On your property, insects and microorganisms abound. This is a natural and beneficial state, since insects and microorganisms are key components in nutrient recycling, decomposition, plant succession, natural pest control and wildlife habitat.

"A landscape without insects and microorganisms would be a very unhealthy environment," notes Tchukki Andersen, staff arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association. "The trick is to balance the threshold of healthy with having too much of a good thing, when the naturally occurring insects and diseases become a problem. This is where an integrated pest management (IPM) program may benefit your landscape plants." Periodic outbreaks of destructive tree insect pests, as well as diseases, occur as part of natural fluctuations in ecosystems. The actions of homeowners make these outbreaks either more severe or they lessen their impact locally. IPM provides the steps needed to promote a healthy landscape and to prevent destructive pest outbreaks, and to ensure diversity and vigor on your property.

Begin by keeping your healthy trees healthy. Monitor for pests and use preventative and cultural controls (such as proper irrigation and mulch).

Increase diversity
Many property owners have lots with just a single or a few trees. Others have small backyard woods, which have become an important component of the urban environment. Small woodlands with a mix of tree species are often less susceptible to pest outbreaks than woods with a single species. A diversity of tree ages also reduces the risk of pest outbreaks. As with species diversity, age diversity increases the complexity and stability of the ecosystem. A natural balance of organisms is more likely to develop as age diversity increases. For example, potential pests of young trees could be regulated by parasites and predators already well established on older trees.

"A healthy landscape is less susceptible to pest outbreaks and is more resilient if an outbreak does occur," stresses Andersen. "When trees are overcrowded in your landscape, competition for light, water and nutrients results in increased stress. Trees under stress are more likely to be attacked by pests." The first clues of a tree health problem may be symptoms such as yellowing needles or leaves, thinning foliage or dieback on upper limbs. These problems may be caused by insect pests or disease pathogens; or they may arise from "abiotic" factors such as soil problems, construction damage, drought, pollution or herbicide injury.

What to do
A professional arborist can examine your trees to find the source of the problem. A professional arborist can also recommend treatments, including thinning densely wooded areas, planting new trees, correcting soil deficiencies, increasing water and nutrients, monitoring for pests or pest management. Homeowners can contact the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), a public and professional resource on trees and arboriculture that was establish in 1938. It has more than 2,000 member companies who recognize stringent safety and performance standards, and are required to carry liability insurance. TCIA also has an Accreditation program that requires companies to meet industry standards and qualifications, including ANSI A300 pruning standards. An easy way to find a professional tree care service provider in your area is to use TCIA's "Locate a member company program." You can use this service by calling 1-800-733-2622 or by doing a ZIP code search at: www.treecaretips.org.

Hello.  I'm Chuck Grassley working in the U.S. Senate for the people of Iowa.   This week, the United States Senate considered a resolution to block the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.   The resolution of disapproval had broad bipartisan support.

I was an original cosponsor of this resolution because I'm concerned that EPA bureaucrats are making policy decisions that should be made by elected representatives of the people.  Congress should decide whether or not to impose limits on greenhouse gasses, not faceless bureaucrats.  The problem is that the EPA has been moving forward without congressional approval.  This is bad news for two reasons.

First, the job of a federal agency is to carry out the laws passed by Congress.  Congress is directly accountable to the American people.  The EPA is not.  When agencies that aren't accountable to the public bend existing laws in order to pursue an agenda behind closed doors, Congress must stop them.  An unelected bureaucracy shouldn't make policy decisions, especially when the decisions could have a major impact on an economy that continues to sputter.

Second, regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act would be less efficient and more costly than a new system that is specifically designed to address greenhouse gasses.  The Obama administration has already acknowledged this fact.

The EPA is trying to bully Congress by saying, "Either you pass a bill that will raise costs for American Families or we'll pass regulations that will be even worse."

It is up to Congress to decide whether a new carbon tax makes sense.  We shouldn't let the EPA implement economically devastating regulations, particularly at a time of economic recession.  Iowa's energy intensive economy, especially agriculture and manufacturing, would be hit particularly hard if the EPA goes it alone.

Congress must continue to work to make sure that the EPA does not overreach on its responsibilities, and our resolution helps to put the EPA on notice.

Partners of Scott County Watersheds

Public Lunch Forum

Troubled Waters

A new Iowa Learning Farm Video,

Winner of the Iowa Motion Picture Association award

Partners of Scott County Watersheds will be hosting a monthly educational forum meeting on Tuesday, June 15^th, 2010. The event will be held from 12:00 - 1:00 pm at the Bettendorf Fire Station, Surrey Heights location (5002 Crow Creek Rd).

At the forum, the short film, Troubled Waters will premiere. The film is a new Iowa Learning Farm Video and the winner of the Iowa Motion Picture Association Award. It is filmed entirely on Iowa's waters and is approximately 26 minutes long. The film covers current river themes such as natural resources and biodiversity, human intervention and modification, pollutants and ecological resilience.  It explores the relationship between Iowans and streams and rivers and discusses how humans have altered streams and the consequences of these changes.

RSVP requested from those who would like lunch. Lunch will be provided with a $5 donation.  RSVP to Clare Kerofsky at 563-391-1403 ext. 3 or clare.kerofsky@ia.nacdnet.net.

Be a part of this National Effort!

Quad Cities, USA - Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) has expanded its total number of participating cities from 22 to 27 for The Great Mississippi River Cleanup on Saturday, June 19th. The following cities are participating in this cleanup: St. Paul, MN, Red Wing, MN, Wabasha, MN, Alma, WI, Buffalo City, WI, Weaver, MN, Fountain City, WI, Winona, MN, LaMoille, MN, Cassville, WI, Dubuque, IA, Sabula, IA, Cordova, IL, Buffalo, IA , Andalusia, IL, Muscatine, IA, New Boston, IL, Oquawka, IL, Fort Madison, IA, Keokuk, IA, Nauvoo, IL, Quincy, IL, Louisiana, MO, Grafton, IL, Alton, IL and St. Louis, MO.

Around 800-1200 volunteers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri will take part in a first-ever, multi-state clean-up of the upper Mississippi River. The Great Mississippi River Cleanup will remove debris; such as tires, barrels, propane tanks, appliances, plastic bottles and more. Volunteers will assist in debris collection on the day of the cleanup, from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. We still need volunteers and boaters to assist with transporting  participants  to cleanup locations. If possible, LL&W is also looking for people who are willing to haul debris in their boats to the boat launch where roll-off dumpsters or other disposal facilities will be in place. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, please visit www.livinglandsandwaters.org.

LL&W has removed more than six million pounds of trash through cleanup efforts along the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Potomac rivers since its launch over 12 years ago. LL&W also coordinated flood relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the historic floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lake Delton, Wisconsin in 2008.  LL&W Founder and President Chad Pregracke says, "We've been able to host over 440 community cleanups over the years and this is the biggest effort we've ever put together."  Pregracke adds, "This kind of cleanup has been needed for a long time.  So, we're very excited to be able to coordinate an event of this size and importance."

Living Lands & Waters is a 501(c) (3) environmental organization established in 1998 and headquartered in East Moline, Illinois. Beyond Community River Cleanups such as the "Great Mississippi River Cleanup", LL&W conducts Big River Educational Workshops, the MillionTrees Project, the Riverbottom Forest Restoration and the Adopt-a-River Mile program on both the Mississippi River and the Illinois River.

###