Its been a busy July and August for Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) bylaw enforcement officers. In six weeks, they have issued nearly $30,000 in fines with an additional $7,000 worth pending issuance this week.

Its been a busy July and August for Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) bylaw enforcement officers. In six weeks, they have issued nearly $30,000 in fines with an additional $7,000 worth pending issuance this week. That amount compares to $850issued during the same period last year, according to communications manager Aidan Buckley.

An Aug. 16 SCRD press release detailed that $28,000 in fines were issued for offences including unauthorized land alteration and tree cutting. Fines worth $1,000 were issued in relation to short term rentals and $250 in penalties were written up for building infractions. Fines for bylaw offences were issued in every rural SCRD area.

During the summer of 2021, Buckley said the fines issued were not related to land development but foranimal control, fire protection and a building violations.

In the release, general manager of planning and development Ian Hall stated The SCRD always strives first for voluntary compliance, so this amount is quite staggering as our current Board policy is to use fines as a last resortsuch is the lack of compliance that we are issuing tickets daily in one of our bylaw investigations.

The message from the SCRD: call before you dig, clear, build or demolish.

It stresses that its planning, bylaw and building departments are available to answer questions and can advise individuals on permits and applications that are required for work they are planning to do. Contractors carrying out work such as tree cutting or land clearing are also subject to enforcement actions and it is their responsibility to ensure that the property owner has the correct permits in place.

The SCRD points out that there is also the potential for other agencies such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources to issue fines relating to improper or unpermitted land development activities. It advises that particular attention should be paid to properties that have creeks, wetlands or streams on them, including watercourses that may appear and disappear seasonally.

On top of investigations on bylaw violation files that have progressed to the fine stage, the release states that SCRD staff are also dealing with a high volume of bylaw nuisance reports from the public, which include odour, burning and noise complaints.

In addition to being complex in nature from a local government legislation standpoint, many of those files also involve other agencies such as the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Vancouver Coastal Health, Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources, the Agricultural Land Commission and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

We understand there are concerns around issues such as unauthorized land clearing and noise. We share your concern and ask the community to please be patient while our hardworking bylaw officers investigate, says a quote in the release from Hall. We are limited to the amount of information we can share with the community because we do not want to compromise our investigations, but please know that our bylaw enforcement officers are actively investigating and issuing fines.

Those complexities also impact the amount of information that can be shared with Coast Reporter.Details requested on subjects including the stop work order at the Gunnars Lodge property in Doriston and a roadside encampment along Garden Bay Road near the Meadow Creek bridge remain outstanding.

When we have enforcement going on, it is quite hard for us to speak to individual files until they are concluded, Buckley stated.

Originally posted here:
SCRD issuing bylaw infraction tickets daily - Coast Reporter

Many farmers have experienced hardship in the recent past, thanks largely to the combined effects of Brexit and the Covid-19. Little wonder then that many are looking to use their land in different ways to boost dwindling profits.

There are several ways you can diversify to make more efficient use of your agricultural land, but as Philip Taylor, agricultural law specialist at Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton explains, before you embark on a diversification project you need to ensure your ambitions will not be thwarted by a restriction on change of use.

Agricultural ties

If you are considering selling a house on your land that has an agricultural tie (or an agricultural occupancy condition), it may make the property harder to sell.

Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, such ties usually require that the occupation of the property is limited to a person solely or mainly employed, or last employed, in the locality in agricultureor in forestry (including any dependents of such a person residing with him) or a widow or widower of such a person.

You can comply with the tie if your prospective buyer has previously worked in agriculture or was wed to someone who was. If this does not apply, you can get the tie lifted by your local council if you can show that no-one using the property has been working in agriculture for the past 10 years.

Failing that, you can get the tie lifted if you can prove there is no longer any requirement for agricultural work on the premises and that there have been no would-be buyers over a specific time period agreed with the council.

Finally, you can ask the council to accept another use to fulfil the tie, such as changing it from agricultural to equestrian use.

Cross-compliance and environmental impact assessments

If you claim for grants such as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or a stewardship scheme you need to abide by cross-compliance rules.

Cross-compliance requires you to take steps to safeguard public, animal and plant health, promote biodiversity, protect boundaries, minimize the risk of pollution to water, soil and land, ensure animals are properly registered and that production of food for human consumption is safe.

You may also need to apply for an environmental impact assessment screening or consent decision, as part of cross-compliance, to change rural land use.

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 are designed to protect uncultivated or semi-natural rural land from changes that might cause damage by increasing productivity or changing field boundaries.

You must apply to Natural England for a screening decision if you propose to affect uncultivated or semi-natural land by disrupting the soil surface or subsoil; increasing the use of fertiliser; sowing seed that will increase grassland productivity; draining land; clearing existing vegetation over a certain land size; or increasing stock density.

Natural Englands screening decision will determine whether your proposal is likely to have a significant effect on the environment. You will need a consent decision, to carry out works if this is the case.

Permitted development

You will often need planning permission if you want to change how you use your agricultural land, but some building projects enjoy permitted development rights which allow change of use to be made more quickly and easily.

If your farm is five hectares or more in size, you can erect, extend or alter a building or carry out excavations and engineering operations needed for agricultural purposes without obtaining planning permission.

The types of permitted development include: temporary uses of land; agricultural buildings below a certain size; forestry buildings; caravan sites and related buildings in some circumstances.

If then, you want to change the use of an agricultural building to residential or commercial use, you can do so without planning permission as long as certain conditions are met and limitations abided by. Any such development will usually require you to apply for prior approval from your planning authority.

Planning permission and protected species

The presence of protected species, such as adders, badgers, Great Crested Newts, bats, otters or common lizards, on your land could affect your planning application for change of use or development of your land.

If there is evidence or a reasonable likelihood of a protected species or priority habitat on the site you want to develop, you need to submit an ecological assessment with your planning application.

If they are present, planning permission is only likely to be granted if any detrimental effects on them can be avoided, mitigated or compensated for.

For more information on agricultural land restrictions, please contact Philip Taylor on Malton 01653 692247 email philip.taylor@pearslaw.co.uk to see how we can assist.

See the original post:
Don't let your diversification ambitions be thwarted by an agricultural land restriction - Gazette & Herald

But the Canal and River Trust has said that while it understands concerns about the eyesore it does not have the resources to remove the weeds.

Spokesman Zoe Stringer said in a letter to group members: I share and understand your frustration at seeing litter along the waterways, especially collected within or behind the weir boom.

"It is an eyesore. Sadly, this issue is not isolated to the boom above Sprotborough Falls and despite the Trust spending 1million every year on litter removal, we are simply unable to clear every site when problems arise.

"The Trust is a charity with 2,000 miles of waterway and thousands of structures such as locks, bridges and weirs. We must carefully allocate budget as we simply do not have enough funding to resolve every issue as quickly as we, and others, would like to see.

Clearing weir booms is costly due to several factors.

"Access is an issue, requiring specialist contractors.

"Waste disposal is another one, with the debris being a mix of vegetation and plastic waste which needs to be separated before disposal.

"When waste is scooped out it is inevitably wet, which poses an issue of increased weight compared with clearing litter and vegetation on land.

" I appreciate that you have approached the Trust expecting immediate action, however this is simply not possible with our limited budget. With the challenges that we face, it is unfortunately not a simple task, and so would not be possible without external funding.

We are sadly unable to collect litter from every bankside and location along the waterways; in some places it cannot be collected safely, or would incur great expense bringing in specialist contractors. Clearing litter is only a temporary measure. Our preferred approach is to work to tackle the issue at source, to work with other organisations raising awareness of plastic waste and the need to keep litter out of the environment.

"There is no concern that this debris is significantly affecting water flow. I appreciate this is not the answer you were looking for but hope you can understand our position.

Lynne Walker, the groups secretary, said: We are increasingly concerned about the unsightly mess and pollution on the River Don, where the water flows towards the boom, just prior to the weir, known locally as Sprotbrough Falls.

"Over time, debris has gathered in front of the boom and it has continued to gather, so much so, that we now have a land mass of weeds and pollution plastic bottles, wood and logs.

This land mass of weeds, plastic bottles and other debris is a completely disgusting mess, in an area known for its natural, outstanding beauty. I very much doubt that if this location was in Surrey or Berkshire, the Cotswolds - Bath or any other desirable place in the country, it would have been allowed to have become this unsightly mess before the Canal and River authorities would have acted!

The Don Gorge Community Group has concerns that the weeds, debris and pollution piled up in front of the boom will not only hinder the natural flow of the river but, that the debris will only continue to gather unless some action is taken to remove it.

Its unsightly its disgusting and we do not want to see this mess on the river in an area known for its outstanding beauty. Its not acceptable that this is allowed to continue without the Canal & River Trust taking some steps to clear it.

She added: I wonder just how much of a mess it needs to get into before they will take any action?

See the rest here:
Dangerous 'fake' land on Doncaster river won't be cleared due to cost issues - Doncaster Free Press

L

ondon firefighters who have spent weeks tackling grass fires - followed by hundreds of calls to flash flooding on Wednesday - are urging vigilance with more dry weather on the way.

The incredibly busy time has led London Fire Brigades (LFB) assistant commissioner to issue an appeal, urging people to take care with barbecues and cigarettes.

Firefighters saw a huge spike in call-outs after prolonged dry weather led to drought and tinder-dry conditions.

In the first week of August alone, London crews tackled 340 grass and open land fires - more than eight times as many as the same week last year.

In July, on the UKs hottest day on record, LFB saw its busiest 24 hours since the Second World War.

But heavy rain this week didnt improve things for the busy service.

Two women dip their heads into the fountain to cool off in Trafalgar Square

Getty Images

A police officer givers water to a British soldier wearing a traditional bearskin hat, on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace

AP

People take pictures of the sunset from Greenwich Park view point

REUTERS

Empty shelves in the water aisle of Sainsbury Nine Elms in London

PA

A man cools off in a fountain during the hot weather in London

REUTERS

People sit and lie in the sun and shade backdropped by Tower Bridge

AP

Children cool off in the Southbank Centre fountain

Reuters

A man uses a newspaper as a fan whilst travelling on the Bakerloo line

PA

Two people under an umbrella in Londons Regents Park

PA

Sunrise over London

Jeremy Selwyn

Swimmers soak up the sun at Charlton Lido in south east London

PA

A sign warning passengers of traveling in the heat on the Bakerloo line

PA

A police officer poring water water on a police horse on Whitehall i

PA

Western lowland gorilla enjoys an ice lolly at London Zoo

A person holds a thermometer at Oxford Circus station of the London underground

PA

Commuters on London Bridge feel the heat at 8.30am

Jeremy Selwyn

A young family of Tufted ducks run past a soldier from the Queens Guard on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace during warm weather

PA

Commuters in London

Jeremy Selwyn

LFB typically takes about 450 calls a day but, on Wednesday, as thunderstorms hit London causing flash flooding, it received 1,290 calls - 40 per cent of which were related to floods.

The intense period of call-outs has sparked a plea from LFB Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne, who said: Its been an incredibly busy time for firefighters and control officers who have been working around the clock with our partners to keep Londoners safe, whether that be from the intense grass fires weve seen or flooding.

When the ground is incredibly dry its harder for water to be absorbed, which is why weve seen flash flooding as the water pools on the surface, but it also means that grasslands are still parched.

In the coming days were expecting more dry weather, so please continue to help us prevent grass fires by not barbecuing on open land, clearing away rubbish and glass and safely disposing of cigarettes.

Read more here:
From fire to floods to fire: London Fire Brigade warning as more dry weather due - Evening Standard

FDR Park will add a 33-acre wetland area to address regular flooding and pursue a path to a climate-resilient future.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, along with the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia International Airport, announced the beginning of construction on Aug. 18, which will create a native forested wetland in the southwest corner of the 348-acre park. Officials say the $30 million project will reclaim high-quality habitat in the park and reintroduce native ecosystems to the land for the first time since the park was completed in 1914.

FDR Park is a home to so many rich Philadelphia communities, from birders and hikers, to youth athletes, cultural institutions and naturalists, said Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell. The wetland project and Nature Phase of the Park Plan will deliver for those who love FDR Park today, while building a sustainable, resilient foundation that will allow future generations of South Philadelphia families to enjoy FDR Park for years to come.

The new wetland area will occupy an area that was previously inaccessible to the public. A coastal forested wetland is native to the FDR Park site. It was once the primary landscape along the Delaware River watershed in South and Southwest Philadelphia.

Returning part of FDR Park to wetland is an important step toward creating and maintaining a world-class public park that is built on the Delaware River watershed, said Maura McCarthy, executive director, Fairmount Park Conservancy. The wetland and creek project will make FDR Park a paradise for birds and local birdwatchers, and open up a section of the park that has been inaccessible for decades.

The project will take about 12-18 months. It will rebuild and enhance the riverbank areas adjacent to Shedbrook Creek, reduce flooding, and provide new opportunities to explore both creek and marshland in the park. The wetland will expand habitat for native flora and fauna and will include boardwalks for public access to view the scenic nature.

According to officials, the area will be cleared of current growth to remove invasive species. Then, 7,000 new adapted trees and 1,700 bushes and woody shrubs will be planted. Two new tide gates will be installed to prevent tidal flow to the parks creeks and lagoons. Excavated soil will be preserved on 10.6 acres of the former golf course for future use in elevating the park above sea level. The soil will be planted with natural grasses and wildflowers.

A lot of work has already gone on behind the scenes to get this project to the groundbreaking stage, said Philadelphia International Airport Division of Aviation Interim CEO Keith Brune. We are excited for the work at FDR Park to be underway. When completed, this project will improve the park for the entire community, by removing years of debris, planting thousands of trees and shrubs, improving drainage and clearing clogged pipes.

The wetland creation is the first of 12 projects for the $45 million Nature Phase of FDR Park. Other upcoming projects include the restoration of Shedbrook Creek stream and riparian buffers, 23 acres of Sedge Meadow with boardwalks and overlooks, a kayak and canoe launch, Wildflower Hill, Nature Playground, Two Treehouse Woods projects including a high-quality forest and canopy structure for explorations, 5 miles of soft surface trail network with signage, a plant nursery and land care facility, a trailhead comfort station and meadow and forest restoration.

Go here to see the original:
Wetland area coming to FDR Park - South Philly Review

In the same way as climate-related performance is material to share price and asset valuations, that is exactly what is going to happen in the nature space, said Will Symons, the Asia-Pacific climate and sustainability leader at Deloitte, which last week issued a report titled Banking on Natural Capital.

The report will help financial institutions focus on quantifying the value of nature, both the hidden risks associated with nature loss and opportunities associated with its replenishment.

The World Economic Forum has estimated more than half of the worlds economic output, or $US44 trillion ($61.7 trillion), is moderately or highly dependent on nature. It is an issue melding into Australias consciousness given bushfires, floods and the degradation of coral reefs.

TNFD obligations will push banks towards being nature positive, requiring them to invest more into nature to offset the impact on biodiversity loss or land clearance from activities within their lending portfolios; the nature equivalent of scope 3 in the emissions space.

This is coming fast. Many organisations will have to start disclosing in a year and many organisations are really early wrapping heads around this, Mr Symons said.

Deloittes Banking on Natural Capital report points out that the destruction of natural ecosystems is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and that nature plays an essential role in combatting climate change. It also shows that climate change and nature loss are linked and should be tackled concurrently.

We are moving from a state of understanding climate credit risk to actually doing something about it, and for many organisations, some decarbonising will be through nature-based solutions, which can provide a most cost-effective way of taking action now, Mr Symons said.

As well as de-risking existing investments and assets, the TNFD will also help banks create new green lending products and activate new markets, including a push towards trade credits attached to nature.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in its inaugural climate report issued last week, cited natural capital as a core focus area for next year.

There is increased interest from customers, regulators, government and investors on the banks approach to climate change, biodiversity and natural capital, the report said.

CBA joined the TNFD this year and said it had designed a high-level road map to guide our approach to natural capital.

In the coming year we aim to set our priorities related to natural capital and explore metrics to measure our progress, the bank said.

For banks, a key challenge is working out where loaned funds are being spent. This will be necessary to determine if customer activity is happening in areas where biodiversity may be impacted. However, many banks dont record the geolocation of lending activity.

Another issue is understanding the precise nature of the activity being conducted with money lent, which may require banks to ask more questions about the purpose of loans. For example, borrowing to buy tree felling machinery could point to land clearing, which may support an agricultural industry but be nature negative from a deforestation perspective.

Deloitte says banks need to begin mapping, measuring and monitoring risks, impacts and dependencies of lending with established risk assessment and disclosure frameworks. It suggests conducting nature-related stress tests of current and projected balance sheets, and integrating biodiversity into sustainable finance policies.

Opportunities will emerge in trading credit attached to protecting and improving the natural environment. Many of these markets, such as those for biodiversity credits in NSW, are fragmented. But Deloitte predicts a coherent, regional market will emerge based around natural capital assets. These could include co-benefits attached to carbon credits.

It suggests banks and other financial institutions collaborate on creating a nature-based equity exchange.

We are inviting the financial services industry to take a role designing and driving that marketplace, The scale of opportunity, and potentially the wave of risk for the sector, is too great to be handled on an institution-by-institution basis, said Guy Williams, Deloittes Asia-Pacific and global nature lead.

Deloitte acknowledges governments play a key role in catalysing and scaling private sector investment in natural capital. But pressure to adopt TNFD will not only come from consultants and regulators, but also financial sector investors.

Deloitte quotes Jessica McDougall, the director of BlackRock Investment Stewardship, in its report, who said careful management of natural capital would become a core component of a resilient, long-term corporate strategy for companies that rely on the benefits that nature provides.

She said investors were increasingly interested in contributing capital to companies that not only mitigate nature-related risks, but consider natural capital opportunities aligned with their strategy.

Mr Williams said recent conversations with European sovereign wealth funds suggest TNFD disclosure is going to move quickly.

Read more here:
Big banks CBA, NAB, Westpac, ANZ and Macquarie in push to disclose the impact of lending on nature - The Australian Financial Review

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 4:10PM

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Coast Guard and Texas General Land Office (GLO) are responding to a pollution incident in Tabbs Bay near Baytown.

The Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston received a report at 10:30 a.m. Monday of oil spilling from a flow line in Tabbs Bay. Pollution responders were sent to the site, where they estimated up to 420 gallons of crude oil entered the water.

More than 2,000 feet of hard boom and sorbent boom were placed around the affected areas to help contain and recover oil product.

Officials say they haven't found any impacted wildlife at this time. They add that the cause of the pollution has been identified and the source is secure.

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story you think we should cover? Send it to ABC13 using the form below. If you have a video or photo to send, terms of use apply. If you don't, just hit 'skip upload' and send the details.

Original post:
Coast Guard helping to clean up oil spill in Tabbs Bay near Baytown - KTRK-TV

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. The 26th annual Tahoe Summit brought together local government, public agencies, activism groups and local residents to discuss the progress and challenges that are happening in the Lake Tahoe Basin and the surrounding forests.

The event was hosted Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Sand Harbor by Nevada Sen.Jackie Rosen. The event was put together by a multitude of agencies and featured booths throughout the Sand Harbor parking lot with representatives ready to share their knowledge and promote their organizations, providing informational handouts and freebies aimed at reducing waste in the basin.

I just want to take a moment to thank the many organizations, agencies, and advocates who work tirelessly to make sure that Lake Tahoe remains the beautiful and spectacular place that it is, Rosen said.

The event was started with an address from Rosen, followed by an invocation from Washoe Tribal Elder Dina Pete and a welcome from Washoe Chairman Smokey.

I want to acknowledge Tahoes first community, Rosen said. Those who have been protecting and preserving and honoring the beauty of this area longer than anyone else; the Washoe Tribe. Theyve been the stewards of Tahoes land and water for thousands of generations and the Washoe Tribe has been invaluable partners in our efforts to protect and preserve this national treasure, our national treasure.

Throughout the event, representatives that were in attendance included White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, representatives from the forest service, and elected officials from both California and Nevada, including Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, California Sen. Alex Padilla and US representatives Mark Amodei and Tom McClintock.

This years summit theme was Protecting Lake Tahoes Future and much of the remarks made by public officials revolved around the effects of climate change and lack of adequate forest management in the basin.

Climate change is an existential threat not only for Tahoe, but for all of our communities, Padilla said. That is why I am proud of the work being done by the Tahoe Conservation Coalition, which has set the standard for interstate environmental improvement and drawn hundreds of millions of dollars to the region. Whether it be through the appropriations process or with the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we are renewing Americas commitment to protecting our planet and its special ecological places, like the Lake Tahoe basin, for our children and future generations.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden during the summit in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, was mentioned by multiple speakers throughout the event, given its massive impacts it should have on climate change not only in the basin, but the entire country.

Climate change is impacting the Tahoe Basin, and we need to take action to protect these treasures for our residents, our future generations, our tourists, and our economy, Sisolak said. We need to take action now; not in 10 years, not in five years, but today. Nevada remains committed to protecting the long term sustainable health of Lake Tahoe and counties to deliver strong results.

Sisolak praised Nevada workers and officials for their extensive work to clean up the forests for fire prevention, along with focusing on the quality and clarity of the lake water and creating healthy and resilient forests with sustainable recreation.

The work is more critical now and more important than ever as the impacts of climate change continue, said Sisolak. Were excited to see the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Biden will sign in just a few minutes.

While many of the public officials attribute much of the environmental issues, including increased amount of fires and low air quality due to smoke to climate change, others like U.S. Representative Tom McClintock believes that lack of proper forest management and properly allocated funds to forest management projects is what creates fire danger in the basin.

The climate didnt change, the laws changed, McClintock said. So whatever else we do, we have to protect Tahoes forests if were going to protect Tahoe. Fifty years of experience with these laws should warn us that theyve not only failed to improve the forest environment; theyve drastically harmed it. The modifications that we were able to make in those laws have made a real difference here in the Tahoe basin among other things.

The firefighters who have served in the Tahoe Basin, many during the Caldor Fire in 2021, were honored during the event for their efforts to protect the national forest land and prevent future fires multiple times by speakers, and were given a copy of remarks made by McClintock to thank them and honor them in the House of Representatives.

The event was attended by local agencies from all around the Tahoe/Reno area, including The Tahoe Fund, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Sierra Nevada Alliance and their volunteers, and members of the new University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe campus including UNR President Brian Sandavol.

Sierra Nevada Alliance Executive Director Jenny Hatch and her team were excited to attend the event and spread awareness on ways to promote conservation in Lake Tahoe.

The Summit is a really great gathering place to reconvene every year, said Hatch.

The SNA team brought Lake Tahoe Ambassador Program participants to the event, where they helped as needed, along with AmeriCorp members that helped run the event.

Its great to have conservation with conservation leaders from both states, federal agencies, and the nonprofit community, and just remember what were all working for, Hatch said.

To watch the full Lake Tahoe Summit, visit tahoefund.org/2022-lake-tahoe-summit.

Go here to read the rest:
Tahoe Summit explores highs, lows of progress on the lake - Tahoe Daily Tribune

Members of the Gannett Glacier Fire Crew takes notes during a fire training scenario near Palmer on Thursday, April 29, 2018. (Casey Grove/Alaska Public Media)

Alaskas wildland firefighters have been completing annual training and now with help from a state grant strategically cutting and removing trees, many of them standing, dry and dead, killed by spruce beetles.

That hazardous fuels reduction comes as long-term forecasts signal a normal fire season ahead, with about a million acres expected to burn total somewhere between the sizes of Rhode Island and Delaware.

Norm McDonald, the state Division of Forestrys Chief of Fire and Aviation, said the prep work cutting fire breaks is helpful and likely to save money in the long run.

But McDonald said all it would take to go from an average fire season to a huge one is some hot, dry weather and a lightning strike, or the careless burning of some brush or a campfire.

Listen here:

[Sign up for Alaska Public Medias daily newsletter to get our top stories delivered to your inbox.]

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Norm McDonald: If you look historically at our most devastating fires, they are in the urban interface, and they have been human caused. So these are all fires and, in theory, should be preventable. So I think just the awareness that anytime you do an activity that includes either burning or open flame in the wildland setting, just use extreme caution, especially this time of year, May, as we have that dry grass and these windy conditions. It does not take much of a start for a fire to get out of control, past where a homeowner can suppress it on their own. And those are our most expensive fires. Those take the most resources, the most firefighters and aircraft. So we really ask people to use extreme caution, whether thats their typical Alaskan, you know, outdoor activities like camping and hunting, or when youre doing your land clearing, look at other options. Instead of burning in May and June when its dry and windy, save that burning for fall when we get our wetter conditions or that first snow in October. That is something that we really try to encourage people to do.

Casey Grove: Gotcha, yeah. Nobody wants something getting away from them like that and causing damage to their neighborhood or anybody else.

NM: No, and people are always surprised at how quickly they have a burn barrel or a small fire or a barbecue in the grass how quickly a fire starts to something that they cant control with what they have on site. And then the fire department shows up and the helicopter show up, and its just every person that we go through with that always says the same thing, I had no idea how quickly that fire could spread. And so just something to be aware of, for anybody doing that type of activity this summer.

CG: Theres a lot there that you cant really control, like the weather or where lightning strikes, and things like that. And you can get the word out about how residents should be behaving to be fire safe. But I guess there are a few things that you can do ahead of time to prepare. And one of those things is what you call hazardous fuels reduction, right? And I guess thats a big push this year, it sounds like.

NM: Yeah, and its nothing new to the division. Weve been doing fuel brakes and the hazardous fuels reduction, you know, going back to the mid 90s. And that really started with the first beetle epidemic we had going back to 95, 96, that timeframe. And so its something weve used and have had success with. Whats changed this year is we have, for the first time, last year we received state dollars. Weve relied entirely on federal grants up until last year, for fuels reduction. And with this administration, public safety is a big part of their push. And we received a $10 million capital improvement project, just earmarked for fuels reduction. And so that gives us state funds to leverage more federal funds, which this year come to us through the infrastructure bill. So we are really in a good place when it comes to actually funding for this work. And now building capacity to meet the requirements of that work is really where were at now. Yeah, its a really exciting time as far as opportunities to provide a better service and public safety and develop these fuel breaks around some of our critical infrastructure and communities.

CG: Well, what are fire crews doing right now, other than reducing fuels and cutting fire breaks? What are they doing to get ready for the coming fire season?

NM: So our Division of Forestry crews, they come back starting about mid-April, and they do what we call our 80 hours or two weeks of training. And thats their physical fitness, thats their fire readiness. Theyre getting their gear up and ready. Theyre ready to go May 1, so our crews are staffed. Theyre ready to respond. We have them pre-positioned around the state, including Kenai and the Mat-Su Valley. The Fairbanks crew is down in Kenai, because snow still on the ground means fire season is a couple weeks behind. So we have them pre-positioned to where theyre available to do the most good and in a short order. But while theyre not assigned to fires, theyre doing this fuels reduction work. So this is really good preseason work and that kind of crossover training for a lot of the similar work they do when theres a wildland fire. And thats running chainsaws and, you know, clearing those fire breaks is very similar to what it looks like on the fire line, as it is when theyre building a fuel break ahead of the fire. So theyre engaged with that work and theyre ready and theyre pre-positioned and ready to go, should they be needed anyplace in the state.

Go here to see the original:
Alaska wildland fire crews ready for action, with state funding to reduce hazardous fuels - Alaska Public Media News

For Immediate Release -- 13 May 2022 -- Geneva. The on-going armed conflict in Ukraine has sparked widespread humanitarian crises, with reports of thousands of civilian causalities, the use of landmines and other explosive ordnance, and the fastest-growing refugee situation since World War II. Anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, as well as other unexploded or abandoned ammunition left behind in Ukraine, threaten the lives of millions of people. They will take years to remove, hindering reconstruction efforts and making it unsafe for people to return to their previous daily lives.

While full-scale humanitarian demining efforts are impossible during the conflict, coordination to support Ukrainian authorities to locate, identify and, when possible, remove explosive ordnance is already underway.

Urgently mapping landmine risks for coordinated action

Ukrainian national authorities report that they have already located, recorded, and removed nearly 80,000 mines and explosive devices. This massive undertaking is closely supported by the Mine Action Information Management (IM) cell, coordinated by the GICHD, where national authorities are joined by UN agencies, and international and local mine action organisations. Responding to the surge of reports of explosive ordnance, the IM cell is acting as a mine action information hub, gathering data from a variety of national and international sources, including social media.

A cornerstone of this has been Ukraine's Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), used in country since 2012. The GICHD-developed IMSMA has transitioned to an emergency coordination platform, allowing the IM cell to aggregate, interpret, and share the flood of data across partners and sources, in order to map areas where threats exist and define possible actions. During this emergency phase, coordinated access to up-to-date data helps national authorities target resources and take action strategically.

In the longer term, data-driven mapping of areas where landmines and other explosive ordnance are reported builds the foundation for effective and efficient humanitarian demining operations. Identifying the areas and extent of contamination helps speed the recovery process so that people can return to their homes and use their land safely.

Helping civilians in mine-contaminated areas reduce risks

While mine action efforts are underway, Ukrainian civilians have an urgent need to understand how to recognise explosive ordnance in their communities, what to do if EO is found, and how to reduce their risks.

"10 to 30% of the explosive weapons used, dropped, fired or launched do not explode as intended and many other explosive ordnance are abandoned in various locations," estimates the Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) Advisory Group, an international group of experts from the GICHD, UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs, in the recently published Questions and Answers on EORE for Ukraine. This means that a large portion of mines and other EO used during the conflict will remain a threat to civilians after the fighting is over, especially for children.

Actors working on the ground in Ukraine play a crucial role in promoting awareness on risks faced by local communities. Through the UNICEF-led EORE working group in Ukraine, the GICHD is contributing to the information on risk education and good practices available there. This support is important to help to align with up-to-date good practices and identify evolving EO threats in real time.

Identifying explosive ordnance items

In addition to the sheer quantity of explosive ordnance in Ukraine, the variety of the types of EO adds an additional challenge for mine action operators on the ground. Correctly identifying explosive ordnance is the first step in dealing with it as safely as possible.

Drafted over three weeks to provide urgent guidance to operators conducting mine action activities in Ukraine, the first edition of GICHD's Explosive Ordnance Guide for Ukraineidentifies over 100 separate items of explosive ordnance, such as anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, explosive submunitions, and grenades, found in Ukraine since the conflict began. The GICHD will continue to update the guide as more explosive ordnance is identified, aiming to assist mine action operators to manage the risks they face in their work.

Planning for long-term response toward recovery

As Ukraine approaches three months since the escalation of the armed conflict in February, increased technical and financial support is needed to sustain current efforts and prepare for longer-term response.

"Humanitarian demining in Ukraine needs to focus on national capacity and nationally-led programmes," explained GICHD Director, Ambassador Stefano Toscano. Current efforts in country build on solid national foundations that have existed in Ukraine for decades, dating back to the end of the second World War. These capacities need to be strengthened further to respond to the scale of explosive ordnance contamination now present, in support of wider recovery efforts.

The GICHD will continue to work alongside national authorities and international organisations over the long-term to address the impact of explosive ordnance in Ukraine. Today the focus is placed on targeted support to save lives and prevent losses and injuries. Tomorrow our joint efforts will be a prerequisite for reconstruction and sustainable development.

###

The GICHD is grateful for the generous support of our donors and would like to recognise the contributions of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, as well as the Governments of Switzerland and the Netherlands, which make our work in Ukraine possible.

See the rest here:
Clearing landmines from Ukraine may take decades; Work to find, map, and remove them has already begun - Ukraine - ReliefWeb