Save the environment and pick up after your pet

BY TRISH STACHELSKI

The hardest thing about getting down the steep trail to the gorge is
navigating through the dog waste that has piled up under the snow all
winter. I suppose the pet owners figured the rain would take care of it once
spring arrived.  When I lived in Bolivia people used the river as a garbage
dump.  House servants emptied the trash barrels directly into the river
outside the walled homes of the rich. Under the bridge was the favored
bathroom spot for commuters going to work in the morning.  All this added to
the high infant mortality rate in Bolivia because it caused unsafe drinking
water.  For poor families who lived on the river and made their living
salvaging, their children were more at risk of contacting fatal dysentery.

In the Twin Cities, we rely on the snow and rain to wash away the dirt and
grime of the streets. This includes chemical pollution from homeowners'
lawns and runoff from oily streets and sidewalks, pet waste and garbage.
As the March rain washes away the snow, it also lures fish to the surface of
the river. 

A nesting pair of eagles lives in the river gorge.  They fly
over the open water and then away up over the bridge. The "click, click" and
bobbing heads of annoying crows alert me to the feeding location of an
immature eagle in a cottonwood, a rabbit carcass slung over the branch.  I
recall grandparent stories of shooting eagles and holding their wings out
arm to arm to measure the span. The hugeness can be appreciated when you
consider the size is comparable to a grown man.

In North American mythology, it is believed that the eagle is the
thunderbird and has the god-like ability to administer rewards and
punishments.  In Greek mythology, Zeus turns into an eagle, and has the
power to control thunder and lightening. The Celts and other pre-industrial
societies watched wildlife to read and interpret their behaviors. 

The movement of eagles into large urban areas suggests their tolerance for human activities, and bird survival has historically been used as a barometer for
human survival.  As wild woods and fields are cleared and developed for
human homes and shopping malls, there is more pressure on other species for
survival in smaller areas of wild land, and that often means back yards and
parks become habitat. How well they survive is an indication of the health
of the environment and the health of all species.