Great news: New England sees a return of forests and wildlife

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

About our East Coast Habitat:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/08/31/new-england-sees-return-forests-and-wildlife/lJRxacvGcHeQDmtZt09WvN/story.html

(The caption of the picture seems off, that doesn't look much like restored forest.)

[left on green only]

1. If Only There Wern't So Many People On Our Tiny Planet. n/t

[Scootaloo]

9. The planet is very, very, very large

Even if you're only taking into account the land surface, it's a huge place. And while there are an awful lot of people, it's not the population that's the problem - it's the consumption. Seven.6 billion people, all doing their best to live the same over-consumptive lifestyle enjoyed by you or I - and I don't care how conscientious you are, if you're in the first world, you're over-consuming at a huge ratio.

[MH1]

11. there's either too many people, or everyone just lives too well?

Personally, I'll take quality over quantity.

Fom the planet's perspective, human over-population is likely to be a self-correcting problem. That won't help all the species that have gone extinct in the meantime. And there will be an awful lot of human suffering occurring during that self-correction.

[MineralMan]

20. And how do you propose to change that?

Where would you begin?

[WCGreen]

2. Here in the Cleveland, Ohio area...

Bears are starting to come closer to populated areas because vast tracts of woods were protected. We have a 35 mile "Emerald Necklace" surrounding the city and which is connected to other private wooded stands...

It's a wonderful asset that is our version of Central Park.

When I was growing up, we were warned not to swim in the various rivers and creeks and streams that snake through the parks. But now that the EPA has taken hold, swimmers, kayakers and fishermen are enjoying the outdoors just a mile or two away.

This happening all over the place. There are about 15 dams that are being systematically brought down.

And Lake Erie, is going to be even cleaner than it already is because of a vast area wide commitment to completely separate sewage and rain water run off. Most people don't realize that a lot of sewage gets mixed into rain run off and cause the sewage to be washed, untreated, into the rivers and lakes. The people of Cuyahoga County voted to up property tax to get this done. It's going to take almost 20 years before it is complete.

This all started back in the early '69 when the Cuyahoga River caught fire. The national medias attention to what was a fairly common occurrence energized the environmental protection we now have in place.

Anyway, things have changed all across the country.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. And half this country wants to go back to that...

[WCGreen]

4. that is unfortunate but if people want to make a stand and keep at it....

Good things can come about.

I really think many of the companies that moved their operations overseas did so to escape the EPA.

It's funny that the EPA was started under the Nixon Administration.

[B Calm]

5. It wasn't that long ago they were callling Lake Erie the gigantic cesspool.

[cantbeserious]

6. Kick And Recommend

eom

[DeSwiss]

7. Mother Nature can fix anything.

- It's her children that mess things up.

K&R

[mimi85]

8. I love when there's

good news on here. It's a relief from all the nasty crap for a couple of minutes. Thanks!

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

15. You'r welcome. nt

[RiffRandell]

10. Finally some good news. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

12. The resurgence of bears is a bit disconcerting.

We've got lots of large birds, foxes, coyotes, deer and bears. All within commuting distance of Boston.

[Raven]

13. I'm also within commuting distance of Boston and

I've noticed the same thing. My little lake has seen a return of wildlife (this year 2 Loons and a baby) and there have been tons of birds around my house this year. I have deer in my back field, wild turkeys and I hear the coyotes at night in the woods. I think my lake situation has improved because there is almost no power boating anymore. Mostly canoes and kayaks. I haven't seen a bear lately but I'm careful not to do anything to attract them.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

16. Bears are reported being around Occidental now too, here in Calif. nt

[mainer]

14. Certainly true up here in Maine

Out in the woods we own, there are many many rock walls marking the old sheep pastures, and we often find stone foundations and apple trees where farms used to be. Free-range chickens are now getting picked off pretty fast by rebounding populations of red foxes and bald eagles.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

17. When I mentioned the picture, it loaded a big city on a river with boats in it.

When my partner loaded the page there were two pictures, a black and white farm on left and a colorful forest on the right. No idea why that was.

[pipi_k]

18. That is precisely

why I love living here so much. I'm in the western part of Mass, in a rural area. It's like being on vacation all year long.

So this AM Mr Pipi and I were coming back home from breakfast in town and when we got to the top of our hill, we came across a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road. Which isn't unusual up here...what is unusual is that we actually saw a bunch of the babies also in the flock.

And the other day two does came out of the woods to check out the deer feeder by the pond (which doesn't get filled till after hunting season in December). Again, unusual, they each had a fawn with them still wearing their fawn spots. We hardly ever see the babies until their spots are gone, so this was a real treat.

I love the forests and all the animals

[flamingdem]

19. Yay for nature!

[MineralMan]

21. Living in St. Paul, MN, we see wildlife all the times.

I live in a neighborhood of 1950s homes, near the edge of the city. Deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, Canada geese, ducks, and a host of smaller species can be seen through our front window all year. St. Paul is an urban forest, with greenways, lakes, and other elements that attract wildlife.

Just this week, I watched a pileated woodpecker on the big maple tree in my front yard. Then, it flew down and hung upside down on my suet feeder and had a snack.

A bear was spotted less than a mile from my home.

Minnesota urban wildlife is rich in numbers and species.

[NutmegYankee]

22. I love walking around the woods around my house and seeing the old stone walls

They run through the woods, tracing out old pastures long since gone. The large amount of forest does have some downsides - the massive losses of power in Irene, Oct 2011 Snow storm, and Sandy were a result of Connecticut having more trees close to houses and lines than any other state.

But I get to see nature, like birds feeding on the feeder, and listen to the hoots of owls and bats at night. And wild turkeys and deer are very plentiful in the area.

[AverageJoe90]

23. K & R for the post. n/t =)

[freshwest]

24. K & R

[sheshe2]

25. Mass. here! K&R!

[La Cucaracha]

26. That's very good to hear.

[hack89]

27. The comment about wild turkeys is very true

When I first moved to RI 15 years ago there were none to be seen. Now I see them nearly every day as I drive to work.