Protecting the Environment Starts in Your Backyard

Protecting the Environment Starts in Your Backyard

Michael TropConservation Education Specialist

John Marshall Soil & Water Conservation District

September 7, 2013

Kettle Run

Map Source: US EPA

Broad RunKettle Run

Map Source: US EPA

Occoquan RiverBroad Run

Kettle Run

Map Source: US EPA

Occoquan RiverBroad Run

Kettle Run

Map Source: US EPA

Potomac River

Chesapeake Bay

Occoquan RiverBroad Run

Kettle Run

Map Source: US EPA

Potomac River

Upstream & Downstream

• What you do to your lawn affects people, plants, and animals downstream

• What people upstream do to their lawn affects your water quality– Follow the Golden Rule

What’s in your yard can affect water quality?

Pet Waste

Fertilizer

Pesticides

Septic Systems

Sediment

Causes and Solutions

• Fertilizer– N&P contribute to many of the dissolved oxygen problems in

the Bay– Apply fertilizer only as needed (follow directions); get your

soil tested• Pet Waste

– E. coli impairs many streams in our area– Pick up after your pet, even in the backyard

• Septic Systems– Bacteria and raw sewage can contaminate water– Have your system inspected & pumped regularly

Causes and Solutions

• Pesticides– May harm aquatic wildlife and contaminate

groundwater– Apply pesticides only as needed (follow directions);

more is not more effective; use correct pesticide• Sediment

– Sediment can clog waterways & nutrients and chemicals can attach to sediments and be carried downstream

– Seed or sod lawn areas prone to erosion; plants and trees help too

Protecting the Environment Starts in Your Backyard Con’t

Julie BolthouseFauquier County Land Use OfficerPiedmont Environmental Council

September 7, 2013

Virginia Ecoregions

  45. Piedmont    63. Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain     64. Northern Piedmont     65. Southeastern Plains    66. Blue Ridge     67. Ridge and Valley     69. Central Appalachian

Fragmentation and Modification

Invasion by Alien Species

Kudzu Tree of Heaven

Emerald Ash Borer Gypsy Moth

Image Credit: US Forest Service

Photo Credit: Scott Edhart (contribution to public domain) Photo Credit: Scott Edhart (contribution to public domain)

Image Credit: US Forest Service

Wildlife Ranges

Indian Bat

US Fish and Wildlife Approximate Range of Indiana Bat

Image Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

Wildlife Ranges

Cedar Waxwing

Image Credit: National Audubon Society

Photo Credit: Ken Thomas (contributed to public domain)

Wildlife Ranges

Jefferson Salamander

Image Credit: US Department of Agriculture

Biodiversity

Image Credit: John White Prince William Conservation Alliance

Image Credit: Branlon (contributed to public domain)

Image Credit: Snowmanradio (contributedto public domain)

Image Credit: Julia Flanagan with Prince William Conservation Alliance

Image Credit: Kim Hosen with Prince William Conservation Alliance

50 Mammals69 Fish23 Amphibians31 Reptiles15 Mollusks178 Birds

Ecosystem Services

Pollination

Image Credit: Kim Hosen with Prince William Conservation Alliance

Ecosystem Services

Pest Management – Diversity = Balanced

Ecosystem

96% of birds rear their young on insects and spiders

Photo Credits: Magee Design

Ecosystem Services

• Nutrient Cycling – Healthy soil is alive!

Image Credit: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Start at Home

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. So you have to begin there...

- Aldous Huxley

Start Small

All big things are made up of trifles…

My entire life has been built on trifles. - Mahatma

Gandhi

And Don’t Ever Doubt that Your Efforts Make a Difference

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed, citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead