THE ECO T ONE Spring 2008 The Journal of Environmental Studies University of Oregon URBAN e c o l o g y THE ECO T ONE The Journal of Environmental Studies The Ecotone is published by the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Oregon. If you have questions or comments, or if you would like to be placed on the mail- ing list, please contact: THE ECO T ONE Environmental Studies Program 5223 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 [email protected] EDITORS Shannon Tyman, Editor-in-Chief Cody Evers & Rob Hoshaw, Managing Editors Jill Jakimetz, Deputy Managing Editor ~ ~ ~ Design by Cody Evers Cover Art by Jill Jakimetz 2 THE ECO T ONE INSIDE THIS ISSUE EDI T OR ’S NO T E 3 SHANNON TYMAN THE WES T EUGENE WE T LAN DS 6 MA tt PE T ERSON THE SOUND OF HO P E 12 SARAH JAQUE tt E GOVERNMEN T ’S AT MOS P HERIC TRUS T 13 MARY WOO D RENE W ING RELA T IONSHI P S T O T HE LAND 17 ROB HOSHA W THE ECO T ONE STUDENT VOICE S The Journal of Environmental Studies PREDA T OR CONSERVA T IO N 20 ST ACY VYNNE AN T ICI PAT ING HARDSHI P 21 WEN LEE HUMMINGBIRDS 23 ALI ABBORS BA T H T UB IN T HE BUSHES 25 SHANNON TYMAN A NA T URAL DIS T URBANCE 26 CODY EVERS THE EDIBLE CI T Y 28 JILL JAKIME T Z OUR COMMUNITY RELA P SE 33 GAYLA WARD W ELL UO FOOD POLICY 34 ST ACY VYNNE THE WHI T E ST AG BLOC K 35 DIANA FISCHE tt I GRADUA T ING ST UDEN T PRO J EC T S & THESES 37 THE ENVIRONMEN T AL LEADERSHI P PROGRA M 39 KA T IE LYNCH COMMUNI T Y UP DA T ES 44 DONORS LIS T 47 SP RING 2008 3 EDI T OR ’S NO T E Selected Syllabi: An Interdisciplinary Approach he theme of the 2008 Ecotone is Urban Ecology. The editorial team chose this topic to reflect cur- Trent trends in environmental studies and ecological thought. Amidst the insecurities surrounding global climate collapse, it has become increasingly inappropriate to assume either a conquer and pillage mentality or to worship ‘pristine wilderness.’ The dialogue has thus shifted from ‘saving the whales’ to articulating a cogent and non-destructive human-nature relationship. Including the city in ecological conversations is to invite politics, cultural difference, legal issues, aesthetic interests, and, of course, concrete. Urban Ecology does not have a single clear definition or its own discipline. Rather, it is us- ing an ecological lens to understand human institutions and using a human lens to understand ecology. This issue of The Ecotone is meant to explore the different manifestations of the term: urban ecology. To begin the conversation, we have included a few shortened syllabi from classes taught at the Uni- versity of Oregon that touch upon the topic at hand. The first is from the English Department and highlights the simultaneous development of self and landscape. The second, from an Environmental Studies graduate student, focuses on politics of difference and the correlations with the local ecol- ogy of waste. Finally, a syllabus from a course taught in Planning, Public Policy, and Management foreshadows an article later in the journal about the West Eugene Wetlands and hints at the politics of urban ecology and complexities of land use policies. These syllabi offer a sense of the diversity with which this topic is approached and its importance to the further maturation of ecological ideas. This edition of The Ecotone hosts Urban/Social Ecologies in a wide array of work from students, Contemporary Literature faculty, and staff at the University (English) of Oregon who are involved with * the Environmental Studies Pro- PROFESSOR ELIZABETH WHEELER, ENGLISH gram. Poetry, short stories, opin- ion pieces, and art works reflect the COURS E DE S C RIPTION : diversity of the Program. The “Our While ecocriticism often focuses on wilderness, this course focuses on cities and on the Community” section includes infor- relationships among nature, culture, and the built environment. Drawing on ethnic stud- mation on specific student work and ies, postcolonial theory, and disability studies, the course asks: what kind of landscape projects led by students and faculty. description assumes what kinds of bodies in the landscape? ~ Shannon Tyman READINGS : Neely, Barbara. Blanche Cleans Up; Lethem, Jonathon. Motherless Brook- lyn; Chamoiseau, Patrick. Texaco; Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. ADDI T IONAL AR T ICLES : Michael Bennett, “From Wide Open Spaces to Metropolitan Places” & “Manufacturing the Ghetto” Lawrence Buell, “Flaneur’s Progress: Reinhabiting the City” Mike Davis, “The Case for Letting Malibu Burn” Andrew Light, “Boyz in the Woods: Urban Wilderness” Giovanna Di Chiro, “Sustaining the ‘Urban Forest’” George B. Handley, “A Postcolonial Sense of Place” 4 THE ECO T ONE Conservation Planning (Planning, Public Policy and Management) * NEIL BJORKLAND, CITY OF EUGENE ENVIRONMENtaL PLANNER COURS E DE S C RIPTION : The primary goal of this class is to identify, understand, and critique the key element of plan- ning for habitat conservation in the real world context of charged politics, constricting proce- dural requirements, limited funding, and rapid growth development. This course emphasizes critical thinking, evaluation, and analysis skills that can be applied in any habitat conserva- tion planning context, at various scales. Case studies and in-the-trenches experiences will serve as a jumping off point for group inquiry into understanding strategies, processes, goals, and outcomes. The case studies will be reviewed against various planning frameworks to help us understand the role and importance of key planning steps and processes. We will focus on ways to think about conservation planning as we explore this discipline from the viewpoint of the planning project manager, including political, social, economic, ecological, and fiscal elements. READINGS : Environmental Justice Dramstad, Wenche; Forman, Richard; (Environmental Studies) and Olson, James. Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and * JANET FISKIO, PHD CANdidate Land Use Planning. ENVIRONMENtaL STUDIES, FOCAL departmeNT ENGLISH Environmental Law Institute. Lasting Landscapes: Reflections on the Role of COURS E DE S C RIPTION : Conservation Science in Land Use Plan- ning. The environmental justice (EJ) movement is a coalition of grassroots civil rights, en- Groves, Craig. Drafting a Conservation vironmental, and labor organizations, community activists, and academics. Grow- Blueprint. ing out of civil rights activism and analysis, EJ critiques the institutionalized oppression Lane Council of Governments. West that places disproportionate risks on people of color and other vulnerable populations Eugene Wetlands Case Study & Wetland through exposure to toxic living and work environments. In contrast to mainstream en- Executive Team, Partnership Agreement vironmentalism’s focus on wilderness, the EJ movement defines the environment as The Nature Conservancy. Conservation the place where individuals and communities live, work, play, learn, and worship. Action Planning: Developing Strategies, This course will provide an introduction to the history, literature, and contemporary work of Taking Action, and Measuring Success at the EJ movement, with a particular focus on the local knowledge that people gain from living in Any Scale (Overview of Basic Practices). situations of environmental injustice, how this knowledge is learned, and how it is articulated. READINGS : Bullard, Robert. Dumping in Dixie; Castillo, Ana. So Far From God; Giardina, Denise. Storm- ing Heaven. ADDI T IONAL AR T ICLES : First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, “Principles of Environ- mental Justice” Wenz, “Just Garbage” LaDuke, “Nuclear Waste: Dumping on Indians” Film: Blue Vinyl SP RING 2008 5 THE WES T EUGENE WE T LANDS Federal Regulations, Local Implementation Matt PETERSON raveling west out of downtown Eugene on West 11th Avenue, a keen observer will notice ing and gathering, the Kalapuya burned the Tan unusual landscape for Oregon. Instead of closely packed development driven by prairies of the Willamette Valley every year. the limitations of the state-mandated urban growth boundary that is typical of most Oregon While little is known about Kalapuya burn- cities, an observer will notice development interspersed with open fields, meadows and ri- ing strategies, it is postulated that the burn- parian areas surrounding Amazon Creek. Crossing Bailey Hill Road, this observer will ing helped with hunting deer, gathering tar- notice a few fast food restaurants on the north side of the road, yet open space to the south. weed, collecting grasshoppers, nut gathering In a few more blocks, the observer will notice the opposite: development to the south and (acorn and hazel), and supporting the growth an even larger open space to the north; in this open space, one may even see a group of of camas, berries and other successional students peering into the grasslands at something more interesting than the traffic flowing plants.1 The yearly burning tended to occur in late summer and early fall, and there are by. Continuing west, an observer will notice that drove Eugene’s reaction to the “discov- excerpts from the journals of early European the Super Wal-Mart to the south and Target ery” of these wetlands in 1987. It was the explorers of the Willamette Valley saying the to the north competing for your money with citizen’s expectation of public involvement burning was so extensive it was often diffi- cheap, plastic stuff from China, yet behind and their environmental ethic that propelled cult to find forage for their horses: “Pasture Target as far as she can see are open fields— city officials to implement the wetlands is rarely found in the course of this day none not used for agriculture but filled with wa- regulations in an original and creative way. has been seen, altho’ we traveled good twen- ter and hundreds of waterfowl in the winter.