What Are You Smoking?

 

A lead from the old Wolf Pine lays across the town forest floor

Warning: I'm about to throw a whole lot of thoughts into a 50 gallon drum and I'm thinkin I might light it on fire. Certain professions sometimes call what I'm about to do the "trash can method."(minus the match).

I was a lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor in the summer of 1981.  I miss those carefree days when at 17 years of age, I thought of myself as old enough to be an adult yet young enough to ignore most of the pressures of life. Interestingly enough, I had only just moved to VT from Colorado Springs that June with my senior year of high school still ahead of me.

 I spent my days biking to and from work, training lifeguards and blowing bubbles with the Fishers. I often walked with mom to the general store to read the bulletin board news and then on to the post office for the mail. On Thursdays I played softball, but all the other days I went for a bike ride after supper; and most importantly, Vicki, Ducky and I became friends swimming laps and hanging out on the sandy beach at the Saxtons River Rec.   

How ironic that my brother Charles declared that same summer of  81, "The Summer That Never Was."  I suspect my disconnect is what long timers refer to as the good old days. Days when the simplicity of youth is stored in our memories and those of hardship fade away.  Or could it be that thoughts of  what defined prosperity as a youth were based on something more meaningful than consumption? 

In 1980 Mt Saint Helens in Washington state passed gas. Those who study such things labeled her breach of etiquette, a "cataclysmic eruption." For my younger readers, it's probably easier to relate to the the Canadian wildfires that blew smoke down into Vernon creating a sun filtering haze or perhaps that few minutes during the eclipse that chilled the air and darkened the sky.  And so during that following summer, the one that wasn't, we purchased lifeguard sweats and kept our sleeping bags at hand to keep us warm after teaching lessons. 

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires settles in the hills of Vernon

 I've since discovered that Charles' clever label was already put into use on our east coast after the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. 

Let's stretch back a little farther shall we? Ahh the 70's Though I was little at the start, some things I remember well. In Burlington, when we weren't walking to and from school and friend's houses, Mom drove us around in her first car, a secondhand white Oldsmobile Cutlass. Dad for his part, drove a full sized green Dodge van with a custom built storage area in the far back that had a kid sized bed above it.  I remember him to be a chain smoker. Dad smoked cigarettes in the house in the car, at work, outdoors and pretty much everywhere else. Our smoke filled clothes must have stunk something awful; but nobody seemed to notice because practically everybody else had a smoker at home or at work.  There was one big hitch to his addiction however, my mom was a chronic asthmatic. 

Our family did a fair amount of camping back then complete with tent and campfires. On our black and white tv set, we had Woodsy Owl and an  Indian with a tear streaked face asking that we do our part to keep America beautiful. But more impactful to my mind than those icons, was my dad telling us as we broke camp, that we should always leave a place better than when we found it. So it was, that us five kids dutifully policed the campsite for cigarette butts as our last act of enjoying the great outdoors. 

A burn ban due to drought in effect since October, has freed the neighborhood up from the constant autumn smoke

I hate to say this, but I fear I must stretch back even farther than the 70s but I promise we wont stay long.

 

In 1948 post World War 2, the Marshall Plan was signed and the US experienced a surge of industrial development and consumerism, beginning an economic period known as "the long summer of  prosperity"

In October of 1948, the industrial town Donora Pennsylvania was overwhelmed with smog, killing twenty people. Half of the town fell ill from air pollution and death rates were higher than normal in the following years.  1948 was indeed the start of an economic golden age; but at great cost to human and environmental health- The Deadly Donora Smog This event provided a boost in urgency for the fields of public and environmental health. 

The 1950's Vernon had a population of 712 residents. The US had 5,382,162 farms covering 60% of US land. 30 to 39% of Vernon farms were Woodland Not Pastured as a percent of all land in farms.  I strongly encourage my readers to explore this 1950 graphic summary of farm resources I suspect that the economics of farming in Vernon has changed quite a bit as our population and land use also changed . What hasn't changed is my persistent childhood dream of  living on a mini farm. Ahh, but we really should resume our journey forward.  

A nest sits empty in a budding Magnolia  bush on November 15th in Vernon

1962 Silent Spring, arguably the most consequential book on environmental toxins was published by Rachel Carson. Carson's book was in response to the widespread collapse of bird populations due to the application of insecticides such as DDT. In the 2000sVermont Yankee became  well known for hosting Peregrine falcon nests on a platform installed on their stack. These birds once in jeopardy of extinction due to DDT, have maintained a strong population in VT since 1991. The passage of The Endangered Species Act (1973) is credited with saving these birds and others such as the Bald Eagle. 

In 1970 the Clean Air Act became law.

In 1972 the Clean Water Act (as its known now) of 1948 was amended. The act was originally passed to clean up polluted water caused by the post WW2 industrial expansion. Oil and chemical slicks on rivers were catching fire and our rivers were near death's door utilized more for waste discharge than for recreation.  Today, Wayne who grew up in Bellows Falls, still refuses to swim in the CT River even though it tests safe for swimming below the Vernon Dam.  

In 1972, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station came online and with it Vernon grew in population and Grand List. In 1970 our population was 1024, in 1980 it was 1175 and in 2020 we were at 2192 residents.

In 1973 the Arab Oil Embargo began and "the long summer of prosperity" ended.  I was a proud member of our neighborhood's bicycle gang and dad was home since 72  from his second tour in Vietnam. .

In 1977 Jimmy Carter, a farmer from Georgia, was elected President and let me tell you, my dad for the life of him refused to wrap his head around Jimmy's humanitarian and environmentally conscientious leadership.

Three stones stand upright in the town forest reminding me of the three principals of Conservation Biology.  

Now to my mind, these were funny times and I get muddled about the year but not the events.  Dad had sold the van and had since been driving a maroon with white top 8 cylinder Chevy Camaro and Mom drove, a nine passenger Chevy Suburban. But with the embargo and climbing fuel prices, our family like many large families, found ourselves on a steep learning curve.  Reducing consumption was not only for economic purposes; but it was the patriotic thing to do. And so it was that dad's Camaro fell victim to modern day pressures.  My parents replaced that muscle machine with a sewing machine (Mazda GLC) in which I learned to drive. 

In 1978, Dad at age 40, quit smoking cold turkey on the Nations first Smoke-out day ending his habit of 24 years. Dad lived into his 80s. His cause of death is listed as complications from Agent Orange exposure.

In 1979 President Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House.  Dad was livid; but I thought it was pretty cool. 

The summer of 1980, I landed my first real job with the United States Youth Conservation Corps in Grand Mesa Colorado. 

I promised you a trash can dumping perhaps short of the match. and that is what you have been given. It may seem like I have packed the can full; but keep in mind that I never included the Acid Rain years nor explained that even with international laws in place to reduce acid rain, Vermont suing midwestern coal companies and ensuing laws to scrub emissions that resulted in significant reductions, Vernon still lies smack in the path of  the airstream that delivers acid rain to our ponds, streams and maple trees. I hadn't thought about acid rain in years; but during the planning process for the five year Deerfield River Watershed clean water plan, it was brought up in connection to Lily pond and how, due in part to acid rain, that pond will likely remain acidic. 

Through all of this; we as a country have been innovative in our ways to return to the ideas of great conservation visionaries like Theodor Roosevelt, George Perkins Marsh, Fredrick Billings, John Muir and Laurence Rockefeller. Through times of adversity and economic prosperity, haven't we learned from our common experiences? Haven't we moved forward, by protecting more lands, developing cleaner ways generate energy, smarter cars and appliances, efficient buildings, safer chemicals and practices? Or could this be nothing more than my childhood optimism creeping back in, as clearly we have much work ahead of us. After all, didn't I come up with the title for this submission when I was asked, "What have you been smoking" in reply to  my concerns for losing our hard fought for environmental protections. I must ask my readers, even if you don't believe that climate change is caused by man, don't you want green mountains, clean safe air to breath and drinkable water?

 - Norma Manning

Further reading:

Our Nation's Air Trends through 2021 : This EPA report speaks to the lives saved and extended since the Clean Air Act went into effect. It reads in part, "Since 1970 , implementation of the Clean Air Act and Technological advances from American innovators have dramatically improved air quality in the U.S. Since that time, the combined emissions of criteria and precursor pollutants have dropped by 78%" Also noted that we achieved cleaner air while sustaining  economic growth.

Southern Vermont CEDS : A comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Bennington and Windham Regions.

Do Not Eat Wildlife Consumption Advisory Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife: possible PFA contamination in Deer and Turkey, NH and Vermont has since issued warnings as well, though no contamination has been detected in VT to date. . 

A new Symbol of Vernon the Florida Alligator

The Hermit Thrush has been an official symbol of Vermont since 1941 when naturalists prevailed over legislators who were divided between the crow and blue jay. Naturalists versus politicians, now there is an argument that we can all relate to during election season. While I like the intelligent glossy black crow and alarmist blue jay, the hermit thrush with its strong defense of "home" seems to have been a fine choice for these Green Mountains. Stable in population, these seasonal birds adapt well to a variety of forested lands and woodland edges, nesting low to the ground near sources of water. All of this seems promising for a novice like myself to cross paths with Hermit Thrush; and yet this is the first one that I have seen up close in my many in years of hiking the woods and swamps of Vernon.

Imagine my pause as I stepped onto our deck and spied the brown bird lying beneath our window. Perhaps a Walmart sparrow (European House sparrow) should have fist come to mind; but I wondered if I was looking at brown oak leaves blown over from Jim's collection. I suppose it must have been denial at first glance. What after all, are the chances that such a bird would still be hanging around in Vernon on Halloween day, even if it is just shy of eighty degrees out? 

I can't be sure of why this little bird died; and while I do have my suspicions, I think its important to note that: in addition to natural causes like predation and disease,  building collisions kill more than a billion birds in the U.S. each year.-American Bird Conservancy and outdoor cats kill around 2.4 billion birds- Cats indoors. Habitat loss, climate change, human wildlife conflict and environmental toxins are also contributors to bird mortality. 

Survival by Degrees is an interactive publication by the Audubon Society where readers can explore how climate change will affect the vulnerability of  birds by state as well as Mexico and Canada. This article lists Vermont as having 42 highly vulnerable species, 52 moderately vulnerable, 29 with low vulnerability and 45 stable species. Select your favorite bird and the site takes you to specific information on it. While I should feel a certain measure of comfort that the scrappy adaptive Hermit thrush rates in the least concern category, it doesn't escape my attention that he was on the verge of overstaying his seasonal residency while Vernon achieved record temperatures for October.  

 

A neighbor stopped to chat with me on my walk this afternoon and while we caught up, Esther kept nosing at her hand which held another adaptive species and our state flower, the VT red clover. Peak blooming in VT is in May and June with late September being on the outer edge of its blooming season.

Lorien's find got me to thinking about the purple lilac that Wayne's grandmother divided from her own heritage bush in 1991. We planted it at our first home in Hinsdale and then brought a piece of it to Vernon when we moved here. This spring it bloomed beautifully before losing all of its leaves by August. In late September its leaves started to bud out again. In October, we have had frosts, our first snow flurries, temperatures in the upper 70s and a blooming lilac. 

The trees are mostly bare, with the exception of a sugar maple out back. Red fruit adorns our viburnums, hollies and crabapple; but our hollies are also sporadically blooming along with blackberries, rudbeckia and sedum This just seems odd, but its not the first time in recent years that the seasons seem a bit catawampus.

Unlike more generalist species such as the hermit thrush and red clover, our state tree the sugar maple is a specialist . With Vernon being the south eastern most town in Vermont and "Vermont being among the fastest warming states" and with syrup production being frost driven, Vernon's maple syrup revenue is in jeopardy. Audubon Vermont has published a comprehensive easy to understand explanation of the impact of Climate Change on maples and the maple syrup industry The End Of Maple? 

November 1st with temperatures in the 70s

Today as Wayne and I were traveling through Westminster, we decided to visit the wetlands behind Allen Brothers. Typically when we stop at Allen Brothers, it is to browse their nursery stock searching for bargains on native plants; but the flowers, shrubs and trees are long since depleted in September. 

 Here in the pond on the very outside of their traditional start of brumation, we found another Vermont symbol, the Painted turtle. If turtles basking on logs in November isn't weird enough, a large frog hopped across the dirt road traveling between ponds while a dragonfly rested on my arm. 

In 2019, Iowa State University published research by Biologist Nicole Valenzuela. The article, Climate change could devastate painted Turtles,  notes that,  "Painted turtles undergo temperature -dependent sex determination while developing inside the egg. Eggs exposed to warmer temperatures tend to produce females, while cooler temperatures tend to produce males.

The publication further explains that with wider temperature swings, turtles and other amphibians may experience population collapse due to unbalanced female to male ratios.

November 2nd, with high temperatures in the 50 and lows in the 20s

In addition to my regular Vernon Conservation Commission meetings, I have been attending a lot of other meetings: CT River Conservancy meetings on dam relicensing, Vernon Hazard Mitigation planning, Vermont Environmental law implementation planning for Act 59, Basin 12 / Deerfield Watershed clean water planning, and most recently Reconnecting the Green Mountains: A multi-pronged approach for enabling wildlife movement hosted by VT Conservation Planner Jens Hilke and Biologist for the Vermont Agency of Transportation Jessie Johnson.

With each meeting I attended, the notion kept coming back to me that each of these projects are seemingly operating in isolation  and yet they were assuredly interconnected, the same in a sense as gazing at a brown object on my deck, my brain trying to make sense of it, the mystery of what I am looking at, what brings it to my backyard, how it fits into what I experience and know and then contemplating how it is I was going to interact with it. Is it any wonder I don't seep soundly at night?

I'm not super human or anything, just an overly curious well meaning volunteer who drifts off at meetings like the rest of you. My notes from Hilke and Johnson's meeting reads something like this: connected, connectivity, Bio Finder, movement west to east & south to north, connectivity scale, wildlife movement, climate change, NE pinch point, barrier effect, gene flow restriction, NRI, expand to connect, land use planning, transportation component...

As you can see, I take very detailed self explanatory notes; but my big takeaway is the moving map of points of light showing wildlife migration as they sweep across North America in a wide swath from west and south. These points of light and bands are growing more narrow and become more concentrated as they squeeze through NE. Vermont funnels migratory animals up into Canada where they are greeted with predominantly agricultural treeless lands. 

A fisherman fishes for alligator at Lily pond in Vernon on a warm day in November.

And here my friends is the other shoe you have been so patiently waiting to hear drop.  Climate change with it's rising temperatures is causing wildlife's traditional ranges to expand northerly at a rate of one mile per year. This means that long time Vernon Vermonters who traditionally scorn everything Massachusetts, are already living in a Massachusetts climate. Invasive species that out compete and damage our native wildlife are surviving our warmer winters and our  native wildlife vulnerable to climate change must move northerly if they are going to survive. In their way are, fragmented wetlands, fragmented forestlands, man's infrastructure, ever decreasing recourses and dwindling genetic diversity.  

I think my mother summed it up best when she asked me, "How are alligators going to get to Vermont?" -Norma Manning