Reading comic strips usually helps to bring a little humor to our lives. Many cartoon strips have a way of reflecting life that makes us smile and chuckle. Whether they intend to or not, cartoonists often help us see ourselves in a very human way.

Here are some cartoons noted in the past that seem to have a message that bears on our ideas about conservation. What do you think?

Two characters in “Mutts” are standing on the seashore. One is holding a shell to his ear and the other is telling him “They say if you put a seashell to your ear you can hear the ocean.” At that moment, a huge wave heads for shore covering them with water.  The wave recedes. Both stand dripping wet. The one holding the shell says, “Wow.” (Patrick McDonnell) Could it be that we focus on a specific project and fail to notice what’s happening in the environment around us?

The characters in “Tiger” are up in their tree house and Tiger is thoroughly enjoying himself. His friend says, “We gotta move, Tiger.” Tiger continues with all the things that he likes about the tree house including the view looking over the yard.  From the opposite side, his friend sees the school buses and the school and says about the view, “It stinks.” (Bud Blake) Do we consider conservation a good thing only when it fits our point of view?

The focus is on Dad in “Fox Trot.” Dad is videotaping his ride down the waterslide getting some spectacular footage. Of course, Dad and camera end up under water. Dad survives and the camera does not. (Bill Amend) Are we recording marvelous feats of technology and development that could be wiped out if we forget about the environment?

Bill Waterson in a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon from 1995 says a lot about us.  Calvin is sledding on a snow-covered hill with Hobbes riding behind. Hobbes says, “I don’t see a path.” Calvin says, “We’ll make a path. Change is invigorating! If you don’t accept new challenges, you become complacent and lazy! Your life atrophies! New experiences lead to new questions and new solutions! Change forces us to experiment and adapt! That’s how we learn and grow!” And then the sled goes over a cliff. “Whoops, now here’s a fresh challenge,” says Calvin. Hobbes says, “I’ll admit its opened up new horizons.” Are we like Calvin and simply expecting to find new solutions to the problems we create in our environment? Would it be better to look ahead?

Enjoy cartoons. Laugh a little at yourself. Then, as you go about the activities of real life, remember that conserving fresh air, clean water, good soil, and natural resources is serious business.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 8/25/10 (for publication on 08/28/10 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“My cabin never leaks when it doesn’t rain” is an observation from an old Stephen Foster song. Human nature makes us more prone to solving obvious problems than looking around to prevent problems. 

Focused on solving the problems of the dust bowl days of the 1930s the Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) were created. Agriculture was in the hands of private landowners and producers. The welfare of all citizens required that these landowners and producers change their management practices. We supported these agencies with our tax dollars in order to provide the technical knowledge landowners needed to apply conservation practices adequately and we all benefited. 

Conserving soil and protecting water quality continues to be a challenge. The gains made in conserving soil and water are still largely in the hands of private landowners. Best management practices now in place must be continued and extended. Maintaining soil and water quality continues to be in everyone’s best interest. That is what makes it distressing to know that the long established Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts are threatened because of reduced financial support from our state. 

Because of their grass-roots structure, SWCDs focus State, Federal, and not-for-profit grant funding on local needs. NRCS provides office space and technical assistance and the SWCDs provide local office and additional technical staff with a Board of Directors to direct funding and monitor local projects. Together NRCS and SWCD provide the technical knowledge so that we can be assured that project funding is well planned and effective – staff services and the oversight of the SWCD Board make sure that your tax dollar is spent wisely, not wastefully. Noteworthy is the fact that, on the average, SWCDs return to local and state economies $23.47 for every $1 invested. 

Soil and Water Conservation Districts are faced with Illinois State funding shortages that will curtail their operation, if not close District offices entirely. You may not have noticed that there is a problem. Many Districts have committed to keep operating at full stride until their funds are depleted. In other words, you haven’t noticed the “cabin leaking!” 

Agriculture is important to Illinois’ economy and conserving soil and water is essential to maintaining our agricultural achievements, our health, and our economy. Many Illinois agencies have stories very similar to Soil and Water Conservation Districts. All of these cuts in services have long-range consequences. When we begin to notice the “cabin leaking” and soil and water quality have deteriorated, restoration will be a long, difficult and costly burden for future generations. Whatever your concerns, let your state elected officials and legislators know that you care. Now is the time to speak up. 

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 08/18/10 (for publication on 08/21/10 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

In our country, one of the costs of doing business is advertising. Businesses count on attracting consumers for their products and services through marketing. Reluctant to use their funds for advertising, the services of many nonprofit organizations and government agencies go unadvertised.           

One such unadvertised organization is the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Program. Working behind-the-scenes in cooperation with volunteers and other public and private agencies, RC&D Councils across the nation offer professional assistance to state and local units of government and nonprofit organizations in rural areas, who need help in conserving natural resources and solving local problems.           

The Blackhawk Hills RC&D serves the six counties of Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Whiteside with a population of 235,689. The Blackhawk Hills RC&D Council also serves the region as an Economic Development District (EDD). The EDD was established under criteria of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA).           

The Blackhawk Hills RC&D has three goals for 2010 as expressed in their annual report presented in March 2010: 1) Improve soil and water quality; 2) Assist communities to improve their planning efforts, economic base, and quality of life; 3) Increase the use of land management techniques.           

In working with volunteer groups, Blackhawk Hills RC&D recognizes that conserving natural resources and planning for economic development can work side-by-side. The services and assistance from professionals that are available upon request include: community planning, economic development, natural resources conservation and protection; grant writing and administration; demographic and statistical data; seminars, summits, and workshops; and meeting facilitation and group development. County governments and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) of the area, USDA through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S EDA provide basic financial support for the professional staff of three professionals, an office in Rock Falls, and Council expenses.           

Blackhawk Hills RC&D is governed by a Council consiting of three appointed persons from each county: one each from the SWCD, County Board, and county-at-large. Stephenson County is represented by Chuck Moen, Sam Newton, and Della Moen.           

In 2009 accomplishments included: forestry management workshop; grazing conference; administering an EPA grant for livestock waste management; small farms workshop; leadership in the Driftless Area Initiative; environmental stewardship education opportunities; implementing a community capital improvement program; assistance to the Entrepreneurs and Inventors Club, submission of a $72 million grant application for a Broadband Initiative Program; the regional collection point for data regarding the stimulus plan; host for regular regional community meetings of government officials; and administration of an energy efficiency and conservation block grant.           

If you are part of a volunteer group that could use professional planning services, Blackhawk Hills RC& D is counting on you to let them know. Phone: 815-625-3854 ext 2 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Find out more at www.blackhawkhills.com. 

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 08/11/10 (for publication on 08/14/10 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We expect wildlife but yet we are startled when it suddenly appears. Walking into the yard or garden in late summer and being confronted by a big garden spider that wasn’t there the day before is one of those times. The big black and yellow or black and orange spider that startles you is a female yellow or banded garden spider. The males are not so imposing, barely a quarter of an inch long.

Rather like a queen on her throne, this female spider sits in the center of a classic orb web with spokes radiating from the center. If you are lucky you might get to see the web with dewdrops on it glittering in the sun. “This design forms a strong yet flexible structure up to 2 feet in diameter, making it a highly efficient interceptor of flying or jumping insects as large as grasshoppers. Adding to this efficiency is the unique zigzag pattern of shiny white silk extending from the center of the web, “ as described by Susan L. Post in the Illinois Steward Spring 2010.

“Recent research suggests an even more ingenious purpose,” Post reports, “because it reflects ultraviolet light much like a flower that uses these signals to attract insects for pollination, the structure may actually be sending an irresistible invitation to insects.” The female senses the struggling insect and quickly moves to restrain the prey “by wrapping it in silk before biting and injecting it with paralyzing venom.”

Post concludes that “in spite of its impressive size and seemingly ruthless demeanor, garden spiders are harmless to humans and should be seen as allies in the garden … This Illinois resident will parish with the first hard freeze, leaving only a brown, fuzzy egg cocoon filled with tiny spiderlings that must await the coming spring.”

We have been surprised, if not startled, by seeing pelicans in northwest Illinois. Illinois biologists report that non-breeding pelicans have been visiting the Upper Mississippi River for nearly two decades. In a story for Outdoor Illinois June 2010, Ed Britton, Wildlife Refuge Manager for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, reports that pelicans did make birding history in Illinois. In 2009, a colony of 20 nesting pairs of white pelicans produced about 50 young residing on Woodruffs Island in northwest Illinois along the Upper Mississippi River.

When you are traveling in northwest Illinois you will want to keep watch for white pelicans near water and on river islands. You may want to observe from a distance because, according to Britton, they keep intruders at bay. They make a low grunting or croaking sound and will forcefully regurgitate a half-digested fish soup at an intruder adding to the stench from the fish remains left by the entire colony.