small mammals have been trapped between Belmont and Montrose harbors on the North Side as well as near the harbors at Jackson Park, Chicago Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said.
“There’s been some reports that they’re living under docks and ransacking boats and being aggressive toward people. So obviously it’s a public safety issue,” Maxey-Faulkner said. Raccoons carry roundworm, which can be deadly to humans. The trapped raccoons have been euthanized.
Maxey-Faulkner said the park district has had to remove raccoons at other parks and there have been complaints about them on the lakefront in the past.
But nothing like this.
“It is not unusual to receive a report of a raccoon in a park on occasion, but we don’t recall a time when they have been in such abundance,” Maxey-Faulkner said.
Complaints from boaters in particular started coming in last summer and the park district decided to tackle it this spring. Westrec Marinas, which manages the harbors, subcontracted with suburban Ampest Exterminating & Wildlife Control to trap and euthanize the animals. Money for the project — less than $25,000 — was taken from the harbor budget, which Maxey-Faulkner said is funded by boat slip and concession receipts.
“They were calling this, classifying this as an infestation,” Dan Peifer, Ampest service manager, referring to the call he got from officials about the raccoon problem along the lakefront.
His firm has a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to remove nuisance animals. In 2009, the most recent year for available statistics, private firms and animal control offices in the 8-county region that includes Cook County, removed nearly 17,000 so-called nuisance raccoons, according to the IDNR.
The lakefront raccoons are caught in live cage traps that are checked daily — usually in the morning — and the animals are removed accordingly, Peifer said.
State law allows trappers multiple options in cases like this — from releasing the animal within 100 yards of where they were caught to turning them over to a veterinarian who is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to “humane” euthanization, according to IDNR spokesman Tim Schweizer.
While he wasn’t familiar with the raccoon problem on Chicago’s lakefront, he did say that euthanization in many cases is the only option when there’s “overpopulation.”
“You don’t want to take a problem from one location and create a problem somewhere else,” he said.
In this case, the animals were taken to Ampest’s facilities, where they are placed in a CO2 chamber, Peifer said.
Charlotte Newfeld, steward of the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary along the lakefront near Addison, says the raccoon problem can be squarely blamed on other humans.
“This is all the fault of the general public that comes out and tries to feed what they think is a Disney-like creature, which it’s not,” Newfeld said. “We’ve had feeders out there, whom we’ve had police arrest, and the still continue to give them food.”
'Ransacking' raccoons hit Chicago lakefront
'This is all the fault of the general public that comes out and tries to feed what they think is a Disney-like creature'
BY LISA DONOVAN
Staff Reporter
ldonovan@suntimes.com
Last Modified: May 3, 2011 02:13AM
Chicago’s lakefront is like a giant hotel for hundreds of species of birds, rabbits, foxes and coyotes. But an influx of raccoons has led to a mass eviction in recent weeks.
About 120 of the small mammals have been trapped between Belmont and Montrose harbors on the North Side as well as near the harbors at Jackson Park, Chicago Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said.
“There’s been some reports that they’re living under docks and ransacking boats and being aggressive toward people. So obviously it’s a public safety issue,” Maxey-Faulkner said. Raccoons carry roundworm, which can be deadly to humans. The trapped raccoons have been euthanized.
Maxey-Faulkner said the park district has had to remove raccoons at other parks and there have been complaints about them on the lakefront in the past.
But nothing like this.
“It is not unusual to receive a report of a raccoon in a park on occasion, but we don’t recall a time when they have been in such abundance,” Maxey-Faulkner said.
Complaints from boaters in particular started coming in last summer and the park district decided to tackle it this spring. Westrec Marinas, which manages the harbors, subcontracted with suburban Ampest Exterminating & Wildlife Control to trap and euthanize the animals. Money for the project — less than $25,000 — was taken from the harbor budget, which Maxey-Faulkner said is funded by boat slip and concession receipts.
“They were calling this, classifying this as an infestation,” Dan Peifer, Ampest service manager, referring to the call he got from officials about the raccoon problem along the lakefront.
His firm has a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to remove nuisance animals. In 2009, the most recent year for available statistics, private firms and animal control offices in the 8-county region that includes Cook County, removed nearly 17,000 so-called nuisance raccoons, according to the IDNR.
The lakefront raccoons are caught in live cage traps that are checked daily — usually in the morning — and the animals are removed accordingly, Peifer said.
State law allows trappers multiple options in cases like this — from releasing the animal within 100 yards of where they were caught to turning them over to a veterinarian who is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to “humane” euthanization, according to IDNR spokesman Tim Schweizer.
While he wasn’t familiar with the raccoon problem on Chicago’s lakefront, he did say that euthanization in many cases is the only option when there’s “overpopulation.”
“You don’t want to take a problem from one location and create a problem somewhere else,” he said.
In this case, the animals were taken to Ampest’s facilities, where they are placed in a CO2 chamber, Peifer said.
Charlotte Newfeld, steward of the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary along the lakefront near Addison, says the raccoon problem can be squarely blamed on other humans.
“This is all the fault of the general public that comes out and tries to feed what they think is a Disney-like creature, which it’s not,” Newfeld said. “We’ve had feeders out there, whom we’ve had police arrest, and the still continue to give them food.”
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Tales from zoopolis (the homeland is invaded)
04/30/2011 09:19 PM
Wild Hogs Invade Austin Neighborhood
By: Jeff Stensland
A group of wild hogs have moved into a Northeast Austin neighborhood, and neighbors are not happy. Families started spotting the pigs around April 18, 2011. However, those who live in the area have no idea how the hogs got there.
"I never know what to expect when I go outside now," said Chris Elmore, who has seen the hogs at least twice.
Elmore's first sighting was about a week ago around 5 a.m.
"There were like eight or nine of them," Elmore said. "They were pretty organized, but at the same time, it was pretty weird to see them taking up the whole street like that. I didn't know where they came from."
A couple days later, Elmore spotted the pigs just after sunrise when he was taking his son to school. A neighbor took this picture of the hogs, which is now circulating throughout the neighborhood. The wild hogs chased several other kids to school, including AJ Reed.
"We thought it was a group of dogs, so we started running," Reed said. "As they saw us, I saw the long snout and didn't think it was a dog anymore."
The sightings have left Reed, Elmore and others with more questions than answers.
"Did they live in the woods back there," Elmore asked. "Does it have to do with the park being built? Did them cutting down the trees stop them from being wherever they were at or where they came from? Did somebody just drop them off?"
The president of the Harris Glen Homeowners Association believes the pigs came to the neighborhood because of a nearby spring. It is one of only a few places the hogs can find water during the widespread drought. Next to the natural spring is the site of the future Harris Glen Park and Pool. Crews cleared tall grass and brush on the property, which is just beyond the fence line of homes in the Harris Glen subdivision.
HOA President Ken Blevins said he plans to meet with city leaders in the coming days to talk about several issues facing the neighborhood, including the wild hogs.
Elmore has called animal control several times, but so far, he says no action's been taken. He worries the pigs could get vicious.
"They weren't the biggest hogs, but they had room to grow," Elmore said. "They were on a mission."
Wild hogs are omnivorous and can even eat small animals. Besides chasing kids and blocking traffic, neighbors say the hogs have damaged several yards.
04/30/2011 09:19 PM
Wild Hogs Invade Austin Neighborhood
By: Jeff Stensland
A group of wild hogs have moved into a Northeast Austin neighborhood, and neighbors are not happy. Families started spotting the pigs around April 18, 2011. However, those who live in the area have no idea how the hogs got there.
"I never know what to expect when I go outside now," said Chris Elmore, who has seen the hogs at least twice.
Elmore's first sighting was about a week ago around 5 a.m.
"There were like eight or nine of them," Elmore said. "They were pretty organized, but at the same time, it was pretty weird to see them taking up the whole street like that. I didn't know where they came from."
A couple days later, Elmore spotted the pigs just after sunrise when he was taking his son to school. A neighbor took this picture of the hogs, which is now circulating throughout the neighborhood. The wild hogs chased several other kids to school, including AJ Reed.
"We thought it was a group of dogs, so we started running," Reed said. "As they saw us, I saw the long snout and didn't think it was a dog anymore."
The sightings have left Reed, Elmore and others with more questions than answers.
"Did they live in the woods back there," Elmore asked. "Does it have to do with the park being built? Did them cutting down the trees stop them from being wherever they were at or where they came from? Did somebody just drop them off?"
The president of the Harris Glen Homeowners Association believes the pigs came to the neighborhood because of a nearby spring. It is one of only a few places the hogs can find water during the widespread drought. Next to the natural spring is the site of the future Harris Glen Park and Pool. Crews cleared tall grass and brush on the property, which is just beyond the fence line of homes in the Harris Glen subdivision.
HOA President Ken Blevins said he plans to meet with city leaders in the coming days to talk about several issues facing the neighborhood, including the wild hogs.
Elmore has called animal control several times, but so far, he says no action's been taken. He worries the pigs could get vicious.
"They weren't the biggest hogs, but they had room to grow," Elmore said. "They were on a mission."
Wild hogs are omnivorous and can even eat small animals. Besides chasing kids and blocking traffic, neighbors say the hogs have damaged several yards.
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