USU Extension - Sustainablity - News

SLC Green e2 Business Program

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

SLC Green - e2 Programs for Businesses

What is the e2 Business Program?

Salt Lake City’s e2 Business program is dedicated to helping Salt Lake’s business community run in a more environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Nearing 100 members, the e2 Business program is an excellent way for like-minded businesses from all sectors to share ideas, make connections and receive advice from Salt Lake City’s staff experts.

Why is environmental and economic sustainability important?

By making changes in your everyday business practices, not only can you relieve some of the pressure your business puts on the environment, but your business can reduce operation costs and become more competitive.

How will e2 Business benefit my business?

e2 Business Program will help you locate areas in your operation to increase efficiency and decrease environmental impact. Target areas for efficiency improvement include energy usage, water usage and waste generation. All three of these are costly for any business and provide opportunities to realize significant savings very quickly. As an e2 Business member you will receive:

Assistance from Salt Lake City staff who will identify opportunities to reduce overall operating costs and address each of these impact areas.
Support from member businesses in your sector that have been successful in reducing their impact and have volunteered to assist new businesses in doing the same.
Networking opportunities during e2 Business events.
Periodic e2 Business newsletters to keep you up-to-date on events and opportunities
Discounted advertising in City Weekly, ReDirect Guide and Catalyst Magazine.
Who is eligible to become an e2 Business?

All Salt Lake City businesses are eligible to apply to the e2 Business program. Any business willing to make a good-faith effort to continually reduce its environmental impact will be accepted into the program.

How do I become an e2 Business?

Simply fill out the application and submit it by email or regular mail. The application can be found online here. Electronically submitted applications save paper and expedite the application process!

e2 Business Application

How much does it cost?

Nothing. Salt Lake City’s e2 Business program is entirely funded and managed by the city. Participation is free to any business located within Salt Lake City limits.

Do you provide financial assistance?

The Salt Lake City Revolving Loan Fund was created to stimulate business development and expansion, encourage private investment, promote economic development, and enhance neighborhood vitality in Salt Lake City by making low-interest loans available to businesses.

Not Convinced?

Find out more with the comprehensive e2 Business Guides and e2 Newsletter.

May: National Bike Month

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Interested in learning about riding a bike or coordinating a bike month in your own town? The League of American Bicyclists released a new national bike month guide with tips and techniques on how to do so. Find the full guide here.

Also, in addition to celebrating May as National Bike Month, May 1-September 30, you have a chance to participate in the nation's 2013 National Bike Challenge! USU is currently in the nation's top ten!

Who is organizing the Challenge?
The lead sponsor is Kimberly-Clark Corporation and the Challenge is organized and presented by the League of American Bicyclists.
What is the Challenge?
The Challenge is an exciting health and wellness initiative that encourages people to bike for transportation and recreation. In 2013, we aim to have 50,000 riders pedaling 20 million miles from May 1, 2013 until September 30, 2013. It is open and free to anyone who lives in the U.S. or works for an organization with U.S. employees.
What is the history of the Challenge?
In 2009, Kimberly-Clark Corporation created an internal Bike Challenge for its more than 50,000 employees. With the help of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, the Challenge was successfully piloted In Wisconsin at the state-wide level in 2011. The Bike Challenge, then called the Get Up & Ride National Bike Challenge, went national in 2012. It had over 30,000 participants riding 12 million miles; 2013 will be the second year the Challenge is national in scope.
Does my ride to the grocery store count? How about my weekend fitness ride?
Every time you get on your bike the miles count. Whether they are for fitness, fun, or transportation make sure to join and log them on nationalbikechallenge.org. Miles pedaled on a stationary bike or trainer do not count.
Is there a local version of the Challenge?
The Challenge is a National campaign, but local advocacy groups are able to also create a local challenge within the National Challenge. For more information on setting up a local Challenge, contact Katie Omberg.
How do I participate with my bike club?
The best way to participate with your club is to create a Team for your club. When registering, participants are given the opportunity to create a new team or join an existing team.
How do I sign up?
- Individuals can join at www.nationalbikechallenge.org
- Organizations can join by identifying themselves as a team or workplace or both.
- Once a participant has registered, they have the option to join a team or workplace.
  (NOTE: A participant who creates a team is made the Team Captain, a responsibility they can assign to another Team member at any point during the Challenge).
- Local advocacy groups can create a local challenge by contacting Katie Omberg. For more information on organizing your business/organization to participate in the Challenge go to: http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/orgguide
- To register, participants must provide their name, email address, zip code, and accept the Challenge waiver.
I am part of a large business with many workplace locations, how can we be recognized as one workplace?
The Challenge is set up so that you can have as big of team or workplace as you like. You will need to make sure your fellow employees are registering their workplace with the same name i.e. Kimberly-Clark. You can also create multiple teams within your company to be able to collect data distinct to each workplace i.e. Kimberly-Clark, Neenah or Kimberly-Clark, Irving. This would allow you to be counted as part of the large Kimberly-Clark Corporation while also allowing you to create a team for each distinct workplace.
I am a Registered Nurse and would like identify myself as part of the national community of nurses. How do I do this?
If you are part of a large dispersed community such as Registered Nurses and would like to be identified as part of this national group, you would need to follow these steps (RN is used as an example but you could do this with any type of larger community):

1. Agree on a Team Name.
2. Join the Challenge at nationalbikechallenge.org
3. When filling in your profile information, type in RN-Team Name to join your desired team (note there are no spaces after or before the hyphen)
OR
4. If you are the first participant to create the team, you will be prompted to invite others on your team as part of registration.

Following these steps will allow you to be counted as part of your distinct workplace or organization and nationally as an RN, i.e. RN-Curly Girls. Both Team and Workplace are collected when a participant enrolls in the challenge and cannot be changed after registration.
How does the National Bike Challenge identify my "community" for the Leaderboard?
Communities are identified and grouped by zip code. When a participant enters their home zip code, their community is assigned based on that code. This is a change from the 2012 Challenge when communities were determined by geographic areas assigned by the Office of Management and Budget. Using zip code-assigned communities will help streamline the competition and make data collection more useful.
How much does it cost to participate?
The Challenge is offered free to all individuals, teams and organizations.
Who can participate?
The Challenge is open to all persons who either live in the US or work for an organization with US employees.
Why should I participate?
In addition to improving your health, saving money and helping the environment, the Challenge is a fun way for participants to meet other riders in our online community and to win prizes. For organizations, the Challenge provides a fun and free health and wellness program for employees.
When does it start and end?
The Challenge is a five month program that begins May 1, 2013 and ends September 30, 2013.
Why does it run for five months?
In 2012, the Challenge lasted only four months. The majority of feedback we received from participants asked us to increase the length of time, so we extended it by one month for the 2013 Challenge. Since September is another warm month across the country, we didn’t want to waste the great riding weather!
How do I participate with my workplace?
After you register yourself for the Challenge, you will have an option to register your company, or to join it (if a coworker has already registered it). If you don’t sign up with your company when you initially register, you can do so later through the "edit profile" option.
How do I participate with my university or college?
After you register yourself for the Challenge, you will have an option to register your school, or to join it (if it has been already registered). If you don’t sign up with your school when you initially register, you can do so later through the "edit profile" option. College/University teams consist of students, faculty, and staff members.
How do I know if I am on a team?
Go to the Team’s page via the Leaderboard. If you are on a Team, the Team points bar will be highlighted in green.
What are the rules?
The official National Challenge rules are available here:
http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/rules
How do I log my rides?
Participants have two options to enter rides: a smart phone or online

1. Smart phones: If you have a smart phone or other GPS device, the free App is easy to use and automatically uploads your rides.
- Download the free smart phone App here: http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/download
- The Challenge software has integrated import from the Garmin Forerunner series (running watches) and Edge Series (bike computers). You can read exactly which devices and how in this FAQ:http://getsatisfaction.com/endomondo/topics/can_i_import_data_to_my_profile_from_other_gps_devices
2. Online: Click the "Log Miles" icon, and log your miles. Participants have the option to save often-traveled routes (commute, errands, etc.), and can enter them easily.
When do I log my miles?
To be eligible for the monthly prize drawings, all rides for each month must be entered by 11:59 pm of the last day of each month. To allow for a more current update, miles should be entered daily.
What is the Leaderboard?
- Participants in each category will be ranked based upon total Points with the exception of cities and states, which will be ranked based on total Challenge Points per 1000 residents
- Rankings will be available on both local and national levels and will include the following categories:
  - Riders, Teams, Workplaces, Communities and States
  - Workplaces
- For more detailed explanation, click here http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/rules
- At the end of the Challenge, plaques will be awarded to the first place winner in each category ? see further details herehttp://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/awards
How does the Prize Program work and how do I win?
All US participants are automatically signed up to enter the monthly drawings for prizes. Winners will be notified via email. In order to receive their prize, winners must supply their postal mailing address. For more information on the prize program, click here http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/prizes
How can I help support cycling?
You can encourage your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to sign up for the Challenge at www.endomondo.com/campaign/national. You can become a member of the League of American Bicyclists at www.bikeleague.org.
Where do I go if I am having difficulty with the website?
For technical support go to: http://endomondo.com/help
What is Endomondo?
Endomondo is a sports community based on free real-time GPS tracking of running, cycling, etc. that powers nationalbikechallenge.org. Learn more about them here: http://www.endomondo.com/home

A Guide to Common Gardening Questions Now Available

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

As written by Bryon Saxton in the Standard Examiner, in an article entitled "Utahns get gardening book":

FARMINGTON — A user-friendly guide to help Top of Utah residents with their fruit and vegetable production this growing season is now available.

The book, “A Guide to Common Gardening Questions,” has been co-written by Utah State University Horticulture Extension Assistant Professor Katie Wagner, USU Agricultural Extension Professor Shawn Olsen, and Dan Drost, USU Extension vegetable specialist.

The cost of the instructional book is $10, and it can be purchased at the USU Extension offices in Ogden, Farmington and Salt Lake City, as well as some area stores.

Olsen said the 105-page booklet centers around answering the thousands of gardening questions USU Extension Service offices receive each year from the public.

“The book gives locally adapted recommendations for successful vegetable and fruit production in Northern Utah areas,” Olsen said.

The book does not address ornamental gardening, said Olsen, who presented copies of the book to the Davis County Commission at its regularly scheduled Tuesday meeting.

“This is excellent,” Commissioner Louenda Downs said of the section of the book that provides the planting season for specific vegetables.

“What a great read,” Commissioner Bret Millburn said, hoping the book also contained a chapter on how to prevent mountain deer from eating the greenery around his home.

Olsen said the USU Extension Service put the book together because of the large number of new move-ins to the state who are unfamiliar with Utah’s growing seasons.

“This user-friendly, step-by-step guide provides Utahns with instructions on garden preparation, variety selection, garden layout and planting, suggested planting dates for different areas of Utah, starting garden plants from seed and container gardening,” Olsen said.

The book also includes information on garden soil, garden maintenance, weed control and fall-time garden turn down.

“The guide provides information on many types of growing practices that have been proven effective through extensive research and data analysis by Utah State University Extension faculty,” he said.

The book can also be ordered online at extension.cart.usu.edu.

Link to the Standard Examiner article by clicking here.

Schedule a free "Slow the Flow" water check

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

What is a water check?

A water check analyzes the efficiency of your automated sprinkler system. Trained workers will perform the water check at your home and provide you with a customized watering schedule.

The tests that will be performed include soil type, grass root depth, sprinkler distribution uniformity and water pressure. The entire process will take approximately one hour.

When and where are they available?

Water checks are available from May through August in the following counties: Davis, Duchesne, Garfield, Iron, Juab, Morgan, Piute, Salt Lake, Summit, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington and Weber.

How much does it cost?

The water check program is a free service sponsored by your water provider.

How do I sign up?

You can schedule an appointment by signing up using the form below or by calling 877-728-3420. This program is sponsored by: Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, Washington County Water Conservancy District, Sandy City, Murray City, Salt Lake City, Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, Central Iron County Water Conservancy District and Utah State University.

Find out more by clicking here.

New Global Data Set Available for PM2.5 Particulate Matter

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Interested in PM 2.5 particulate matter and its worldwide concentrations? NASA's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) has a new resource for you. SEDACs Global Annual PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data sets represent a series of annual average grids (2001-2010) of fine particulate matter (solid particles and liquid droplets) that were derived from MODIS and MISR AOD satellite data. Together the grids provide a continuous surface of concentrations in micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller (PM2.5) for health and environmental research. The satellite AOD retrievals were converted to ground-level concentrations based on a conversion factor developed by researchers at Dalhousie University that accounts for spatial and temporal variations in aerosol properties and vertical structure as derived from a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem).

The raster grids have a grid cell resolution of 30 arc-minutes (approximately 1 sq. km at the equator) and cover the world from 70°N to 60°S latitude. The grids were produced by researchers at Battelle Memorial Institute in collaboration with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network/Columbia University under a NASA-ROSES project entitled "Using Satellite Data to Develop Environmental Indicators: An Application of NASA Data Products to Support High Level Decisions for National and International Environmental Protection". Exposure to fine particles is associated with premature death as well as increased morbidity from respiratory and cardiovascular disease, especially in the elderly, young children, and those already suffering from these illnesses. The World Health Organization guideline for PM2.5 average annual exposure is less than or equal to 10.0 micrograms per cubic meter, whereas the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) primary standard is less than or equal to 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA primary standards are designed to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety.

Citation: Battelle Memorial Institute, and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Global Annual Average PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://beta.sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/sdei-global-annual-avg-pm2-5-2001-2010. Accessed 23 April, 2013.

Utah Ranks 44th on US Locavore Index

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

BRATTLEBORO, VT — How does your state stack up against all the others when it comes to availability and consumption of locally-produced foods?

The Vermont-based Strolling of the Heifers local food advocacy group released its second annual Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index, ranking the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of their commitment to local foods.

Using recent indicator data from multiple sources, the Index incorporates farmers markets, consumer-supported agriculture operations (CSAs) and food hubs in its per-capita comparison of consumers’ interest in eating locally-sourced foods — also known as locavorism.

The top five states for locavorism, according to the Index, in order, are Vermont (first), Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Iowa, while the bottom five are Texas (last), Florida, Louisiana, Arizona and Nevada. Utah placed 44th compared to other states for their commitment to local foods. Luckily, Utah Farm-Chef-Fork, Slow Food Utah, CSA Utah, Utah's Own, Buy Local First Utah and others are working to improve this.

Strolling of the Heifers executive director Orly Munzing said the purpose of the Index is to encourage local food efforts in every state. “There are so many ways to do that,” she said, “not just with farmers markets and CSAs, but by supporting Farm-To-School programs, urging local hospitals and nursing homes to purchase local foods, asking supermarkets to buy from local farms, and of course, celebrating and honoring our farmers whenever we can.”

Farmers markets are generally cooperative efforts to market locally produced food in a central location where consumers can select and purchase food from multiple farm enterprises.

A CSA is a cooperative agreement between farmers and consumers; consumer buy shares in the farm’s output and have some say in what is grown. When crops come in, they are divided among shareholders according to the volume of their shares, and the rest may be sold at market. CSA farmers get revenue in advance to cover costs of tilling, soil preparation and seed. Shareholders get fresh produce grown locally and contribute to sustainable farming practices.

Food hubs are facilities that handle the aggregation, distribution and marketing of foods from a group of farms and food producers in a region. Food hubs are often cooperatively owned, though many are private enterprises.

The Index used data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (its farmers markets database, which is updated monthly, and a food hubs database); the U.S. Census bureau (July 2012 estimates of population); and California-based local food resource directory LocalHarvest (its frequently-updated database of CSAs).

Vermont’s top ranking in the Index reflects both its agricultural heritage and the state’s economic strategies, which place a high priority on initiatives related to food and agriculture.

“Vermont should be proud of its number one ranking, and the leadership role our state is playing in the area of community-supported agriculture,” Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross said. “A strong local food system creates economic opportunities, preserves the working landscape, serves the nutritional needs of a region, and provides a point of connection for the community.”

Ross also noted: “As we look towards the future, there is much more work to do — all the states need to work together to support this critical transformation, which will determine our ability to feed ourselves in the future.”

Index coordinator Martin Langeveld noted that the metrics the Index uses have changed and will continue to change. “Right now, reliable state-by-state data about local food consumption is pretty scarce,” he said. The data from LocalHarvest replaced an older data set used last year, and the food hubs data was used this year for the first time. “Next year,” Langeveld said, “We plan to incorporate more detailed information from the 2012 Census of Agriculture, which is now being processed by the USDA.”

Why local? See USU's Local Food Movement Fact Sheet for specific economic, social, and environmental reasons, as well as ways to support local in UT.

State ranking

Here is the 2013 Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index ranking of the states. The number in parentheses is the 2012 rank. (Click here to download PDF with full Index data.)

Vermont (1)

Maine (4)

New Hampshire (13)

North Dakota (7)

Iowa (2)

Montana (3)

Oregon (14)

Wyoming (9)

Wisconsin (15)

Idaho (10)

Rhode Island (24)

Massachusetts (28)

Hawaii (5)

South Dakota (8)

Connecticut (29)

Minnesota (17)

Alaska (27)

Kentucky (6)

Colorado (31)

Nebraska (12)

Washington (22)

Michigan (25)

West Virginia (11)

District of Columbia (not ranked)

New York (42)

Kansas (19)

New Mexico (16)

Virginia (34)

Maryland (39)

Delaware (45)

North Carolina (32)

Pennsylvania (38)

Indiana (30)

Missouri (18)

Alabama (26)

Ohio (35)

South Carolina (33)

Arkansas (21)

Illinois (40)

Tennessee (36)

Mississippi (23)

California (41)

Georgia (44)

Utah (37)

Oklahoma (20)

New Jersey (48)

Nevada (47)

Arizona (49)

Louisiana (46)

Florida (50)

Texas (43)

Data Sources:
Population 2012 — US Census bureau estimates as of 7/1/2012: http://www.census.gov/popest/data/state/totals/2012/

Farmers Markets as of March 14, 2013: http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

CSAs as of March 20, 2013: http://www.localharvest.org/

Food hubs as of Jan. 4, 2013: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FoodHubs

Methodology:

Weighted score: Farmers Markets 45%, CSAs 45%, Food Hubs 10%
Score per 100,000: Weighted score/(population/100,000)
Download full index data file (PDF)

Story slightly adapted from http://www.strollingoftheheifers.com/locavore-index-2013/

Eight Glass Recycling Drop Sites Now Open in Cache County

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 MST

The Logan City Environmental Department is pleased to announce that they have opened a total of eight glass recycling drops sites within Cache County. Glass from these drop sites will be taken to Momentum Recycling in Salt Lake City, Utah. The environmental department would like to thank the towns and businesses that have allowed them to place a glass recycling container on their property. They ask that the public please respect the property that these bins are located on and carefully clean up the area if glass should spill outside of the recycling container.

The glass drop sites will accept brown, green, blue, and clear glass bottles and jars only. All colors of glass bottles and jars can be placed into the same container, no sorting is necessary.

Please DO NOT place ceramics, garbage, plastic bags, cardboard boxes, six pack holders, plate glass, laminated glass, mirrors, oven safe glass (Pyrex), light bulbs, porcelain, or windows into the glass recycling containers. These items will contaminate our loads as they are not recyclable at the Momentum Recycling facility.

The glass recycling drop sites can be found in the following locations:

Hyrum:
East Park
800 East Main

Providence:
Von's Park
350 East Center

Richmond:
South of the Post Office & behind the Fire Station
3 South State

Smithfield:
East side of Armory Building
50 East 100 North

Logan:

City Hall
200 N Main

Fraternal Order of Eagles
900 N 200 W

K-Mart
1750 N Main

Logan Landfill
200 N 1400 W

Media Contact:
Emily Morgan Malik
435-716-9792
emily.malik@loganutah.org

Community Rebuilds, Moab UT: "Building a Sustainable Community"

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 MST

Community Rebuilds aids income-qualifying families in building affordable and ENERGY-EFFICIENT STRAW BALE HOMES. They are a nonprofit that provides assistance during all stages of the build. Before breaking ground they act as a free consultant for interested families, by connecting them with low interest rate loans and supplying stamped architectural plans free of cost. During the build, Community Rebuilds manages the build process and budget, and they provide a labor force of unpaid volunteer interns. After construction is complete, they provide the families free consultation in home maintenance and repair.

Community Rebuilds has created an AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM by taking several steps to reduce the cost of construction: They connect families with low interest rate loans; They recruit volunteer student interns to complete the bulk of the construction labor; They stick to a simple architectural plan for each build, thereby limiting architectural and engineering costs; and They use as many recycled and donated building materials as possible. With this structure, the organization reduces the cost of construction greatly. Community Rebuild homes cost $100,000, but would cost almost double without their services, particularly in a region where housing costs are high. And because the organization has chosen insulative straw bale as their main building material, they are able to significantly limit future heating and cooling costs, continuing the affordability of the homes long after they're built.

With this program, Community Rebuilds constructs affordable housing for the community and provides valuable EDUCATION AND SKILLS IN NATURAL BUILDING to every person involved: homeowners, interns, CR staff and volunteers. Interns spend 4 months working under licensed contractors and under the direction of our expert natural building instructors. They build a home from foundation to finish in four months. They are the only organization that offers this type of education free of cost.

In these ways, Community Rebuilds works to improve their Moab community and realizes their mission to build energy-efficient housing, provide education on sustainability and improve the housing conditions of the workforce through an affordable program.

Find out more by visiting: http://www.communityrebuilds.org/home.html

Energy Commercialization Center launches Emerging Ventures Competition

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 MST

The ECC is excited to announce that it opened it's Emerging Ventures Competition of February 15th, 2013. The Emerging Venture Competition has a cash award of $10,000 and universities in the Rocky Mountain West are eligible to apply. The competition is focused on entrepreneurs, students, and start up companies that embrace the challenge of building a sustainable energy economy in the Rocky Mountain Region, specifically through technology and IP. The ECC invites everyone to refer any appropriate students, professors, or teams with technologies to apply to the competition. The deadline is March 15th, 2013. Additional details can be found on the Energize 2013 web page.

Local Land Trust Purchases 30 acres to Protect Threatened Orchid

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 MST

The Bear River Land Conservancy (BRLC) has established the Mendon Meadow Preserve with 30 acres of farmland and pasture purchased in Mendon, Utah, that provides habitat for Ute ladies' tresses (Spiranthes diluvialis), an orchid listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Funding for the acquisition was arranged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to mitigate for habitat lost during recent construction projects in northern Utah. The BRLC is the local partner for the USFWS to secure the property and implement a habitat management plan to protect the orchid.
According to Betsy Herrmann, USFWS Utah Field Office, "Prior to its 2008 discovery at this property, the orchid was not known to exist in Cache County. Conservation of the site will protect the population from future development. With private sector help, we can not only provide money to the Conservancy for acquisition but also provide for future management of the property to protect this species."

A management plan is being developed by the Conservancy and the USFWS that will also further the Conservancy's mission of protecting agricultural lands. Herrmann explained, "This orchid needs wetlands with short or sparse vegetation and plenty of sunlight. Proper agricultural management can help provide those optimal conditions."

Dave Rayfield, Chairman of the Board for the Conservancy explained, "Our mission includes protecting critical habitats, but we are also committed to conserving part of our rapidly disappearing agricultural base." Paul Willie, a life-long resident of Mendon and also a member of the Conservancy's Board of Directors, noted, "This land has been farmed since pioneer times and we'd like to see it continue in a similar way."

Dr. Mark Brunson, USU ecologist and chairman of the Conservancy's Stewardship Committee, noted that this preserve will not only protect and aid in recovery of this species, but it will also conserve habitat for other species. "As more agricultural operations are moving from flood to sprinkler irrigation, we are losing our wet meadow habitat, which is critical for other species including wading birds and amphibians. It's important to protect lands for a wide range of habitat values and this parcel does that."

The Bear River Land Conservancy encourages interested residents to join as members of the organization. Rayfield noted, "We have already completed three significant projects and others are in the works. If we are to conserve these critical lands for posterity, we need help from the community. All hands are welcome!"

About Bear River Land Conservancy

The Bear River Land Conservancy is one of 1,500 qualified land trusts in the United States. It is located in and serves Box Elder, Cache, and Rich Counties in northern Utah. BRLC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity and a member of the national Land Trust Alliance. They focus on protecting private lands that offer public benefits, and they employ a wide range of tools including conservation easements, fee purchase, and management consulting. They ensure successful stewardship though endowments to help maintain conservation values in perpetuity. They also work with private landowners to develop innovative, economical, and adaptive management practices to improve those conservation values. BRLC members are diverse - sportsmen and women, environmentalists, farmers and ranchers, scientists, real estate interests, public agencies, students, and everyday citizens. Information is available from www.BearRiverLandConservancy.org, or by emailing BRLC@BearRiverLandConservancy.org.

About United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Ecological Services Office

The vision of the Utah Ecological Services Field Office is: "Achieving sustainable native species and ecosystems through leadership, partnerships, and innovation." Located in Salt Lake City, the Office provides biological advice to other federal and state agencies, industry, and members of the public concerning the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitat that may be affected by development activities. Staff persons assess the potential effects of projects to migratory birds, endangered species, and other fish and wildlife. In Utah these projects typically include activities such as agriculture, mining, utility lines, dredge and fill activities, dam and reservoir operations, oil and gas leasing, and highway construction. Staff persons also assess the effects of contaminants on fish and wildlife. They make recommendations regarding ways to avoid, minimize, or compensate for harmful impacts on fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The primary areas of responsibility for the Utah Ecological Services Field Office include contaminant assessments, endangered species, Federal project reviews, and wetlands conservation. Information is available at: http://www.fws.gov/utahfieldoffice/index.html.

For information, contact:
Bear River Land Conservancy: Dave Rayfield, (435) 757-9120, brlc@BearRiverLandConservancy.org or Bryan Dixon, (435) 760-0691, brlc@BearRiverLandConservancy.org
USFWS: Betsy Herrmann, (801) 975-3330, betsy_herrmann@fws.gov

USU Extension - Sustainablity - News

SLC Green e2 Business Program

SLC Green - e2 Programs for Businesses

What is the e2 Business Program?

Why is environmental and economic sustainability important?

How will e2 Business benefit my business?

How do I become an e2 Business?

How much does it cost?

Do you provide financial assistance?

Not Convinced?

Get Started Now

Already an e2 Business?

Accolades

May: National Bike Month

A Guide to Common Gardening Questions Now Available

Schedule a free "Slow the Flow" water check

What is a water check?

When and where are they available?

How much does it cost?

How do I sign up?

New Global Data Set Available for PM2.5 Particulate Matter

Utah Ranks 44th on US Locavore Index

State ranking

Utah (37)

Eight Glass Recycling Drop Sites Now Open in Cache County

Community Rebuilds, Moab UT: "Building a Sustainable Community"

Energy Commercialization Center launches Emerging Ventures Competition

Local Land Trust Purchases 30 acres to Protect Threatened Orchid