The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/870146
C-10 Pike County Planter SWCD Newsletter September and October 2017 The Press-Dispatch SAVE THE DATE Pike County Soil & Water Conser vation Dis- trict's 71st Annual Meeting & Dinner Tuesday, Januar y 30, 2018. The Pike County SWCD staff and super vi- sors invite you to save the date as the SWCD hosts an enchanting evening of good humor, great fellowship and conser vation awareness. The event will feature a presentation called "Take Flight!" and will show- case birds of prey and more by Mark Booth from Indianapolis. More details, including a meeting location and time will be announced closer to date! 0% FINANCING * CASH BACK AND MORE! . c n I , . o C t n e m p i u q E s r e h t o r B h c s e l B e v A y k c u t n e K E 7 0 4 , d n a l l o H , N I 1 4 5 7 4 m o c . S O R B H C S E L B . w w w 6 8 4 3 - 6 3 5 - 2 1 8 r u o y e e S . C L L a c i r e m A l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C y b l a v o r p p a d n a n o i t a c fi i l a u q t i d e r c o t t c e j b u s n o i t a p i c i t r a p r e m o t s u C . y l n o e s u l a i c r e m m o C r o F * t a 7 1 0 2 , 0 3 r e b m e t p e S h g u o r h t d o o g s r e f f O . d e r i u q e r e b y a m t n e m y a p n w o D . s t n e m e r i u q e r y t i l i b i g i l e d n a s l i a t e d r o f r e l a e d d n a l l o H w e N g n i t a p i c i t r a p a c i r e m A l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C . m r e t r o e t a r s i h t r o f y f i l a u q y a m s t n a c i l p p a r o s r e m o t s u c l l a t o N . s e t a t S d e t i n U e h t n i s r e l a e d d n a l l o H w e N g n i t a p i c i t r a p e g n a h c o t t c e j b u s s r e f f O . e c i r p n i d e d u l c n i t o n s t n e m h c a t t a r o s n o i t p o l a n o i t i d d a , y r e v i l e d , p u - t e s , t h g i e r f , s e x a T . y l p p a s n o i t i d n o c d n a s m r e t d r a d n a t s C L L e h t n i d e r e t s i g e r k r a m e d a r t a s i e r u t l u c i r g A d n a l l o H w e N . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . 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C L L a c i r e m A l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C y b l a v o r p p a d n a n o i t a c fi i l a u q t i d e r c o t t c e j b u s n o i t a p i c i t r a p r e m o t s u C . y l n o e s u l a i c r e m m o C r o F * t a 7 1 0 2 , 0 3 r e b m e t p e S h g u o r h t d o o g s r e f f O . d e r i u q e r e b y a m t n e m y a p n w o D . s t n e m e r i u q e r y t i l i b i g i l e d n a s l i a t e d r o f r e l a e d d n a l l o H w e N g n i t a p i c i t r a p a c i r e m A l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C . m r e t r o e t a r s i h t r o f y f i l a u q y a m s t n a c i l p p a r o s r e m o t s u c l l a t o N . s e t a t S d e t i n U e h t n i s r e l a e d d n a l l o H w e N g n i t a p i c i t r a p e g n a h c o t t c e j b u s s r e f f O . e c i r p n i d e d u l c n i t o n s t n e m h c a t t a r o s n o i t p o l a n o i t i d d a , y r e v i l e d , p u - t e s , t h g i e r f , s e x a T . y l p p a s n o i t i d n o c d n a s m r e t d r a d n a t s C L L e h t n i d e r e t s i g e r k r a m e d a r t a s i e r u t l u c i r g A d n a l l o H w e N . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . C L L a c i r e m A l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C 7 1 0 2 © . e c i t o n t u o h t i w n o i t a l l e c n a c r o e h t n i s k r a m e d a r t e r a n o i t c u r t s n o C d n a l l o H w e N d n a l a t i p a C l a i r t s u d n I H N C . s e t a i l fi f a r o s e i r a i d i s b u s s t i , . V . N l a i r t s u d n I H N C o t d e s n e c i l r o y b d e n w o , s e i r t n u o c r e h t o y n a m d n a s e t a t S d e t i n U . s e t a i l fi f a r o s e i r a i d i s b u s s t i , . V . N l a i r t s u d n I H N C o t d e s n e c i l r o y b d e n w o , s e i r t n u o c r e h t o y n a m d n a s e t a t S d e t i n U . r e l a e d d n a l l o H w e N r u o y t a g n o l r e m m u s l l a s g n i v a s d e l g n a p s - r a t s e t a r b e l e C h t i w e v a S E R O M D N A K C A B H S A C , G N I C N A N I F % 0 , s r o t c a r t d n a l l o H w e N t c e l e s n o t i s i v r o s l i a t e d r o f y a d o t y b p o t S . t n e m p i u q e g n i l d n a h l a i r e t a m d n a e g a r o f d n a y a h . m o c . s r e f f o h n . w w w s d n e r e f f O ! t i a w t ' n o D 7 1 0 2 , 0 3 r e b m e t p e S . Equipment Company 20th Anniversary 1997-2017 407 E. Kentucky, Holland • (812) 536-3486 www.BLESCHBROS.com Loehr hired as Watershed Coordinator for SWCD Pike County Soil and Water Conser va- tion District recently hired Julie Loehr as the Watershed Coordinator for the Middle Patoka River watershed. The position involves developing and implementing a cost-share program with best man- agement practices that address water quality; and designing and carr ying out education and outreach programs. In addition, Loehr will facilitate steer- ing committee meetings and adminis- tration aspects of the grant, reporting to IDEM with progress on the project. "I am excited about the position and look for ward to meeting with landowners to work on improv- ing water quality in the county and downstream" states Loehr. Part of her duties will include implementation of cost-share programs and Best Man- agement Practices within the Patoka River watershed located in both Pike and Dubois counties. Loehr states that the public as a whole, and landowners specifically, need to realize the impor- tance of conser vation, especially when it comes to protection of our water quality. "Only 3% of all the water on earth is fresh water," Loehr says, "and most of that is unavailable for human use, locked away in groundwater and frozen in icecaps and glaciers, leaving less than 1% in our surface waters. So it's ver y important to protect what we have." The entire Middle Patoka wa- tershed includes 236,706 acres in Dubois, Gibson, Pike, and Spencer Counties in southwest Indiana, but Loehr will be focusing on critical areas within three sub- watersheds. She will be organizing opportunities for the landowner's to learn more about the implementation of BMPs and the cost-share program. On top of her work with the Middle Patoka Wa- tershed, Loehr will also be starting a federal grant application for the Lower East Fork White River within Pike, Daviess, Martin and Dubois with Pike SWCD being the lead on that potential funding too. Loehr, along with her husband and five kids (three married, two in school), reside in northwestern Gibson County where they also farm row crops and various livestock along with the families trucking company and commercial lawn business. Loehr is no stranger the soil health industr y as she has worked as a Watershed Coordinator since 2014 on other grant programs and is the coach for the highly successful Gibson Southern Home School Envirothon Team. Loehr has coached the GSHS team to six state titles over a ten year period. Small Farm/Urban Garden Breakfast coming Sept. 27 A Small Farm/Urban Garden Network- ing Breakfast will be held on Wednesday, September 27, at Seton Har vest in Evans- ville, Indiana. This free networking break- fast is aimed at improving your soil health thus improving your gardens productivity while allowing you to meet professionals in the urban setting who can help guide you in the direction of starting up a community garden or produce patch if desired. The event will feature topics that pertain to those with a small hobby farm, urban gar- den or are interested in the Indiana Grown program. A tentative agenda will be: (please note that all times are central time) 7:30 Registration/Breakfast 8:00 Andrew Smith, Warrick SWCD Urban conser vationist – "Urban projects in the community" 8:15 Peter Putzier, Community Garden Organizer – "Tapping into your local com- munity garden" 8:30 Linda Voglund, ISDA – "What is Indiana Grown?" 8:45 Larr y Caplan, Vanderburgh Co Ex- tension Agent – "Growing urban specialty crops" Break 9:45 Cara Bergschneider, NRCS District Conser vationist – "High tunnels and your gardens soil health." 10:30 Joe Schalasky, Seton Har vest Manager – "Seton Har vest's CSA program" & Walking Tour of grounds 11:30 Dismiss This event is being brought to you through the partnership of the Gibson, Pike, Posey, Vanderburgh and War- rick County Soil & Water Conser vation Districts. It is FREE to attend but we do ask that RSVP's be made online at www. farmgardennetworkingbreakfast.event- brite.com or by calling your local SWCD office. Should you require dietar y or handicap assistance, please contact Erin Shoup at the Vanderburgh County SWCD at 812.423.4426 ex. 3. For more information about Seton Har vest, feel free to visit their website at www.setonhar vest.org. Beekeeping group starting in area Bee enthusiasts will soon have a local group they can turn to for ques- tions, knowledge, skills, resources and more to improve their hives. The group will meet in person but will also be available anytime through their Facebook page. Many local bee keepers have been traveling all the way to Henderson County to find a good mentoring and meeting group, but now they will have a resource of their own as well. A Facebook page has been created called "BEEKEEP - ERS of SW Indiana". While there is no website yet, folks can comment or post on Facebook or send the page a private message for a quick response. Bee keepers are encouraged to share and follow the page. BEEKEEPERS of SW In- diana's first meeting will be held on Thursday, Septem- ber 21, from 6-8 p,m, at the VU Gibson Center. Details of the meeting are posted to the Facebook page. The first casual meeting will involve meeting area bee enthusiasts in attendance, discussion of future meet- ing agendas and topics, and time for Q&A. A light snack will be provided and the meetings are free. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm as it should be a fun evening! Please RSVP on the BEEKEEPER of SW Indiana page so a head count can be done. Future meetings will involve fun and education- al topics, Q&A time, and snacks while socializing. Meetings will be on third Thursdays of the month, with exception of the holi- day winter months. Please check the page for updates on future meeting logis- tics. The Gibson Center is a beautiful new education forum that is easy to find, and easy for folks com- ing from all surrounding counties to get to. Majority of communication for this group will be done by com- menting or messaging on the Facebook page so that several members have the opportunity to respond. An email chain will be started at a later date too. fice to discuss an application. As part of the grant requirements, the SWCD will be hosting various events geared towards landowner education to encourage future conser vation efforts. Septic system installation, soil health presentations, water treatment facility tours and stream cleanups are just a few of the activities lined up to take place soon. Please stay tuned to the Pike County Planter or the SWCD's Facebook page for more information. The Middle Patoka Watershed is overseen by the Middle Patoka Watershed steering committee and the Pike County SWCD. If you would like to learn more about the watershed or become involved with the steering committee, you're encour- aged to attend our December 12th meeting at 10am at the USDA Ser vice Center in Petersburg, Indiana. Julie Loehr FUNDING Continued from page 8 Why mosquitoes should not be eliminated By Grace Winn Purdue University News Service gwinn@purdue.edu A Purdue researcher and a team of scientists working on a new insecti- cide argue that mosquitoes should not simply be made extinct due to their role in various ecosystems. Catherine Hill, a professor of ento- mology, and her team are developing an insecticide that will suppress mos- quitoes' ability to transmit diseases without killing the insect or interfer- ing with other life forms. The team is based in Discover y Park, a research park dedicated to using interdisciplin- ar y teams to solve global problems. Hill's research was one of the win- ners of Discover y Park's Big Idea Challenge, a program that provides resources to interdisciplinar y teams with innovative research. "For the last 20 years I've been tr ying to figure out how to kill mos- quitoes, and then I had this epiphany where, morally, I'm just not OK with it anymore," she said. There has been a lack of research in preser ving mosquitoes because researchers have looked mostly at ways to eradicate them. Therefore, Hill thinks it is essential to consider all the possible effects of wiping out an organism that has existed for thousands of years. She points out that mosquitoes have co-evolved with many species, so there are likely other organisms that depend on them as a food source. Along with her non-lethal pesticide research, Hill also participates in research to create insecticides that overpower a crucial chemical for loco- motion behavior, development learn- ing and memor y known as dopamine. This eventually results in the death of the insect. Although this method is often effective in killing mosquitoes, Hill decided to produce an insecticide that would affect the biology of the mosquito so that it would be unable to transmit to another host, thus sparing the insect's life. During her years of research, Hill says she began to find mosquitoes to be amazing and beautiful organisms, and began to better understand that their removal could have an effect on the environment. She points out that mosquitoes are "a large part of the biomass in many ecosystems." While mosquitoes are in their aquatic stage, they ser ve as a food source for fish and predator y insects. During this stage, mosquitoes also ser ve as filter feeders, which results in organic matter being turned over, making them excellent converters in an ecosystem. In their terrestrial stage, mosqui- toes ser ve as food for birds, bats, salamanders, lizards, frogs and other animals. According to Hill, there are particularly massive numbers of mos- quitoes in Alaska and near the Arctic Circle, and it could potentially be dangerous to take away mosquitoes from that food chain. "To yank [mosquitoes] out abruptly, I don't know what that does," Hill says. According to Hill, there are several thousand species of mosqui- toes worldwide, with only a small percentage of those species carr ying diseases. Researchers know ver y little about the species that do not transmit disease, so this leaves a lot of unanswered questions concerning what would happen if mosquitoes were wiped out. "You pull one little piece and start to unravel it, and things happen," says Hill. An interesting fact about mosqui- toes that Hill discovered is that "they sing to each other." The wings of mos- quitoes beat at var ying frequencies, and it is thought that female mosqui- toes use the frequency of the male's wings to choose a mate. Once the male and female locate one another, their frequencies harmonize. Although Hill wants to find an in- secticide that can spare the life of the insect, she says that research is still being done to improve the effective- ness of insect-lethal insecticides. Due to the increasing threat of vector- borne diseases, a conventional pesti- cide would need to be administered if the research for a non-lethal pesticide proves unsuccessful.