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Going Wild in the Backyard
by Sue Moore Turn your backyard into a wildlife refuge! It's easy with a little help from the Backyard Conservation Program, a joint venture between the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Wildlife Habitat Council and the National Association of Conservation Districts. According to the NACD over 92 million acres of land in the United States is developed and much of that developed land is in the care of homeowners. The goal of the Backyard Conservation Program is to convert one million backyards into wildlife friendly habitats. The program began on Earth Day, April 22, 1998 and to date thousands of backyards have been "enhanced." Any backyard, be it an urban balcony or a quarter-acre lot, can be turned into a nature reserve. All the backyard biologist need do is provide the wildlife with their four basic needs-food, water, cover, and a suitable place to raise their young. (So wildlife are people too!) Each of the three sponsor's Web sites is loaded with pertinent information designed to enable a smooth and successful backyard conversion. One learns what to plant where, how to mulch correctly and when and how to clean the pond. And there is some plain common sense advice as well. For example, WHC counsels:
Sounds like something my therapist would say. To
get started order the Backyard Conservation Program's free 28-page color
booklet by calling
Since 1973 The National Wildlife Federation has also sponsored a backyard garden certification program. According to the NWF, habitat loss is the number one threat to wildlife survival. The Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program was started in response to the pervasive landscaping trend of close-cropped lawns and non-native ornamental plantings that boomed along with the suburbs. Lawns were gobbling up the native habitats and hording precious water reserves. Lawn chemicals and fertilizers were further damaging the environment. The program sought to reverse this trend by encouraging natural, wildlife-friendly landscaping. To date 31,300 backyards have become certified wildlife habitats. You can see many of them at the NWF website's Habitat Gallery. (My favorite was the garden eight blocks from Los Angeles International (LAX) airport.) The lively NWF website is a treasure trove of resources for the backyard conservationist. On the home page you'll find a zip code-driven wildlife finder and an easy-to-use native plant finder. It's an online field guide at your fingertips. Check out the Habitat Meter to see which states have the most certified habitats. Email gardening questions to NWF professionals. Order the 48-page guide, NWF's Wildlife Habitat Planning Guide for Backyards and Beyond ($14.95) or get the The Backyard Wildlife Habitat Starter Kit, including the planning guide, for $25.00. (You may also order by phone at 716-461-3092). There's lots of good information here to get you started and keep you going and it's all under one roof. Maybe now is the perfect time to let the backyard go.
1) Endnote.
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