Story from staff reports. Photo of prescribed burn in Virginia by U.S. Army Environmental Command.

Cary, NC – Don’t be frightened if you see smoke rising from Hemlock Bluffs on Monday, January 30, 2012. It’s a “prescribed burn,” a forestry process to prevent larger forest fires.

Hemlock Bluffs Prescribed Burn

CaryCitizen received this info from the Town on Friday:

As part of its long-term fire management plan for Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, the Town of Cary will perform its first prescribed burn at the bluffs on Monday, January 30, 2012, weather permitting. The North Carolina Forest Service will implement and supervise the burn, which will measure less than the size of two football fields. Town staff will offer logistical assistance and a Town of Cary fire truck will be present on site during the burn.

“Safety is our top priority, so every precaution will be taken to ensure that everyone is safe during the burn,” said Mark Johns, Program Specialist at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve. “Trails will be well-signed and patrolled by natural resource managers and preserve staff, with some trails closing down briefly during the burn.”

The preserve, located at 2616 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary, will remain open on Monday and visitors are encouraged to enjoy as usual.

Prescribed burns are a safe and proven way of clearing dead vegetation and flammable underbrush, which can serve as fuel for wildfires. Many North Carolina ecosystems require periodic fire for maintenance, increased productivity and overall health.

Removing the underbrush also improves habitat for wildlife by releasing vital nutrients and increasing the number of close to the ground plants, like blueberry and huckleberry, that produce fruits eaten by birds and other wildlife.

More Info

Read more: Prescribed Burns.

The Town of Cary Public Information Office advised us that the burn is scheduled for late Monday morning.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Ken Schneider.

Cary, NC – Last year at about this time, editor Matt Young did a story about Eagle Cam, a citizen science project at Jordan Lake. The big birds are back, and you can watch online again this year as they sit in the nest and prepare to hatch their young.

Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Cam

The Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Nest Camera was set up last year as a joint project between NC State, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Maxim Intergrated Products, and Lineberger Tree Service. The exact location of the camera (and nest) is kept secret.

The all-weather camera produces a live video feed which viewers can tap into at any time via U-Stream, a do-it-yourself broadcasting channel on the internet. As I write this story,a band of rain is crossing the western Triangle and the eagle is hunkered down in the nest.

About 400 people were tuned into Eagle Cam during the middle of the day. You can “Check-In and Chat” with other viewers if you’re so inclined.

Tune In to Eagle Cam

You can watch one of the miracles of the natural world unfold from the comfort of your living room. All you need is an internet connection. If you’re reading this, you must already have one, so you’re good to go. Works with laptops, desktops, iPads, Kindles, even smartphones – no equipment necessary.

Jordan Lake Eagle Cam – Live on U-Stream

Opinion by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Brett Coulstock.

Cary, NC – Forget about water pollution. How about earthquakes? Business-friendly Ohio is moving to stop the use of fracking wastewater disposal wells, suspected of causing eleven earthquakes in the state, including a magnitude 4.0 quake last weekend.

Earthquakes and Fracking

Fracking produces a lot of very briny wastewater, sometimes laced with toxic chemicals or radioactivity from underground. What to do with the waste?

Pennsylvania, a hotbed of fracking, has had concerns about above-ground facilities to treat wastewater from fracking. So resource extractors have been shipping their waste to Ohio.

Special deep wells are drilled and the wastewater injected under high pressure.

The problem: wastewater injection wells may causes earthquakes –  11 of them in the recent past near Youngstown, Ohio, an area not known for tremblors.

On Saturday, Youngsville and the Mahoning Valley were hit with a magnitude 4.0 quake.

Governor John Kasich, a fiery proponent of the free market, shut down the waste disposal site and others nearby.

No to Disposal Wells

As the NC General Assembly, counties and municipalities look at the opportunities and costs of fracking, they should consider a ban on disposal wells.

Lawmakers should also ban out-of-state shipment of waste generated in NC – that’s just exporting the problem.

Fracking is Coming. Here.

Fracking is coming. It has the potential to unlock vast energy resources in the United States. North Dakota is set to produce more energy this year than Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Ten of thousands could be employed and our foreign balance of payments headed back in the right direction.

The Deep River Basin running from Durham to Sanford, through western Cary and under Jordan Lake, is an area of intense interest. Cities, counties and the state need to come to uniform, progressive poilicies that promote business while protect the population.

Because, as alluring as a new cheap energy source may be, it may not be worth the price of earthquakes in the Triangle.

Editor’s Note: Creedmoor has recently adopted an ordinance against fracking within the city and ETJ.

Cary, NC – Molly Paul is an accomplished 12-year old. She founded and manages a turtle adoption organization, is a junior curator at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and has created a line of turtle-shaped soaps for sale at Hemlock Bluffs. They make great stocking stuffers for kids and grownups who are into science and wildlife and want their cash to go to a good cause.

Proceeds Donated

All proceeds support native NC turtles and their habitat.

Available fragrances: Lavender, Rosemary/Olive Oil/Oatmeal, Natural Goats Milk and, specially for Christmas, Orange.

Molly’s turtle soaps are $4.00 each.

Available at Hemlock Bluffs

There’s still plenty of time to pick up an assortment of Molly’s turtle soaps for your nature-loving kids.

Hemlock Bluffs Gift Shop
2616 Kildaire Farm Rd.
Cary, NC
919-387-5980

Also available at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Gift Shop. For more info, contact Lara (Molly’s Mom) at rpaul3@nc.rr.com.

Molly’s Turtle Adoption Program

Molly started Raleigh Aquatic Turtle Adoption (RATA) after adopting two turtles in 2006. From the RATA website

RATA helps individuals re-home their freshwater, pet turtles. We accomplish this by either adopting the turtle ourselves or (more commonly) linking owners needing to relinquish their pets with families or classrooms seeking a pet turtle. As we are not a rescue organization, our primary work is facilitating turtle adoptions. Even though we are based in North Carolina’s Piedmont region, we have worked with families and schools from California to Chicago to New York.

Great info about turtles as home pets on RATA.

About STEM Education

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Many educators, community members and business leaders believe STEM education is key to the success of the next generation of American workers.

Molly Paul started a STEM Summer Camp this past year. Her work with turtles, Hemlock Bluffs and the Museum highlight a story of student leadership in STEM education.

Go buy some turtle soaps and support a kid who is making a difference.

Editorial by Hal Goodtree. Map from Southern Environmental Law Center.

Cary, NC – Fracking has the potential to make North Carolina a net energy exporter. But serious concerns exist about contamination of water supplies. Until those concerns are laid to rest, Cary needs to ban fracking within our town limits.

What’s Fracking?

Fracking, short for fracturing, injects water and a slurry of sand and chemicals at high pressure into rock formations. The rock formations form cracks (or fractures), creating channels for the release of natural gas, oil and other substances that can be recovered and brought to the surface for refining and sale.

Shale formations offer an enticing opportunity for fracking. The hydrocarbons in shale represent a bonanza of untapped resources for energy companies, but have been difficult and expensive to extract.

Fracking and North Carolina

Of interest to geologists and energy companies is an ancient seam of shale called Triassic basins running from Massachusetts to the South Carolina border.

In North Carolina, the seam of greatest commercial interest runs from north of Durham down through Sanford and into the Sandhills. A portion of this zone cuts through the western part of Cary.

What’s Good About Fracking

Energy independence, that’s what’s good about fracking. Geologists and industry experts have predicted that fracking could make North Carolina a net energy exporter and provide a 40 year supply of natural gas.

Don’t Drink the Water

The most serious concern about fracking is the release of toxic chemicals into water supplies.

State officials in New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming and elsewhere have raised serious concerns about fracking and enacted legislation to protect consumers and water sources.

In Wyoming, near a development called the Pavillion field, the EPA recently released a finding that detected contamination in test wells of groundwater.

“Residents of Pavillion long have said their drinking water stinks of chemicals and is giving them health problems. Health officials last year recommended that they not drink their water and ventilate their bathrooms while showering.” – Business Week

The Deep River shale basin in N.C. runs through the western portion of Cary and along the eastern bank of Jordan Lake. Cary gets its drinking water from Jordan Lake.

Industry disputes the EPA finding and says that fracking is perfectly safe. But legitimate concerns and the first-hand experience of farmers, landowners and consumers across the U.S. have called that blanket pronouncement into question.

What’s needed is more science – independent and peer-reviewed. Why rush into something that could contaminate the drinking water of 2.4 million people in North Carolina?

Disclose the Chemicals

For me, the biggest sticking point is the unwillingness of energy extractors to disclose the chemicals they use in the fracking process. Companies say revealing the ingredients of the mix would amount to disclosing trade secrets.

This is a disingenuous argument. Companies could reveal what chemicals they use, but not the exact amounts of each ingredient or the precise formula. If all companies were forced to disclose under the same standards, the policy would not affect the competitive balance. Lawmakers in several states have been studying this option.

Without a list of the chemicals used in the process, it’s impossible to know whether groundwater contamination came from fracking.

Disclosure is a fair expectation. N.C. lawmakers should adopt it. Industry needs to accept it.

No to Fracking in Cary

Sanford has massive deposits of shale. It could become an oil boom town.

Deposits in Cary are certainly more modest.

But until concerns about ground and surface water are set to rest, Cary Town Council should place a ban on fracking within the limits of our municipality.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Brian Yap.

Cary, NC – A newly completed portion of Blackcreek Greenway in Cary has been recognized as an official component of the East Coast Greenway (ECG) corridor.

An Urban Trail from Maine to Florida

The East Coast Greenway system is an urban companion to the Appalachian Trail. It’s a project of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a non-profit based in Durham. Their mission is “to partner with local, state, and national agencies and organizations to promote the establishment, stewardship, and public enjoyment of a traffic-free multi-user trail linking cities and towns from Maine to Florida.”

About 26% of the 3,000 mile trail is now established, off-road and traffic free. That’s approximately 766 miles.

The Alliance provides maps and cue sheets for the entire route and posts trail markers to ease the way-finding. It has over 14,000 members and volunteers from Canada to the Florida Keys.

NC Leads Eastern States in New Designations

Twice a year, the Alliance staff, Board, and Trail Council meet and approve newly completed off-road ECG trail sections that meet critical design standards. At the recent Trail Council meeting in Florida, ten new sections of trail were designated as ECG.

Three were in North Carolina – Black Creek, a portion of the American Tobacco Trail in Chatham County and a greenway in Wilmington. Pennsylvania had two new designation. The remaining five designations came from different states.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

There’s no better time to explore Cary’s Greenways than in the autumn.

The Black Creek Greenway, partially completed, is planned to run from Bond Park to Lake Crabtree.

For more info, see the Cary Bike & Hike Map.

Photo Courtesy of Advocates for Health in Action

Cary, NC - More than a dozen Wake County schools participated in the national Walk to School Day event last Wednesday.

Students, staff and families enjoyed a little exercise and fresh air on their way to school.

“Walking is one of the best physical activities in our community—it’s free, there are numerous greenways, and it helps communities identify safer routes for getting to school,” said Laura Aiken, director of Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) and WakeMed Community Outreach.

Cool Ideas Out of Apex

Schools celebrated Walk to School Day in different ways. At Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex, they kicked off the school’s Walking Wednesday Walking School Bus program. Families are invited formally to walk their students to school the first Wednesday of each month. Walking School Bus captains help families get to school safely as a group, and students earn toe tokens and t-shirt iron-ons through the program. Olive Chapel PE teacher Katie Caggia began the program in 2004 with the administration and parents’ support. “Walk to School Day is a great way to get students moving in the morning, and yesterday’s event was a great kick-off to our Walking Wednesdays program,” Caggia said.

Cary’s Northwoods Walk Led By The Mayor

For Northwoods Elementary School, Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht greeted students and led the walk from Town of Cary’s Northwoods Trail, part of the greenway system, to the school. Principal Dr. Kerry Chisnall acted as the crossing guard at one residential street the students crossed along the way.

On-Going Efforts

Farmington Woods – Walk coordinator and PE teacher Don Eller tells us that they meet in the Kildare Plaza shopping center at 7:45 and walk .7 of a mile to school. They call it “Walking Wednesdays” and it goes on all year.

Green Hope – PE teachers Steve Gurrslin and Sue Sigmund told us that their walk to school will be starting at the Circle on the Green in Preston Village at 8:30 am daily. All students who walk to school with us will get a certificate of participation!

For more info contact Advocates for Health in Action (AHA).

     ”A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it” -anon.

Story & Photo by Hal Goodtree

Cary, NC – Thanks to our friend Don Frantz for sharing the news that Cary has been designated a Walk-Friendly Community.

Walk-Friendly Communities (WFC)

The WFC is a national organization that accredits communities which encourage pedestrian traffic. That is, walking.

Cary is one of only three communities in North Carolina that have earned the certification (the other two are Charlotte and Davidson).

Cary was credited with having a walk-friendly community including:

• Town of Cary staff resources devoted to encouraging pedestrian traffic
• 60 miles of trails and green ways, with another 190 miles in the planning stage
• Downtown Streetscape Project
• Land Development Ordinance that supports the creation of a highly connected transportation system
• $1 million annual sidewalk request program

Celebrate with a Walk

Celebrate Cary’s newest designation with a walk in one our our many Parks or download the Cary Bike/Hike map.

Story and photos by Leslie Huffman

Cary, NC – Need a ride to the airport? How about a night out on the town without the worry of driving? You can get this kind of service many places. A taxi, a limo, or a van service.

But take it a bit further. What if your driver came professionally dressed and picked you or your group up in a brand new hybrid electric vehicle? And this company cost you the same or up to 25% less that the standard car services?

That makes a huge difference to me. It also makes a major difference to hotels and corporate clients who are trying to reduce their carbon footprint while still providing quality professional services.

Making Better Choices

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States consumes 378 million gallons of gasoline every single day. The environmental costs to all this fossil fuel consumption is staggering.

Also, the vehicles we drive release over 1.7 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, contributing to pollution and global climate change. Each gallon of gasoline burned creates 20 pounds of CO2. That’s about 6 to 9 tons of CO2 each year for a typical vehicle.

A good solution; make better choices. We should bike, walk, take public transportation and use our consumer power to use vehicles that are either hybrid, all electric or use biofuels.

Welcome EcoStyle – A Green Transportation Company

I recently met with Scott Tyler, Vice President of EcoStyle, at the Umstead Hotel in Cary. Scott came here after playing pro baseball and meeting his wife. He spent some years in the hospitality industry, but wanted to start his own business. He came up with a unique service that was missing in the Triangle.

In April this year, Scott and his business partner started the Triangle’s first eco-friendly corporate transport company, EcoStyle. Already they have contracts to handle all the transportation needs of corporate clients like SAS, Dex One and The Umstead Hotel.

“It makes me feel great knowing that people are accepting EcoStyle and truly appreciate the services that we are providing for them,” says Tyler. “When we launched EcoStyle, our goal was not only to start a company that revolutionized the industry, but added value to the surrounding communities.”

In addition to providing low-emission and energy-efficient transportation, Scott says that high standards, excellent service and a clean professional look is mandatory for all their drivers. They will pick you up from any location and take you where you need to go.

“I want people to know that when they call EcoStyle, they will receive a level of service that is unmatched. Our team at EcoStyle will always go above and beyond to fill our clients needs.”

They will also provide transportation to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), or Piedmont-Triad International Airport (GSO).

What Makes Them The Green Transportation Company?

Presently EcoStyle has 4 hybrid vehicles in their fleet with 2 more on order. Looking to the future, they plan to add several all electric vehicles.

• Toyota Prius Hybrid – up to 2 passengers and gets 53 mpg city & 48 mpg hwy
• Ford Fusion L Hybrid – up to 3 passengers and gets 41 mpg city &  38 mpg hwy
• Chevy Tahoe Hybrid – up to 6 passengers and gets 20 mpg city & 23 mpg hwy

If you need something bigger like a bus for 10 or more, Scott will provide one from one of his partner companies. But, to negate the CO2 emissions generated, EcoStyle will then purchase carbon offsets through NC Green Power.

Other “green” initiatives include:

• Paperless email billing & receipts
• Driver’s uniforms made from recycled materials and organic cotton
• Donate a percentage of profits to NC GreenPower, which funds renewable energy projects across North Carolina

While the corporate office is in Raleigh, most of the cars are staged at The Umstead Hotel. And, because of their exclusive use of EcoStyle’s services, the Umstead even installed several electric car charging stations for their use.

Next time my dinner club group is heading for a night out on the town, or I need airport transportation I think I will give Scott a call. When it comes to saving money, and reducing my environmental impact, it just seems like such a simple choice.

By Matt Young, Photo by Benoit Guenard of NCSU Biology Department.

Cary, NC – The North Carolina Pest Management Association (NCPMA) and NC State are alerting Carolinians to be on the lookout for the Asian Needle Ant, a relatively new pest in the region. NCPMA is the trade association representing the professional pest management industry in North Carolina.

Creepy alert - “Asian Needle Ants have been in this country since the 1920s but only became a pest in the last five years.  We consider it a pest because of its ability to eliminate other ant species and infest homes and its painful, sometimes dangerous, sting,” said Eleanor Spicer Rice, graduate research assistant at North Carolina State University.

The ant is known to sting humans, and, because of their unique venom, the sting can be harmful even if a person is not allergic to other types of stings. NC State biologists tell us that the ”rate of anaphylaxis [allergic response] in the Asian Needle Ant is fourfold that due to honeybee stings”.

According to the NCPMA – Asian Needle Ants like damp places. They can be found in old wood, potted plants, under doormats, under dishwashers, etc.

The Glass Test

Unlike other ants, the Asian Needle Ant cannot climb on a smooth surface.  One way to identify an Asian Needle Ant is to put it in a jar and see if it can scale the walls of the jar. My lawyers have advised me to tell you not to try this if you are under 21 or clumsy.

If you suspect you have these in your house you should get a pro in there to eradicate them.

NCPMA  advice:

• Home Prevention: Make sure all windows and doors are properly sealed and weatherproofed to prevent ants and other insects from entering the home.
• Gardening and Landscaping: Locate all potted plants and mulch away from the home’s foundation. And, since Asian Needle Ants can be found but not necessarily seen in mulch, always use gloves when gardening.
• Sting Prevention: Never brush an Asian Needle Ant off of your body as this can cause them to react by stinging.  Instead, attempt to have them walk off of you onto a card or piece of paper.
• Pest Prevention: Have a qualified pest management company regularly inspect your property for signs of infestations and always call a pest professional if a problem is suspected.  A list of pest management companies statewide is located at www.ncpestmanagement.org.

Helping The Study

The NC State Biology Department seeks input from people on the location of this pest  Help science out – use this link if you are interested.

Ants are good citizens, they place group interests first.  – Clarence Day, author and activist