CONSERVATION WATCH

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E G A R D E N C L U B O F A M E R I C A

VOLUME XXI, ISSUE 3 SUMMER 2012

IN THIS ISSUE:
WOMEN IN WASHINGTON THE FARM BILL - A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR NECESSITY INTERVIEW WITH NOAA'S THOMAS KARL THE CENTENNIAL FOR OUR NATIONAL PARKS TAX CREDITS FOR RENEWABLES AT RISK AND MORE....

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INDEX

THE CENTENNIAL FOR OUR NATIONAL PARKS

BY SHARON BLACKBURN

ENERGY POLICY TODAY

BY BARBARA GELTOSKY

WHAT DOES CLIMATE CHANGE LOOK LIKE?

BY LINDA JAMES

INTERVIEW WITH THOMAS KARL DIRECTOR OF NOAAS NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER
BY SUZANNE CANFIELD

THE USDA AND AGRICULTURE DEPUTY SECRETARY KATHLEEN MERRIGAN

BY NANCY MCKLVEEN

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THE FARM BILL - A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR NECESSITY

BY ANNIE AGER

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THE BILLBOARD MENACE COMMITTEE

BY FRANCES TRAFTON

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TAX CREDITS FOR RENEWABLES AT RISK

BY CELIE HARRIS

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ARE LITTLE GREEN FLOTILLAS ON THE POLLUTION DIET?

BY CAROL DAVIS

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WOMEN IN WASHINGTON
BY ELVA BUSCH

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THE CENTENNIAL FOR OUR NATIONAL PARKS

BY SHARON BLACKBURN Loveland Garden Club (NE) Zone XI, Vice Chairman, GCA National Affairs and Legislation Committee, National Parks/Public Lands

Americas National Parks have been an iconic symbol of the American identity since they were established in 1916. Most Americans have a favorite park or a park they have always wanted to visit. In changing times, however, the parks are experiencing the results of a disconnect from nature affecting many people due to

less access to natural places, the increase in technology-driven entertainment, or just lack of knowledge about our natural landscapes. The crush of development and constant pressure on resources combined with budget cuts means that the parks are facing a challenge and just in time for their Centennial Celebration in 2016! The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), an independent, nonpartisan organization established in1919 to address the threats to Americas national parks, is working to resolve these looming problems and to turn the Centennial into a time to chart a course forward. In January, the NPCA along with the park concessionaires and the National Parks Foundation, convened a two-day National Parks Summit in Washington, D.C. that attracted a widely diverse group of stakeholders. They included tourism and conservation leaders, the recreation industry, political advisors, Native peoples, and a representative from the GCA! The goal was to develop unifying, clear objectives to ensure that the parks are equipped to meet new challenges and to plan for ways to ensure adequate funding. A Call to Action Plan details parks priorities. (www.nps.gov/calltoaction/) Five of many discussion points coming out of the Summit were: 1. 2. The need for large landscapes to protect park boundaries, to create or maintain migration corridors, and to connect pockets of habitat. The goal of bringing more youth to the parks as visitors, volunteers, interns, and summer workers as well as bringing the parks to youth through educational programming in schools
GAIL CLARK, SHARON BLACKBURN, TOM KIERNAN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, AND RICH INNES, WASHINGTON D.C. CONSULTANT Photo by Canfield and Ross

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and even national parks themed video games! 3. 4. 5. The importance of utilizing electronic technologies to attract and educate visitors. The need to represent a diverse population in all areas from employment to the creation of new historic and heritage park units. Recognition of the parks as jobs creators and economic drivers of local economies, returning $4 for every tax dollar invested. Jobs are created in maintenance, staffing, building, and facilities management as well as in tourism. Americas national parks are a huge attraction for international visitors, and are a focus of the Presidents new tourism initiative.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK Photo cour tesy of Public Domain Photo

NPCA has collected 325 signatures to date, and hopes to reach 1000 signatures in support of its National Parks For a New Century: Statement of Joint Principles. These principles set goals the parks will work toward in order to remain relevant, viable, and dynamic. The Conservation/ NAL Committee of GCA voted unanimously at the 2012 Washington NAL Meeting to ask the GCA Board to join the many organizations that have signed on to the Principles as expressions of support. The GCA Board approved this request and so the GCA continues its special relationship with the National Parks. A brief summary of the Joint Principles: We must restore, preserve, and protect the parks air, water, animal and plant life.

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National parks must receive adequate funding for the protection of our heritage. National Parks and Park Service programs depend on diverse partnerships. The Parks must evolve with a changing America to accommodate urbanization and diversity. National Parks foster healthy minds and bodies. Educational programs, natural and cultural resources, and parks facilities should be of excep-

tional quality and meet the needs of a diversity of visitors. (For a complete Statement of the Joint Principles: www.2016parksummit.org/next-steps/sign-on-form.html). Why did GCA support the Park Principles? GCA has always had a close connection to the parks ever since the founding of both organizations (1913 and 1916, respectively.) Members were supportive in not only creating national parks but also in creating the National Park Service in 1916. They supported Minerva Hamilton Holt in her decade-long quest that resulted in the creation of Joshua Tree National Monument1 and have generally supported creation of new parks and fought against efforts to exploit park lands for commercial gain, says John Jarvis, NPS Director. GCA is involved in a number of parks-related activities. Early on, GCAs Save the Redwoods campaign raised awareness of the necessity to protect our natural resources. Today, GCA awards the Sally Brown GCA National Parks Conservation Scholarship each year to fund a Student Conservation Association (SCA) crew leader at one of the parks. GCA member Elizabeth Putnam received the 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal for launching Americas conservation service movements with the founding of the SCA in 1954, when parks were in a crisis similar to todays. Elizabeth proposed in her senior thesis the creation of a student conservation corps. GCA agreed to be a sponsor. Sixty percent of the corps members go on to become conservation professionals. GCA has continued to help fund SCA since 1957 with almost a million dollars in donations from members. GCA follows eleven issues in support of our position papers. National Parks is the most sitespecific. Other issues, such as clean air and clean water, impact the parks. Keeping our public parks healthy gives us places to achieve our goals for the other issues. In addition, many GCA Partners for Plants programs are in national park areas. Last August a
1 http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/parks/joshua-tree-national-park
THE NPS LOGO CONTAINS SEVERAL IMAGES TO CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF OUR NATIONAL PARKS: THE SEQUOIA TREE AND BISON REPRESENT VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE, THE MOUNTAINS AND WATER REPRESENT SCENIC AND RECREATIONAL VALUES, AND THE ARROWHEAD REPRESENTS HISTORICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL VALUES. Cour tesy of NPS.gov

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formal partnership was renewed between GCA and the Park Service. A National Parks Traveler magazine press release reads: The Garden Club has played an integral role in our efforts to restore federally listed threatened and endangered plant species and remove exotic plants from parks." In March, NPCA supported a park funding letter in the House and Senate. It asks that Congress meet the fixed operations costs in order to address the operations shortfall of $600 million and thereby prevent the loss of park rangers, staff and maintenance funding. This budgetary funding is vital. Individually we can support our parks by contacting our legislators. The NAL Committee invites members to contact both senators and House members regarding this funding, to endorse the Park Funding Letter and to voice support for Americas best idea our National Parks. From the National Park Foundation: You are the owner of 84 million acres of the worlds most treasured memorials, landscapes, ecosystems, and historic sites -- all protected in Americas nearly 400 national parks. Join us in supporting your national parks -- this is your land.

ENERGY POLICY TODAY

BY BARBARA GELTOSKY The Gardeners (PA) Zone V Vice Chairman, GCA National Affairs and Legislation, Energy Sources

Key energy issues addressed in this election year have included the Keystone Pipeline, clean energy (notable for the failure to pass a bill related to it), nuclear safety, and the pipeline safety legislation (which did pass).

The White House announced an ambitious energy policy with a number of significant goals. Included are developing Americas energy resources through offshore drilling reform; creating new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks; and investing in clean and renewable energy. Proposals are on the table to develop renewable energy projects on public lands, expand the smart grid, and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. The Keystone Pipeline became a lightning rod for environmentalists. They feared the danger of spills and the carbon footprint left by tar sands extraction. In January, President Obama vetoed the pipeline proposal, but it was not game over for the pipeline. Trans Canada soon announced they would commence work on one segment of the pipeline in the US. In late March, President Obama issued an executive order to expedite this segment, despite the fact that it will do little to reduce the cost of gas at the pump.

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On the bright side, President Obama signed into law the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act on January 3rd. The legislation reauthorizes regulatory activities of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and doubles penalties to violators. It was one of the few energy-related pieces of legislation to pass Congress this year. Concern for nuclear safety rose after the Fukushima disaster. In January, the Presidents blue ribbon panel made recommendations emphasizing the need to develop storage sites and dumps for nuclear waste and suggested an overhaul in guidelines for transporting nuclear waste and spent fuel. Despite safety concerns, the NRC also granted the first permit for construction of a nuclear reactor since 1978 and appears on track to grant several permit extensions. The only certainty is that this is a constantly evolving situation.

NAL DELEGATES UNDETERRED BY RAIN ENTERING THE CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING Photo by Canfield and Ross

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WHAT DOES CLIMATE CHANGE LOOK LIKE?

BY LINDA JAMES Garden Club East Hampton (NY) Zone III Vice Chairman, GCA Conservation Committee, Climate Change

As Executive Editor specializing in the environment at National Geographic magazine, Dennis Dimick documents the effects of climate change in collaboration with scientists, research teams, science writers and photographers. Mr. Dimick has employed the vast photographic resources of National Geographic to visually present climate change

through images that portray rising temperatures, escalating extreme weather events, melting glaciers, falling freshwater tables, eroding soil, diminishing ocean resources and growing populations. Summarizing the magazines special issues for the NAL and Conservation delegates during the Washington, D.C. meeting, Mr. Dimick introduced National Geographic as a contributor to climate changes scientific literature. It uses dramatic photographic images and accessible graphic data in features like The Big Thaw (2007), a report on a warming climate that is melting the worlds glaciers and polar ice faster than any projections. The photographs from Greenland (2010) reflect current melting patterns of the ice sheet, as projections for a rise in global temperature range from a medium of 4.5 degrees fahrenheit to 9 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. Water: Our Thirsty World (2010) includes photographic exhibits from around the world that highlight the precarious state of the worlds fresh water. The latest special issue, Population 7 Billion raises the question of just how many people the earth can support as the planets natural resources continue to be challenged by the clearing of forests, burning of coal and oil, and the rising of CO2 in the atmosphere all contributors to changes in climate. According to Mr. Dimick, the worlds largest industryagricultureuses 70 percent of the planets available fresh water. With a growing population, demand for food is increasing. Yet by 2050 predictions are that a third of the worlds population may lack a clean, secure source of water. With a changing climate, the global water footprint for key crops is shifting as growing zones move north. The use of more fertilizers and pesticides compromise the planets natural resources. This all unfolds during Mr. Dimicks power point presentation, which mesmerizes the audience with brilliant images tempered by the narrative of a planet challenged to meet the future needs of it inhabitants.
DENNIS DIMICK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SPEAKING WITH LINDA JAMES Photo by Ross and Canfield

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THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET MELTING INTO THE OCEAN OFF THE NEWFOUNDLAND COAST (2011) Photo by Leslie Pierpont

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the U.S. governments weather service, which provides local, regional weather forecasts and alerts for extreme weather events. According to Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, NOAAs Deputy Administrator, the worlds greatest challenge is the changing climate, which calls for an understanding of how we monitor weather. Her presentation addressed the very sophisticated and accurate system of scientific climate modeling and weather monitoring. There is an 86 percent increase in usage of NOAAs climate data for budgeting and future planning by such diverse groups as farmers, home builders, state governments, electrical, national military strategists and firefighters, she said. Water and food management depends on understanding what is happening in the atmosphere. In these two presentations, NAL/Conservation Committee Conference delegates learned what an invaluable educational tool the Internet has become, with virtual imaging accessible on the web from national and international government agencies, private science agencies, the global nonprofit sector and an array of media organizations. The Washington D.C. Conference provides the Garden Club of America with its best platform to prepare members to act as advocates to address climate change nationally and at the state and local level.

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INTERVIEW WITH THOMAS KARL - DIRECTOR OF NOAAS NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER
BY SUZANNE CANFIELD Suzanne Booker-Canfield, Ph.D., Garden Guild of Winnetka Zone XI Vice Chairman, GCA National Affairs and Legislation, Climate Change

We all rely on the National Weather Service for forecasts, but we can only count on their accuracy for about ten days. A proposed bridge, however, might need to predict conditions over 75 years or more. How will planners, large and small, know what kinds of environmental conditions it will need to withstand?

There is one governmental agency that provides information for Americans whether they are planting a garden, considering the feasibility of solar panels, or building a major bridge or dam. This organization offers a wealth of data and climate modeling information to all comers. Its the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and it serves as the source of practical information for everything from a backyard garden to a major public infrastructure project. Thomas Karl, Director of NOAAs National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), who was interviewed in the agencys headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina, addresses these kinds of pragmatic concerns. Karl is one of the countrys leading climate scientists. He has published more than 150 scientific articles and served as lead author on several IPCC studies, including a 2007 Nobel Prizewinning assessment. He is keenly aware of the link between the kind of complex climate research that NOAA engages in and the practical decision-making needs of the public and private sectors. In the past, Karl explains, NOAA has been able to take a lot of climatic information from historical data because the climate has been fairly constant. Dealing with a climate that is no longer stationary, however, makes the older information less valuable. Because the climate is changing in ways that are a couple of decades faster than anything weve been able to observe, Karl notes that over the course of this century, the changes will be larger than what weve seen for the last 10,000 years. Consequently, the NCDC gathers vast quantities of data from a variety of sources, including
THOMAS KARL, DIRECTOR OF NOAA'S NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER Photo by Suzanne Canfield

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geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites that provide multiple images of Earth each day to buoys in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans that relate changes in ocean temperature and salinity. Using the fourth-fastest computer in the world, the NCDC builds complex models that can account for complex interconnections such as the transfers between the land, atmosphere, and oceans involved in the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles.

BILLION DOLLAR WEATHER DISASTERS 1980-2011 Graphic at NCDC

By modeling, for instance, how the ice sheets interact with the oceans, the NCDC helps provide valuable data for infrastructure planning. Forty percent of our major airports are within a few feet of sea level, Karl notes, and sea level, we know, is rising. Whether helping the Department of Defense predict how long its coastal training facilities will last or simply helping coastal residents plan for extreme weather, the NCDCs predictive models appear to play an important role in many facets of American life. In fact, these elaborate computer models helped the NCDC map new plant hardiness zones, which are based on the average extreme minimum temperature. That process presupposed a stable climate, since it was derived by averaging the past 30 years temperatures. Now, however, the zones need to be revised every ten years. In fact, for the first time, the NCDC is also putting out dynamic normals to try to account for the fact that the climate is warming. The dynamic normals could give you some insight into what the trends are doing, says Karl.

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A CHANGING CLIMATE IS CHANGING PLANTS Graphic cour tesy of NOAA

The NCDC has partnered with the American Professional Gardening Administration to introduce information at botanical gardens or arboretums. In addition to the plant hardiness zones, the NCDC has launched an informational campaign to address how climate change is affecting what we grow. Karl told the story of how when he built a house eight years ago, he needed to plant some trees. I love sugar maple, he said, but decided to grow red maples because sugar maples arent heat-tolerant compared to red maples. He laughed that it may sound small, but these trees were about $75 apiece, and if I was going to spend $750, I wanted to make sure they were going to live. Those are the kind of decisions that affect individual homeowners, he noted. Karl spoke to GCA members at the 2011 NAL meeting in Washington. He emphasized the link between climate change and extreme weather events. Not surprisingly, Karl called this one right: America suffered 14 "billion-dollar disasters" in the form of droughts, storms, floods, and fires that killed 688 people and resulted in more than $52 billion in damages. With the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continuing to rise, Karl explains, we unfortunately have seen over the last decade were higher than the highest projection. As the Earth warms, the extreme weather events we saw last year will become more likely. Weve seen some rather remarkable increases in extreme precipitation events over the last 40-50 years, Karl said, comparing the resultant increase in water vapor in the atmosphere to the visible steam coming off a boiling pot.

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Were doing something similar to the atmosphere. As a result, observational data reveals the wind speed in the strongest of hurricanes is increasing. Though there are not necessarily more storms, Karl notes that the strongest ones do seem to be getting stronger. Sub-tropics will get drier, and higher latitudes will get wetter. With water already scarce in the Southwest, the concern for water resources mounts. As temperatures continue to warm, you need more water to continue to grow the same kind of things you grow today, so Karl worries about what could happen to the U.S. corn, wheat, and soybean crops if we had the kind of catastrophic crop failure that Russia experienced in 2010. These higher winter temperatures also make invasives and pests more problematic. Karl cites the way the lodge pole pine beetle has decimated so much of the West as a case in point. These pests mean more insecticide use. A farmer in Florida probably sprays five or ten times more than one in New York for the same kind of crop thats grown, he says. The increased insecticide means more runoff and more opportunities for it to be cycled through the food chain. Despite the increasingly important role that climate forecasting plays in helping individuals, businesses, and the public sector make safer, sounder, and more cost-effective decisions, the House recently approved an amendment to cut funding for NOAAs Climate.gov site, the agencys most accessible vehicle for this climate information, by $542,000. This funding cut comes on the heels of a Yale study published in March, which reports that twothirds of the American people believe global warming made several recent extreme weather disasters worse, and 82 percent of Americans personally experienced one or more types of extreme weather or natural disaster in the past year, including the unusually warm winter of December 2011 and January 2012, record high summer temperatures in the U.S. in 2011, the drought in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011, record snowfall in the U.S. in 2010 and 2011, the Mississippi River floods in the spring of 2011, and Hurricane Irene. As adaptation strategies are developed to address these extremes, the work of NOAA and the NCDC becomes more important than ever.

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THE USDA AND AGRICULTURE DEPUTY SECRETARY KATHLEEN MERRIGAN

BY NANCY MCKLVEEN Des Moines Founders Garden Club (IA) Zone XI Advisor, GCA National Affiairs and Legislation Committee

Kathleen Merrigan was chosen as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by Secretary Vilsack in 2009 as an indication that the USDA was planning to embrace organic and sustainable food production. One of the first things she did was to launch Know Your

Farmer, Know Your Food, an ongoing USDA initiative to connect farmers and consumers that is intended to create economic opportunity in rural America through local and regional food systems. In an effort to connect with the NAL meeting delegates, Dr. Merrigan thanked them for their interest in food and agriculture policy. She remarked that the worlds capacity to produce enough food is challenged by water shortages, a fixed land base, less arable land, competition for energy resources, and climate change. She acknowledged the recommendation in the GCA Position Paper on Climate Change for the promotion of more localized systems of food production and consumption. Deputy Secretary Merrigan reported on the third anniversary of the USDA Peoples Garden. The first Peoples Garden, situated on the USDA grounds, was the way Secretary Vilsack chose to communicate the agencys mission of sustainability. In particular, it promotes the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, a cornerstone of the agencys push to improve school nutrition and reduce childhood obesity. There are now 1,400 Peoples Gardens across the nation that donate over one million pounds of produce! In addition, the White House Garden reflects the First Familys commitment to fresh, healthy eating and sustainable agriculture. NAL meeting delegates were offered examples of USDA responses to the worlds food needs, including grants that have been awarded for research, education, and extension work on water-related issues in communities across the nation. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) has also provided enhancements for millions of acres of farmland which improve water and soil quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and address the effects of climate change. USDA continues in research partnership to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems around the world.
NANCY MCKLVEEN AND KATHLEEN MERRIGAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Photo by Canfield and Ross

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Dr. Merrigan encouraged the delegates to speak out for crucial programs that enable family farmers and ranchers to produce healthy food, build community, and sustain the environment. The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, known as the Farm Bill, is debated, amended and passed by Congress every five years and is to be renewed this year. As a multibillion-dollar piece of legislation with far-ranging impacts on our health, environment and food, members of Congress need to hear from concerned citizens.

THE FARM BILL - A MULTIBILLION DOLLAR NECESSITY

BY ANNIE AGER French Broad River Garden Club (NC) Zone VII Vice Chairman, GCA Conservation Committee, Agriculture

On Thursday June 21, the nearly $1 trillion 2012 Farm Bill passed the Senate with a vote of 64-35. Martha Phillips, in her masterful legislative review, was in awe at the immensity of the bill - at 1000 pages it was 400 pages longer than the 2008 farm bill. According to industry

groups, the spending associated with the farm bill relative to the federal budget falls somewhere between education and social security, and the bill directs policy for everything from food stamps to crop insurance, farm subsidies to school lunches, energy, forestry and wetland preservation. A notable policy change in the Senate bill is the elimination of millions of dollars in direct payments to farmers and farmland owners, in favor of crop insurance to protect against price drops and crop yield failures. Of the 300 amendments proposed, floor voting took place on 73, and notable amendments included the reduction of crop insurance subsidies to farms with a gross adjusted income greater than $750,000 and the requirement for conservation compliance in order to be eligible to buy crop insurance. As the bill goes
FARM BILL SPENDING Graphic by Congressional Research Ser vice

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to the House, budget and deficit concerns place crucial conservation and restoration programs at risk as efforts are made to cut projected spending levels. Farm Policy until the 1960s dealt with rural food production and regulation, and the first farm bill dates back to the New Deal. In 1960, rural representation in Congress was diminished, as population density in the cities increased. Rural legislators were forced to acknowledge and support urban issues in order to get rural programs enacted. Consequently, under then-President Kennedy, the food stamp

FARMLAND CONTINUES TO DISAPPEAR Graphic at www.farmbillfacts.org

program became a part of the farm bill. Today, SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program), has grown to 69% of the farm bill budget. An additional $6.4 billion goes to the commodity crops, $5.7 billion to crop insurance, $4.5 billion to conservation, $387 million to energy, and $305 million to exports. Where, exactly, do all these billions get spent? For the Garden Club and all our members the farm bill provides crucial funding for several conservation programs, including restoration programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The farm bill also includes conservation easement programs, including the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP), the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) and the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), that are helping to preserve

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millions of acres of important landscapes across America. Through land and water protection, the farm bill does more for clean air and water than any other federal source of conservation funding. How are these programs administered, and why are they so effective? Throughout the United States, in small towns and big cities, there are USDA Farm Service Agency offices which administer the programs enacted under the farm bill. Farmers apply and receive government funding from these local offices, where the farmers know the staff, and the staff knows the farmers. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a case in point. The CRP encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or other environmentally sensitive acreage using approved conservation practices. The farmers rent their land---cropland, riparian areas, marginal pastureland---to the government and receive a 50% cost share for planting vegetative cover, supporting wildlife and pollinators with shelter plantings and shade trees, and protecting watersheds with riparian buffers. The amount of permitted CRP acreage is currently capped at 35 million acres, this would be reduced to 32 million in the current legislation. Several programs in the farm bill focus on wetland preservation, including the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Initiative Program (EQIP). The EQIP Program is administered by state conservationists, and provides technical and
ANNIE AIGER REPORTS TO NAL DELEGATES ON AGRICULTURE Photo by Canfield and Ross

financial assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices to improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related resources

on agricultural land. The program is competitive and 60% of the money is set aside for livestock production. Farmers implement conservation practices (fence animals out of creeks, improve stream crossings) and receive cost share incentives. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is an additional conservation tool, and provides funds to restore wetlands and improve watershed health through long term or permanent easements on wetlands that have been in agricultural production. More than 11,000 landowners have voluntarily enrolled over 2.3 million acres into the WRP. These programs provide real incentives to preserve natural resources and improve farmland. The Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) is also a voluntary program, assisting landowners

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in the restoration and protection of forestland resources on private land through easements, 30 year contracts or 10 year cost-share agreements. The program aims to promote the recovery of endangered and threatened species under the endangered species act, to improve animal and plant diversity, and to enhance carbon sequestration. Another important program in the 2012 farm bill is the Farm and Ranch Protection Program (FRPP). It is the oldest and most used farm bill program by land trusts, and is designed to protect working lands. Under the FRPP, funds are provided to purchase the development rights to keep productive farm and ranch land in agricultural use and shift easements away from federal ownership. The Farm Bill includes other incentives for smaller farmers: money for farmers markets, young farmer and rancher incentives, and grants for organic production and insurance for specialty crops. These government programs all administered and funded under the farm bill - have done more to protect our air and water than most federal legislation. Nothing seems to cut the funding for the conservation programs faster than their demonstrated effectiveness. Lets not let that happen under this farm bill. Write your Senators and Congressman and encourage them to support conservation programs and funding in the 2012 farm bill. Sources 1) The American Farmland Trust, http://www.farmbillfacts.org Farm Bill 2012, A Time for Transformation 2) National Farmers Union, http://www.nfu.org 3) Anthony Dowdle, Staff member, Farm Service Agency, Asheville, N.C. 4) Mike Green, Staff member, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Asheville, N.C. 5) Reforming the 2012 Farm Bill The Forum at the Harvard School of Nutrition and Science, http://www.harvard.edu/forum/farm-bill-2012-reform.cfm 6) Environmental Working Group, Agriculture http://www.org/amag 2012 Farm Bill Resources 7) UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, http://www.isph.unc.edu/events 8) National Resources Conservation Service, U.S.D.A., http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs 9) Farm Service Agencies, U.S.D.A. http://www,usda.gov/esa/state 10) U.S. News on MSNBC.com http://pingree.house.gov/index.php?option--com

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THE BILLBOARD MENACE COMMITTEE

BY FRANCES TRAFTON Perennial Planters (RI) - Zone II Vice Chairman, GCA National Affairs and Legislation, Transportation and Corridors

GCA President Marian Hill addressed the February NAL conference in Washington D.C., providing interesting facts about the history of conservation in GCA. GCA began its activism by fighting billboards in 1919 through the creation of the Billboard Menace Committee. Eventually this committee joined others to become

the GCA Conservation Committee. From their first appearance in the late 19th century through today, billboards have met resistance on aesthetic grounds. Environmental and safety concerns add to this resistance. The fight is far from over - in fact, its getting worse. Todays energyguzzling, distracting and arguably dangerous digital billboards flash a new ad every eight seconds and the less expensive but still eyecatching 3-D billboards add
DIGITAL BILLBOARDS CAN USE MORE ENERGY IN ONE YEAR THAN THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD Photo by New York Times

to the challenge. Powerful advertising lobbies gener-

ously contribute to political campaigns in hopes of achieving ever more lenient legislation for installation of billboards or conversion to digital billboards along our highways. Legislators respond to this relentless lobbying by submitting bills to eliminate local control of digital billboards. Yet, even when local ordinances limit billboards, billboard companies often ignore the rules. Financially strapped city, county and state governments have limited resources to fight back in court. As early as 1909, many US cities tried to ban billboards, but outlawing billboards is seen by many as a clear assault on property rights and the First Amendment. Others argue that the battle isnt really about aesthetics, or whether billboards constitute an acceptable instrument of commerce. At its core, the issue concerns corporate power and its influence over all forms of local democracycity and county governments and ballot measures passed by voters.1 Four states got it right: Vermont, Maine, Hawaii and Alaska prohibit billboards altogether. There is constant pushback against the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which applies to federally aided primary and defense highways. This Act limits billboards to commercial and industrial zones created by states and municipalities, requiring each state to set standards based on customary
1 Ray Ring, Billboards vs. DemocracyHow Roadside Advertising Companies Override Your Vote, High Country News, January 23, 2012

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use for size, lighting and spacing. It prohibits city and state governments from removing billboards without compensation to the owner and requires states to maintain effective control of billboards or lose five percent of their federal highway funding. While many states ban intermittent lighting on billboards, the advertising industry argues that digital billboards moving images are changes in copy, not lights. It is no surprise that you see many more billboards, building wraps, and other commercial signage in the less affluent parts of town, lowering already-reduced property values, making it hard to revitalize neighborhoods. Studies show that cities with stricter billboard controls have greater median incomes, lower poverty rates and lower home vacancy rates than cities with less strict billboard controls. 2 Destruction of trees and other plants is usually necessary in order to erect billboards. Crude tree pruning occurs to keep trees from blocking billboards. And, at least one company allegedly directed an employee to poison trees blocking billboards in nighttime hit and run attacks. This is called vegetation control. Property owners, attracted by rental income for billboards on their land, are often snared by the small print in contracts that makes it very difficult to remove existing billboards. Most citizens support restrictions on all billboards, and digital ones in particular. We are bombarded by advertising everywhere, and
JANE HENLEY AND MARY TRACY, PRESIDENT, SCENIC AMERICA Photo by Canfield and Ross BILLBOARDS ON LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY Photo by New York Times

billboards contribute significantly to this visual

Jonathan Snyder, How Billboards Affect Economic Prosperity Scenic America website, www.scenic.org

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pollution. With the exception of public service announcements, billboards are all about consumption. If you would like to oppose them, boycotting products advertised in this manner is one way to fight back. Joining Scenic America is another. Sources and additional resources: Mary Tracy, President, Scenic America, speaker at GCA NAL Meeting, February 28, 2012 Harvey K. Flad, Country Clutter: Visual Pollution & The Rural Landscape, Annals of the Academy of Political & Social Science, September 1997, pp. 124-125. Ray Ring, Billboards vs. DemocracyHow Roadside Advertising Companies Override Your Vote, High Country News, January 23, 2012, pp. 10-18 Sun Journal (North Carolina), June 3, 2011 This Space Available, documentary directed by Gwenaelle Gobe, New York City Documentary Film Festival, November 2011 www.scenic.org: Scenic America Website for a 6 minute video on tree cutting and poisoning.

TAX CREDITS FOR RENEWABLES AT RISK

BY CELIE HARRIS Celie Harris, Winchester-Clarke Garden Club (VA) Zone VII Zone VII Representative, GCA Conservation and NAL Committees

The Production Tax Credit (PTC) was created under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. It provides an income tax credit to wind energy facilities of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour produced from utilityscale turbines during the first ten years of their

operation. PTCs are given for production of energy through the use of wind, waves and tide, geothermal, municipal solid waste (MSW), bioenergy, and other sustainable resources. They are subject to renewal, usually in one and two-year intervals. Without action by Congress, the PTC for wind power will expire at the end of 2012. The PTC for incremental hydro, wave and tidal energy, geothermal, MSW, and bio-energy will expire at the end of 2013. 1 (Note that tax credits for fossil fuel energy are far greater than those for renewable sources, according to a 2007 Government Accountability Office study, and not all are subject to a similar renewal process.) There is bipartisan support in Congress for extending the PTC for wind. Two attempts to pass legislation earlier this year failed, however. In March Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) proposed an amendment to the Transportation Bill to extend the credits for another year. A bill introduced
1 Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, ucsusa.org, September, 2011.

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by Senator Robert Menendez (R-New Jersey) would have closed loopholes used by large oil companies and applied some of the resulting funds to continuing incentives for alternative energy sources, including wind. Both measures were subject to a 60-vote threshold. The vote on Senator Stabenows amendment was 49-49, and on Senator Menendezs bill was 51-49. Clearly, opinions are divided on Capitol Hill regarding production tax credits for wind. So what do we have to lose by allowing
ANNUAL ENERGY SUBSIDIES Graphic by Pfund and Healey, September 2011

wind PTCs to expire? According to an article by Alex Guillen in the

April 24, 2012 issue of Politico, the capacity of wind generated energy was about 1.4 gigawatts in 1997, when the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA, www.awea.org) first kept records (1 gigawatt capacity can power roughly 700,000 homes). Since then capacity has grown to 47 gigawatts.
2

During periods when the tax credits remained stable, there was tremendous growth in wind energy,

including construction of wind farms, increasing production of components in the United States, and creation of jobs in the field. AWEA reports that 38 states have utility-scale wind turbines, and over 400 American manufacturing plants are building wind components, including turbine components, towers and blades. Over 100 of these manufacturing facilities have developed since 2007. Some 75,000 jobs across the US are supported by the wind industry. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that over 60 percent of a U.S.-installed turbines value is produced in this country. Over the last five years private investment has averaged between $15.5 and $20 billion per year. According to the wind lobby, tax incentives have encouraged the development of these projects. In some areas of the US the percentage of energy is higher than the national average of 3.25 percent. Iowa is a case in point. Steve King, a Republican Congressman from that state, is a proponent of continuing PTCs for wind. Iowa is a wind energy success story, he says. Iowa was the first state to generate 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Now wind supports as many as 5,000 Iowa jobs and $11 million in annual land lease payments to farmers. King continues, Iowa wind has prompted $300 million in private investment in Iowa manufacturing facilities. The key to these jobs and private investment is a stable tax policy. 3 On May 24th President Obama visited a wind turbine blade manu2 3 Alex Guillen, Congress is Taking the Wind Out of Turbine Sales, Politico, politico.com, April 24, 2012. Rep. Steve King, Wind Energy: Iowa, model for success, Politico, politico.com, February 16, 2012.

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WIND TURBINES ON A RIDGE IN MAUI Photo by Candace Lyche

facturing plant in Newton, Iowa. He said that continuing the production tax credit would save 37,000 jobs which otherwise would be at risk and pointed out that if Congress doesnt act, companies like this one will take a hit. Jobs will be lost, he said. Thats not a guess. Thats a fact. 4 Support for extension of PTCs for wind comes from a variety of sources. The list includes the American Farm Bureau, National Association of Manufacturers, United Steelworkers, and the Western Governors Association, along with newspapers: the Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, the Denver Post and the Daily Oklahoman, according to AWEA. 5 There have been three occasions when the wind PTC has been allowed to expire. In 1999, 2001 and 2003 Congress failed to extend the tax credits. In the years following each expiration, installations dropped between 73 percent and 93 percent and jobs were lost. Given the growth of the wind industry in the U.S. since 2004, the impact of expiration of the credits this year would be felt more broadly than it was a decade ago. In a 2011 article, The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) observed that the on again/off again status of the PTCs, contributes to a boom-bust cycle of development that plagues the wind industry. Lapses in the PTC cause a dramatic slowdown in the implementation of planned wind projects. Upon restoration, the wind power industry takes time to regain its footing and then experience strong growth until the tax credits expire. They point out that the resultant uncertainty threatens access to financing, stalls development plans, and therefore jeopardizes jobs.
4 5 Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey, Obama urges Congress to extend clean-energy tax credits, latimes.com, American Wind Energy Association, awea.org, May 4, 2012.

May 25, 2012.

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The UCS recommends a longer-term extension of PTCs. 6 Others recognize the effect of the present uncertainty. In What if the Wind PTC Expires? Lindsay Morris noted, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced that it will not build a planned $100 million nacelle manufacturing plant in Arkansas if PTCs are not renewed. MHI currently claims 10 percent of the U.S. market and has several projects in the works. Morris continues, The biggest potential consequence of the PTC expiration has come from wind turbine giant Vestas, which has already laid off 2,335 employees worldwide and announced in January that an additional 1,600 jobs in the U.S. could be at risk if Congress does not extend the PTC. 7 Of course no energy source is without its downside and there are a number of concerns about wind energy. Is it cost effective? What about aesthetics? Some feel that the threat to bird life is too great. The risks must be weighed, just as we examine those associated with other sources. Fossil fuel energy comes with the attendant cost of air pollution, acid rain and missing mountaintops. Nuclear energy comes with the threat of a meltdown or vulnerability to natural disaster triggering fallout. A one-sizefits-all energy source doesnt exist. It will be necessary, at least for the foreseeable future, to use all of the above, including renewables such as wind. It appears that the benefits of wind outweigh the negatives, and that long-term extension of PTCs will benefit U.S. jobs, the economy, and our energy security.
DIANA FISH AND CELIE HARRIS Photo by Canfield and Ross

6 7

Union of Concerned Scientists, op. cit. Lindsay Morris, What if the Wind PTC Expires?, renewableenergyworld.com, March 12, 2012

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ARE LITTLE GREEN FLOTILLAS ON THE POLLUTION DIET?

BY CAROL DAVIS Green Spring Valley G.C. (MD) Zone VI Zone VI Representative, GCA Conservation and NAL Committees

Floating wetlands are on the rise. They are one of the newest phenomena on the water stewardship front. Similar to natural wetlands, these spongy turfs serve as natures kidneys to help filter out pollutants and harmful nutrients. However, unlike natural wetlands, the plants grow through a floating mat on the surface

of the water rather than being rooted in bottom sediments. These biohavens are not as affected by water level fluctuations that may submerge and stress bottom-rooted plants. Floating Island International, a prototype development and licensing company out of Shepherd, Montana, has been involved with over 4,000 floating wetland projects across the globe. In some regions, experimentation with this relatively new water-cleansing green technology has morphed into larger-scale projects. The science community is measuring, testing, and analyzing data from a variety of situations and conditions with promising results. Theres mounting pressure on the EPA to sanction floating wetlands as a Best Management Practice and a viable alternative for use in collecting toxic substances. Floating wetlands function by rooting plants in such a way that they emerge though a constructed plastic matrix on the waters surface. Native varieties of perennial wetland vegetation such as sedges, iris, rushes and pickerelweed are seated in peat moss and placed in holes in multilayered fibrous plastic
FLOATING WETLANDS POLLUTION REMOVAL Graphic cour tesy of Wiki Commons

mesh. The plants root systems dangle beneath the surface in a water column. The plastic mats, made from recycled plastic bottles (PET), are bonded together with adhesive marine foam for buoyancy. The island is tethered along the shoreline or anchored to the bottom. The cost runs between $25 and $32 per square foot. The biomass on top is harvested periodically to remove sequestered nitrogen and phosphorous from the aquatic system. The largest island to date spans 39,800 square feet. The benefits of floating wetlands are many-fold. The plant roots serve as surface area for biofilm to collect harmful nutrients from the water column. The roots also catch suspended solids. The plants on top of the island ingest nutrients from the water to grow and flourish. Studies have shown that the concentration load of a 250-square-foot island has the ability to filter the same amount of nutrients

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as one acre of natural wetlands. Benefits include (1) bringing a concentrated wetland effect to any body of water and (2) serving as shade to help cool the water or buffer storm surges. The plants serve as habitat and a safe haven for birds, turtles and other visitors or nesters. The wetlands are adaptive to varying water depths. They also have aesthetic and educational value as healthy clumps of vegetation, clarifying the water, enhancing the view, and inviting the curiosity of passersby. In addition, below the surface, an aquatic feeding frenzy occurs and supports the marine food chain. Here are a few snapshots of floating island projects: An installation of over 15,000 square feet will be set afloat on Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. This project follows a successful trial on Lake Rotoehue, where, aside from the nutrient reduction, the floating wetlands attracted koura, a New Zealand freshwater crab delicacy. The new larger-scale project re-engineers more than a half million recycled plastic water bottles into the fibrous matrix. A cutout in the surface will spell the word Rotorua as a marketing ploy. The goal is removal of over 4 tons of nitrogen and over 100 kilograms of phosphorus from the lake each year. A similar project was completed in the Punggoi Reservoir in Singapore in 2010. It is called the Sengkeng floating wetland. In the United States, two 180-square-foot islands are being deployed in Pisgah State Park in Pennsylvania to combat algae bloom from excessive nutrients in Stephen Foster Lake, which is part of the drainage basin for an 11-square-mile agricultural area. How the floating wetlands will fare in a state park setting is of particular interest. One beaver has recently found its safe haven, creating a teachable moment for visitors! In Gainesville, Floridas Tumblin Creek Park, more than a hundred waterfowl adopted an island as home twelve days after launching floating wetlands in a storm water retention pond. In Sheepy Lake, California, biologists used a floating wetland to lure Caspian terns away from a juvenile salmonid restoration area. A few North Carolina golf courses are using floating wetlands in their water features to replace water quality chemicals, combat algae growth, improve the appearance of their ponds, and help minimize maintenance work and costs. To clean its duck pond, the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk recently constructed two 368-square-foot islands, part of an Elizabeth River
FLOATING WETLANDS Photo by Charleston Aquatics

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project with funding from a Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed grant. And, for a close-up view, take a leap onto the floating island boardwalk through a section of the San Marco, Texas Aquarena wetlands project! An initial trial similar to the project in New Zealand has led to a larger scale floating wetland project. In 2010, eight cordgrass and marsh mallow floats were set to sea near the site of the World Trade Center as part of a waterfront cleanup effort. The grasses have successfully fed on nutrients flushed into the water from wastewater treatment discharges, sewage leaks, and storm runoff. Analyses have indicated that at least two pounds of nitrogen have been pulled from the water for every hundred pounds of vegetation. Also, thousands of dark false mussels have attached themselves to the underside of the floating wetlands and underwater videos show crabs, baby rockfish and perch grazing on the biofilm. Later this spring, fifty new, larger scale floating wetlands will be released in the harbor, boosting the surface area tenfold. More quantitative data and further independent studies could help expand the floating wetland brigade. Cost/benefit analyses are under scrutiny and funding is tight. Floating wetlands still have not been sanctioned by the EPA for achieving Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Violent storms wreak havoc on the young islands and re-anchoring, replanting or complete reconstruction can be required. Judicious placement of the floating wetlands is key. Local communities are just at the tip of showcasing their current successes and offering floating wetland construction workshops. Ahoy! Sources www.americanfarm.com/publication/the_delmarva_farmer, www.clemson.edu/extension/horticulture/remediation_tech www. elizabethriver.org./Features/Floating_Wetlands.aspx www.floatingwetlands.com floatingwetland.blogspot.com www.floatingislandswest.com www.onwisconsin.uwalumni.com.departments/bruce kania 75 floating www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1109/S00885/worldslargestfloatingwetlandtoboostlakewaterquality. htm www.strdem.com Floating Wetalnds touted for Bay Cleanup by Kelley L. Allen The Baltimore Sun Faux Wetlands expand in Harbor by Timothy Wheeler, 4/9/12 www.dcnr.state.pa.us/news/resource/res2011/11-0525-mtpisgahsp.aspx www.floatingislandinternational.com/products/biohaven

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WOMEN IN WASHINGTON
BY ELVA BUSCH Santa Fe G.C. (NM)- Zone XII and Plainfield G.C.(NJ) - Zone IV Vice Chairman, GCA Conservation Committee, Forests and Redwoods

Perhaps the two most dynamic speakers to address the 2012 NAL meeting this year were Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (DNY). Both were well informed and fully prepared for their GCA audience. Both women discussed the

careful juggling act of being a U.S. Senator and maintaining strong families. Both women are married and each has two children. Senator Gillibrand discussed her belief that children are making the connection between nature and health and the importance of the environment. Both talked about how women in elected office are role models for children and for the women of America. Senator Landrieu has been an elected official since the age of 23! She has been a US Senator since 1996. She spoke passionately about the RESTORE Act, which has passed the full Senate and has gone on to the House of Representatives. This bill will require 80 percent of BP penalties to be directed to Gulf states, like her own, to restore coastal ecosystems and rebuild local economies damaged by the 2010 oil spill. Senator Gillibrand is leading a campaign called Off the Sidelines. Gillibrand, who was appointed to fill the remaining Senate term of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, won a full Senate term in 2010 with 63 percent of the vote. The senator is urging more women to get "off the sidelines" and get involved in the issues they care about. More women, according to the Senator, need to realize that their voices matter and that they can make a difference. The campaign suggests that we are still discussing the same issues about women that were raised in the 1970's.

TOTAL NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE U.S. CONGRESS IN 1938! Photo cour tesy of encyclopediaofarkansas.net

Senator Gillibrand states that an infusion of women into the political system would go a long way toward changing the tone in Congress, a male-dominated world of clashing egos. It struck many of

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the attendees at the NAL conference that there appears to be a loyalty or bond among women serving in the House and Senate independent of party lines. This creates at least the potential for dialogue and for compromise that often eludes the men serving there. Just how bad is it? At the present time, only six women are governors of U.S. states. Ninety-two women serve in the 112th Congress: 75 in the House and 17 in the Senate. This is a mere 17 percent of the seats in the entire Congress. Since 1917, when the first woman was elected to the House, the number of women serving in Congress has increased incrementally. Despite the increases, however, over the history of our country, only 2.2 percent of members have been women. Around the world, women represent 19.3 percent of national legislative seats, ranking the U.S. 69th worldwide. The numbers are slightly better in the U.S. when we look at state legislatures, where 23.3 percent of seats are held by women. As Speaker of the House from 2007-2010, Nancy Pelosi of California held the highest position of leadership ever held by a woman in the U.S. government. All of this exists in a country where the majority of people are women. There are both symbolic and substantive reasons why it is important to have larger numbers of women in elected office. Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has stated, "We want our young girls and women to have no glass ceilings in their lives and in their futures. The symbolic impact of being able to look at a woman senator, a woman secretary of state, a woman as CEO of a companyas well as seeing women in all parts of societysends the message that you can be anything you want to be and there's nothing holding you back." And, as Senator Gillibrand has said, " When women are part of the negotiation and part of decision-making, the outcomes are just better. We have so much common ground. We agree on so many basic principles and values. I think if there were more women at the decision-making table, we would get more things done." By our nature, women are often nurturers and negotiators. We want to find solutions and move forward. Having more women involved can help the process. And, some might say, it may even be critical for the direction of our country.
SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU ADDRESSES THE NAL DELEGATES Photo by Canfield and Ross

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The two female Republican Senators from Maine exemplify how women can make a difference. They are Senator Susan Collins and Senator Olympia Snowe. Sen. Collins came by politics naturally - both of her parents were mayors of her hometown in Maine. She is a member of the Republicans for Environmental Protection and is considered a bipartisan and centrist member of the Republican Party. She hasn't missed a roll call vote in the Senate since 1997! She has been a huge supporter of the establishment of a National Women's History Museum in Washington D.C. She stated when introducing legislation to designate a site for the museum, "The outstanding women who have changed the country and the role of women in our country are the reasons I am proud to sponsor (this) bill. Women's history needs a place in our Capitol and in our collective American history, so we can learn

NAL DELEGATES IN THE CANNON CAUCUS ROOM Photo by Canfield and Ross

from our past, and be inspired to make history of our own." Sen. Snowe, also one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in Congress, fights for women's rights. She often allies with the Democrats on issues of women's health, social issues and gay and lesbian rights. She has served in the Senate since 1995. She recently announced that she would not be running for re-election - a loss of a female voice in Congress. Her decision to retire, she has stated, was prompted by her disapproval of the increasing polarization in Washington and general partisanship in the Senate in recent years. While those in her own party have sometimes criticized her, she has said, "I'd rather have company (on her voting positions), but it's a different political world we're in. Most people represent either red states or blue states." During this spring graduation season, President Obama spoke at commencement at Barnard Col-

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lege, a woman's college in New York affiliated with Columbia University. He recognized that young women are grappling with the challenges of making sure they earn equal pay for equal work, balancing the demands of job with family life, and controlling decisions about their own health. Today, women represent more than half of the country and half of its workforce in terms of their numbers. They earn more than half of college degrees at all levels. He challenged the graduates to shape not only their own destinies, but also the destiny of this nation and this world. His advice was to not just get involved, but to fight for their seat at the table. And, perhaps a seat at the head of the table. He opined that Congress would get a lot more done if they did! The President's speech reminds those of us who are not recent graduates to heed his words. The most important role in our democracy is the role of citizen. It's up to each of us to stand up and be heard, to write letters, to lobby, to march, to organize, to vote. Don't be content to just sit back and watch. Women, such as the delegates to the annual GCA NAL conferences, can make the difference.

[For more on this topic, see Derry MacBride's article, "Don't Get Mad, Get Elected," in the Fall, 2011 issue of Conservation Watch, pages 5 and 6, still available on the GCA website.] Sources: Off the Sidelines Campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUgSQHeduZE.) Addresses of Senators Mary Landrieu and Kirsten Gillibrand, 2012 GCA NAL Meeting, Cannon Congressional Caucus Room, Washington, D.C., February 29, 2012. Bruni, Frank, "Second Acts for First Ladies," New York Times, May 22, 2012. "Facts on Women in Congress 2011," Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/Congress-CurrentFacts.php Hernandez, Raymond, "A Gillibrand Campaign: More Women in Politics," New York Times, July 4, 2011. Manning, Jennifer E. and Shogan, Colleen J., "Women in the United States Congress 1917-2012." Congressional Research Service, January 27, 2012. "Senate Women Face High Stakes in 2012," Huffington Post, May 12, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/senate-women-female-senators2012_n_1035222.html Text, President Barack Obama Barnard Commencement Speech, May 14, 2012. "Women in the Senate," United States Senate. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/women_senators.htm

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Special thanks to the NAL Vice Chairs for the Washington, D.C. meeting, Jennifer Jameson, Lisa Frulla, and Shelley Gilligan; to Debbie Ross and Suzanne Canfield for providing wonderful photographs; to Sue Klein and Susan Caven for their prodigious note taking and insightful summary; and to NAL Chairman Melissa McAdams and Conservaton Chair Fayetta Weaver for leading another successful legislative effort by GCA members in our nation's capitol.

SUSAN KLEIN, NAL FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN, AND SUSAN CAVEN, CONSERVATION FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN Photo by Canfield and Ross

SHELLEY GILLIGAN, NAL VICE CHAIR, WASHINGTON D.C. MEETING Photo by Canfield and Ross

MELISSA MCADAMS, NAL CHAIRMAN Photo by Canfield and Ross

JENNIFER JAMESON AND LISA FRULLA, NAL VICE CHAIRS, WASHINGTON D.C. MEETING Photo by Canfield and Ross

For additional information and photos from the 2012 NAL Meeting, please see the April/ May 2012 issue of the GCA Bulletin, pages 4 - 8.

DEBBIE ROSS AND SUZANNE CANFIELD, NAL VICE CHAIRS Photo by Pat Wall

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CONTACTS

Fayetta Weaver, Chairman GCA Conservation Committee Mill Valley Mountain Garden Club (VA) Zone VII 2502 Stanley Avenue SE Roanoke, VA 24014-3332 (540) 345-2229 fpweaver@aol.com Melissa McAdams, Chairman GCA National Affairs and Legislation Knoxville Garden Club (TN) Zone IX 1043 Craigland Court Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 558-9441 (865) 250-3890 (cell) mmcadams08@comcast.net

Candace C. Lyche, Editor GCA Conservation Committee Hillsborough Garden Club (CA) Zone XII 171 New Place Road Hillsborough, CA 94010 (650) 537-0506 cclyche@yahoo.com

Anne OBrien, Assistant Editor GCA Conservation Committee Columbine Garden Club (AZ) Zone XII 6018 East Cholla Lane Paradise Valley, AZ 85253 (480) 874-3323 (480) 970-8328 (fax) annie390b@gmail.com

Conservation Watch, a publication of The Garden Club of America, is produced by the GCA Conservation Committee. Readers' ideas, contributions, and suggestions are welcome, as are requests for additional information on any of the subjects presented, and may be emailed to the Editor. Candace Lyche, Editor

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