Forest Monarch

Bearcat Hollow Cooperative Habitat Project

Volunteer Day Video Highlights – 2011 

President’s Letter:

January/February 2012

I have always been a volunteer and supporter for what I thought was a good cause and for my family. I was always there for my children when they were growing up. When they wanted to play sports I volunteered as a coach or as an assistant coach. It seems that there were never enough coaches or volunteers to help out so that all the kids could play, so I always tried to be there for them and the other children.

As life went on, and my two children grew up and moved off, I continued to volunteer in other areas. My current wife has three children who were almost adults when we married. I have always enjoyed hunting and fishing or just being outdoors doing things. I joined a deer club down in south Arkansas so I could have a good location to take my family and friends deer hunting and share that experience. Spending time with my kids is, and always will be, one of the most important things to me. Watching them grow up and teaching them to respect life, but also enjoying the success when they were successful hunting.

Today I enjoy watching them. It is more important than being successful. To me it is all about family and to be able to pass what I have learned down to them so they might have a better and more successful life, but to also respect all life and not waste.

I have been a volunteer in a lot of different programs over the years. This is my way of giving back to society and nature. I feel we all should give back more than we take, or at least try to.

So I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to my family for their support and for allowing me to do the things I do as a volunteer. I know it takes away from them as I give a lot of time to others and to the multitude of programs that I am working on or associated. I am very glad that my wife and my kids all support me and what I do. It means a lot to me. I could not do everything I do without their support, and most of the time they are there helping me and being a volunteer themselves.

So to my family: wife Karen; sons Ethan, Dustin, and Chris; daughters Gemma and Kyla, I want to say thank you for your support and your help. Together we make this a better world to live in. I ask you members and readers to take time to enjoy the outdoors with your family today, who knows what tomorrow holds for us.

Wayne Shewmake

Currently the U.S doesn’t regulate carbon emissions on the basis that it is not classified as a pollutant. Despite the number of developed nations who have signed on to the Kyoto protocol, the current administration is sticking to the argument that it will destroy the economy.  However, global warming potentially poses the greatest risk human health the world has ever seen. Right now there is legislation being drafted known as the Climate Stewardship Act. This act seeks to regulate carbon emissions through a system of cap and trade, where C02 emitters can buy carbon credits to meet regulations on carbon.  For more information about the climate stewardship act go here (link to PDF “summary and facts”). To view the top ten reasons to support the act go here (link to PDF “top 10”).

Arkansas Groups Involved in Global Warming

The following conservation organizations in Arkansas have been very active in our mutual commitment to reduce global warming. They are:

Ken Smith kensmith@audubon.org.
Executive Director
Audubon Arkansas
1423B South Main St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
501) 244-2229

Glenn Hooks glen.hooks@sierraclub.org
Associate Regional Representative
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501-301-8280)

Don Richardson  dsrenviro@gmail.com
Director
Arkansas Climate Awareness Project 501-592-1391

Robert McClarty robert@themarkhamgroup.net
Pew Environmental Group
The Markham Group
823 W Markham St # 202
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-324-6000

Rob Fisher fisher@ecoconservation.org
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO)
120 S. Cross St.
Little Rock, AR  72201

Bill Kopsky  bill@arpanel.org
Executive Director
Arkansas Public Policy Panel
1308 West 2nd Street

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
0- 501-376-7913    Fax 501-374-3935

Art Hobson ahobson@uark.edu
Physics Professor Emeritus of Physic
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-575-5918

Ethan Nahté  arkwf@sbcglobal.net
Executive Director
Arkansas Wildlife Federation
9108 Rodney Parham Road, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 24-9200

Recently a nation wide poll was taken to assess where sportsman stand on the issue of global warming. It was discovered that a majority of sportsman now believe that Global Warming is a cause for concern. To view some of the results of the Nationwide poll go here ; To view the results of the Arkansas specific portion of the poll go here. To see media coverage of this poll go here.

The following conservation organizations in Arkansas have been very active in our mutual commitment to reduce global warming. They are:

Ken Smith
Executive Director
Audubon Arkansas
1423B South Main St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 244-2229

Glenn Hooks
Associate Regional Representative
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 301-8280

Don Richardson
Director
Arkansas Climate Awareness Project
(501) 592-1391

Robert McClarty robert@themarkhamgroup.net
Pew Environmental Group
The Markham Group
823 W Markham St # 202
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 324-6000

Rob Fisher
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO)
120 S. Cross St.
Little Rock, AR  72201

Bill Kopsky 
Executive Director
Arkansas Public Policy Panel
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
(501) 376-7913; Fax (501) 374-3935

Art Hobson
Physics Professor Emeritus of Physic
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-5918

Ethan Nahte
Executive Director
Arkansas Wildlife Federation
9108 Rodney Parham Road, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 224-9200
(501) 224-2670

In addition there are many simple things individuals can do to lower energy consumption and slow the onset of global warming. This includes recycling, the use of public transportation, the use of renewable energy including solar and wind, buying locally, and turning out the lights to name a few.  For more information on alternative lifestyle options go here (link to PDF “individual solutions to GW).  Until CO2 emissions are regulated in this country an individual can take many steps to lower their own carbon footprint. If you are curious about how heavy your carbon footprint (CO2) measures up, you can check it at this page.

Furthermore solutions such as carbon sequestration which is the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and feeding it to soils, forests, oceans, and other natural cycles are becoming an option for the management of carbon in the atmosphere.  To learn more about carbon sequestration go here.

In the end lowering fossil fuel use will likely come from a combination of alternative technologies and practicing energy conservation and conscious consumption in our daily lives.

Legislation and Global Warming
Currently the U.S doesn’t regulate carbon emissions on the basis that it is not classified as a pollutant.  Despite the number of developed nations who have signed on to the Kyoto protocol, the current administration is sticking to the argument that it will destroy the economy.  However, global warming potentially poses the greatest risk human health the world has ever seen. Right now there is legislation being drafted known as the Climate Stewardship Act.  This act seeks to regulate carbon emissions through a system of cap and trade, where C02 emitters can buy carbon credits to meet regulations on carbon.  For more information about the climate stewardship act go here (link to PDF “summary and facts”).  To view the top ten reasons to support the act go here (link to PDF “top 10”).

Global warming has already been shown to have adverse effects on wildlife, including a migration to higher latitudes and a northward shift of home ranges An analysis of many scientific articles was compiled into a larger report  and a majority of the findings were shown to be consistent with global warming predictions for organisms. In addition, the Parmesan report which outlines current global warming impacts on community and ecosystem change can be viewed here. 

Global Warming, Arkansas Sportsman, and Game Species

Increasingly sportsman and hunters have become more and more aware about the effects of global warming on their particular game species.  In Arkansas 77% of hunters and anglers agree global warming is currently occurring, and 74% agree global warming is a threat to the state economy because it depends upon income from natural resources, such as the timber industry and hunting and fishing.

The website target global warming  deals with the relationship between global warming and hunters, and has the results of the national sportsman poll on global warming. Also a wealth of information on the potential effects of global warming on game and relevant fish species in Arkansas is addressed on this site.

Duck hunters interested in passing on their sporting traditions to their children and grandchildren should be aware of the potential negative effects that Global Warming can have on their favorite duck species. Also, anglers should be concerned with global warming, and the potential effects it poses to the survival of game species in the many generations to come.  Coldwater fish are particularly vulnerable because they don’t respond well to warming water.  For more information on global warming’s effect on cold water fish go here.

The heating of the globe will have catastrophic consequences for humans and the other species that inhabit this earth if nothing is done to change our fossil fuel consumption patterns. Some effects already seen today include, more intense storms (link to “hurricanes and GW PDF fact sheet”) because of warmer ocean waters, loss of substantial amounts of glacier and snow cover at the Polar Regions resulting in sea level rise, ecosystem change as a result of drought and climate changes, and alterations of life history events in organisms.  To read more about current impacts go to the EPA impact site.

Arkansas Impacts
The National Wildlife Federation has created an Arkansas Specific fact sheet that talks about many of the specific consequences wildlife and humans face, as a result of global warming. Solutions for Arkansans are addressed as well.