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Ozark Forests Find Advocates At Webster University

Protester on upturned vehicle. Photo by Orin Langelle, photojournalist, environmentalist and a graduate of Webster University 1978.

By Don Corrigan

Trees have never been so important as now. Stands of trees can help counteract harmful climate change. That’s, in part, why a national and local fight continues to halt destruction of old growth forests.

Residents interested in the fight for trees may want to attend the film, “Shawnee Showdown: Keep the Forest Standing.” The documentary will show at 7 p.m., Feb. 18, at Winifred Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University.

It documents a past battle in the 1980s and 1990s, when a dedicated group of activists fought on the ground and in the courts to stop clear-cutting, oil and gas drilling, and ATV use in the Shawnee National Forest located in Southern Illinois.

Jan Wilder, Rene Cook and unidentified child. Photo by Orin Langelle.

The activists were successful for a time, but the battle begins anew because the prohibition on many such activities in the Shawnee National Forest was lifted several years ago. That gives the film particular relevance.

Karla Armbruster, an English and Sustainability Studies professor at Webster University, was instrumental in bringing the documentary to campus. She cited some photos in the film that were taken by world-renowned photographer, Orin Langelle, who honed his talents in Webster’s media studies program.

“I associated this kind of protest with the Pacific Northwest and was thrilled to learn that it happened here in the Midwest,” said Armbruster. “It sounds like more activism of this kind is needed now to keep our forests healthy.

“This film offers not only a history lesson but also encouragement that ordinary people, who care, can really come together and make a difference,” she added.

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Posted on February 3, 2022 in Environment, Home, Local Events

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Maple Sugaring Programs Available In February At MDC’s Rockwoods Reservation

Photo: MDC

What makes winter so special for maple lovers?  For about six weeks, from mid-January to the end of February, nature cooks up its own sweet delights within sugar maple trees as the sap begins to flow, ready to be tapped for making sugar and syrup.  Anyone can learn skills to collect, boil down and, create their own maple syrup or sugar from trees they may have in their own backyards.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is presenting a series of free educational Maple Sugaring programs in February, the peak season for maple sugaring in Missouri.  The programs are free, open to all ages, and will be held at Rockwoods Reservation in Wildwood.  Some of the programs will be tailored to families, and others to homeschoolers.

Participants will learn the fascinating history of maple sugaring, visit the sugar bush to see where sap is collected, and learn how to turn the sap into syrup. The entire program is outdoors, so participants should dress for the weather and wear appropriate footwear for a short hike. A portion of the trail is not stroller/wheelchair accessible.

In Missouri, this time of year is prime maple sugaring season because it produces the right weather conditions.  It has the perfect combination of below freezing temperatures at night and above freezing temperatures during the day that causes the sap to ‘flow’.”  The greater the night-to-day temperature difference, the more the sap flows.  But come March, leaves and seeds open on the trees and the sap changes, calling an end the sugar production season.  Sap from the sugar maple tree has the highest sugar content – about 3-percent – and produces the most sugar per gallon of sap collected.

The maple sugaring programs are free but advanced online registration is required at the following links.  Participants should choose the timeslots of their preference:

Read more below for dates and times of the Maple Sugaring events.

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Posted on January 29, 2022 in Home, Local Events

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Public Land v. Private Use: Kirkwood Wrestles With Thorny Issue

Proposed; multi-use (cycling, running, walking (1+ mile), and cycling only (~1-mile) recreational trails in Kirkwood Park Forest.

By Don Corrigan

America has seen some major battles over special-interest use of public lands. Those fights have usually involve mining, timber, oil and gas interests. The fight came to Kirkwood recently when a mountain bike concern sought use of Kirkwood City Park.

Dave Schulz of the Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (GORC) sought use of a forested area of the city park for cycling trails for his organization. Public reaction was swift and by the end of January, Schulz appeared to be backing off.

This GORC trail has imported rock/gravel to construct a ramp, and the width has been greatly expanded. Bluff View/Rock Hollow Park, Wildwood, MO.

GORC  will no longer support the addition of cycling within the west forest at Kirkwood Park. Following discussion with Kirkwood’s Parks Director Kyle Henke, the Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (GORC) will no longer support the addition of cycling within the forest at Kirkwood Park, according to Schulz.

A bicycle playground and family-oriented bike area outside of the forest are still being considered. Dave Schulz of GORC told the Webster-Kirkwood Times that Henke spoke with him on Thursday, Jan. 20, regarding the proposed updates to Kirkwood Park’s trail system, which would include mixed-use areas permitting cyclists.

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Posted on January 23, 2022 in Environment, Home, Outdoor/Nature

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As Soft Sheet Use Grows, Environmentalists Note Toilet Paper Woes

Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels.

By Don Corrigan

There’s another issue with tissue. This time it’s not because of grocery shelves being raided of toilet paper in a pandemic panic. At issue this time is the loss of old-growth forests as humans appear to be on a roll consuming bathroom supplies.

Environmental Missouri reports that TP is disappearing before our eyes, in part because major companies are using valued trees to make toilet paper for retailers. The decline in forests across our planet is sharp with a loss of a third of our world’s forests in just a few decades.

According to Environmental Missouri, the culprit behind the deforestation in Canada is soft – retailers like Costco are lining their shelves with extra fluffy toilet paper made from the boreal — one of our last, great North American forests.

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Posted on January 17, 2022 in Home, Opinion

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Eagle Days Event Moves to Powder Valley Nature Center for 2022 (new format event date, Jan. 15 )

Photo: MDC

Due to a renovation work on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, Eagle Days programming is moving to Powder Valley Nature Center in Kirkwood this year. The event will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15.

Few words can describe the thrill of seeing America’s national symbol soaring through the air in the wild, or close enough to touch.  During the winter, the Mississippi River hosts one of North America’s largest concentrations of bald eagles; they are drawn to areas of open water in search of fish, their preferred food.

Due to COVID-19 considerations and to ensure the safety of visitors and staff, Eagle Days will also take on a new format for 2022.  The event is free and open to all ages, but attendance will be by online pre-registration only, with six available timeslots each hour throughout the day.  Attendance numbers for each timeslot will be limited for the safety of visitors and staff.

To register, use the following links for the preferred timeslot:

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Posted on January 9, 2022 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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American Roadkill Book Event Benefits St. Louis Animal Rights Team, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m.

Many motorists have run over animals on the road and felt bad about it.
The momentary regret can lead to corrective action when motorists come
to realize that roadkill is driving some species to extinction.

Author Don Corrigan, who recently authored American Roadkill: The
Animal Victims of Our Busy Highways, will speak about his book and the million creatures killed daily on highways at an open meeting of the Animal Rights Team on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Brentwood Community Center.

St. Louis Animal Rights Team is a not-for-profit educational and activist
group formed in 1985. Its goals are to promote lifestyles compatible with
animal rights and to reform U.S. institutions to end animal suffering.
Corrigan’s book is published by McFarland, which is the largest publisher of
popular culture titles in America. Corrigan is a member of the Popular
Culture Association and annually presents papers at its conferences.

In 2022, Corrigan will speak to PCA about “Roadkill and Toxic Masculinity.”
University studies show male drivers are more inclined to swerve and
deliberately kill or injure animals on roads than female motorists.

As a result of his association with PCA, Corrigan has studied the TV and
movie phenomenon of animals becoming anthropomorphic characters,
especially for children’s cinematic fare.

Corrigan asks: “What message does it send to children when we are
wantonly running over the animals they love? They love animal characters
from Slappy Squirrel to Rocky Raccoon to Squirtle the Turtle and Armadillo
B. Banjo.”

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Posted on January 5, 2022 in Home, Local Events

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St. Louis Environmentalists Offer Hope For The 2022 New Year

Carol Davit of the Missouri Prairie Foundation

By Allison Hagene

Carol Davit of the Missouri Prairie Foundation said she hopes for more cooperation in 2022, because  “all of us –from individuals to communities and corporations – must make the health of the natural world, and the natural resources upon which all life depends, an automatic consideration of actions we take. We can no longer abuse nature and natural resources and defer the damage to the years ahead. Doing so destroys natural abundance and beauty that not only makes life possible, but also makes it worth living”

The Missouri Prairie Foundation had a good year, receiving news that “the Land Trust Accreditation Commission awarded national accreditation to the Missouri Prairie Foundation, a designation earned by about 30% of the nation’s 1,360+ land trusts. Over the summer, MPF acquired four more original, unplowed prairies, including a rare sand prairie near the Bootheel; dedicated four other prairies we acquired prior to 2021; and have nearly reached our goal of raising $2.2 million for our Lordi Marker Prairie Missouri Bicentennial project.”

Read more below from The Missouri Prairie Foundation, Magnificent Missouri, Just Moms STL, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, the Sierra Club, the Open Space Council, Allison Hagene and Don Corrigan.

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Posted on December 24, 2021 in Environment, Home, Opinion

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In Memorium: Thanks, Karen, For A Helping Of Ozark Hospitality

Karen Hood Simpson

 

By Don Corrigan

Sometimes a new friend crosses your path – the kind of friend who helps you out. You look forward to a lasting friendship. Then something tragic happens, and you realize you did not say “thank you” enough before they exited this life.

Such is the case for me with Karen Hood Simpson. She helped me explore Missouri caves, trails and waterways on a Missouri Outdoor Communicators’ (MOC) trip in June to the Pulaski County area and the Gasconade River watershed.

Karen, who worked with the Pulaski County Tourism Bureau for more than a dozen years, helped this city boy enjoy some Ozark nooks in the forest and on the river – and to breathe in a little fresh mountain air.

The MOC get-together was at Gasconade Hills Resort, located on a magnificent stretch of river showcasing amazing scenery, caverns and local wildlife including eagles, otters and deer.

She helped with arrangements for a canoe float not far from the cold spring waters that flow into the Gasconade and Big Piney rivers. It was a scenic on-the-water trip in the vicinity of Devil’s Elbow, a bluff area full of lore from a time when lumber men floated timber down the river.

In the evenings, there was time to relax at the Piney River Taproom. One eating and imbibing excursion involved time at the newly-opened Heritage Cultural Art Center on Route 66 in Waynesville.

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Posted on December 17, 2021 in Environment, Home, Opinion, Outdoor/Nature

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Reporting from Ireland: A St. Louis Journalist Explores “The Troubles.”

Northern Ireland is in the news again as the implementation of Brexit by the United Kingdom brings worries that the strife of the past could be re-ignited by borders, economic upheaval and sectarian distrust.
 
Don Corrigan recently spoke on Ireland’s troubles, past and present, at the International Week sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His Irish talk coincides with the much-praised movie, Belfast, recently opening in St. Louis.
 
Corrigan’s presentation focuses on his reporting of the Irish Troubles in Belfast and Derry at the time prior to the Easter Agreement to bring peace to Northern Ireland. He provides background on the surprises for an Irish American in covering the conflict and its emotional overtones.
 
He also touches on the film portrayals of the Irish Conflict and how those depictions have influenced perceptions in America. And, of course, he had a few things to say about Belfast.
 

Corrigan is professor emeritus of journalism and communications at Webster University in St. Louis and an editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times newspaper group in suburban St. Louis.

 
He has reported from Ireland, Russia, Bosnia and Vietnam. He has taught global journalism at Webster campuses in Geneva and London and has presented papers on the Irish Troubles as portrayed in film at Trinity College in Dublin and in the United States.

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Posted on December 11, 2021 in Home, Local Events, Opinion

American Roadkill In The Media!

Posted on December 9, 2021 | Leave a comment

Below find an excerpt from the Belleville News-Democrat feature about Don Corrigan’s latest book “American Roadkill: The Animal Victims of Our Busy Highways,” by McFarland Publishing.

Also, tune in to hear Don Corrigan talk about his book on the Charlie Brennan Show on Tuesday, December 14, at 10:35, on KMOX radio (1120 AM).

Below from the Belleville News-Democrat:

From possums, whose favorite defense strategy of playing dead doesn’t work well on highways, to armadillos that often spring straight up when startled, animals have been losing the battle to cross roads at an alarming rate. Corrigan relates some of his favorite stories like the dead animal discovered by a newspaper columnist which had been painted over by a road striping crew. Or musician Loudon Wainwright III explaining there was no cosmic meaning about his song “Dead Skunk,” which relates to a “dead skunk in the middle of the road stinking to high heaven.” It was just about a dead skunk and they do stink, as we all know.

Read more HERE.

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