Restoration news in review

So I used my free time this weekend to read all the news articles that I usually can't spend time perusing. News can be such an addicting thing, but I found so many headlines that brought class discussions to mind. So I just compiled the following weekly review style collection of headlines from last week to share.

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Article Link: Barrington Hills restoration conflicts
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearnorthwest/chi-0605170282may17,1,5116431.story?coll=chi-newslocalnearnorthwest-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
This piece of news is not only another local example of how people who all have similar environmental goals can experience miscommunication on how those goals are defined. I find the particular notion of trees as icons of ecosystem health that must stem from the concept of ecosystems on a trajectory that culminates with the growth of woodlands. I also can empathize with the neighbors in the article. They see the old trees coming down and it likely affects their Jay Appleton-type sensibilities: once a forested shady picnic grove now a bare and wide open grassland.

Article Link: Montana combines restoration and economy
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060513/NEWS01/605130302/1002
This article outlines a symposium being held as part of a gubernatorial program to actively translate nature’s value into currency! I find it exciting that the concept we've discussed in class is being actively pursued by government. I know it's no new thing for state's to pump natural resources for capital, but it is does seem novel that environmental and economic goals are being pursued in tandem from the beginning of policy development and that the governor is pushing for resource development in sustainable ways - rather than the ye old capitalist tradition of bleeding resources dry as quickly as possible. Montana's new focus rings of a lesson that Cronon's Chicago, with its flare-up markets, could've used.

Article Link: Unto the City the Wildlife Did Journey
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/29/nyregion/29animals.html?ex=1149566400&en=00b43bb4ca84b48e&ei=5070&emc=eta1
I missed it if this article at all connected urban wildlife mishaps with urban sprawl. I feel some letter-to-the-editor potential in this article.

Article Link: Pimp My Grill
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/fashion/sundaystyles/28GRILLS.html?ex=1149566400&en=d7e4892f54bb83c2&ei=5070&emc=eta1
What would Kuntsler think of this!?!?! It's like wasteful suburban values exemplified!

Article Link: Europeans urged to act on climate
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5026094.stm

Article Link: A River Cuts a New Course, Leaving a New Hampshire Town High and Dry
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/29/us/29river.html?ex=1149566400&en=4770e574b13b95cc&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Wow. This story reminded me of Cronon's discussion of how Chicago fought so hard to reshape water resources in with river and lake. I think it would be fun to work with the crew investigating where the leak occurred and why!

Article Link: Animals 'devastate' UK songbirds
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5026222.stm
Another conflict of human habitat design. How do we reconcile our insistence upon domesticated non-native animal breeds and the desire for native wildlife? I hate that my cat can never go outside - her skills are so unused and she seems unfulfilled a la Desmond Morris. Yet, I feel a greater responsibility to the flourishing bird population that settles in the neighborhood.