Kasich Signs Bill Making Adena Pipe Official State Artifact

Gov. John Kasich signed a student-backed bill into law to designate the more than 2,000-year-old Adena Pipe as Ohio's official state artifact.  Joined at the bill signing by fourth, fifth and seventh grade students from the Columbus School for Girls who worked on the legislation, Gov. Kasich praised the girls' tenacious efforts.
"The lesson here is that your classmates were persistent in getting this done. Then you came here and were so knowledgeable and you so impressed the members of the legislature that there was no way they could resist making this the state artifact," the governor said. "Now I want to see if I can include you in helping me pass Ohio's severance tax and my Medicaid expansion."   According to the students, other lessons to take away from the legislative process include: the need to be "very, very, very patient," sometimes things happen at the "last second" and that "some people speak longer than they're supposed to."

Columbus School for Girls teachers Tracy Kessler and Charlotte Stiverson, who spearheaded the effort, said students have been working on a state artifact project over the course of three years and chose the Adena Effigy Pipe to honor Ohio's Native American history.   Found on the Chillicothe estate of former governor Thomas Worthington, the pipe is "one of a kind" for its representation of an entire human form, they said.  According to Ms. Kessler and Ms. Stiverson, the project was originally placed on the "backburner," as the legislature was bogged-down in budget debate when the students first sought to introduce the proposal, before it was brought back and introduced by Reps. Duffey and John Carney (D-Columbus) in legislation in April 2012.  The teachers praised Rep. Carney, whose daughter is a student at the Columbus School for Girls, as well as the parents of other students who are lobbyists for bringing the issue to the attention of the legislature.

According to the Ohio Historical Society, which worked with the students on the project, the Adena Pipe represents one of the state's most famous artifacts and "has become a hallmark of the Adena culture."  More on the story at the Ohio Historical Society website here:
http://www.ohiohistory.org/collections--archives/archaeology/adena-pipe

Healthy Foods Legislation Introduced

U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge introduced a bill to support sustainable agriculture activities in American cities while improving access to healthy food for underserved communities.   "This bill encourages Americans to live healthier lives by focusing on locally grown, fresh foods," she said. "It provides incentives for non-traditional farming, which are especially important in urban areas including Cleveland, and gives agricultural entrepreneurs the support they need to grow and build successful enterprises.  "We must do more to improve nutrition for a generation of children, many of whom are estimated to have shorter life expectancies than their parents due to poor health. This comprehensive legislation will allow low-income families and seniors access to healthier foods and improve their diets, relieving some of the stress on our current health care system. With thousands of acres of vacant property due to the foreclosure crisis as well as a recession that hit middle class families hard, this measure also strengthens the ability of cities to convert abandoned properties for agricultural uses and enhance economic recovery in distressed areas."

Ohio EPA Issues Draft Rule for Wetland Mitigation - public comment requested

FOR RELEASE: May 3, 2013
CONTACT: Mary McCarron, (614) 644-2160
Ohio EPA Issues Draft Rule for Wetland Mitigation
Ohio EPA is seeking public comments on a draft rule affecting water quality standards for
wetlands. Public comments on the draft rule are sought through May 17, 2013.
Water quality standards protect Ohio’s lakes, rivers, streams and other surface waters from
pollution. This rulemaking addresses protections put in place for wetlands, setting up water quality
criteria for the Director of Ohio EPA to consider when determining whether a lowering of water
quality in wetlands would be allowed and what mitigations would be appropriate for water quality
impacts.
The changes being considered would implement statutory requirements from Senate Bill 294.
This bill allows a fee to be levied in lieu of requiring traditional permittee wetland mitigation or
purchasing wetland mitigation bank credits for Section 401 water quality certifications and isolated
wetland permits. The rule would set up a defined hierarchy of mitigation preferences when
compensatory mitigation is required. The draft rule would require an applicant to use wetland
mitigation banks first when available, but also would allow the permittee to pay a fee in lieu of
constructing a wetlands mitigation project where wetland mitigation bank credits are not available.
Copies of the draft rules are available from Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water by contacting
Melinda Harris at (614) 728-1357. Written comments can be mailed by May 17, to Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049, or
emailed to dsw_rulecomments@epa.state.oh.us. Questions regarding the rule can be emailed to
Ric Queen or call (614) 644-2872.
Ohio EPA will consider all comments before it formally proposes rule changes. When the rule
is formally proposed, Ohio EPA will hold a public hearing and offer another public comment period
before any changes are adopted.

Ohio Farmers Asked To Help Count Lady Beetles

Buckeye Lady Beetle Blitz is large scale survey to determine how many of the beneficial native beetles still remain in Ohio.
Entomologist Mary Gardiner is recruiting farmers and gardeners to help see how native species of lady beetles are standing up to invasion of exotic lady beetles.
Read rest of article here:

http://farmprogress.com/story-oh-farmers-asked-help-count-lady-beetles-9-97961

Meadowbrook FFA I places 8th in Area III Envirothon Competition

Guernsey Soil & Water Conservation District congratulates Meadowbrook HS FFA for its teams’ participation in the Area III competition, held at Hook Lake in Morgan county this year. Since this was District Technician Jason Tyrell’s first at the Envirothon, he helped out by guiding students to the various testing sites. 

MEADOWBROOK FFA I team members: Kaila Czigans, Morgan Echols, Connor Frame, Levi Lynch, and Erica Showalter.  Congratulations on placing in the top ten!


The Envirothon tests students' knowledge of soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology and current environmental issues and is designed to encourage interest in the environment and natural resources among high school students. In addition, the Envirothon encourages cooperative decision-making and team building. While each student on an Envirothon team is challenged to contribute his or her personal best, the score that counts at the end of an Envirothon is the team score.

A team consists of five students, all from the same high school. An adult advisor (or advisors) must accompany the team, but is not permitted to assist the team during the competition.

Five area envirothons are conducted around Ohio late each spring. This year, the top four teams from each of these area competitions will progress to the Ohio State Envirothon June 10 & 11 at Deer Creek State Park. The state level Ohio Envirothon is held in a different part of Ohio each year. The top-scoring team in the Ohio Envirothon is eligible to compete in the North American Envirothon, hosted by a different state or Canadian province every year.

In Ohio, the Envirothon Program is sponsored by the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (OFSWCD) in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The Ohio Envirothon is financed by grants, donations from businesses and through contributions to the Don Rehl Memorial Envirothon Fund. Many local businesses also provide services and products in support of Area and Ohio Envirothons.

MEADOWBROOK FFA 2 team members: Olivia Anderson, Breanna Czigans, Annie Kackley, Peter Novak, and Amber Sills.

Autumn Olive: Good Intentions Gone Bad

Autumn olive is an introduced species that was and still is widely planted with good intentions without the foresight of the consequent problems. This mistake has resulted in an invasive species to the eastern United States that is very hard to control. Autumn olive has become invasive from Maine south to South Carolina west to Oklahoma, and north to southwest Minnesota. Autumn olive is native to China, Japan, and Korea and was originally introduced to North America in 1830.

Autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellate, is a medium to large deciduous shrub. Its leaves alternate along the stem, are oval to lanceolate with smooth edges, and grow to 1-3 inches in length. The upper surface of the leaves is dark green to grayish-green in color, while the lower surface is silvery white. The small, round, juicy, editable fruits are reddish to pink and produced in great quantity.

It exhibits prolific fruiting and aggressive growth which helps it to out-compete and displace native plant species. It is widely disseminated by birds though its seeds do not provide them with the proper nutrition. Autumn olive, like soybeans, can improve soil by adding nitrogen, although it is not in the legume family. This can adversely affect the nitrogen cycle of native communities that may depend on low nitrogen soils. It is drought-tolerable and will tolerate low pH soils often found in southern Ohio. These characteristics help it survive on reclaimed strip mine land or even bare mineral substrates.

Autumn olive invades grasslands and pastures, open areas, and disturbed areas. It does not grow well in wet areas or under the shade of an established forest. It can germinate in thickly matted grasslands and thrive even though it has severe competition.

Autumn olive is dispersed mainly by birds and mammals dropping the seeds. Each plant produces 20,000 to 54,000 seeds per year. It can also reproduce through the roots by root clones. Due to this it can regenerate after a fire or cutting; even coming back thicker than before.

Due to the large available seed bank Autumn olive is becoming a problem in pasture fields. It is one of several invasive species that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is assisting landowners in controlling. Contact your local NRCS office for further information about this program.

Visit the Appalachian Ohio Weed Control Partnership blog, at www.appalachianohioweeds.org, to learn more about Southeastern Ohio’s non-native invasive species. You can also contact Eric Boyda of the Appalachian Ohio Weed Control Partnership by phone at 740-534-6578 or email at appalachianohioweeds@gmail.com
Photo Credit: Leslie Mehrhoff. Author: Alan Rees

GUERNSEY SWCD PROMOTES SOIL AND WATER STEWARDSHIP WEEK

As a part of the Guernsey county community for 71 years, the Guernsey Soil & Water Conservation District wants to remind you that each of us has a connection to natural resources. The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is celebrating the 58th year of Stewardship week April 28 – May 5, 2013. The 2013 Stewardship Week is themed, “Where does your water shed?”

Bill Bertram, Ken Ford, John Enos, Myron Dellinger, and Steve Douglass serve on the supervisory board for the district.  The District was formed to assist people in Guernsey county with the wise use of natural resources for present and future generations.

“Clean water is important to everyone,” says SWD chairman Bill Bertram.  “Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. They cross county, state and national boundaries. Every inch of the land on planet Earth is part of a watershed.  In the continental U.S., there are 2,100 watersheds; if we include Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico, the count rises to 2,267. No matter where you are right now, you are in a watershed.”

Less than 1-percent of all of the water on our planet is fresh water.  The average citizen in the United States uses 70 gallons of water every day; and this does not include the water it takes to manufacture the automobiles, clothing, and food we depend on each and every day. Take time to learn about your local community water supply sources, and volunteer for river, stream or beach clean-up days.  You can make a difference!

To find out more about your local watershed, including an app for your computer and smart phone, visit: www.epa.gov/mywaterway 

Guernsey SWCD is a member of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) which oversees the Stewardship Week program. Stewardship Week is one of the largest national annual programs to promote conservation. NACD represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, which were established to encourage resource conservation across the country.

Energy Coalition meeting May 2nd at 9AM - topic is compressed natural gas vehicles

The Future of CNG Vehicle Transportation is NOW!

The topic for the May 2^nd Energy Coalition meeting will be, The Future of CNG Vehicle Transportation is NOW!   Please join us at Southgate Hotel from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.  The meeting is hosted by the Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber  will have a panel consisting of four individuals in the Compressed Natural Gas industry who will discuss their various roles and experiences in CNG:

·         Chuck Diehl, Smith Dairy in Orrville, Ohio

o   Managing a 400+ vehicle fleet

o   Smith Dairy Trucking’s CNG 2012 project that led to one of Ohio’s first public CNG heavy truck fuel sites and Smith’s deployment of their first CNG tractors. 

o   Smith’s fuel doctrine will have Smith Dairy Trucking diesel independent by 2030.

·         Keith Walker, Kimble Recycling & Disposal, Inc.

o   In 2011 Kimble built their first CNG fueling stations in Twinsburg, Ohio and purchased its first 36 100% CNG powered residential front lead refuse trucks.

o   In 2012 they replaced almost 400,000 gallons of diesel fuel with natural gas.

o   Currently running 70+ trucks powered by 100% CNG making up 30% of their total fleet

o   Kimble has plans to add CNG fueling infrastructure to switch entire fleet

·         Andrew Conley, Clean Fuels Ohio Program Director

o   Worked with hundreds of fleets across Ohio to develop vehicle and station projects.

o   Conducts fleet emissions and efficiency analyses, draft proposals for funding, and created educational programs for workshops, fuel and technology trainings, and resources.

o   Led CFO’s Ohio Green Fleets program which engages hundreds of fleets in workshops, meetings, and seminars.

o   55 certified Ohio Green fleets have displaced a combined total of 6,580,808 gallons of petroleum.

·         Dave Mrowzinski, IGS Energy CNG Services

o   Compressed Natural Gas Program Manager for IGS Energy CNG Services

o   IGS has over 20 years of experience in the natural gas industry to provide CNG vehicle refueling solutions.

SEE SOMETHING? SAY SOMETHING!

Report suspicious activity.

Call Ohio Homeland Security:

1-877-OHS-INTEL

 1-877-647-4683

For emergency, call 9-1-1.

Do not jeopardize your safety or the safety of others.

Following the events of September 11,  2001, many federal, state, and local agencies  initiated efforts to improve information  sharing and intelligence gathering. Since  that time, all 50 states and over 20 separate  metropolitan areas have established state  or local fusion centers to partner with the  FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)  nationwide.

Fusion centers are uniquely situated to  provide the local implications of national  intelligence to front-line law enforcement,  public safety, emergency response, public  health, infrastructure protection, and private  sector security partners. Fusion centers  also provide interdisciplinary expertise and  situational awareness to decision-makers at  all levels of government. Ohio is fortunate to  have three federally recognized fusion centers  in our state. These centers receive, analyze  and disseminate information from a multitude  of sources in order to prevent terrorism  and other crimes.

The primary statewide  center in Ohio is Ohio Homeland Security’s  Strategic Analysis and Information Center  (SAIC). Additionally, there are two regional  centers: the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion  Center (NEORFC) and the Regional Information  Operations Center in Hamilton County. These  centers work together to create a streamlined  information sharing system for Ohio’s first responders. In order to be successful, fusion  centers rely on every citizen to report  suspicious activity. 

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are  one of our best defenses against terrorist  threats and our greatest resource to building  resilience. Every day, members of the public  work with law enforcement officers to help  keep our communities safe by reporting  activities that are out of the ordinary and  suspicious. It is critical that law enforcement  officers at all levels of government – state,  local, tribal, territorial, and federal – observe  suspicious behaviors or receive reports from  concerned civilians, private security, and  other government agencies. These reports  of suspicious activity play a vital role in  countering terrorism and crime as they  contribute to 9 out of every 10 arrests that  are made.

An aware and engaged public that  understands what constitutes unusual and  suspicious behavior is essential to protecting  our communities from terrorist threats. For  example, maybe you are at a high profile  location or, perhaps a sporting event and you  notice a person nearby taking several photos.  While that is not unusual, you may also notice  that the person is only taking photos of the  locations of surveillance cameras, entrance  crash barriers, and access control procedures. That type of activity would be unusual.

The following are examples of other unusual  activities that should cause a heightened  sense of suspicion:

•             Monitoring personnel or vehicles entering/leaving facilities or parking areas

•             Burns on body, missing finger(s) or hand, bloody clothing, bleached body hair or bright colored stains on clothing; switch or wires concealed in hand, clothing, or backpack

•             Unusual or prolonged interest in the following: security measures or personnel;  security cameras; entry points and access  controls; perimeter barriers (fences/walls); unattended train or bus

•             Purposely placing objects (e.g., packages,  luggage, vehicles) in sensitive or vulnerable areas to observesecurity responses

•             Individuals or actions which are out of place for their surroundings (e.g., over or underdressed for the weather)

•             Unusual, vague, or cryptic threats, warnings, or comments about harming others

Some of these activities, taken individually, could be innocent and must be examined by law enforcement professionals in a larger context to determine where there is a basis to investigate. The activities outlined above are by no means all-inclusive but have been compiled from a review of terrorist events over several years.

Citation: Bureau of Justice Assistance/FBI Joint Bulletin,

“Communities Against Terrorism: Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Mass Transportation”

Report suspicious activity.

Call Ohio Homeland Security:

1-877-OHS-INTEL

 1-877-647-4683

For emergency, call 9-1-1.

Do not jeopardize your safety or the safety of others.

MWCD approves sale of water from two Ohio lakes for Utica shale drillers

By Bob Downing, The Akron Beacon JournalMcClatchy-Tribune Information Services

April 22--The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District on Friday approved two deals with Utica shale drillers for water from Seneca Lake and Clendening Reservoir.
The first deal calls for the district to provide up to 184 million gallons of water from Seneca Lake in Guernsey and Noble counties to Colorado-based Antero Resources.

The district will sell up to 2 million gallons a day for up to three months. The drilling company holds about 20 Utica shale permits near Seneca Lake.
Under the contract, the company will pay $6 per 1,000 gallons from May through July. That price is 50 percent more than Antero now is paying for raw water, the district said.

Seneca Lake water will be used with other sources to create a private water system for Antero and its operations. That system is expected to cost $50 million to $60 million, according to information the district provided.  The system will include the creation of about 10 water-storage facilities connected by pipelines.
Antero's agreement calls for cutting off withdrawals if the lake level drops too low.

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District also approved a separate deal with Oklahoma-based Gulfport Energy Corp. for up to 25 million gallons of water from Clendening Reservoir in Harrison County.
Gulfport will pay $8 per 1,000 gallons in the deal that runs through June 12. Its agreement calls for water withdrawals to be halted if the lake level drops below a certain threshold.
The company needs the water to hydraulically fracture, or frack, two of its Utica shale wells in Harrison County.

Last February, the district approved a $40.3 million natural gas lease with Antero for 6,500 acres at Seneca Lake. The district will be paid a leasing bonus of $6,200 per acre plus a royalty of 20 percent on natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids from Antero wells under district-owned land.

Earlier, the district had approved two other natural gas leases: in 2011 with Gulfport Energy at Clendening Lake and in 2012 with Chesapeake Energy Corp. for land at Leesville Lake in Carroll County.Gulfport paid the district a $15.6 million lease bonus on 2,800 acres and royalties on natural gas produced. Chesapeake paid the district $21.5 million in lease bonuses on 3,700 acres plus royalties.

Stretching from Akron to the Ohio River, the district covers 14 reservoirs and dams in 18 counties.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

Surviving the Dust Bowl

What: Surviving the Dust Bowl, Pauline Arnett Hodges

Who: Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District
        Funded by:  The Longaberger Foundation in Honor of William Herman Eschman

When: Saturday, May 4, 2013

Time: Doors open at 9:30 a.m.  Speaker starts at 10:00 a.m.

Where: The Muskingum County Conference & Welcome Center
        Heritage Room, Main Level
                        205 North Fifth Street
        Zanesville, OH 43701

Why: Pauline Arnett Hodges was born in Oklahoma, two years before the Dust Bowl.  This time in history, known as “The Dirty Thirties,” brought dust storms that darkened the day sky to night, sand drifts as high as rooftops, and static charges in the air that would short-out automobiles.  Pauline Arnett Hodges was instrumental in publishing the PBS documentary The Dust Bowl, By Ken Burns broadcast in November 2012.

Pauline Arnett Hodges survived the decade with luck and determination.  Pauline will tell her story of the experiences of living during the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and the challenges it created.  Determined to survive and make a difference, Pauline went on to college on a full scholarship, graduated with an education degree, married, and had two sons.

Location: The Muskingum County Conference & Welcome Center is located on the corner of Fifth and Shinnick Street, Zanesville, Ohio.

Cost: Free

Register: No Registration Needed

Contact: Jeanette Weinberg, Information Administrative Assistant at (740) 454-2027.

The BUZZ is on!

The Buzz is on its way for the east coast this summer. Several states up and down the east coast are expected to be inundated with Magicicada’s, but Ohio has to wait for this extraordinary natural event. Magicicada’s or Periodical cicadas usually appear between May and July. Periodical cicadas are a 1 to 1.5 inch sap sucking insect, with black bodies, red eyes, and have a wing vein color of red-orange. A close relative is the annual or “Dog- day” Cicada. They appear in the long summer days of July and August. These cicadas have a two to five year life cycle but there broods overlap and some appear every summer. Dog – day cicadas are larger and have green or brown bodies with black markings and their wings have green veins.
Periodical cicadas have been found here in the United States for hundreds of years. It is recorded that in 1633 the governor of Plymouth colony wrote of the periodical cicadas and that no English man had ever seen them before or since. It would be another 200 years before we had a grasp on periodical cicadas populations. Dr. S.P. Hildreth from Marietta, Ohio helped confirm that cicadas have a 17 year life cycle, but confusing the matter even more was that cicadas in southern states have a 13 year life cycle.  The cicada populations were put in to an ordered system in 1898 by Charles L. Marlatt. He numbered the emerging cicadas with roman numerals, because there were 17 possible emergence years; numbers 1 through 17 were reserved for the 17 year cicadas and numbers 18 through 30 were to be used for the 13 year cicadas. Even though there could be 30 possible groups “broods”, there are in fact only twelve established 17 year broods and three 13 year broods.  Here in Ohio we have four established broods V,VIII,X,and XIV.  Brood V will be the next to crawl from the ground in 2016.
When it is time for them to appear, the nymphs emerge from the soil at night and climb onto nearby vegetation or vertical surface, where they then molt into winged adults. The emergence is often tightly synchronized within a few nights.  Adult cicadas live for only two to four weeks. During this time they don’t feed much, instead the males gather in groups and sing, by vibrating membranes on their abdomen. The females quietly choose a mate and then lay their 400 eggs in twigs of trees; the egg remains in the twigs for six to ten weeks before hatching. During this time flagging can occur. Flagging is when the twigs break where the eggs were laid and the leave on the twigs die. The newly hatched nymph falls to the ground where it burrows 6 to 18 inches underground to feed for 17 years.
The cicada’s survival is linked to the mass appearance. As part of their survival strategy, they appear in such great numbers that predators cannot eat all of them and ones not consumed reproduce and continue the cycle. Periodical cicadas are a unique part of our ecosystem and provide a break from the monotony when the broods appear.
More information on periodical cicadas can be found at Ohio Biological Survey, and through OSU Extension.
                          Submitted by Joe Lehman, Wildlife/Forestry Specialist