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October 2012

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Fort Lewis College News Magazine Issue 38

FAKE IDSNOT SO SUAVE

FALL BRINGSNEW COLORSTO DURANGO FOLIAGE

THE BLOW FROM THEANIMAS RIVER’SLOW FLOW

DRIVING FOOD COSTS IN

DURANGO:NOT JUST THE FARMER’S DECISION

BREAST CANCERAWARENESS MONTH PROVIDES INSIGHT AND PROMOTIONS

STUDENT INITIATIVES FOR A FLC ORGANICALLY

TREATED PLOT

FORT LEWIS COLLEGE SEES SHIFT IN MAJOR CHOICES

Indy Editors

& S

taff

Kaitlin M

artinez

Haley P

ruitt

BUSINESS DIRECTOR

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Courtney R

agle

EVENTS COORDINATOR

Am

anda Penington

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jordan A

lexander

MARKETING &PR DIRECTORA

llie Hutto

CHIEF COPY EDITOR

FINANCIALMANAGER

Em

ily Griffin

Em

ily Fagerberg

Graem

e Johnston

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jim

i Giles

NEWS EDITOR

Ayla Q

uinn

ONLINE MANAGER

BUSINESS

COPYEDITING

PHOTOGRAPHY

ONLINE

DESIGN

REPORTING

Michaela Goade Alex McIntosh

Sarah Zoey Sturm

Daniel Huppenthal Bryanna Kinlicheene

Andrew MangionaHana Mohsin

Visit us on the web for breaking news,

daily campus and community news,

sports, and much more!

www.the indyonl ine.com © The Independent 2012

Jandrea FevoldRachel Giersch

Meagan PrinsMegan Ripe

Carter SolomonMeesh Villaire

Lexi DemosLindsy Fuller

Haylee Knippel Trevor Ogborn

Allie Johnson

Adam Romero

To contact The Independent or an Indy staff member, please see “Contact Us” on The Indy Online.

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Adam

Mohsin

Corrections:In Issue 37, the title, “Fort Lewis Hits Largest Cen-sus Number to Date,” was innaacurate. The census for 2012 was the largest census in over a decade, said Mitch Davis, FLC public affairs officer.

Got something to say? We want to hear from you!

We encourage reader participation through our perspectives section. Submit letters, cartoons, or

anything else you’d like to see in print to Editor in Chief Kaitlin Martinez at

kmmartinez@fortlewis.edu or News Editor Jimi Giles at jegiles@fortlewis.edu.

Note: The Independent reserves the right to edit submissions as necessary or deny publication.

News tip? Contact Jimi Giles at jegiles@fortlewis.edu.

For any other inquiries, contact Kaitlin Martinez at kmmartinez@fortlewis.edu

F R O M T H E E d i t o r ’ s D e s k

To The Independent’s readers:

When I was a high school senior about five years ago, I was forced to enlighten my fel-low Midwestern classmates with a personal motto. Racking my brain to find something profound, unique, and life-changing, I wound up deflated. After staring at the vacancy of where my small legacy would be forever printed in one sentence, I thought to myself, why do I do all of this? I was a three-sport athlete and a straight-A honors student among myriad extra-curriculars. Despite common belief, I didn’t have a domineering upbringing that forced me to succeed. I simply had an innate, unrelenting personal drive. That’s when I realized what fueled my passion: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. And so my motto was written, and to this day, that simple compound sentence still resonates with me.

Currently, almost every activity that I engulf myself in, I aim to do my best in order to satisfy my perfectionism. The one component in my life, however, that I am not the primary beneficiary is my work for The Independent. The tiring edits and the fast-paced deadlines are all done in order to please you, the readers. Every day I strive to help my staff keep all of you informed in the most efficient and beautiful way. Because without an audience, our publication wouldn’t be possible, and if I don’t think we’ve done a good job, I’m not satisfied.

I urge you all to keep reading in hopes that you find something that’s worth doing. All of us at The Independent have, and we hope you think we’re doing a pretty swell job, because you are the only reason we are doing all of this work.

Thank you for all of your support,

Jimi E. Giles News Editor

If you would like to receive the Indy straight to your campus P.O. box, contact Jordan at:jmalexander@fortlewis.edu

CONTENTS

The Blow From the Ani-mas River’s Low Flow Story by Meesh Villaire

Fake IDs Not So Suave Story by Jandrea Fevold

Driving Foodcosts in Durango: Not Just the Farmer’s DecisionStory by Meagan Prins

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Provides Insight and Promotions Story by Megan Ripe

Fall Brings New Colors to Durango FoliageStory by Jandrea Fevold

Fort Lewis College Sees Shift in Major Choices Story by Megan Ripe

Student Initiatives for a FLC Organically Treated PlotStory by Rachel Giersch

Indy on the Street

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The Blow From the Animas River’s

Story by Meesh Villaire

Many Fort Lewis College students enjoy the proximity of the Animas River for water-based activities. According to FLC geology professor Dr. Gary Gi-

anniny, the water levels of the Animas were much lower this year. He and Dr. Cynthia Dott, FLC professor of plant ecology, agree that this is due, at least in part, to the La Niña year that Durango has had, which causes drier, arid conditions in the Southwest.“Last year we had an exceptionally small snow-

pack, and it melted early,” Gianniny said. “That re-sulted in early peak in the rivers.” The Animas River re-

lies primarily on snow-melt and groundwater, which is called base flow. Additional sources of water come from rain. “We get little spikes

from monsoon thun-derstorms in late sum-mer and rainstorms in the fall,” Gianniny said. Trends of global warming have affected both the

snowmelt and the groundwater, he said. “When you don’t have much rainfall and much

snowfall, then the groundwater doesn’t get re-charged, and then the rivers don’t get recharged,” he said. “That’s what’s going on this year, but if you look, we’ve had a lot of record lows in the past several decades.” The Animas does melt faster because of dust on

the snow which absorbs more sunlight, Gianniny said. This dust is a part of the dry, arid climate of the region but is increased by kick-up from ATVs and over-grazing.The early peak water levels have an effect on the

plants and animals that thrive in the habitat along

the river, known as riparian corridors, Dott said. The riparian corridors support around 70 to 80

percent of wildlife species in Colorado, she said.While existing willows and cottonwoods are well

adapted to varying water levels in their habitat, the next generation of trees is affected by the deviated timing of flows, Dott said.“Cottonwoods drop their seeds in early June right

after peak flows, so you get high flows in the river that go up and deposit nice sediment on spring banks,” she said. “There’s nice new mud and the cottonwood seeds fall right on it.”

Because the tim-ing of the flows has shifted, the new mud is mostly gone by the time the cot-tonwoods drop their seeds, so seedlings have a lesser chance of surviving the season, she said.The earlier peak

flows also cause the temperature of the water to warm up more quickly, cueing the fish to spawn earlier in the season. This throws off the availabil-ity of food for them, Dott said. The warmer water can affect all kinds of biodiversity within the river since warm water holds less oxygen.“It usually decreases diversity and abundance,” Gi-

anniny said. “When you have low flows, you actu-ally change the whole stream ecology because sun-light penetrates to the bottom, and so algae grow on the bottom and suddenly you have a different food chain when you have a food source growing in the river.”Dumping of fertilizers and pesticides in the riv-

er, as well as runoff from city streets, exacerbate this problem. Drainage from the old mines as

Last year we had an exceptionally small snow-pack, and it melted early,”

Gianniny said. “That result-ed in early peak in the rivers.

“

“

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well as natural drainage from certain types of rocks adds heavy metals to the water. Normally smaller streams which feed into the Animas dilute these contaminants, but these small streams are also much dryer in recent years, Gianniny said. “There’s a direct link between water quantity

and water quality,” he said. “Dilution is the so-lution to pollution.” The director of Durango Parks & Recreation,

Cathy Metz, explained the impact low water levels have had on recreational activities.“People had to make adjustments to their

routes as well as the portions of the river they float on,” she said.River-goers had to use smaller rafts as well,

and there were more inter-tubes than larger

rafts, Metz said. The city also has plans for a project to begin next

fall if funding is available to make improvements to the river, she said. “Down at Smelter rapids, we’ve got a number of

large boulders already on the bank of the river and our plan is to construct the whitewater park to pro-tect our recreational water rights,” Metz said. Next year will be an El Niño cycle, which gener-

ally brings more precipitation to the Four-Cor-ners area. This is no guarantee of next summer’s water levels, however.“We don’t have a crystal ball,” Dott said.

Photos by Bryanna KinlicheeneGraphics by Graeme Johnston

A view along the rocky bank of the Animas River.

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For some students, counting down until their 21st birthday may feel like a lifetime. Due to the feel-ing of missing out on the privileges of becoming

the legal age to consume alcohol, students may be seeking ways to get into bars and purchase alcohol while still underage. More and more students are

finding ways to get a fake ID, and more places around town are finding ways to catch them. The bars and establishments

in downtown Durango ensure proper training to each of their employees, from bar-tenders to servers to clerks, each of whom are skillful in knowing what to look for, said Lt. Ray Shupe of the Durango Police Department. Fake IDs are being taken

away daily, but mostly on weekends, said Heidi Stewart, a server at Lady Falconburgh’s Barley Exchange. She estimated that their bouncers take away nearly

15 a month, she said. If people with a fake ID make it through the door and try to buy a drink, servers take their ID, escort them out, and let the bartender and bouncer know who they were, she said.Wagon Wheel Liquors had a different way of enforcing

the law on underage drinking. The previous employer of-fered a $50 bounty to employees who turned fake IDs in, said David Halterman, a previous manager at the store. At liquor stores, bars, and within the Durango Police

Department, using a computer system in which every ID card is registered with an individual’s information is helpful, Shupe said. These systems are helpful in

scanning for fake IDs, he said. Fake IDs are usually detect-

able, Stewart said.In her experience, she has

seen the back strip differing from the front of the ID, but most of the time the photo just gives it away. “As much as you want that to

be you, it’s not,” Stewart said. Officers use their own discre-

tion when catching a minor under the influence or in pos-

session of a fake ID, Shupe said. A minor under the influence is a violation, which can

result in a possible misdemeanor. Being convicted of possessing a fake ID can result in a felony, which stays on a record for life, Shupe said.“There is a heightened awareness all across town, and

we are all trained to know what to look for,” he said.

There is a heightened awareness all across town, and we are all

trained to know what to look for.

“

”

Fake IDs Not So SuaveStory By Jandrea Fevold

Photo illustration By Hana Mohsin

Driving Food Costs in :

not just the farmer’s decisionStory by Meagan Prins Photos by Hana Mohsin

Graphics by Allie Hutto

The cost of living is rising, and many people are see-ing its effects. A large issue is food, most specifically being seen

this fall with national increase in food costs, which is affecting Durango’s local grocery stores and Fort Lewis College campus dining halls.

According to Beth LaShell, a professor of agriculture at FLC, everyone looks at what drives up food prices differently.

There is a difference between commodity prices and food prices. For example, what a corn grower receives per bushel and what the consumer pays for corn in the store is where disparaging information arises as the driv-ing force of the cost of food, she said.

“I think a lot of the popular press right now will tell you that it’s the farmers who are driving up the food prices, but I think there are a lot of things involved in what’s driving up the prices right now,” LaShell said. “Input is certainly going to drive up the cost of production.”

Input, such as fuel costs, transportation costs, and processing costs are all factors that contribute to the rise of food prices, she said.

Weather changes, such as the drought experienced this past summer, causes grains such as corn that serve as feed for beef and pork manufacturers to go on shortage. This will raise the prices of mainstream meats, she said.

Farmers are usually blamed for the increase in price, but it is important to look at how much of a share of the price of any particular commodity a farmer gets. Looking at the Economic Research Service, commodities such as meat, will bring 49 percent of the total cost back to the farmer, leaving 51 percent of the cost to someone besides the farmer, she said.

Transporting the product from the farmer to the store and processing the product is what accounts for the 51 percent, she said.

In terms of local foods, such as those purchased at the farmers market, the prices seem the same as they did two or three years ago, she said.

Organic and local produce will see less of a price increase than that seen in mainstream foods because these products rely less on petroleum-based products for production, said Colleen Caver, the produce manager for

Durango Natural Foods Co-op. “The only thing that we are relying on with the organic

food system is for that petroleum to transport that food to us,” Caver said. “So I could imagine that our freight costs have increased, which would in turn increase the cost of that food item as well, but not nearly as directly as a conventionally grown potato.”

If the community starts moving toward purchasing lo-cally grown foods, less money will be spent on petroleum to produce and transport food. This will allow consumers to see what the actual cost of food is, she said.

For students who eat on campus, there haven’t been any increases for about two years, said Kevin Gutierrez, general manager of Sodexo at FLC.

Any price increases would happen at the beginning of the semester, but Sodexo is seeing some price increases in what they are purchasing for campus meals, he said.

Many items served at FLC have seen a price increase due to the increase in the price of gas or because of gen-eral price increase, he said.

Sodexo has not raised the prices for students, howev-er. An evaluation will be done after next year to see where they are at that point, but students will not see a price increase in the near future, he said.

For Sodexo, the price increases are less of the worry because the company uses other ways to cut costs and keep things inexpensive, Gutierrez said.

“Weigh the Waste” is a mechanism where Sodexo staff weighs uneaten foods that come through the trash to see how they can cut back on that waste. Through this sys-tem, the staff can also see which foods are not popular with students by what goes uneaten, he said.

“We try not to limit, but we want to stress to our em-ployees, especially our cooks, to not overproduce,” he said. “That helps us cut costs tremendously.”

For students who are cooking at home or buying from the stores, though, price is still a major concern, LaShell said.

“It becomes a personal decision,” she said. More people are making the personal decision

to buy locally grown or organic foods, but that is their choice, she said.

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Breast CancerAwareness Month Provides Insight and PromotionsStory by Megan RipePhoto by Bryanna Kinlicheene

Breast cells are normally immobile,” Byrd said. “They

don’t move, but cancer develops these mutations that give them these sort of super powers that are better than

what normal cells have.

“

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to break the $100,000 goal for this year. “Since this started, we have helped 330 to 350 women, so

we expect today to raise $15,000 which will certainly go a long way to help some women,” Midkiff said.

Survivors, family and friends of those diagnosed with breast cancer, and anyone who just wanted to help the cause, came out and trekked for support.

“It’s a fundraiser to help cancer victims and research into breast cancer,” said Annie Sutherland, first time volunteer. “There’s a lot of survivors celebrating their survival.”

Breast cancer is a terrible disease, she said. Mercy Health Foundation has administered the event

for the past four years and the number of participants had grown.

“We have had probably about 100 participants, and we are estimating about 400 participants and that’s children be-cause children are free under 12, and all the other partici-pants pay $20, which is a minimal fee,” Midkiff said.

Brittney Gillen, a junior at Fort Lewis College, participated

Time to break out the pink. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and

the Durango community is supporting the cause with many events happening throughout the town.

Mercy Regional Breast Cancer Center held their 18th Annual Journey of Hope walk/run on Sept. 29. The proceeds earned at the 5K walk allow for free mammograms for women who cannot afford them administered by Mercy Health Foundation.

“The journey of a thousand miles beings with one step,” read the shirts of Southwest Community College volunteers at the Journey of Hope cause.

“We raise money through this journey of Hope 5K for women who cannot afford the cost of a mammogram, so for any women that is over fifty, under fifty actually, we will pay for the cost of the mammogram,” said Karen Mid-kiff, chief development officer for Mercy Health Founda-tion. “They just need to apply through our financial coun-seling office,”

The Journey of Hope has raised $80,000 so far and hopes

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for the first time in the walk in support of her friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. This will not be her last year participating, she said.

“There is that chance that some of us might have it and even if not, someone you know might have it,” Gillen said. “We need to all help each other.”

“It’s the only way we can get through it,” she said. “If we work together.”

One out of eight women is diagnosed with breast can-cer, Midkiff said.

Cancer occurs when mutated cells accumulate. Some of these mutations are harmless, but as people age, the muta-tions can accumulate and move into the blood stream, said Dr. Shere Byrd, professor of biology.

“Breast cells are normally immobile,” Byrd said. “They don’t move, but cancer develops these mutations that give them these sort of super powers that are better than what normal cells have.”

This allows the mutated cells to grow and crowd out the normal cells, she said.

The hormone estrogen fuels many breast cancers. Younger women normally do not get breast cancer because they are not producing as much estrogen, Byrd said.

“Breast cancer tends to be after child bearing years but before menopause,” Byrd said. “Between 40 and 55, you start to see more cancer and that’s because they had more time to accumulate mutations and they are still making estrogen.”

In 2009, Mercy Regional Center opened up a Breast Care Center that does 7,000 mammograms a year. The center’s cost of $3.4 million was 100 percent fund-raised in 18 months.

“We have a really great community of people,” Midkiff said. The breast cancer center is a relaxing “spa-like” facility so

women can feel comfortable. Not only can women get digital mammograms, but if something is spotted, they can get a biopsy scan and an ultrasound screening in the same suite, Midkiff said.

“Everything is kind of under one roof under here,” Midkiff said.

Self-breast exams can also help women detect the cancer earlier, and if so, surgery or a lumpectomy could take out the section of cells, Byrd said.

“The earlier you can catch it the better the outcome is,” Midkiff said.

Keeping a healthy diet and exercising are just a couple ways to help prevent breast cancer.

“There is some real connection between women who tend to be heavier,” Byrd said. “Obese tend to get breast cancer more often than women who are thinner.”

Self-breast exams can also help women detect the cancer earlier, and if so, surgery or a lumpectomy could take out the section of cells.

“It’s knowing your body and paying attention to what’s going on,” Byrd said.

At the end of the Journey of Hope walk and run, partici-pants gathered with their pink umbrellas given to them for being involved in the cause. The participants formed a pink breast cancer ribbon, and the fire department took a picture from above.

“We are giving them a pink umbrella to remind people when they see them walking down the streets of Durango about the Journey of Hope,” Midkiff said.

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The cooler, crisper air and the sight of leaves changing denote the beginning of fall.

Areas near Durango, specifically the San Juan Skyway, have received national publicity from MSN-Travel as one of the best places to see fall colors.

Witnessing the aspens changing from their summer green to their signature yellow is a process of photosynthesis, a mecha-nism that allows plants to gather their energy, said Dr. Ross Mc Cauley, Fort Lewis College professor of botany.

With the changes in temperature and light regimes associ-ated with fall, the plant senses it is time to enter dormancy, which stops the production of chlorophyll, McCauley said.

Chlorophyll gives plant leaves their green color, and when the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color begins to wear off the leaf.

The plant sends all of its chemical resources and sugars into the plant’s body, keeping it alive but dormant, which allows the plant to re-grow its leaves in the spring, he said.

Durango experiences a mostly yellow fall, due to the abundance of aspen trees, which lose their leaves, and the

abundance of juniper and pine trees, which do not lose their leaves, he said.

Some recommended places to view the colors are in the La Plata Mountains, FLC coordinator of Outdoor Pursuits Brett Davis said.

Taking the drive from Silverton to Ouray is a prime des-tination also, he said.

Locally, trees in Hermosa, Hesperus, and on the Durango Mountain Resort are all coming into their fall colors.

A good lookout of Durango’s changing leaves is hiking the Ani-mas Mountain trail and making it to the overlook, he said.

For those interested in photographing the changing leaves, a Continuing Education course in Basic Digital Photography is offered on Nov. 8 for students or locals to learn helpful tips or enhance their skills, said photographer Paul Boyer, instructor of the course.

The four-hour course, held on a Saturday, is designed for all abilities, amateur to advanced, and everyone will learn some-thing, he said.

Story by Jandrea Fevold

Photos by Daniel HuppenthalGraphics by Sarah Zoey Sturm

all Brings New Colors to Durango Foliage

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The economy is in the dumps, and it is assumed that those with a college degree fare better than those with-out. Statistically, this looks to be true.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a branch in the United States Department of Labor, as of August 2012 the unemployment rate for people with a high school diploma is at 8.8 percent. A person with some college or an associ-ate’s degree is at 6.6 percent, and for people who graduated college with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the unemploy-ment rate is at 4.1 percent.

Fort Lewis College offers around 90 majors and this num-ber can fluctuate year to year.

According to FLC Public Affairs Officer Mitch Davis, the num-ber of students in FLC’s top four declared majors of 2012 were psychology with 226 students, engineering with 180 students, business administration with 154 students, and general biology with 123 students. Between 2010 and 2012, FLC has noticed trends forming in the number of students in declared majors.

Psychology has been on the top of this list of declared majors for the last three years, bringing in 225, 228, and then 226 students, respectively, he said.

Engineering numbers have increased more than any other major in this three-year time frame. In 2010, 93 students declared, and in 2011, 123 students. Currently there are 180 engineering majors, he said.

Art majors have stayed relatively the same as well, garner-ing 58, 55, and then 57, respectively, Davis said.

“Generally speaking, most business majors can find job opportunities upon graduation,” said the Career Service Coordinator Patricia Dommer.

“In the past three to five years, I’d say that there has been more interest in our students in professional programs, professional programs meaning the programs that seem to logically feed into a career, like business administration, or accounting, or psychology.” Davis said.

Many have the mindset that certain majors will guarantee a job, but truthfully there are jobs out there that support all ma-jors, from psychology to art. For almost any major declared, a student can find a job, he said.

“So much of it is being able to network and know some-body in the field and be able to move in that field through that connection,” Davis said.

The nation’s economy does have an effect on whether or not certain businesses are hiring, FLC Economics Professor Deborah Walker, said.

“There’s too much uncertainty about what’s going to happen,” she said. “That’s basically what’s going on.” Employers are sitting back and waiting to see what will happen in the election, Walker said.

ort Lewis CollegeStory by Carter SolomonSees Shift in Major Choices

Photo Illustration by Andrew MangionaGraphics by Allie Hutto

Number of Students in the four most popular majors in 2012

Psychology Engineering Business Administration

General Biology

Not only are the current pesticide practices of the City being evaluated for organic improvements, but Fort Lewis College’s Physical Plant Services is collab-orating with students on the future development of chemical free treatment.

In the past, environmental studies students imple-mented a chemical-free system on the campus’s Hespe-rus Peace Park, FLC Facilities Manager Ed Webb said.

The chemical-free system involved more manual labor than required for a conventional system, he said. Manually removed dandelions, a practice of organic treatment, were more labor intensive than spraying synthetic pesticides, a mechanism of non-organic treatment, he said.

Any plant that grows where it is not desired is con-sidered a weed, FLC Professor of Botany Dr. Ross Mc-Cauley said in a telephone interview.

The common dandelion, a native species to Europe, is now found everywhere and is a plant that was never wanted in a lawn, he said.

Increased amounts of labor for the new treatment of the Hesperus Peace Park were also needed for their technique of mowing the grass, Webb said.

For the organically treated park, grass was required to grow to a considerable height before it was mowed, a process that was more physically demanding than cutting conventional grass at lower heights, he said.

Because of the larger demands of labor, in addition to an incorrect composting recipe, the organic treat-ment of the park ceased, he said.

With new ideas for efficiency and support, two stu-dents are leading efforts to try the chemical-free treat-ment methodology again.

Senior Ryan Meer, a senator in FLC’s student govern-ment, who also sits on the Board of Directors for the en-vironmental center, and sophomore Dylan Ruckel, a con-cerned student activist and environmental studies major, are collaborating on a new organically treated project.

Both students have united to create a proposal for the Director of Plant Services Wayne Kjonaas outlin-ing the implementation for chemical-free treatment of a plot of grass which would border the Environmental Center’s vegetable and composting garden, Meer said.

Webb proposed the area as a strong option for a test plot and is supportive of the students’ pursuit of

organic management on campus grounds.Beyond obtaining consent from Kjonaas to begin

their plan, the students will need the approval of a Sustainability Initiative Grant by ASFLC to help fund the project, Meer said in an email.

Many components need to be factored in the devel-opment of a strong proposal to gain activation, as the chemistry, history, and biology of the ecosystem must be considered. Beyond that, designing a plan to meet the labor requirements is another process, Ruckel said.

One of the main goals of the test plot is to begin to change people’s mindsets: “Dandelions seem to have a social stigma surrounding them,” said Meer, pointing out an observation that could change with time.

Dandelions are nature’s free aerators, Turtle Lake Refuge founder Katrina Blair said in an email.

Because of their deep taproot, the dandelion not only aerates the soil, but also pulls up additional min-erals into the leaves. Every year when the leaves die from winter, they drop onto the ground, compost, and rebuild the topsoil’s integrity, she said.

Whether or not Durango’s public property is treat-ed with organic pesticides has been a prevalent issue.

“We are currently using Integrated Pest Manage-ment as the normal procedure of treatment,” said Cathy Metz, director of Durango Parks and Recre-ation, in a phone interview.

The IMP is approved by the Environmental Pro-tection Agency, she said.

If organic treatment is implemented, the com-munity will have less exposure to excessive chemical residues which will lead to an increase in overall pub-lic health, Blair said.

Water ways will have less chemical run off and the health of the soils will transform towards a greater ef-ficiency of water absorption, she said.

The diversity and amount of microorganisms in the ground will start producing free fertilizers through an ecosystem that has returned towards its natural integrity, she said.

The entirety of our environment will improve in health and vitality, Blair said.

“There is a great disparity between the treatment methods,” Metz said. “A lot of professional opinions differ on this topic.”

Story by Rachel Giersch

Student Initiatives for a FLC Organically

Treated Plot

Photos by Bryanna KinlicheeneGraphics by Michaela Goade

Environmental Studies students Ryan Meer and Dylan Ruckel are collaborating on a new organically treated test plot on FLC campus

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For the Free Spirit in YouFor the Free Spirit in You

Be seen on the scene this Halloween!

Femme Fatale, Phantom or Freak?Fun finds for every alter ego

• Halloween Costumes & Accessories • Crazy Hats, Headpieces & Wigs • Bright Tights & Scarves • Stylish Jackets & Coats • Jewelry, Apparel & Gifts

1015 Main Avenue • Durango, CO970.385.4526 • www.animastrading.com

FREE!! 3 Night Drama Event!!! *Live Cast * Lighting & Special Effects * Kid’s Program for 9 years & younger (recommended)

Sun, Mon & Tue; Oct. 28th, 29th & 30th 7PM Each Night Drama Presentation at Hesperus Church, 22972 Highway 140, 81326 970-385-4609

www.hesperuschurch.com (see Events page)