The Human Story
Silt fences, sediment basins, diversions, waterways: We can design, inspect, and implement these best management practices. We can tell you what a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) is, how it should work, and why it is important. We can define water quality, riparian corridor, and many other terms. But are these the important items?
Can you tell that I may have been in this business too long—or at least that I'm approaching the end of my career? Yep, after 30 years in the conservation business, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a time for reflection and pondering the past, but also for looking into the future.
Reviewing my career so far, I started to put on paper some of the things that have had an effect on my job. I found this somewhat bothersome, because I thought I would be writing about special projects or unique jobs that I have had the pleasure to be involved in. Instead, the one thing that kept coming to mind was—people! It was that certain landowner I'd met who had a particular problem that needed to be solved. It was also the people who wanted to go beyond the basic requirements—who wanted to try new techniques they'd heard about, or wanted to see the land left to future generations truly in better shape than they had received it.
I guess this process brought me back to special projects in the end. But it was those individuals who made it happen. My job was a technical conduit to turn their perceptions into reality.
For example, I met a man who had farmed all his life. When I met him, he was in his 50s. He had tried no-till corn and wanted to convert completely to no-till crops, which involved soybeans, small grains, hay, and pasture. I cautioned him, because there were some soil restrictions and other natural-resources issues to address, including drainage, erosion, and fertility. This farmer stated that whatever needed to be done, he was willing to do it. We laid out a three-year plan to go completely no-till.
However, it did not work out quite as planned. Instead, within one year, all the items were addressed and every crop was planted with no-till methods the next year. During the first year of total no-till farming, there were many problems—insects, high rainfall, equipment problems. Most farmers would have given up and gone back to the traditional methods. Not this one. He came out with a vengeance—he came up with an integrated pest program, bought rather than rented his own no-till equipment, and kept a close eye on the weather. That year, he ended up having the best yields that he ever had on his farm.
I was at that location for three more years, and every year the farmer incorporated more conservation practices than the basic required ones. It was my pleasure to co-nominate this farmer for a National Conservation Farmer award, which he won the year I left the location. It was this human story that made a lifelong impression on me.
I had just started working in a new location, an urban setting. I had worked in the Cleveland metropolitan area early in my training career, so urban conservation was not new to me, but this was my first time as the manager of an office in an urban setting. It is important to note that there were not any Clean Water Act requirements, such as NPDES Phase I and Phase II; SWPPPs were called erosion control plans (ECPs)—and now I am dating myself.
One of the first developments I worked on was a new development that had more than 30% of its landscape in wetlands. This was so long ago that wetland legislation was just emerging; Section 404 of the Clean Water Act was in the process of being implemented. I was working with the developer on how his consultant was going to develop his ECP, and wetlands came up in the discussion.
Even though this was not our responsibility, we reviewed the present laws and requirements. He pointed out that it was a waste of time to save these swamps because he wanted to put a beautiful lake in their place.
Because the wetland legislation was new, I suggested he review his plans with the US Army Corps of Engineers. He looked at me very strangely. Well, believe it or not, he reviewed the plans with the corps. In fact, they had a meeting onsite. He was going to get a permit to put the lake in.
During this same time, he brought in his ECP, which we reviewed. At this time, developers did not have to get our approval, only our review and comments—dating me again! We spent more and more time talking about why these "swamps" were so important.
In the end, he not only implemented his ECP with our approval, but he never built the lake. He kept the swamp, which he marketed as a "forest wetland preserve" saved for environmental reasons. In fact, he made beautiful signs with wooden ducks on them stating that these were protected wetlands and could not be disturbed. The lots bordering the wetlands became the highest-priced lots on the development.
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I had the pleasure five years later to nominate him for Developer of the Year, which he won.
The human side of the story is so important. We can't do anything that does not involve it. I am one of those people who think that we are part of the natural ecosystem, not separate from it. Think about it: How does the human story affect you?
September-October 2005
The Human Story
Silt fences, sediment basins, diversions, waterways: We can design, inspect, and implement these best management practices. We can tell you what a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) is, how it should work, and why it is important. We can define water quality, riparian corridor, and many other terms. But are these the important items?Can you tell that I may have been in this business too long—or at least that I'm approaching the end of my career? Yep, after 30 years in the conservation business, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a time for reflection and pondering the past, but also for looking into the future.
Reviewing my career so far, I started to put on paper some of the things that have had an effect on my job. I found this somewhat bothersome, because I thought I would be writing about special projects or unique jobs that I have had the pleasure to be involved in. Instead, the one thing that kept coming to mind was—people! It was that certain landowner I'd met who had a particular problem that needed to be solved. It was also the people who wanted to go beyond the basic requirements—who wanted to try new techniques they'd heard about, or wanted to see the land left to future generations truly in better shape than they had received it.
I guess this process brought me back to special projects in the end. But it was those individuals who made it happen. My job was a technical conduit to turn their perceptions into reality.
For example, I met a man who had farmed all his life. When I met him, he was in his 50s. He had tried no-till corn and wanted to convert completely to no-till crops, which involved soybeans, small grains, hay, and pasture. I cautioned him, because there were some soil restrictions and other natural-resources issues to address, including drainage, erosion, and fertility. This farmer stated that whatever needed to be done, he was willing to do it. We laid out a three-year plan to go completely no-till.
However, it did not work out quite as planned. Instead, within one year, all the items were addressed and every crop was planted with no-till methods the next year. During the first year of total no-till farming, there were many problems—insects, high rainfall, equipment problems. Most farmers would have given up and gone back to the traditional methods. Not this one. He came out with a vengeance—he came up with an integrated pest program, bought rather than rented his own no-till equipment, and kept a close eye on the weather. That year, he ended up having the best yields that he ever had on his farm.
I was at that location for three more years, and every year the farmer incorporated more conservation practices than the basic required ones. It was my pleasure to co-nominate this farmer for a National Conservation Farmer award, which he won the year I left the location. It was this human story that made a lifelong impression on me.
I had just started working in a new location, an urban setting. I had worked in the Cleveland metropolitan area early in my training career, so urban conservation was not new to me, but this was my first time as the manager of an office in an urban setting. It is important to note that there were not any Clean Water Act requirements, such as NPDES Phase I and Phase II; SWPPPs were called erosion control plans (ECPs)—and now I am dating myself.
One of the first developments I worked on was a new development that had more than 30% of its landscape in wetlands. This was so long ago that wetland legislation was just emerging; Section 404 of the Clean Water Act was in the process of being implemented. I was working with the developer on how his consultant was going to develop his ECP, and wetlands came up in the discussion.
Even though this was not our responsibility, we reviewed the present laws and requirements. He pointed out that it was a waste of time to save these swamps because he wanted to put a beautiful lake in their place.
Because the wetland legislation was new, I suggested he review his plans with the US Army Corps of Engineers. He looked at me very strangely. Well, believe it or not, he reviewed the plans with the corps. In fact, they had a meeting onsite. He was going to get a permit to put the lake in.
During this same time, he brought in his ECP, which we reviewed. At this time, developers did not have to get our approval, only our review and comments—dating me again! We spent more and more time talking about why these "swamps" were so important.
In the end, he not only implemented his ECP with our approval, but he never built the lake. He kept the swamp, which he marketed as a "forest wetland preserve" saved for environmental reasons. In fact, he made beautiful signs with wooden ducks on them stating that these were protected wetlands and could not be disturbed. The lots bordering the wetlands became the highest-priced lots on the development.
I had the pleasure five years later to nominate him for Developer of the Year, which he won.
The human side of the story is so important. We can't do anything that does not involve it. I am one of those people who think that we are part of the natural ecosystem, not separate from it. Think about it: How does the human story affect you?