Students from Haskell Indian Nations University's Wetlands Preservation Organization are staging a protest today from 3 (now!) to 6 p.m. on 31st Street near the wetlands on the university's property.
Conservationists are upset because sometime late last week, Douglas County public works employees removed a beaver dam -- a "natural obstruction" -- causing water to drain from the northern end of the historic wetlands.
"It looks like a lot of animals panicked and crossed the street to get
to the water on the other side, and got run over," says Stephanie Farve, a senior and Environmental Studies major at Kansas University who takes classes at Haskell.
So far, Farve's organization has counted 98 dead animals on the road, mostly frogs, snakes, birds and turtles.
A number of fish are expected to die in the shallow pools left behind in
low-lying areas.
"It's a big deal, and it's bad-looking," Farve
says. "Anyone who drives by knows something looks wrong. The wetlands on
one side of the road are normal and untouched, and the other side is
dead and dying and starting to get brown. It's just not good, and if it
continues to dry out, it's going to get worse."
The Wetlands
Preservation Organization is checking to see if proper permits were
completed before the dam was removed, Farve says. If the county pulled
permits for the work, Farve says, someone at Haskell should have been
notified. (As far as Farve can tell, no one was.) "If they didn't have
permits, that's a whole other mess," Farve says.
Anyone
interested in helping the Wetlands Preservation Organization can get in
touch with Farve via e-mail safarve@ku.edu.
Home page image via Flickr: tylerajan
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I doubt study was an environmental impact study was carried out and if so did it take into account the trans migration factors associated with the water level variances, quick to sign off, slow to.respect ones duty, time for some to lose their job and a procedure overhal. Just my two sense. Arapaho Guy
how would they like it if we went to their homes and tore them down! it obviously doesn't matter that they're killing living beings! just because they aren't human doesn't mean they are any less important...but i guess if you're ignorant you wouldn't see it that way!
Oh My God! Who would do such a thing?! Good call Douglas County! Now we know how you really are.
Its a shame that if you got caught hunting for a dear without a permit you would go to jail but they can go destroy a whole ecosystem with out one and the city won't have any reperations to make.
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