89.5 WETS Environmental News Online 

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Transcripts of WETS Environmental News--Selected Stories

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 November 7, 1999

   Protecting Tennessee Caves
    Kenaf--An Alternative for Tree-Free Paper
 

 November 21, 1999

     Killing New Mexico's Cougars
    Fish Threat
 

November 7, 1999:

Intro:

Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of environmental news.

• Tennessee is home to over 8,000 caves:  caves with stunning limestone formations, rare species, and underground streams.  Don Sluder reports on how pesticides, sewage and development are threatening caves, and the proposed action to protect them.
• We conclude our show with an Elaine Walker interview with Maria Kiethley of Asheville.  Elaine and Maria discuss the commercial and industrial uses of hemp, the mention of which draws immediate controversy in many circles.
• We begin our show with a Kevin O'Donnell report on Kenaf, a fiber alternative to wood in paper products.  Kenaf, a "tree of a different type," is a viable alternative which could help reduce the pressure on our rapidly disappearing forests. And that concludes this week's edition of environmental news.

Transcripts of Selected News Stories:

Protecting Tennessee Caves
 

According to an Associates Press article, which appeared in the Kingsport Times-News on October 20th, more protection is needed for Tennessee's caves.  Here is a summary:

Caves are home to rare species and contain stunning limestone formations.  They usually have underground streams but are often polluted by sewage and other human-caused wastes.  as residential and business development increases, this pollution becomes increasingly more serious.

A recent meeting of the Southeastern Cave Conservancy in Chattanooga called attention to the problems.  They are focusing attention on limestone terrain where caves, sinkholes, ravines, and underground streams are found.  This terrain is often called a "karst region."

Tennessee has records of more than 8,000 caves, mostly on the Cumberland Plateau and in the Tennessee Valley.   Historically, land surrounding caves has not been thickly settled.  These areas were often not suitable for farming, and water supplies were far underground.  But as communities have spread, pollution has worsened.

A hydrogeologist said, "the minor amount of contamination pollution problems they've dealt with were unnoticed in the past.  Now they are starting to be noticeable.  It is not a case of protecting bunnies or cuddly cave creatures. . . . It's a matter of water supply and vital economic interest for the community.  No one wants to live in a community where you can't drink the water."

Fertilizers, pesticides, and septic tank leakage or effluent are the primary pollutants.  The residents of one Kentucky town regularly dumped sewage into a cave that ran beneath their community.  some manufacturers also dump industrial waste into caves.  The increased popularity of recreational caving has also brought a new pollution threat.

New clean water regulations have benefited the caves, but standard techniques often do not work on karst terrain.  The search continues for techniques that do.  Recreational cavers are among the groups working for reduced underground pollution.
 

Kenaf--An Alternative for Tree-Free Paper

Fiber provides strength and substance to paper, and wood pulp is the main source for paper fiber.  Increasing concerns about the lack of sustainability of current forestry practices have led to the development of alternative non-woody fiber crops.  Often, these "new" crops are traditional crops being adapted to modern, practical and efficient farm-to-market strategies.  We report here on the progress made with one such crop.

Kenaf is a tall African relative of cotton and okra which has been cultivated since 4000 B.C.  It was traditionally used to make rope, twine, and matting.  The fiber value of the plants is in the stalks, which may reach 12 to 14 feet in four to five months.  The outer longer fiber, called bast, is similar to softwood fibers used in high quality papers.  The shorter core fibers are similar to hardwood fibers used in a variety of paper products.  The two types of fiber are separated with a mechanical fiber separator similar to a cotton gin.  In the Southeastern United States, Kenaf yields are 6 to 10 tons per acre--three to five times the yield of Southern Pine, the typical pulping material.  And Southern Pine may take from 7 to 40 years to reach harvestable size, compared to six months for Kenaf.  Further, Kenaf pulping is more economical and environmentally sound because it uses less energy and bleaching than wood pulping.  In fact, the waste water from a Kenaf mill can be used to irrigate Kenaf crops.

Commercial Kenaf fiber productions will likely be limited to humid, low altitude areas with long frost-free seasons.  Early problems with susceptibility to cotton diseases have been reduced by the development of disease-resistant Kenaf varieties.  The very long growing season required for seed ripening severely limits the U.S. locations where seed production and breeding can be done.  The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one location where USDA breeders, seed and fiber growers, pulp mill operators, and marketers have formed a successful collaboration.  Kenaf produced in the Rio Grande is processed for such diverse products as newsprint, moldable mats, parts for car interiors, animal bedding, oil absorbent and potting mix components.

The economic value of developing alternative sources of pulp for paper is clear when newsprint alone is considered:  60 percent of U.S. newsprint is imported, at a cost of 4.5 billion dollars per year.

November 21, 1999

Intro

Hello, and welcome to Environmental News.

• War has been declared on New Mexico's Cougars.  Kathy Stubblefield reports on a controversial new plan, approved by the state's Game and Fish Commission, aimed at protecting endangered desert bighorn sheep.
• West Virginia is the number two coal producing state in the nation.  The dumping of mining waste into West Virginia's streams violates the Clean Water Act.  Arthur Smith tells about a victory for environmentalists.  A recent federal court ruling banning the disposal of mine waste into streams has the coal industry wondering what the future holds.
• A lawsuit filed by environmentalists has resulted in reduced timber harvests in Oregon and Washington.  The industry predicted that these reductions would have a catastrophic effect on the economy of the Pacific Northwest.  Instead, they have proven to be of great benefit.  Brian Stubblefield begins our show with the details of a surprisingly positive impact the reductions have had for the economy and the environment of the region.
• The Southeast is home to 60% of the freshwater fish in the country.  Increased pollution and population threaten both water quality and quantity, putting area fish at a higher risk for extinction and loss of habitat.  Cap'n Jack West has the story.
• Canada is the world's largest exporter of timber, pulp, and newsprint.  Cate Strain begins the last half of our show with a report on one of the last great, intact ecosystems of the world, the world's largest remaining temperate rain forest, a primeval cathedral that is threatened by logging.

Transcripts of Selected News Stories:

Killing New Mexico's Cougars

The following was adapted from the Fall 1999 issue of Green Action, a publication of Forest Guardians:

In an effort to protect the endangered bighorn sheep, the New Mexico Game and Fish Commission unanimously approved a controversial plan to kill 34 cougars a year for the next five years.  The hunt was scheduled to begin in October.   They planned to achieve their goal by using a combination of "sport harvest," houndsmen, and trappers.  All cougars are being targeted, even if they have not killed a desert bighorn.

A recently completed study of cougars in New Mexico, done by the prestigious Hornocker Institute, concluded that the effect of cougar population density on the survival of endangered desert bighorn sheep was "inconsequential."  The study found that the cougar population is self-managing and based on carrying capacity.  It estimated that the state could support only 737 adult cougars.

Livestock consume over 90 percent of the forage on six bureau land management grazing allotments in the Landrone Mountains, which is an area targeted in the hunt.

Without adequate forage, native bighorns are forced into rocky and bushy areas that favor cougars.  Other areas targeted in the hunt include Manzano, Big and Little Hatchet, and the Peloncillo Mountains.

At least one wilderness area and three wilderness study areas will be targeted in the hunt.  Forest Guardians is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking an end to the federal program that kills predators in wilderness areas.
 
 

Fish Threats

An Associated Press article in the October 23rd Kingsport Times-News reported on a recent meeting of conservationists in Chattanooga.  The meeting focused on threats to our native fish.  Here is an overview:

Freshwater fish in Southeastern rivers and streams are battling run-off from farms, dams which can reduce flows to a trickle, and developments' increasing demand for water.  Conservationists met to find ways to help these fish survive.

Sam Hamilton, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said "these small fish are indicators of what is going on in the environment.  Today we find many of these species in trouble."

The Southeast is home to about 60% of freshwater fish species in the nation, including fish, mussels, and aquatic insects.  But it also has many clams, extensive farming, and rapid population growth.  The Fish and Wildlife Service finds 32 of the fish species facing extinction.  Another 78 species are highly vulnerable.

Gary Meyers, of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, reported that they rank 66 fish species as threatened with extinction.  He said dams were partly to blame.  Many dams were built by TVA to prevent flooding and provide other benefits.  However, they have also altered stream flow patterns, water temperatures, and nutrient contents. Some create barriers to fish reproduction.

Soil erosion from farming has filled stream beds.  Chemicals have leached into waterways, threatening many species.  Dumping aquariums and wastes from ships have brought hundreds of non-native fish into our area, to compete for ever-dwindling habitats.

The demand for more water for fast-growing cities has created a new threat since fish are dependent on a stable flow of water.  Communities need to manage growth better so as not to outstrip the available resource supply.

TVA has programs to improve the quality and flow below dams, but more is needed.  U.S. Department of Agriculture programs to reduce erosion and run-off of manure, fertilizers, and chemicals need strengthening.

Gary Meyers also said Tennessee needs additional funding for fish conservation since little is available for this purpose from current license fees.
 
 

Revised November 14, 1999