Over 50 years ago, there was a small grove of poplar trees on the corner of Hazelwood Avenue and Rohret Road in southwestern Johnson County. Once, coming home at sunset, I saw that grove turn a brilliant orange. Thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies had chosen that spot to rest on their southward migration. Some of the branches held so many that their weight caused the branches to droop.No one will ever see this again. The poplar grove is gone, converted into corn field, and the monarch population is dwindling to the point of extinction. Since 1970, one estimate says that 69 percent of the world's wildlife has disappeared. Why have we, us, humans, the so-called intelligent species, allowed this to happen?Mea culpas don't count. What matters is what we chose to do now − and what we can do, as individuals (because what other choice is there)? I'm going to suggest two things: one easy and one more difficult but personally rewarding.In Johnson County, the beautiful Iowa River bisects the landscape. With this corridor, including large tracts managed by the Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, we are privileged to have significant green space. Adding in Kent Park, and the other parks and natural areas under county, city, and land trust control, one could argue that we have an abundance of protected recreational land.
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But a closer look reveals that development is taking a drastic toll on areas outside those perimeters. In the last 15 years, the county's population has increased by 23 percent.This has resulted in an explosion of new housing, businesses, schools, roads, and more. Coupled with the push to bring more marginal farmland under cultivation, this is resulting in the rapid disappearance of woodlots, wetlands, fencerows, and the other small, niche habitats that offer homes to wildlife (more on this later).So what can you do? First, the easy part. In the upcoming election, you can vote 'yes' for a $30 million bond issue to help our county protect more land. In 2008, voters approved a similar $20 million bond issue that leveraged $17.1 million in grants, donations and revenues to protect 1,176,7 acres of land for public use and construct 9.2 miles of hard-surface trails (to see the full list, go to OurLandWaterFuture.org ).
It's time to replenish this funding source.Will it increase taxes? Yes, but by a very modest amount. And this could be viewed as a savings account rather than an expense since it helps assure that some small part of the natural world will be protected for future generations. All you have to do is turn over the ballot and vote yes.Now the difficult part, since it requires doing something. If you've driven around the county much, it's hard not to notice that many people are taking a proactive approach to wildlife and pollinator habitat − creating prairies, planting trees, and replacing lawns with native plants. You could join them. A little work upfront might result in a lot more leisure later on; you might even get rid of the noise and bother of lawn mowing altogether, not to mention the chemicals.
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How important are these small, niche areas? A few years ago, I was working in the vegetable garden at Grant Wood Elementary (which adjoins what remains of the prairie Russ Bennett helped the school plant many years ago), when I heard the distinctive call of a male Yellow warbler. I never got a glimpse of him, but I knew that he and his mate had found a safe and secure place to nest, even in this small space. Our yard, close to downtown Iowa City, has fireflies because we choose to "leave the leaves" that allow them to overwinter.If you are fortunate enough to have a larger piece of property − be it woodland, wetland, or even some of that "sacred" corn ground - you should consider putting a conservation easement on it, to protect it from development. The Bur Oak Land Trust and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation can show you how to do this.Our community is growing because people find it a nice place to live. Let's keep it that way. Jim Walters is a guest columnist who lives in Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Protecting the Johnson County wildlife and landscape
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