This was an article sent to me over the Internet that I feel is worth passing on to you:

Unauthorized Activity

This one is a genuine hoot. It was an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan.

Wait till you read this guy's response.... read the letter before you get to the response........

Mr. Ryan DeVries
2088 Dagget Pierson, MI 49339
SUBJECT: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Montcalm County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed in a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2002.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled. Failure to comply with this request or further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action.

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely, David L. Price
District Representative Land and Water Management Division

This is the actual response sent back........

Dear Mr. Price,

Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Montcalm County.

Your certified letter dated 12/17/01 has been handed to me to respond to.

First, Mr. Ryan DeVries is not the legal Landowner and/or Contractor at 2088 Dagget, Pierson, Michigan. I am the legal owner: a couple of beavers are in (State unauthorized) process of constructing two wood "debris" dams across the stream of my Spring Pond.

While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials "debris."

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is: (1) Are you discriminating against my Spring Pond Beavers or (2) do you require all beavers in this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated.

I have several concerns. My first is - aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and unable to pay for said representation - so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that the dams failed during a recent rain causing flooding is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling their dam names. If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers - but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams.).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2002? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice and there’ll be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.

In conclusion, I’d like to bring to your attention a real environmental quality (health) problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! (The bears are not careful where they dump!)

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

Sincerely,
Stephen L.Tvedten

Things to Do in November

Fall is the best time of the year to work in the yard. We’ve had heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures that have lowered the soil temperature and softened the soil. This causes many plants to change color, indicating upcoming dormancy and proper transplant time. As days get colder and shorter plants respond by closing their doors, so to speak.

For example, in deciduous plants there is a cell “door” at the base of each leaf stem. Plants will close this “door” to create a barrier so that water and nutrients can no longer enter the leaf, thus causing the green pigments in the leaves to break down. When the green pigmentation or chlorophyll breaks down, other colors or leaf pigments start to appear, producing fall colors. As the “door” remains closed, the stem that holds the leaf becomes weak and breaks causing the leaves to fall to the ground creating work for husbands who would rather be watching football games.

In reality perennial plants really never go dormant. The part that we see does, but the root systems love the warm, moist fall soils. That’s why we recommend the fall for planting. Since plants have developed their foliage through the summer they can concentrate their energy on root growth without worrying about leaf and flower output and establish a strong root system that will be able to withstand next summer’s heat and drought conditions. In contrast to planting in the spring, the roots of new plants have only a short period of time then to become established before the summer heat and drought.

After talking to several of our regular customers we know many of you planted perennials that caught your eye before you found out how large a plant it would become. Now is a great time to correct these mistakes.

Pick a spot in your landscape, any spot. Look at it closely. Is there a window blocked behind the landscape? Walk away from the landscaped area and look at it from a distance and from several angles. Go inside the house and look at the landscape from inside and then look all the way through to the other side beyond the landscape.

I have a question for you; do you know what the heck your looking at? If you are still inside the house looking out, do you have an attractive view? Do you keep your curtains closed because the plants are unsightly? Many times as plants grow old and get crowded out, the side of the plant that no longer gets sunlight loses its leaves. It doesn’t mean the plant is on its last leg; it may just need to be moved to a preferred location where it will get more sunlight.

After you move a specific plant out of the way, look again, do you need to place another plant in the area, or are you going to leave room for the existing plants to fill in?

If you decide you need another plant, make sure the new plant meets the necessary light, moisture and space requirements. Now, what to do with the plant that was removed? Can you use it somewhere else?

Repeat this observation/transplant process throughout your yard.

Treat each plant that is to be removed as one that may fit somewhere else. If they do not have a place in your landscape, see if you can donate them to a school, church or community center or even a Boy Scout that may be trying for a merit badge. Call around!

Now that you have created spaces for new plants, do some homework. Tell your nursery person as much as you can about the spot where you want to plant. Try to remember the name, if you do not know the name of the take a cutting of the plant that was there and explain the reasons you removed it. The plant too big for the area, the foliage was too sparse, it had powdery mildew, etc.

Rework the area where you are about to replant. Add compost, Mycorrhizae fungi and soak the root ball in a Kelp Solution.

Make sure you mulch not only the area under the new plant, but the entire landscaped area. Try to keep at least three inches of mulch over areas that are not planted. Do not place mulch in contact with the plant’s stems. Yes, there is another college test that proves too much mulch piled around stems of plants can be harmful to the plant. Mulch has many other benefits: fewer weeds germinate in mulch and the soil will stay moister longer between watering or rain, and a layer of mulch moderates temperature change. As mulch breaks down it adds some nutrients to the soil, helping with your organic program and requiring less fertilizer.

By the way, I watered my lawn only 7 times during summer 2002: how many times did you water? I also want to know if you set your system to the “rain” or “off” position yet?

Speaking of watering, I am upset at the City of Dallas for suspending watering restrictions. Did you know that on October 1st, the first day restrictions were lifted, I saw two residential lawns being watered after 10:00 am. And we had rain the day before. Just because you can run your system at any given time does not mean you have to.

Remember, the city still considers it an offense to operate an irrigation system that has broken or missing sprinkler heads, or is poorly maintained and leads to water waste. Another reminder is that a police officer can cite you for watering your landscape during any form of precipitation or during freezing temperatures.

Green Sense Lawn & Microbial Treatment works wonderfully during cool periods when the soil is moist. Microbes become more active during the fall. Green Sense Lawn And Garden Microbial Treatment enhances turf growth, improves coverage of bare spots, improves seed germination, loosens soil and improves soil percolation, improving the absorption of moisture and strengthening root systems. Flowers and plants, in most cases, will have larger blooms, leaves, and bloom periods. Plants will also have greater vigor during stressful periods of weather.

If you have not fertilized the lawn in September or October, do it now. Fall is the most important time to fertilize the lawn. Fall fertilization will prolong the foliage color later into autumn and extend the usefulness of the turf. It also increases winter hardiness. Grass fertilized in the fall resumes growth earlier in the spring than grass not receiving a fall application of fertilizer. The benefits of fall fertilization for trees and shrubs also are apparent. Although trees and shrubs might appear dormant during the fall and winter seasons, their roots can quickly absorb nutrients.

On the last Sunday of October, Karin came to work after her two days off and told me about her adventures of moving plants in for the winter. She realized that there were some things she should have done before bringing in her tropical plants such as:

Making sure that all the lizards are off of the plants before moving them. Apparently when one climbs up your blouse it could cause a little bit of concern.

Fire ants can really cause havoc when they crawl up your pants.

I like disturbing the plants several days before moving them in. If I see fire ants in my potted plants I will use bait like Ascend. If you use a citrus oil product that is strong enough to kill ants you may burn the root system of potted plants.

Compost plants that didn’t do well this summer, bringing them inside will just cause more work as the plants shed their leaves. If you live by yourself and need company, you can enjoy the possible infestations of insects that will be attracted to the diseased plant.

Make sure that the pots that you will bring in are not cracked. I can only imagine the surprised look on someone’s face when the pot breaks, falling to the floor or on one’s foot- scattering plant, soil and pieces of pot all over the floor.

Divide plants while they are still outside rather then after you bring them in, unless you just like creating extra work like sweeping and vacuuming the mess that usually goes along with repotting.

Things still needing attention in the garden:

Look for fungal spot on leaves of plants like roses, crape myrtles, etc. Gather leaves and compost them. Do not let the infected leaves breakdown under the infected plant, as this will just make matters worse.

Remember that as plants start to close down for the winter, their stress levels go up. Spray plants with Green Sense Kelp to help control insects as well as to reduce stress in the plants. If you have an infestation of insects on plants you will be cutting back, just put these leaves in the compost pile. If you may have plants that won’t be cut back, spray a mild solution of Green Sense Soil Drench (2 ounces per gallon of water) or Dormant Oil to kill the insects before they find some place to over-winter.

Yellow Jackets and other nesting bees: On the 28th of October, I was at Howard Garret’s house with our master carpenter, Antonio, going over the possibility of a few projects around his greenhouse. We saw several beehives that were loaded with yellow jackets. Antonio was concerned that some of these nests were where the work was to be performed. Howard let us know that he wanted to make sure that we would not use anything but a blast of cold water to remove the wasps. He told me that the entire wasp population would die from the cold temperatures except for the queen. The queen will find a place to over winter, many times in a squirrels nest or compost pile.

Why do I bring this up? Wasps eat a wide range of insects including spiders, caterpillars, ants and flies. Do as much as reasonable to co-exist with these hard working beneficials.

• Don’t let leaves get ahead of you, gather leaves for the compost pile or to mulch beds.
• Don’t forget to clean gutters and downspouts.
• Disconnect the hose from all exterior water faucets- that includes the “hard to get to” hose also. You know which one I am talking about, the one that is behind the holly bush.
• We talked about cracked clay pot earlier. Karin’s pots probably cracked due to freezing temperatures in the previous year. Bring in clay pots and other terracotta ornaments.
• Keep water out for the birdies, but remember that concrete birdbaths will also crack in cold temperatures. Spend $20.00 and get a “birdbath deicer” this will permit the birds to get fresh water as well as preserve the life of the birdbath.
• If you like feeding the birdies, do not cut back seedpods from perennials or grasses. Mockingbirds love eating the seedpods from lantanas. Gold finches love Vitex (Texas Chaste Tree) seeds and Yellow Rumped Warblers love wax myrtle seeds. Other birds love sunflower seeds and purple coneflowers, rudbeckeia.
• Cut back mums, dianthus, pansies and other flowering plants after they bloom.
• Pull weeds as they come up, it’ll be easier to keep up with them. If you have large clumps of weeds, you can apply a thick layer of sugar or molasses. Compost your weeds.

Mychorrhizal Fungi

by Mike Amaranthus

Continuing Education

The more we learn about life on Earth, the more important seem the mechanics of survival. Brute force, the old idea of “bloody competition,” is no guarantee of survival. In reality, nature works in subtle ways. There is no doubt that competition is everywhere, and attaining resources is important for establishing plants. However, we now realize that in natural systems, organisms work together interdependently. There is no doubt that nature is less a battleground and more a marketplace. Symbiotic organisms that exchange materials and services in a mutually dvantageous living arrangement can be the key to successful growing and planting.

Tiny Secrets and Successful Plantings

Clearing of natural areas and new construction in the urban and suburban landscape represents the extreme of soil and plant disturbance. Getting plants established is often a great challenge. Numerous tight or tenuous links between plants and soil microorganisms are broken. These linkages are nature’s “tiny little secrets” that have allowed plants to survive and thrive in natural environments for millions of years without the use of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation. Nursery and landscape professionals are gaining increased appreciation of the living soil and more frequently incorporating soil biology and mycorrhizal products into their practices.

What Are Mycorrhizae?

More than 90 percent of plant species form a symbiotic arrangement with beneficial soil fungi called mycorrhizal fungi. The roots are colonized by the soil fungus, which attaches to the roots and extends far into the surrounding soil environment (figure 1). The colonized root is called a mycorrhiza. Mycorrhizal fungi are the dominant microbes in undisturbed soils accounting for 60 percent to 80 percent of the microbial biomass. Mycorrhizae are fundamental to plant establishment, supplying the water and nutrients needed for survival and, in exchange, receiving essential sugars and other compounds supplied by the plant. There are basically two broad groups: those forming ectomycorrhizae, so termed because of the external modification to the root, and those termed arbuscular mycorrhizae (also termed endomycorrhizae), the name coming from the structure formed within the root cells. Unlike the ectomycorrhizae, no external modification of the root accompanies arbuscular mycorrhizae.

Plants forming ectomycorrhizae include the vast majority of the commercially grown tree species in the temperate and northern forests and 70 percent of the tree species planted in the tropics. Trees such as conifers and oaks are dominantly ectomycorrhizal plants. Most of the commercially important horticultural and agricultural plants form arbuscular mycorrhizae. There are few plants that don’t rely on mycorrhizae in their natural environment, and most nonmycorrhizal plants are “weedy species” that can get the upper hand following disturbance events that raise havoc with existing mycorrhizal fungi.

What Do They Do for Plants?

These mycorrhizal fungi increase the surface absorbing area of roots 10 to 1,000 times, thereby greatly improving the ability of the plants to use the soil resource (figure 2). Estimates of amounts of mycorrhizal filaments present in soil associated with plants are astonishing. Several miles of fungal filaments can be present in less than a thimbleful of soil. But mycorrhizal fungi increase nutrient uptake not only by increasing the surface absorbing area of roots. Mycorrhizal fungi release powerful chemicals into the soil that dissolve hard-to-capture nutrients, such as phosphorous, iron and other “tightly bound” soil nutrients. This extraction process is particularly important in plant nutrition and explains why nonmycorrhizal plants require high levels of fertility to maintain their health. Mycorrhizal fungi form an intricate web that captures and assimilates nutrients, conserving the nutrient capital in soils. In nonmycorrhizal conditions, much fertility is unavailable to plants or lost from the soil system.

What Other Functions Do Mycorrhizal Fungi Perform?

Mycorrhizal fungi are involved with a wide variety of activities that benefit plant establishment and growth. The same extensive network of fungal filaments important to nutrient uptake is also important in water uptake and storage. In nonirrigated conditions, mycorrhizal plants are under far less drought stress compared to nonmycorrhizal plants. Suppression of diseases and pathogens are additional benefits for a mycorrhizal plant. Mycorrhizal fungi attack pathogen or disease organisms entering the root zone. For example, excretions of specific antibiotics produced by mycorrhizal fungi immobilize and kill disease organisms. Some mycorrhizal fungi protect plants from Phytophthora, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia. Mycorrhizal fungi also improve soil structure. Mycorrhizal filaments produce humic compounds and organic “glues” (extracellular olysaccharides) that bind soils into aggregates and improve soil porosity. Soil porosity and soil structure positively influence the growth of plants by promoting aeration, water movement into soil, root growth and distribution. Many practical benefits can be expected from using mycorrhizal fungi in common practices. These include improved survival, growth, more rooting (figure 3a, 3b), flowering and fruiting, protection against disease, improved soil structure and resistance to invasion by nonmycorrhizal or exotic plant species.

Where’s the Beef?

The plant-mycorrhizal fungi relationship is the best understood in the field of soil biology. There are more than 48,000 studies in literature on the subject. But there is more important proof. The mycorrhizal relationship with plants is one of nature’s longest and most successful experiments. The earliest fossil record of the roots of land plants contain arbuscular mycorrhizae almost identical to what is found today. Most scientists today believe the plant-mycorrhiza relationship allowed aquatic plants to make the transition to the relatively harsh terrestrial environment some 430 million years ago. In nature, mycorrhizae make plant growth possible, linking the roots of plants to the s urrounding soil. In nature, neither can survive without the other.

Does My Site Have Mycorrhizae?

Soils from natural and undisturbed areas generally contain robust and diverse populations of mycorrhizal fungi. Events that seriously disturb soil can substantially reduce or eliminate these beneficial microbes (figure 5). Research shows that compaction, erosion, grading, topsoil removal, overgrazing and the use of soilless mixes in growing operations often eliminate mycorrhizae completely. The arbuscular mycorrhizae and many of the top-performing ectomycorrhizal fungi do not disperse their spores in the wind and move by growing root-to-root or by consumption by wildlife species. In a disturbed habitat, the effectiveness of the return of mycorrhizae is dependent on the quality and proximity of undisturbed habitats containing suitable fungi and their associated animal vectors (figure 5). Many cases have been documented where plants in disturbed urban and suburban environments have not formed mycorrhizae many years after outplanting and are surviving only through intensive care and maintenance.

Can I Fertilize Instead?

Many fertilizer regimens push top growth at the expense of root development, making plants vulnerable to stressful environments. Frequent, high levels of fertilizer produce an unbalanced and often unsustainable shoot-to-root ratio. Mycorrhizae, on the other hand, feed your plants and stimulate root growth. Unlike mycorrhizae, fertilizer cannot help prevent root disease, improve soil structure or promote other beneficial microbes. Fertilizers can lead to other side effects, such as deterioration of water quality, soil structure and excess soil salinity. The mycorrhizal relationship improves feeder-root production, and a mycorrhizal plant can better utilize added fertilizer

How Do I Use Mycorrhizal Products Most Effectively?

High-quality commercial mycorrhizal inoculum is now available from a variety of sources. Inoculums containing mixtures of species of mycorrhizal fungi often give the best response. Mycorrhizal inoculum comes in granular, powder, liquid and tablet forms. The most important factor is to get the mycorrhizal propagules near the root systems of target plants. Most mycorrhizal propagules will stay dormant and until root activity begins. The chemicals pumped into the soil by active roots cause mycorrhizal propagules to become active and grow. Inoculum can be incorporated into the planting hole at the time of transplanting, watered into porous soils, mixed into soilless mixes or directly dipped on root systems using gels. The form and application of the mycorrhizal inoculum depends upon the needs of the applicator. What is clear is that on disturbed and stressful sites, inoculation is highly effective.

Micro Reality

Growing plants in a nursery and establishing plants on disturbed sites require an understanding of the many soil processes important in facilitating uptake, storage and cycling of nutrients and water by the target plant species. In nature, these activities are largely performed by the “tiny little secrets,” working hard below the soil surface in the living soil. In past decades, clearing of natural areas and disturbances in suburban and urban environments have substantially reduced mycorrhizal populations. Because above- and below-ground plant/soil systems are tightly interdependent, such changes can result in poor plant survival and health and a reliance on intensive and artificial plantcare programs. Hopes for restoring beneficial mycorrhizal fungi and their important relationship with plants has been aided with the development of quality and increasingly inexpensive sources of mycorrhizal inoculum. Nursery and landscape professionals can now make a declaration of interdependence and incorporate mycorrhizal fungi into their programs.

Dr. Mike Amaranthus spent 20 years with Oregon State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, where he wrote more than 50 research papers on mycorrhizae. He is the recipient of the USDA Highest Honors for scientific achievement and has been featured on several major national and international programs. He is president and chief scientist for Mycorrhizal Applications Inc.

EXCERPT FROM DIGGER MAGAZINE
APRIL 2002 ISSUE