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to MDC Home PageThe eagle is a bird of large ideas, he embraces long distances; the continent is his home. I never look upon one without emotion; I follow him with my eye as long as I can.-John Burroughs, Birds and Bees and Other Studies in Nature
A fish that has been the object of concern to Missourians gets national attention.
JEFFERSON CITY--The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants public comments on a proposal to place a small fish, the Topeka shiner, on the federal endangered species list. The species is one that was listed as endangered in Missouri in 1996.
The Topeka shiner once lived in parts of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Its current distribution in Missouri consists of parts of three creeks in central, west-central and northwest Missouri.
The Topeka shiner is adapted to prairie streams with high water quality and cool, clear water associated with springs or seeps. It is considered an indicator of good stream health, since it cannot survive in streams with significant sedimentation or pollution problems.
The primary threat to the Topeka shiner is loss of habitat from water pollution, stream channelization and impoundments. Actions to benefit the species include protecting trees and other stream-side vegetation, ensuring natural stream flow and prevention of pollution.
Protection extended by the Endangered Species Act would include federal oversight of projects that affected the shiner's habitat if those projects were funded, authorized or permitted by a federal agency. Actions of individual citizens on private property would not be subject to this oversight unless they involved federal funds, authorization or permits. Actions that did not negatively affect the Topeka shiner-such as prescribed burning, grazing, farming and construction of stock watering ponds in upland areas-are not expected to be affected by possible listing.
Anyone with biological information or comments on the status of the Topeka shiner should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 315 Houston St., Ste. E, Manhattan, KS 66502.
-jim low-
Who knew their choice of java could make a difference in global environmental quality?
JEFFERSON CITY--When does drinking a cup of coffee equal environmental protection? When it is shade-grown coffee, say scientists and environmentalists.
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (a branch of the Smithsonian Institution) and the National Audubon Society have endorsed a brand of coffee they say is being grown in a way that is environment-friendly. They also are encouraging coffee drinkers to try shade-grown coffee for its flavor as well as its ecological benefits.
Dr. Robert Rice of The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center says research by his organization has spawned several initiatives to promote shade-grown coffee. The research focused on the ecological effects of growing coffee in shade and in full sun.
In the wild, coffee is a shrub that thrives beneath the canopy formed by larger rainforest trees. Horticulturists also have developed coffee varieties that can grow in full sunlight. These produce more coffee than shade-grown plants, so there is economic pressure to cut down rain forest and create sun-coffee plantations.
In spite of being more costly to produce, shade-grown coffee has several advantages. One is superior flavor. More important, says Rice, shade-grown coffee plantations retain the natural character of the rain forest that sustains a variety of wildlife. And among this wildlife are a host of birds that spend the winter in Central and South America and fly north to the United States during the warm months. Such birds are known as neotropical migratory birds. Neotropical migrants familiar to Missourians include the ruby-throated hummingbird, Baltimore oriole, yellow warbler, great-crested flycatcher and summer tanager.
To counter the trend toward sun coffee plantations, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center developed a set of criteria for shade-grown coffee practices that preserve habitat for neotropical migrants. Among these is avoidance of pesticide use.
Rice's organization realized that without informed consumers, shade-grown coffee plantations were doomed to failure, so it combined forces with the National Audubon Society to publicize the sale of shade-grown coffee and promote its sale. Both organizations endorse coffee sold by the Eco Organic Coffee Co. of San Diego, Calif., under the label "Cafè Audubon." Plantations supplying the company's coffee are inspected by third parties to see that growing practices meet the Smithsonian's shade-growing criteria.
"It's a way of saving birds," said Sarah Comis, director of the National Audubon Society's licensing division. "Birds depend on shade-grown coffee plantations to survive. These plantations are the habitat of choice for birds, second only to natural rain forest."
In return for its endorsement, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center will receive a small royalty on coffee sales, earmarked for further research into the ecological effects of shade- and sun-grown coffee. The National Audubon Society also receives royalties in return for its endorsement, and local Audubon societies nationwide sell the coffee to increase awareness of shade-grown coffee and to raise money for their programs.
Other companies also advertise shade-grown coffee in birdwatching magazines and on the Internet. Rice says there is a need for an industry-wide certification process to ensure that all coffee sold as shade-grown meetsblished criteria.
Promoters of shade-grown coffee say there are other reasons for preserving rain forest. They say that a large portion of the world's plant and animal species are found only in rain forests, and these species represent an invaluable source of food, medicine and other values yet unknown. The loss of rain forest, they say, represents the loss of wealth that has not even been cataloged yet.
Rain forests also are natural factories for removing carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is the primary cause of the greenhouse effect that is gradually changing Earth's climate.
For more information about Cafè Audubon, call (888) 326-2632. The Thanksgiving Coffee Co. sells Bird Song brand shade-grown coffee, which is endorsed by the American Birding Association. For more information about this company, call (800) 462-1999 or visit the company's Internet page at <http://www.thanksgivingcoffee.com>. At the web site, visitors can order coffee, read about research on shade-grown coffee or move to related web pages.
-jim low-
Hunters with unused Firearms Any-deer and Firearms Bonus-deer permits issued for selected management units get another chance at bagging deer.
JEFFERSON CITY--Firearms deer hunting in January? Yes, Jan. 3 and 4 are days of extra hunting opportunity for hunters who have Firearms Any-deer or Firearms Bonus Deer permits for about two dozen deer management units in northern Missouri.
The second segment of the 1997-98 firearms deer season allows hunting for antlerless deer only in Deer Management Units 1-17, 20, 22, 23, 58 and 59. This is the second year when the Conservation Department has provided the extra two days of hunting in January. Hunters harvested 7,686 deer during the 1997 January firearms deer hunt. Wildlife Biologist Lonnie Hansen expects the harvest to be about the same in 1998.
The extended season is a deer population management tool for the department. "Deer numbers are above our population goals in many northern deer management units," Hansen says. "The extra hunting days are an attempt to increase the doe harvest and bring populations down to where we want them in the specified units." Hansen also says the season extension has provided a welcome opportunity for hunters. "We're seeing a lot of hunters who buy permits with plans of hunting in January after the deer have had a chance to settle down," he says.
Regulations for the January firearms deer hunt are the same as outlined in the 1997 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Information booklet, with two exceptions. First, the January season is open only to hunters with unused Firearms Any-deer or Bonus Deer permits issued for Deer Management Units 1-17, 20, 22, 23, 58 and 59. Second, the holder of such a permit can hunt only in the unit for which the permit was issued on Jan. 3 and 4.
Deer hunters are advised to take all safety precautions. Blaze orange is required for anyone hunting deer in the specified units Jan. 3 and 4, including bowhunters.
-arleasha mays-
News Services Coordinator
(314) 751-4115, ext. 243
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