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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, May 4, 2011 1B
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Spring seems finally to have sprung in Plumas County. While
most of us are more than ready to get outdoors, doing so comes
with the risk of unwanted encounters with wildlife. Those
interactions can result in the merely annoying (think itching
and scratching) to the life-threatening (think Lyme disease
and snake bites).
Here's your guide to avoiding the pests of summer and
treating the results of any encounters.
GET TICKED OFF
The problem: Ticks can carry Lyme disease. Lyme disease may
cause flu-like symptoms, fever, fatigue, rash and joint and body
aches. Ticks get the Lyme bacteria by biting wildlife, such as
deer, and the bacteria spread when the ticks bite human skin.
This treatable disease can have serious long-term effects if it's
not detected early in its course. Untreated, Lyme can cause
chronic joint pain and complications to the heart and central•
nervous system. However, if caught early, the disease can be
eradicated with the use of antibiotics.
How to avoid:
- Tuck your pants inside your socks. "
- Wear clothing that is not loose fitting.
- Use repellents such as DEET,
which is found in a number of
over-the.counter insect repel-
lents. Picaridin and perme-
thrin can also keep ticks
away. Both are practically
odorless, and will last on
clothing for a number of
weeks.
- Parents should look kids
over from head to toe after an
outing. '
How to treat: Ifa tick is found
in the skin, it should be removed immediately, preferably
with a pair of tweezers. It generally takes 24 to 48 hours for a
tick to spread Lyme disease. Washing the skin or using other
remedies such as gasoline, alcohol and petroleum jelly will
not work. You should use tweezers to grab the tick by the head
and not leave any part of it in the skin. Forcible removal is the
key.
The expert says: Dr. Greg DeMuri, an infectious disease
specialist at American Family Children's Hospital and an as-
sociate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin
School of Medicine and Public Health, says, "There is this
public misconception that DEET is dangerous. I can tell you
in my 15 years in Wisconsin that i have seen well over 100
cases of Lyme disease and serious complications from them,
and I have not seen a single case of toxicity caused by DEET,
The benefits clearly outweigh the risks."
DON'T BE A FAWN-NAPPER
The problem: People frequently encounter young wild
animals they think need assistance or have been orphaned. In
most cases neither assumption is true and the
animals should be left alone. In 2009, well-
meaning members of the public turned
537 fawns into California rehabilitation
facilities. Once a fawn is removed
from its mother, it can lose its
ability to survive in the wild.
The same danger applies to most
animals, including bears, coyotes,
raccoons and most birds.
Disease is another reason
that wild animals should not
be handled. Wild animals can
See Visitors, page 9B
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'labor
ACCIDENTAL
GARDENER
MONA HILL
Staff Writer
mhill@plumasnews.com
The other day I was chat-
ting with "the face" of
Feather Publishing, Mary
Newhouse, about how anx-
ious we are to dig in the
dirt. I'd had an inspiring
weekend with Darla
DeRuiter's Current Envi-
ronmental Issues class.
Mary had hoped to get
some weeding done and I'd
planned to plant the lettuce
' and peas. Ir/stead she
worked on next year's
woodpile and I got the broc-
coli, cabbage and Brussels
i sprouts started inside. We
i were both frustrated by the
rain over the following
weekend.
(Tip for all you gardeners
i too cheap -- especially me
-- to buy the fancy plant
warming pads: Diane got an
old electric blanket, covered
i it to protect it from damp
i and set her seedlings on
i that. It works and they love
I it.)
! Anyway, we got to talking
about the high price of heat-
ing oil and propane com-
pared to woodstoves. For
the price of a couple of
months of propane we both
can heat our house well
with our wood.burning
stoves.
That started me thinking
about the amount of petrole-
um in our food supply. In-
tion, storage and prepara-
tion, that's 20 barrels of oil
--- 110 gallons -- for Steve
and me each year. With gas
at $4-ylus a gallon and
climbing, growing our own
food, however little, saves a
bit of oil and money.
Besides, I know where my
food has been if I grow it. I
know what's in it and it just
plain tastes better.
In addition to saving on
the food bill and reducing
our oil usage, it saves mon.
ey on the psychiatry bills.
There's nothing more stress
reducing than pottering in
the garden and watching
grass grow.
I have to admit, I knew all
this before I followed Dar-
la's class around for a week-
end. Two community gar-
dens and a playground ben-
efited from the students' la-
bor and I got a good look at
how time banking works.
It's brilliant.
I'm definitely a Tom
Sawyer kind of gardener: if
I can get someone to do the
heavy lifting (my belea-
guered husband), I can tend
the plants without breaking
a sweat. Enter Darla's class.
In a brilliant bit of horse-
trading during one of the
class activities, I parlayed
some of my endless supply
of fresh eggs, future pro-
duce and lessons in crochet-
ing and jelly-making into
some manual labor. Steve is
thrilled because I have big
plans this year, all involv.
#
Q: What is biodiversity? this living planet, other fruit-producing shrubs; many unique plants.
Dr. Darla DeRuiter: Simply abundant aquatic macro-
put, biodiversity (or bio- Q: Can you point to a place invertebrates, fish and Q: If people want to know
logical diversity) is the full in Plumas County fhat amphibians for food. more, are there field guides
variety of life. You can de-
scribe the biodiversity of an
area by listing all the species
of plants, animals, fungus
and microorganisms there.
You can describe the bio-
diversity of a particular
group of organisms in an
area, like conifer trees
(which are cone-bearing and
have needle.like leaves; e.g.,
pines, firs, spruces, etc.).
California has particularly
high conifer biodiversity --
the highest in the world with
52 species (Oregon is second
with 32 species) -- because of
the wide range of tempera-
ture and moisture regimes,
huge elevational gradient,
the influence from both
marine and continental air
masses, and the span of
latitude the state covers
since it is so long.
Q: Why is it important?
A: We celebrate and protect
biodiversity for many
reasons:
--Because it provides
"ecosystem services" for
people free of charge, such as
provision of raw materials
for food, fuel, fiber, shelter
and building materials;
purification of air and water;
stabilization and moderation
of Earth's cl imate; and polli-
nation of plants, including
many crops.
--Because it provides
drugs and medicines.
--Because it generates
economic benefits through
tourism and recreation.
---Because it provides
aesthetic values and ways
to connect with nature.
These are all human-
ing heavy lifting. If
No one who knows me
will be surprised to learn centered reasons. I would
that the new garden beds :li argue that organisms have
aren't in place yet. I empha- intrinsic value as well -- in
size yet. It just wouldn't ! and of themselves, aside from
stop snowing and ralning. I human interests. Also the
Ever the Pollyanna, that's a ! "web of life" value could be
eluding f°°d pr°ducti°n I !i
packaging and transporta. See Gardener, page 9B considered -- that everything
plays a part in the health of
illustrates blodiversity?Plant diversity also tends
A: We call places that support to be high around "ecotones,"
an especially great diversity boundaries between two
of species biodiversity ecosystems where members
hotspots. Plumas County of both communities overlap
hotspots are abundant; and can be found. Riparian
really, anywhere there is habitat (communities along
water is a good place to start, water margins) is a great
Water provides all kinds of example of an ecotone. For
important benefits for plants example, the riparian zone
and animals: visual cover; along Spanish Creek is an
protection from predators; ecotone between the creek
thermal relief (cooler in community and the mixed
summer, warmer in winter); conifer community or dry
drinking water; protected meadow community. Butter-
sites for burrows and nests; fly Valley Botanical Area is a
sunny spots for berries and biodiversity hotspot for
you would recommend?:
A: My favorite introduc or
field guide is John Muir
Laws' "The Laws Field Guide
to the Sierra Nevada." Epilog
Books sells it. It's got great
illustrations and is a compre.
hensive field guide, including
fungi, plants, animals and
other cool stuff found in the
Sierra Nevada.
DeRuiter is an associate
professor in Environmental
Science and Outdoor Recre-
ation Leadership at Feather
River College.
Plumas Biodiversity Days
art show
May 1 - 31
Local artists will show their
works depicting biodiversity in
Plumas County and the
Feather River country at
Morning Thunder in Quincy.
Spanish Creek bird watching
Saturday, May 7, 7:30 a.m.
Meet at Gansner Park in
Quincy to explore Spanish
Creek from the park to the
wastewater ponds.
Nest box building workshop
Sunday, May 8, 10 a.m.
Meet next to the old dairy
barn at 574 Quincy Junction
Road in Quincy, just beyond
the high school athletic fields.
Tools, hardware and
untreated 1-inch lumber
are helpful, but not required.
Contact David at
david@plumasaudubon.org
or 283-0455 for
more information.
Bring lunch and water.
RSVP to Ryan Burnett at
rburnett@prbo.org or
258-2869.
Sierra Valley burrowing owl
nest burrow project
Friday, May 20
Join Larry Jordan and Plumas
Audubon to install artificial
nest burrows in Sierra Valley.
Call David Arsenault
at 283-0455 or
david@plumasaudubon.org
for details.
A23/Highway 70 junction,at
8:15 a.m. Bring lunch and
water. RSVP to leader
Colin Dillingham at 283-1133.
Meadow Valley/Spanish
Ranch bird watching
Saturday, June 4, 7:30 a.m.
Darla DeRuiter and Darrel Jury
will lead. Meet at 6669 Bucks
Lake Road in Meadow Valley.
(Coming from Quincy the
house is on the right
two houses past the
Pine Leaf intersection.)
Chester Meadows
. bird watching
Saturday, May 14, 6:45 a.m.
Carpool from Quincy post
office. In Chester meet at the
high school parking lot at the
end of First Street at 8 a.m.
Plumas Audub°n'Feather
River Land Trust Maddalena
Ranch barbecue
Saturday, May 21, 8 a.m.
Enjoy a day of canoeing, bird
and botany walks, and food.
Meet wildlife artist Harry
Reeves and celebrate the com-
pletion of a wildlife viewing
platform and interpretive bird
display. The ranch corral
is 1-1/2 miles south of
Highway 70 on A24.
Sierra Valley bird watching
Saturday, May 28
To carpool, meet in front of
the Work Connection, next to
Sav-Mor in Quincy at 7:30 a.m.
In Sierra Valley meet at the
parking area across from the
Butterfly Valley
botany excursion
Saturday, June 11, 9:30 a.m.
Jim Battagin will share his
wealth of knowledge of the
plants of this unique valley.
Meet at the Forest Service Mr.
Hough Ranger District office.
Bucks Lake (Mill Creek trail)
bird and botany walk
'Saturday, July 9, 8 a.m.
Scott and Amber Edwards will
lead. Meet at the Mill Creek
trailhead. From Quincy it is on
the right side of Bucks Lake
Road 0.3 mile past the
Whitehorse campground.
Length of walk is optional.
Bring water and lunch if you
want to continue past noon.