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Life on the Edgeby Lois B. Robbins Ecologists know that the most biologically fruitful areas are those edge-places where two distinct areas meet: Estuaries, where salty ocean water mixes with fresh inland water; forest edges, where songbirds tend to congregate; wetlands, too wet to be called land and too dry to be called lakes – these edge-lands are home to a stupendous variety of flora and fauna. Humans like edge-places too. But our presence there almost always degrades the very natural qualities we moved there for. We like to live close to wild areas, but not so close that wildness takes over. We like trees, but we really don’t want their branches tangling in our hair. We enjoy the serenity of nature, but we also want to be close to a supermarket, a gas station, a school, a bank, a cleaners, a hardware store, a library. We love seeing the deer, but we also love our lawns, our off-road vehicles, our power mowers, and our snowmobiles. The National Park Service now recognizes these problems, which they call Edge Effects. People bring in pets that prey on wild animals. We introduce invasive non-native perennials that create havoc when they migrate into nearby native plant communities that the wildlife depends upon. With the introduction of roofs, roads, and lawns, flooding and on adjacent protected land and stormwater pollution of waterways often increases. Are property lines sufficient to protect natural areas? Where should the boundary be, between human activity and wild, protected lands? Planners now realize that the edges around protected property and next to waterways are also important in protecting their biological integrity. Buffers next to creeks; wetlands next to lakes –these edge-lands have an important role to play, In addition to carrying an astonishing biodiversity. But rarely do local ordinances require private property owners to leave an unmowed buffer next to their creek, or keep a wetland that’s less than 5 Acres. The North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy (NOHLC) protects properties with high quality natural features. But we have no control over what happens next door to them. That responsibility lies in the hands of our local land-use planners, who may or may not be paying attention. We have no objection to development, and in fact, we often work with developers, to help them design site-plans that will have minimal impact on the land they occupy. We encourage development that takes these critical edge-places into account, so that the adjacent lands we protect can remain in their high-quality natural state. When urban development boundaries are considered, these fruitful edge-lands, buffers by waterways and around existing protected property should be considered as well.
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