A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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• Chemicals like oil, chlorine (used for swimming pools), cleaners, pesticides and fertilizers can harm the animals, bugs and plants that live in the water, and can make people sick when it floats down to the ocean. • Too many leaves and grass clippings can take the oxygen out of water and suffocate the plants and animals who need oxygen to breathe. • The waste from our pets is very harmful to our waterbodies. Our pets’ waste has dangerous bacteria that can spread diseases to plants, animals and humans that swim in dirty water. • Soaps and...
Submitted by Dave Arquette The Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment (ATFE) has been working to restore the fruit tree orchard on Dr. Solomon Cook’s property behind the Adolescent group home for 10 years now for the benefit of the community. With ATFE’s hard work and commitment and the help of other organizations, this is one success story we can share with the community. It all started with community members asking us to put on fruit tree pruning workshops so people can take care of any fru...
Syracuse, N. Y., Oct. 7, 2010— The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) gives notice that it will hold its next State Technical Committee meeting on Wednesday, November 3, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Ramada Inn, 1305 Buckley Road, Syracuse, NY 13212. The meeting is free and open to the public. Persons with disabilities who require special assistance can contact NRCS at [email protected] or call 315-477-6504. Across New York throughout the m...
How do you do this? Well let’s look at recycling those old Halloween costumes. How many of you or your children wear the same mask or costume from last year?? Get together with a few of your friends and swap or recycle some of those old masks and costumes, then it will be NEW to the person who wears it for this year. Reduce the cost of buying the whole costume and shop at the local Salvation Army stores or gently used clothing stores, your Tota’s closet, or even your dad’s work clothes. It is a lot more fun trying to come up with a costu...
Now that autumn is here the leaves are going to pile up in my yard again. Is it really that bad to burn them? Burning fallen leaves used to be standard practice across North America, but most municipalities now ban or discourage the incendiary practice due to the air pollution it causes. The good news is that many towns and cities now offer curbside pickup of leaves and other yard waste, which they then turn into compost for park maintenance or for sale commercially. And there are other burn-free options as well. Burning Leaves May Spark...
When species populations decline, we tend to think it is due to long term environmental effects or subtle evolutionary changes. The decline of the Northern Map Turtle is known to be directly impacted by human activities. A highly aquatic species, Map Turtles like to spend their time in bays and shoreline zones of large lakes and rivers. This makes them especially vulnerable to boat strikes and propeller injuries. In the Thousand Islands section of the St. Lawrence River, boat strikes occur...
Cornwall - Science and Nature Speaker Series The St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences, in partnership with the Cornwall Public Library, is proud to announce the return of the Science and Nature Speaker Series. This series is intended for anyone interested in learning more about animals, insects, chemicals, nature, and the environment here in Ontario, and around the world. “This speaker series is a great thing for Cornwall”, says Lindsay Lefebvre, Education Coordinator at the River Institute, “all of our speakers are enthu...
Last Wednesday August 25th Beaver Deceivers Int. came to Akwesasne for a presentation at the Tsisnaihne Recreation Center and was followed by the building of a beaver deceiver structure on Thursday August 26th. The presentation and building workshop was performed by Skip Lyle, owner of Beaver Deceivers Int. The beaver deceiver was constructed on Chapman road where a culvert is constantly blocked by a beaver dam. In his presentation Skip stressed how important beavers are to the environment as a...
Winter will soon be upon us and we need to look at some tips for saving money. You can do this by buying and installing an Energy Star programmable thermostat for your home. If unsure on how to install one, contact your local professional to install one for you. Using a programmable thermostat is fairly easy. Hooked up to your heating system, you program the thermostat to lower the temperature of your furnace at 4 key times such as: When no one is at home during the day lower you temperature to...
On Tuesday August 10th, 2010 students, environmental officials, and educators from across the Haudenosaunee Confederacy gathered at the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environmental Division office to set out on a weeklong journey to Thompson Island. There, they were met for orientation by Ken Jock, Angela Dunn, Setanta O’Ceillaigh, Julie Jacobs, and Craig Arquette from SRMT Environment and Henry Lickers and Scott Peters from Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Environment. Student’s involved with the Youth...
This past week end while having a family gathering it started to rain on us. Soon after the rain these giant mosquitoes arrived on scene to eat us up. But the thing of it was these mosquitoes were bigger and harder to kill. We would swat them and they were like miniature little terminator mosquitoes who did not die on the first hit, they stood there and you had to hit them two or three more times before they finally fell from your arm. Well, I had to go back to work and ask one of our...
Why Some Pesticides are Illegal When EPA approves a pesticide, it gives the product an EPA Registration ID number. If you look at a can of common roach spray sold in a supermarket, you will see an EPA ID number, a list of the chemicals in the product and instructions for how to use it. EPA requires this information on the label to protect you. It is your right to know what you are applying in your home. But illegal pesticides have not been reviewed by EPA. They are often imported to the U.S....
Have you had your property flooded out by beaver dams? Are you wondering how you can resolve your beaver problems without killing all the beavers around or trying to move them away from your property? Have you had beaver dams blown up, just to have beavers re-invade and re-build them? Coming soon to Akwesasne, Skip Lisle of Beaver Deceivers International is a renowned expert on solving beaver problems non-lethally. His systems allow beavers to co-exist with human efforts at maintaining their...
* Take a shorter shower. If you take long showers, consider cutting it short by a few minutes. You’ll conserve water, and the electricity needed to heat up the water, lowering your utility bills and reducing your energy consumption at the same time. * Use a rag or hand towel instead of napkins or paper towels. Reusing items instead of using disposable items is almost always a better thing for the environment. Reduce the need to cut down trees, the power needed to turn them into napkins, and the space in the landfill once you throw them away. *...
Someone mentioned that they were allergic to parsnip. What? Parsnip…what is that? Oh it’s all over the place around here. So I had to look it up and it affects you like poison ivy or poison oak by giving you a rash, but this rash sort of burns which last for a day or two. For people who are sensitive to this plant it is horrible. If you come into contact with the leaves or sap, it itches and burns on your skin. Then if you happen to be outside and the sun’s rays hit your arm where the leaves tou...
Submitted by Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Justice Department The Northern Snakehead might enjoy life in Canada, but it would not be welcome here. This fish is native to eastern Asia. It has invaded parts of the United States, where it threatens to disrupt ecosystems and native fish species unaccustomed to its presence. Scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) want to stop the snakehead from establishing a base in Canadian waters and building a strong defense is the key to success. The...
Native only to the Americas, the Common Raccoon is nocturnal and solitary except when breeding or caring for its young. The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a stocky mammal about 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) long, weighing 10 to 30 pounds (4.5 to 13.5 kg) (rarely 40 to 50 pounds [18 to 22.5 kg]). As an accomplished climber, it can ascend trees of any size as well as run and swim quite well. IDENTIFICATION It is distinctively marked, with a prominent black “mask” over the eyes and a heavily furred, ringed...
Charles R. O’Neill, Jr. Invasive Species Specialist New York Sea Grant February 2007, Revised August 2009 New York’s Sea Grant Extension Program provides Equal Program and Equal Employment Opportunities in association with Cornell Cooperative Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Commerce, and cooperating County Cooperative Extension Associations. Introduction Should you be walking along a damp abandoned railroad right-of-way, a wet roadside ditch or a stream bank and...
That’s right. The weather is warming up, the sun is shining brightly and it’s now time to open up our pools. In doing so, we are using pesticides to kill the algae in our pools for example. To be safe: Read your label on your pool chemicals to ensure you are using it safely and effectively. Read the label before you buy the chemical! Read the label before mixing or using the chemical! Read the label before each use! Each label will have an EPA registration number. This means that the EPA has reviewed the product and determined that it can be...
Now that summer is here we need to be alert about ticks and the diseases that they carry. Unfortunately we cannot say we are too far north etc. because they are here. According to CDC (Center for Disease Control) here is a list of diseases you can get from ticks: Babesiosis Ehrlichiosis Lyme disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever Southern Tick-associated rash illness Tick borne relapsing fever Tularemia Ticks are so small but they thrive off animals and people to live. Walking in a wooded area and...
Elizabeth Nanticoke, Dept. of the Environment The declining population of the American Eel is cause for great concern for Akwesasro:non. Traditionally, the species was not only a food source for the people, it also held healing properties that Akwesasro:non used as needed. The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Department of the Environment acknowledges and supports the efforts of the Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) research into the Trap and Transport of American Eel. This initiative is OPG...
PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING IN MASSENA ABOUT WATER QUALITY CLEAN UP SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8 A Public Information Meeting on water pollution concerns within the Massena area will be held Thursday, July 8, 2010, from 7 to 9 PM at the New York Power Authority Visitors Center, 21 Hawkins Point Road, Massena, NY 13662. Presentations will be made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and there will be opportunity for questions and comments. The meeting is for everyone...
The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) will again host a ten day summer camp for indigenous youth of the northeast region, August 10-20,2010. The program brings together traditional ecological knowledge and environmental science, taught by Native elders, teachers and environmental professionals through wilderness field experience, traditional instruction, cultural and scientific activities. The SUNY ESF Cranberry Lake Biological Station in the Adirondacks and the Thompson Island Youth and Elder...
Within the past couple of years MCA’s Department of the Environment and Health Department (Environmental Health Office) have been involved in a project where different areas of Akwesasne were sampled for black-legged ticks (Ioxedes scapularis). Black-legged ticks (formerly known as deer ticks) are carriers of a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. This corkscrew-shaped bacteria causes a disease called Lyme Disease. Ticks are closely related to spiders. Black-legged ticks are generally very s...
Department of Environment It is now the season that turtles are laying their eggs. Turtles will come out of their wet areas and will seek places to lay their eggs. Most turtles are protected under the species at risk and fall into areas of concern or endangered. If you are not familiar with the different species of turtles, please consider them as being endangered. On any day from now for a few weeks turtles can be seen on our roadways. Snapping Turtles will lay about 20-40 ping-pong ball-like e...
