IWLA-PCC NEWSLETTER
PCC Founded 1958 * MARCH, 2018 *60 years of conservation
Izaak Walton League of America - Porter County Chapter
Thomas Library in 2nd floor meeting room
200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, IN 46304
NEXT MEETING March17, 2018
Email: executivedirectoriwlapcc@gmail.com
Website: NWIconservation.org
Location: 200 West Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, IN, United States
Phone: 219-241-7431
Facebook: facebook.com/PCCIWLA
“From the Dunes in the north, to the Kankakee River in the south”
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President - Gary Brown grbrown57@hotmail.com, 219-464-8882
Vice President - Jim Sweeney jp55biod@att.net, 219-322- 7239
Treasurer/Membership - Liz McCloskey tmconservation@csinet.net, 219-326-0700 Secretary - Susan Swarner susan.swarner@gmail.com, 219-201-5498
Chapter Directors: Don Frame df.nature@outlook.com, 219-331-6136,
Bill Iltzsche biltzsche@hotmail.com 219-464-9850 and
Herb & Charlotte Read candhread@comcast.net, 847-302-8069
Soup social 2018 by 4-H Trackers
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=wvyB7zV6PcqKflorXRifAP5nBmrHWI0DwcCaViOgeu5hnaOqRPd7hILn_hKpD6fzhCs4NG&country.x=US&locale.x=
MARCH FAMILY NATURE NIGHTS - volunteer opportunity
Please volunteer to help kids experience youth conservation education!
3/15 Family Nature Night @ Yost Elementary School
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3/20 Family Nature Night @ Brummitt Elementary School
VOLUNTEER TO HELP at Family Nature Night events! Contact Bonnie Swarner at bdswarner@hotmail.com or Susan Swarner at susan.swarner@gmail.com
SEE OUR CHAPTER'S NEW CALENDAR OF EVENTS
FIND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT STEWARDSHIP DAYS with this NEW Calendar
IMPORTANT PCC UPCOMING EVENTS
3/4 Soup Social by 4-H for PCC Benefit
VFW in Porter, IN https://www.facebook.com/vfw2511
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3/15 Family Nature Night
Yost Elementary School
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3/17 PCC Monthly Meeting
Thomas Library, upstairs meeting room https://wpl.lib.in.us/
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3/20 Family Nature Night
Brummitt Elementary School
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4/5 Family Nature Night
Northview Elementary School
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4/8 Stewardship Day-Invasives Removal
Bedenkop with 4-H Trackers
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4/12 Family Nature Night
Flint Lake Elementary School
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(RESCHEDULED APRIL PCC Monthly Meeting)
UPDATE 4/14 PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm USGS Office on Hwy 12 in prior Dorothy Buell Center
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4/21 Earth Day PCC table
Valpo Expo Center
http://portercountyrecycling.org/my-community/events/87-earth-day-2016
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5/3 Family Nature Night
Discovery Charter School
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5/10 Family Nature Night
6-7:30pm Liberty Elementary School
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(RESCHEDULED MAY PCC Monthly Meeting)
UPDATE 5/5 PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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5/19 IN DUNES BIRDING FESTIVAL
Dunes State Park w/ PCC Birdhouse Building
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VOLUNTEER TO HELP at Family Nature Night events! Contact Bonnie Swarner at bdswarner@hotmail.com or Susan Swarner at susan.swarner@gmail.com
PUBLIC DUNESACTION MEETING 3/12
The Dunes Action Steering Committee is having a public meeting for its supporters on Monday, March 12th at the Westchester Library Baugher Center at 6:30 pm to update the public on the newly released plans from the DNR.
They don’t think the public is going to like the fact that the entire pavilion will become one big saloon, including a glass enclosed pub on the roof. Please join them to show your support and learn more.
INDIANA'S NEW STATE INSECT
Lightning bug becomes Indiana's official state insect
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Indiana officially has a state insect — the lightning bug, or firefly some may call it.
On Tuesday, Gov. Holcomb passed SEA236, making the Say's Firefly — Thomas Says — Indiana's official state insect.
“I know this bill bugged some of my legislative friends, but the truth is it’s a big deal to young students around the state who have reached out to us in support—particularly students from Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette. They’ve shown incredible perseverance and have advocated for the Say’s Firefly to be the official state insect for several years. Beyond the satisfaction these kids will feel when they look out on a hot Indiana summer night and see the state insect flashing away, the real beauty of this bill is the civic engagement it inspired in our youngest citizens. It’s taught them a great deal about how our lawmaking process works—and that if they are engaged, they can make a real difference.”
Students from Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette have campaigned for several years to have the bug recognized. This year Gov. Eric Holcomb took on their cause and made it part of his legislative agenda.
The insect was named by entomologist Thomas Say in 1826 while he lived in the southwestern Indiana town of New Harmony.
The pupils have argued that the lightning bug best represents Indiana because of its agricultural benefits and place in American history.
https://www.wthr.com/article/lightning-bug-becomes-indianas-official-state-insect
NATURE NOTES
Notes by PCC member, Gene Clifford
There are about 30 different types of fireflies in the Midwest, with over 200 types in the
World, with each using a different flash pattern to identify fireflies of their like in flight,
These unique flash patterns prevent males from one species wasting time and energy to
mate with females of the wrong species.
Fireflies are beetles, not flies or bugs. The firefly’s light is cold in nature, as opposed to
electric light that is more heat than light.
Do you want to have some fun with fireflies? Then test this system. Study the flash
patterns of the fireflies in your backyard. after identifying the length and rate of the
females (the ones still in the grass). Mimic it with a flashlight. If you do good job, before
long, males will be approaching where you sit or stand, in search of this receptive female, who keeps giving them the eye, sort of.
GRIFFITH CHAPTER RIVER CLEANUP
2nd Annual Little Calumet River Community Cleanup (Public Event)
Little Calumet River Community Cleanup
The Griffith Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America is hosting our 2nd Little Calumet River Community Cleanup. Our purpose is to continue to remove unwanted trash and improve the overall quality of Little Calumet River and the land that surrounds it.
Clean-ups on April 28th and 29th .9:00 – 2:00.
Meet at the Burr Street and the River.
Be prepared for muddy conditions and wear appropriate foot and work wear.
Hoosier River Watch Training
See event: https://www.facebook.com/events/385676918522236/
You don't need a lot of free time or be an expert to become a volunteer. Water monitoring methods are easy to learn and can be performed by volunteers of all ages. Any interested adult is welcome to attend. Upon completion of this training, you will be certified to borrow testing supplies from a Hoosier Riverwatch loaner site like Shirley Heinze Land Trust to monitor streams and rivers near you.
For more information and to register, please email Sarah at sbarnes@heinzetrust.org or call us at (219) 242-8558.
IWLA CLEAN WATER CHALLENGE
TAKE ACTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
New legislation being considered regarding invasive exotic plants and their sale in Indiana. The information below contains instructions on how to inform our Governor how important the proposed Terrestrial Plant Rule is. The proposed rule is currently at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and is not officially in the rule adopting process. If the proposed rule moves forward through the rule process, the OMB will solicit the participation of all interested citizens in the evaluation of the rule. You will have an opportunity to comment online, as well as, in person during public meetings. It is critical that you provide comments at that time in addition to now, because comments made during the rule through the adoption process will be a feature of with the rule.
Invasive plants are still for sale in Indiana, and you can do something simple to help stop this. We’re spending millions of dollars to control invasive plants in Indiana every year, but most of those invasive plants are still for sale at your local garden shop. Good news – the DNR has drafted a rule that would make it illegal to sell all the highly invasive plants in Indiana! Bad news – that rule is now stuck in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Want to suggest to Governor Holcomb that this rule should move forward? Here’s how you can do that in just a few minutes!
-Go to http://www.in.gov/gov/2752.htm
-Select the topic ‘Natural Resources, Department of’
-Enter your contact information
-Add the message that you would like to see the draft Terrestrial Plant Rule that makes it illegal to sell highly invasive plants in Indiana move forward. Add your reasons why. Suggestions-
• Invasive plants cost money. A 2012 survey of 120 agencies and landowners in Indiana found we spent $5.7 million to manage these species and protect our natural areas. Nationally, agricultural and control costs due to invasive plants are estimated at $15 billion per year. Each year the cost grows. And yet we continue to allow the sale of these damaging species.
• Invasive plants hurt wildlife by crowding out the plants our native animals need for food and cover.
• Most invasive shrubs and trees are little used by native insects. This reduces habitat for beneficial pollinators and predatory insects, as well as reducing the amount of food available for birds to feed their nestlings.
• Invasive plants destroy habitat for rare wildflowers and animals, threatening two-thirds of all endangered species.
• Invasive plants can become weedy in a home garden, crowding out other landscaping.
• Invasive plants can also decrease your ability to enjoy hunting, fishing, mushroom collecting, bird-watching, and many other recreational pursuits by crowding forest floors and choking waterways.
• Tell your story of the invasive plants you are fighting to control, and why it is important to you that invasive plants not be sold in Indiana.
-Hit Submit. You’re done!
This information provided by:
Dawn R. Slack
Southern Indiana Land Manager
Chair, Invasive Plant Advisory Committee
Coordinator, SICIM Indiana Invasives Initiative
(812) 737-2087 (office)
The Nature Conservancy
Blue River Project Field Office
5885 Wulfman Road SE
Laconia, IN 47135
THANK YOU BARTLETT'S FISH CAMP and SAVE THE TUNES!
NRCS project
NON-GAME Fund
The Indiana DNR Non-game Fund does a lot of great work with not a lot of money. It is 100% dependent on donations. When you see this logo on your state income tax form, consider a donation of part of your refund.
This is the program that brought bald eagles, river otters, and osprey back to Indiana.
Or you can send a donation outright to:
DNR Nongame Fund
402 W. Washington St. Rm. W273
Indianapolis, IN 46204
fAMILY NATURE NIGHT PARTNER...YOST DOES PTO FUNDRAISER
Stop by for a bite and tell them "Yost" sent you!
Portage Five Guys Restaurant: 6036 US HIGHWAY 6, PORTAGE IN 46368, 219-764-1777