The Rural Areas of Valley City

When I thought long and hard about where I would like to do my research paper on, I didn’t really have the fondest idea where I should focus on. Then when I thought about Valley City, the town I was born and raised in, where I have done so much and tried so hard. I thought about home, where this disaster hit me personally the hardest. The rural part of Valley City. Places such as the Stevens Ranch, the Pederson Farm, and my home, the Fairfield Ranch. I drove down the Kathryn Road today on my way to the Ranch and can still see the havoc this flood brought to our door step, literally. You can see the water line that the flood made from the fast moving currents filled with debris, you can see all the mud behind and gummed up drainage ditches that will need some serious work done to them. Many roads are still closed due to washed out areas. Claussen Springs was hit with a failure in the dike system there that almost washed out everything down stream. Almost every farm or ranch yard that’s close to the river either still has water in it, or has a lot of debris that will make this summer a pleasant one. The streets of Valley City are covered in clay dirt. Sewers are backed up and fail in certain areas of the town causing sewers to back up and fill places like the museum with sewage and the horrible smell that comes with it. Having to use port ‘o’ potties and not your usual bathroom facilities is a pain. The constant watch everyone had to make sure water usage was at a minimum to reduce that amount of pressure on the pipes and backed up sewer systems. Even with all of these things hitting the people of Valley City and the rural communities, everyday that water gets lower and lower and hope springs eternal.

Last but not least, I cannot forget all the hard work and effort everyone put towards this flood effort. VCSU students did their civic duty to this town and helped it out in the town’s time of need. The Public Works workers going 2-3 weeks strait without a single day off from work. The Mayor, Mary Lee Nielson, did a wonderful job making sure everyone was well informed of any situation and making announcement promptly. Our state governor and people who represent us giving us that extra boost of confidence to get through this hard time. I thank you all who have helped me, and helped this community!

Helicopter gives birds eye view of Valley City!

Hawkeye Helicopter Company has come to Valley City to give people a bird’s eye view of the City and the huge dike efforts our community put together. The helicopter company is based out of the twin cities and was in Fargo before coming here to Valley City. The part-owner, Greg Miller, says they will most likely go to Jamestown next after being here in Valley City. Miller says that they take people up after their property is safe and show them a bird’s eye view of their property to show them all they have done to save what they cherish most. Homes, businesses, building structures of all sorts and Miller even say that it never gets old, you will always find something new. The cost per person to take a flight at about 600 feet in the air is about forty dollars per person. Bob Krier, one of the pilots which has over 1,000 hours of flying time in a helicopter takes turns flying with the police detective from Champlin, Minnesota, Brian Wentworth. The helicopter takes off out of the AmericanInn/Sabir’s parking lot on Winter Show road. According to Miller, ninety-five percent of the passengers are flood fighting people who have either helped with sandbagging, building dikes, or saving their own homes. This is a link to the Hawkeye Helicopter Company: http://www.hawkeyehelicopters.com/who/company.shtml
The diking efforts that have gone on here in Valley City are astounding. People united in one great front to take this disaster by force to keep the town afloat. If it wasn’t for the great efforts of the truck drivers, heavy machine operators, National Guardsmen who help to protect and serve this great country, we would be in a world of hurt. We owe a ton of gratitude to all who helped with the chaotic situation that was bestowed upon us. I for one am very great full for all my buddies who came down to the farm at six in the morning to help out my family with the flood. This flood has changed the way I look at nature in all aspects. This has truly become a worldwide disaster that will never be forgotten by my generation or generations to come. Not only have I been affected, but everyone has been that lives along the Sheyenne River and any river that flooded over this last 1 ½ month period. My best of wishes to all that have had to deal with this flood, and I know we will get through it!

Extinction Crisis for North Australia's Mammals

Last week in Darwin Australia, scientists and land managers held a high level meeting involving North Australia’s extinction crisis of mammals. The workshop had 40 top professionals agree that many of the native mammals in Northern Australia were going extinct. There have been many reports from land owners and other game officials that mammals in Northern Australia have been declining in a very rapid rate. Some species have already been disappeared from over 90% of their past home ranges. Northern Australia is the largest remaining savanna on Earth. The problem with that is so many land management changes have occurred that the mammals in these savanna’s can no longer find food or shelter to survive. Many things have made this happen so rapidly, such as feral cats, unmanaged fires, and overgrazing of certain areas. In this meeting, a unanimous decision is made to do something about the preservation of the last remaining native species. This means using all resources to fill in priority knowledge gaps and create well thought out research plans. This will make the requirements of understanding the native species that roam in those areas even more of a necessity so that those species don’t go extinct from their native habitat. The good news is that we do know what needs to be done and some of those things are implementing a feral cat control and fire management which will dramatically solve many problems. This is without question one of the biggest biodiversity issues to hit Australia, which has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world. It would be thoughtless and careless if we as humans were not to do anything at all, some sort of intervention must be done. The only way for Australia’s crisis to go down is if immediate action is taken to help stop the extinction rate and create a better habitat for those animals in need.

Australia has a big problem, animals’ going extinct is a pretty big one and not to mention that it’s the biggest crisis of mammals going extinct to hit the world. It’s good to know that there are wildlife officials and land owners willing to work together to come up with a solution to stop this huge decline. With this combined effort and from wildlife officials, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that one day, there will be a sustaining population of mammals in Northern Australia.
http://www.australianwildlife.org/News/Extinction-Crisis-for-North-Australias-Mammals.aspx

N.D. widlife officials monitor cattle tests

Tests have been conducted in the South West part of North Dakota for bovine tuberculosis which is a disease that is easily transmitted to wildlife. One state official call this, “very expensive, very complex and very ugly business.” The state Game & Fish Department is hoping that will never happen since there has never been a recorded wild TB instance. So the idea is to stop it in its tracks and hopefully save the problem. This way if TB gets out, it can be contained and hopefully eradicated before it hits wild animals and becomes a reservoir and infects other animals that the infected animal comes in contact with. Randal Kreil, a wildlife official, says, “this is a livestock issue, and we’re just preparing in case wildlife is affected.” The testing of cattle began after a cow was diagnosed positive for the TB disease because of lesions on the meat found at a processing plant in Long Prairie, MN. Since the testing has not been completed yet, the source of the herd has not been identified yet after going through 200 head of cattle. The State Veterinarian Susan Keller says that in the initial screening, which is done at the base of the tail turned up 28 animals that are in question. Those 28 head have been euthanized and thus far no more animals in question have popped up. In the last 30 years, North Dakota has been TB free and thus far looks to be ok, but only if there is not another case within the next two years. If a herd was tested positive for bovine TB, then it could be transmitted to all the large game in North Dakota and possible back to another herd of cattle. Kreil took what happened in North Western MN as an example of what might happen in North Dakota if a case of TB were to get out to wild populations. Kreil says that if there are any suspicions about a wild TB instance, the Game & Fish would euthanize any animal within a certain estimated contamination distance and would test every animal killed. This would take millions of dollars and huge amount of man power to control and conduct this type of containment. The last time a positive test was done in North Dakota was in 1999 in Morton County. The entire herd was destroyed to contain the disease. During this infected time and area, there were no signs of wild animals within 25 miles. Now with this new problem at the Game & Fish’s door step, the possibility of wild animals coming in contact is greater and most likely possible. With the help of hunters, the Game & Fish test for both TB and Chronic Wasting Disease. Kreil says, “at this point, it remains a livestock issue, but we’re working very closely with the state veterinarian’s office to not make it a wildlife issue.” Here are some web site links to look up for additional information:
http://gf.nd.gov/
http://www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/BOAH.html
I personally believe that someday, we will have to face TB or even Chronic Wasting Disease within this state. All the other states around us and provinces have had a case very close to this state and that makes a lot of Game & Fish officials very uneasy since it’s a very contagious disease to wildlife and makes it a living hell for animals to live with. So the best thing us hunters and people who deal with cattle or wild animals can do is being able to identify a sick animal and properly understand the situation and contact your local Game & Fish authority!!!

Conservation Tactics to Help Fish and Wildlife Thrive

During the harsh winters, like the one that we are experiencing now, puts a toll on deer. Deer will seek shelter from the elements in parks, farms, forests and even the open ranged suburban backyards. It is times like these that conservation tactics are designed to help make the fish and wildlife’s environments more habitable. These tactics help make the fish and wildlife’s lives less stressful and more abundant as all hunters and naturalists want to see happen. Now a new bibliography of publication about conservation practices with dozens of different examples of North American fish and wildlife is available free at the National Agricultural Library in both PDF and HTML formats. The bibliography lists countless scientific journals, reports and documents that have been published between 2000 to 2007. Many different wildlife species such as badger, grouse, beaver, ducks, deer, songbirds and many, many more are included. As many wildlife species are listed are also fish species such as largemouth bass, walleye, salmon and trout. Even though this bibliography was made for the natural resources professionals, there are many interesting facts people can learn about conservation and restoration of the wildlife and fisheries habitat. Titled “Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife: A Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Bibliography,”(Wood, Marcia) has over 2,000 citations with a search tool that allows you to go through the bibliography more effectively and find what you are looking for. The practices listed in the bibliography are all the way from creating a structural stream to improving fisheries conditions or using burning tactics to create better grassland for elk. The type of ecosystems that are mentioned include croplands, grazinglands, forests, streams, rivers, wetlands, and even mixed habitats are shown.
A group of individuals from all aspects help to put this bibliography together. Such members were Joseph Makuch of the NAL’s Water Quality Information Center who coordinated the bibliography, Librarian Stuart Gagnon and former librarian Cassandra Harper, and Charles Rewa of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (Wood, Marcia). The NRCS sponsored this bibliography with the newest publications for resource management which can be located at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/ceap/ceapbrochure.pdf.
This bibliography should be a really good time saver for anyone who is looking to maximize their wildlife and fisheries capability. The bibliography shows and lists all possible methods that have been published which means they should work, right? Well if you are into this kind of thing, you should take a look and try it, you may even surprise yourself with the results.

Ducks Unlimited Pushes Winter Wheat

A very unusual sight happened this year at the local Ag expo in Dickinson. A coalition between two major entities, one is a major wildlife company and the other is a major chemical company. With this partnership they are trying to advertise the sale and seeding of winter wheat. The coalition members that represented these companies at the expo are Dr. Geoff Kneen, V.P.-Bayer CropScience and P. Blake Vander Vorst, Ducks Unlimited. They call the project, “Winter Cearals: Sustainability in Action.” The idea behind the project is to expand the farmers growing practice of winter cereals while enhancing the waterfowl production and other wildlife habitat. Since winter wheat is planted in the fall (September) makes this practice perfect for wildlife who need nesting areas to hatch and raise their young. The Bayer CropScience company will commit 20 million dollars over the next five years to conduct research and development on new crop breeds, newer agronomy practices and to measure the environmental benefits. They say they have received a lot of positive feedback on the issue, but they also say the hardest critic to crack is the farmer himself. The only way farmers will take on this project will be if they make a profit. If a profit is made and proven to work, then farmers will most likely convert and take up the new practice with outstanding results. Both members of this coalition are in agreement that they need a good farming practice that will help out the farmer, and also help out the Ducks Unlimited team to enhance wildlife and profit.
I believe this to be a great and absolute ethical way to promote the want and need for a crop to help out the farmer as well as the wildlife. This will make the reproduction process for ducks and other animals much easier with a lot less stress and greater outcomes for both ends.