A pillar of ecologically responsible farming is the use of cover crops. Cover crops are grown for reasons other than short-term economic gain. They are generally not produced for sale but rather for the long term benefits that accrue to subsequent crops and to the sustainability of the land itself. Almost any crop can be used in one form or another as a cover crop. A cover crop has been defined as “any crop whose main purpose is to benefit the soil and/or other crops in one or more ways, but is not intended to be harvested for feed or sale.” There are four general categories of cover crop uses:

1. Fallow cover crops that contemplate taking land out of cash crop production for all or part of a season;
2. Winter cover crops that are sown in late summer or early fall after the cash crop is harvested and remain in place until spring;
3. Smother crops (for weed suppression) in any window of opportunity between cash crops; and
4. Under-sown cover crops that are incorporated alongside the cash crop.

The more common cover crops include winter rye, oats, ryegrass, buckwheat, clover, vetch and alfalfa.

Combating erosion is prominent among the reasons for using cover crops. Cover crops lessen the impact of wind and water passing over the soil surface. And while this may not seem particularly exciting, consider the estimate that the United States loses 2 billion tons of topsoil a year to erosion. There are several other justifications, however, that are arguably just as compelling:

Organic matter

Cover crops contribute considerable organic matter to the soil. As most gardeners know, organic matter plays a myriad of positive roles in improving the overall health of the soil. Specifically, organic matter is indispensable in improving the soil structure and also helps to absorb and conserve moisture.

Weed suppression

Cover crops can be used to actually suppress weeds, reducing the need for chemical herbicides and/or fuel-consuming tillage.

to top of next column

Improve fertility

A successfully established leguminous cover crop can replace some or all of the fertilizer needed to produce crops. Cover crops are capable of trapping residual nitrogen in the soil, and in the case of legumes, (i.e., clovers, alfalfa, and vetch) actually fix nitrogen to the soil. Both legumes and non-legumes are also capable of increasing the availability of phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients.

Reduce groundwater contamination

Cover crops can be used strategically late in the season essentially to mop up soluble nutrients that might otherwise be lost by leaching. In addition to the obvious benefit of decreasing the amount of fertilizer that will be needed the following season, the cover crop works to lock up the soluble nutrients that otherwise become pollutants in the local watershed. There is increasing awareness of the negative environmental effects of synthetic fertilizers, including ground and surface water contamination, and the energy intensiveness of fertilizer production.

Biological diversity

Cover crops expand the local biological diversity. Biological diversity, in turn, is widely recognized as a key to stability in ecological systems.

With all of these impressive attributes, you may wonder why any farmer would not use cover crops. In fairness to the farmers who do not, it is very problematic to incorporate cover crops in a conventional agricultural context. Cover crops present significant challenges, namely: reduced spring soil temperatures, disruption of field operations, and allelopathy (an inhibiting effect on germination— good for weeds, bad for crops). And it simply does not seem economically viable for many farmers to take land out of production long enough to effectively use cover crops.

Still, cover crops are being used with great success in the organic community and are receiving growing attention in conventional circles. Cover crops are integral where there is an emphasis on sustainability and are most realistic where economic expediency does not demand that every acre be farmed every year. Under these criteria the Preserve is ideally situated to incorporate the use of cover crops into its planning. Perhaps the Preserve could use at least part of the farmland as a demonstration project for farmers. Let’s not pass up this opportunity to help advance a sound ecological practice.

ALERTS

ISSUES

On its website, Green Oaks describes itself as where “the dense forest had to be cut and the swamps drained” for farming. A November 6 Daily Herald article states that residential conversion is complete, and touts the goal of Mayor Tom Adams for commercial development of more of its lands with upscale skyscrapers. With some bad examples in their past, we question what will become of their remaining wetlands, and in a February letter (posted on the W&W website), encouraged the Plan Commission to exercise care and caution.

What’s left of some wetlands in Green Oaks - a retention pond and huge culverts under the Harley Davidson building.

The Harley Davidson building on Rt. 176, also prominently featured on the Green Oaks website, occupies a lot that once had wetlands. Those wetlands are now confined to a small retention pond that connects to huge culverts under the building to replace the function of the absorbent soils of the site.

to top of next column

In the Herald article, Adams also promotes skyscraper development on the adjoining Baker property. Until this fall that lot included isolated wetlands left by the construction of Rt. 94, which have now been filled in and relocated without approval of a development plan by the Green Oaks Plan Commission. The north half of the Baker property includes higher quality federal wetlands that serve as the headwaters of the North Branch of the Chicago River. The developer has a poor record of fulfilling the wetland mitigation commitments in previous projects, and Adams should be more circumspect in promoting his work without the approval of his plan commission. Since long-term maintenance is critical to any wetland mitigation strategy, we are concerned that the developer might fail that trust again, and have urged the Commission to deny ambitious proposals that rely on long term performance.

If the residents of Green Oaks agree with Adams’ goal of skyscraper development to produce revenue, they should consider whether it is worth the loss of their remaining wetlands, open spaces and views. If not, they should encourage the village to either embrace limited growth, or negotiate open space preservation in exchange for annexation agreement and zoning changes, and for variances from village ordinances sought by developers.

Come shake the winter blues with your Sierra Club friends.

Join us for some winter cheer and lively conversation at a member’s home in Lake Forest.

Please come … we want to see YOU there!

Sunday, January 23,  3:00–7:00 pm

Call Barbara Bell at 847-367-4253

to RSVP and get directions.

Ready to get your feet wet? While there’s ice on the lakes now, its time to launch the Woods and Wetlands Water Sentinels program. We’re looking for volunteers to join us in our efforts to protect the Sequoit Creek Watershed in the northwest corner of Lake County. 

Some of Lake County’s cleanest and most pristine lakes are located within this watershed. Starting with Cedar Lake, considered by the IDNR to be a biologically significant water body because it contains various state threatened and endangered plants and fish, the watershed includes Deep Lake, Sun Lake, East Loon Lake, West Loon Lake, Little Silver Lake, and Redwing Marsh.

The villages within the Sequoit Creek watershed are approving rapid development, and the environmental consequences for the Watershed are serious and complex.

Poorly planned development has impacted the environment in the area, and the prospect of continued growth, especially if done in the same manner, poses threats to the air, water, and habitat around the watershed.

We can and should expect better in the future from the leaders of our local governments to protect quality of life in the area. Presently we have no precise way to predict the consequences of this growth for these waters, and facilities promised to protect our waters from development are often insufficient, or fail.

to top of next column

Along with the new and future development comes an increase in the amount of impervious surface that will not only intensify runoff volumes, but will also increase the amount of pollutants that it will introduce into the watershed.

By monitoring biological and chemical indicators of the lakes and streams in the watershed, we can reveal whether development harms the Sequoit lakes and streams, and how.

The Woods and Wetlands group is looking for volunteers to become Water Sentinels to help us monitor the watershed. We are planning a bus tour for Saturday, April 2nd to survey the watershed and choose places where monitoring might reveal a solvable problem. We invite members from across Lake County to join us on this tour to learn about watershed impacts, and consider helping to protect a Sequoit stream or lake. The tour will include demonstrations of some monitoring methods, and a picnic lunch.

The Water Sentinels program has proven successful with other Club Groups in our region. Water Sentinels volunteers will receive training, and then be paired up and assigned to one or more monitoring sites. Monitoring will take as little as a half a day each season, to a few hours each month, to as often as a few hours following significant rain events, and be flexibly planned by the teams. To collect meaningful data, this program will last two years, and for consistent data, we need some volunteers who intend to stick around for the duration.

Those wishing to take part in the tour should contact John Massman, Conservation Chair via e-mail or by phone at 847-838-9440 by January 31 to reserve a seat.

The Woods & Wetlands Outings Committee is off to a “rocky” start. Our December outing to Rollins Savanna featured a delicious batch of stone soup, and was an enjoyable success!

The outing was the premier event for our new  committee, which first met in November, and served as a training opportunity for our aspiring new leaders.

The committee hopes more W&W members will join our fun group and become outing friends.

We are putting together a calendar of monthly outings for 2005, and we'd like your input so that you sign up for the outings that we plan.

So… What do you want to do? Canoeing? Backpacking? Hiking? Tree ID? Clean-up facility Tour? Family activities? Meet for coffee? What else?

Please visit our Outings page, and take the survey before our January 18 meeting.

While you’re there, consider signing onto the Outings List to be among the first to learn about our new outings.

If you have outing ideas or requests, please contact Barbara Bell at 847-367-4253.

See you on the trail!