As we were closing this issue, I came across a video on Twitter of a highway just outside Vancouver, submerged in water. It wasnt the only one. The densely populated urban heart of British Columbia was cut off from the rest of Canada by flooding and mudslides after an atmospheric river barreled through. The countrys busiest port lost access to rail service, stranding containers. Hundreds of motorists had to be rescued from slide-isolated highways on military helicopters. The only way to get to the rest of the country by road was to detour through the United States.

The deluge followed a hot, dry summer that saw the numerous cities throughout the region blast through long-standing temperature records as a heat dome blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest. By the end of August, drought had settled in across the province. Vancouver Island, home to old-growth temperate rainforests, hit level 5 drought conditions, British Columbias most severe categorization. Hundreds of wildfires left the region covered in ash and the city itself choking in smoke. The charred landscape left by the summers drought made the falls floods that much worse. Watching that video of a highway covered in brown, muddy water, it occurred to me that I was viewing a sad microcosm of the premise of this issue: The way very many of us will initially experience climate change will be through watereither too much of it or not enough. We will flood. Or burn. Or both. This issue brings you stories of the way changes to the water cycle are playing out all over the world as we begin to experience climate change.

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Most of us will first experience climate change through water - MIT Technology Review

Ronny MichelHearts in Touch

I did something that, for me, was not the better part of wisdom. I tried to remember my 2021 New Years Resolutions. The one goal I remembered will be carried into next year. The other long forgotten and likely broken ones are written somewhere, but I will let them rest in peace.

C.S. Lewis wrote,Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park, was tasked with turning 80,000 acres of bare land into a forest surrounding the Biltmore Estate. Three million trees and plants from all over the world took root in the soil of the Estate, and more than 100 years later, tourists enjoy the scenic reality of Olmsteds vision.

The Approach Road to the Biltmore mansion is a three-mile winding road and that, too, was part of Olmsteds plan. He didnt want a straight path. He wanted guests to enjoy every twist and turn of the ride that took 45 minutes by carriage. With every bend of the road, Olmsted wanted the landscape to be a different experience, like turning the page of a book.

Im going to think of that whenever life takes a twist. Im going to trust that God just wants me to appreciate a different view or learn a new lesson and just enjoy the ride. As I approach 2022, Ive already been praying for clear vision for everyone who reads these words. May the new decade usher in deeper trust that the Grand Architect has planned every detail of the landscape of our lives.

Ronny can be reached atrmmichel@rtconline.com.

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FAITH: Hearts in Touch - When life takes a twist - Orange Leader - Orange Leader

Ana Teresa Fernndez stands in front of her sculpture On the Horizon during its installation and viewing party on June 20 at Ocean Beach. Photo: Jana Asenbrennerova / Special to The Chronicle

In 2021, the Bay Area returned to cultural life in museums, galleries and public art events as venues renewed in-person programming while remaining ready to adjust to new restrictions and variants.

Continuing 2020s calls for widen representation in culture, we saw the launch of the Minnesota Street Project Foundations California Black Voices Project, a grant program that featured an opening exhibition in the 1275 Minnesota St. atrium curated by Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins, as well as projects by artists Toni Scott and Leila Weefur. LGBTQ art was also given notable attention with the presentation of an original rainbow Gay Pride Flag by Gilbert Baker at the GLBT Historical Society Museum, the Queer Visions lookback at LGBTQ nightlife history at the Haight Street Art Center and a celebration of queer artist Jerome Caja at the Anglim/Trimble gallery.

San Francisco gallerist Jessica Silverman moved from her space in the Tenderloin to new digs in Chinatown, where locals Clare Rojas, Catherine Wagner, Woody De Othello and Sadie Barnette were subjects of solo shows.

In public art, Dana Kings Monumental Reckoning, featuring 350 sculptures symbolizing the first group of Africans enslaved in the United States, and Ben Davis Illuminate the Arts Lift Every Voice installation notably changed the Music Concourse at Golden Gate Park after the removal of a statue of slaveholder Francis Scott Key last year.

A thrilling, temporary public work also got an opportunity for more life. Ana Teresa Fernndezs eco-sculpture On the Horizon, consisting of 16 6-foot plastic tubes filled with seawater, was initially installed twice at Ocean Beach as a commentary on climate change and inequality. It went on to be part of the For-Site Foundations Lands End exhibition at the former Cliff House, where it is currently on view through March 2022.

And the family of San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa debuted a new online audio tour of Asawas public works, stretching from San Jose to St. Helena.

Here are some other standout moments from the year.

In September, Shimon Atties floating barge installation Night Watch felt like a comeback moment for art gatherings. The collaboration between Boxblur and the Immersive Arts Alliance featured a 20-foot LED screen affixed to the vessel traveling the San Francisco Bay for three nights with Atties video portraits of 12 refugees granted political asylum in the United States playing on a loop.

The performance coincided with Atties show Here, Not Here at the Catharine Clark Gallery. The activations around the area meaningfully combined technology and deeper questions about the asylum and refugee crisis.

The inaugural exhibition at the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion at the Asian Art Museum was an exciting look ahead for the institution. The Tokyo-based art collectives projected digital work Continuity not only included completely original moving artwork and soundtracks, but also piped in fragrances for a truly immersive experience.

Forget the sudden rash of projected shows big in pop culture that riff on existing art like Immersive Van Gogh; for half the price, you can take in teamLabs virtual garden.

Continuity by teamLab:1-8 p.m. Thursdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays-Mondays. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Through February. $25. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., S.F. asianart.org

Discussions about fnnch and his signature honey bears reached a fever pitch this year, with fans claiming the work is meant to be uplifting and cute while critics view the work as a branding device thats a symbol of gentrification.

In response, the new street art mascot Ricky Rat rose up as a kind of anti-honey bear while activist group Gay Shame created a papier-mache honey bear being decapitated by a guillotine.

A year that included exhibitions of Joan Mitchell, Nam June Paik and San Francisco native Tauba Auerbach should be an unqualified success for the San Francisco institution. But the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is still finding its way forward after a rocky 2020, even with two shows Bay Area Walls and Close to Home: Creativity in Crisis notably focused on local artists responses to the coronavirus and ongoing social justice reckonings that hit the institution hard.

This year, the museum disbanded its volunteer Modern Art Council, closed the beloved Artists Gallery at Fort Mason and cut its celebrated film program, as well as ceasing its online publication Open Space and podcast Raw Material, citing budgetary constraints.

SFMOMA also continues to work on its Diversity Equity Inclusion plan and search for a successor to director Neal Benezra, while still facing both internal and external complaints.

Artist Judy Chicago was celebratedin four Bay Area shows in August: Judy Chicago: A Retrospective at the de Young Museum; the solo show Human Geometries at Jessica Silverman Gallery; a section of Experience Leonard Cohen at the Contemporary Jewish Museum; and in the Berkeley Art Museum-Pacific Film Archives New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century. The near-simultaneous debut of the shows will go down in local lore as Judyfest: The weekend the Bay Area went Chicago, and was a fitting acknowledgment of the underappreciated feminist creator of The Dinner Party.

However, Chicagos atmospheres installation Forever de Young in October was a polarizing event, with some applauding the work while people downwind (and residents near Golden Gate Park) asked whether clouds of colored smoke were an appropriate artistic medium during Northern Californias fire season.

Judy Chicago: A Retrospective: 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Through Jan. 9. $15-$30. De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, S.F. 415-750-3600. deyoung.famsf.org

Judy Chicago: Cohanim: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Through Jan. 2. $16 general admission. 736 Mission St., S.F. 415-655-7888. http://www.thecjm.org

New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century: 11 a.m.-7 p.m Wednesday-Sunday. Through Jan. 30. 2155 Center St., Berkeley. 510-642-0808.bampfa.org

The Afro-futurist sculptures installed in the courtyard and Rodin galleries of the Legion of Honor for Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening? are a strong recommendation for curator Claudia Schmucklis contemporary series at the museum. The work was not only beautifully juxtaposed with the art and architecture of the venue, but also inspired visitors to ask who those spaces were designed for.

The museum nodded to history with curator Rene Dreyfus Last Supper in Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave exploring the art and lifestyle artifacts of the doomed Roman city and Color Into Line: Pastels From the Renaissance to the Present featuring 80 masterworks of the under-celebrated medium by curator Furio Rinaldi.

Color Into Line: Pastels From the Renaissance to the Present: 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Through Feb. 13. $15-$30. Legion of Honor Museum, 100 34th Ave., S.F. 415-750-3600. legionofhonor.famsf.org

Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love was a giddy explosion of style, color and culture in curator Laura Camerlengos celebration of the 1980s fashion pioneer who broke many of the industrys racial barriers as a Black American fashion designer in the 1980s. The Mode Brut exhibition at the Museum of Craft and Design was another wearable high for Creativity Explored, the Mission District gallery and art center for developmentally disabled artists who explored concepts of gender, accessibility and identity through their garments.

Mode Brute: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Through Jan. 23. $10. Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 Third St., S.F. 415-773-0303. sfmcd.org

Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love: 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Through April 24. $15-$30. De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, S.F. 415-750-3600. deyoung.famsf.org

Carrie Mae Weems: Witness was a fitting first solo exhibition of the artist at Fraenkel Gallery that felt perfectly timed to ongoing cultural explorations of Black identity and womanhood.

Weems, newly represented by Fraenkel, preceded Witness by curating a separate show of Diane Arbus photographs at the gallery. Among the most resonant works in Witness were pieces from the artists Museum series, where she depicts herself clad in black staring down monuments and architectural icons of the art world.

When the Oakland Museum of California reopened in June after being closed 15 months, it debuted excitingly refreshed outdoor spaces by landscape architect Walter Hood and architect Mark Cavagnero. In August, Mothership: Voyage Into Afrofuturism delved into the movement best known for the writings of Octavia Butler and the Marvel film Black Panther. This year also saw the temporary closure of the Great Hall exhibition space after water damage caused by Bay Area rainstorms, pushing the museums Edith Heath: A Life in Clay exhibition to 2022. Also on the museums agenda: a total re-evaluation of its internal structures to better exemplify the organizations values of inclusion, equity and community.

Mothership: Voyage Into Afrofuturism: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Through Feb. 27. $7-$21; free for children age 12 and younger. Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. museumca.org

Deborah Oropallo and Andy Rappaport, still from Uprising, 2021. 3 x 4K video projection with two-channel sound; 9:36 minutes. Edition of 8 + 2AP.

Deborah Oropallo and Andy Rappaports three-channel video installation titled Uprising helped quantify the recent removals of Confederate monuments around the country, depicting more than 200 toppled and defaced works. Watching as the wraparound screen went from vacant to populated with overlapping images of graffitied Confederate statues set to Rappaports berserk carousel soundtrack felt like a fitting final gesture to the monuments legacy.

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Visual art in 2021 explored big issues and didnt shy from controversy - SF Chronicle Datebook

Its been a year of highs and lows, lockdowns and new normals, and throughout 2021 weve been engaging in some metal escapism courtesy of the written page. As we close out the year, our team share some of their favourite books on The Spaces Bookshelf, from lavish architectural tomes to street photography essays, and much-missed pioneer Virgil Ablohs collaboration with Nike.

Photography: Liz Seabrook

Published by Hoxton Mini PressLiz Seabrook started her Female Chef series in 2021, as the restaurant industry tentatively reopened after lockdown. The book, written by Clare Finney, brings together stories and recipes from women many of whom were photographed against the backdrop of their own kitchens who are not only redefining the food scene but doing so in an especially challenging and fraught climate. The book is a loving portrait of these pioneering culinary talents as well as the spaces they inhabit.

Photography: courtesy Taschen

Published by TaschenTheres just a thousand special editions of this Gio Ponti monograph, billed as the most comprehensive account of his work to date. It follows six decades of the architects contribution to design, delving into over a hundred projects lovingly photographed and reproduced in high res as well as unpublished imagery that tells the bigger story behind his achievements. Included with this numbered collectors edition is a set of prints of Pontis ocean liner studies, and a reproduction of the Planchart Coffee Table handy for displaying the colossal book on.

Get a sneak peek at the book.

Photography: Franois Halard

Published by RizzoliThis limited edition book peeks inside the creative crucible that is interior designer Rose Uniackes home. Only 2,500 copies have been published, all of them reproduced in lavish detail think pages of gatefolds, and a canvas and wool dust jacket. Uniacke guides the tour herself, alongside essays from architect Vincent Van Duysen and landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith.

Photography: Karen Halverson

Published by MW EditionsPhotographer Karen Halverson celebrates the mythical status of Los Angeless Mulholland Drive, with a coffee table hardback that dedicates plenty of space to her panoramic photos. She became fascinated with the road after seeing David Hockneys 20-ft painting of it, and after moving to LA set about documenting its 52-mile stretch from the sweeping rear lights of cars to the lush tropical greenery that borders the tarmac.

Photography: Taschen

Published by TaschenThe fashion world was left reeling earlier this year when Virgil Ablohs death was announced. Tributes to the pioneering designer poured in, celebrating his trailblazing contribution to design, fashion and architecture. A small but significant part of that is collected in Somethings Off a printed documentary of the collaboration between Nike and his label Off-White. Abloh described the book as a catalog of images from my process that are largely not on the internet, and cemented his love of print, sneaker culture and belief in the power of local bookstores.

Photography: Rizzoli

Published by RizzoliTheres interior inspiration aplenty in this hardcover collection of artists homes. Photographer Leslie Williamson has documented studios and houses belonging to the likes of Georgia OKeeffe, Isamu Noguchi and Barbara Hepworth, in an attempt to get under the skin of their creative process as well as their home life. I believe that the spaces where we spend our lives hold an ephemeral part of ourselves long after we have left them; our souls linger in the place where we spent our happiest, most fulfilled times, writes the photographer. This book is filled with those soul-imbued artists spaces.

Photography: Stephen Johnson / Studio Volpe / Mayer Rus

Published by RizzoliSteven Volpe, the titan of interior design and loft-living pioneer, takes readers inside his rule-breaking approach, in this first book dedicated to his work. The hardback delves into 10 projects by the designer, covering a wide range of spaces New York penthouses and modernist Cali homes through to classic city townhouses.

Photography: Stefi Orazi

Published by Prestel PressThis alternative travel guide is perfect for those of us dreaming of a long-awaited trip, going behind the doors of Modernist landmarks around the world. Its stuffed with eye candy, including photos of the exterior of buildings as well as the rooms inside. Author Stefi Orazi has added plenty of extra historical detail, meaning readers can choose their favourite, plan a trip, and visit armed with plenty of facts and figures.

You can find out more about the book, and Orazis itinerary here.

Photography: Ivar Kvaal

Published by Thames & HudsonDreams of remote retreats take shape inside this book dedicated to the work of Canadian architect Todd Saunders, who has designed buildings in secluded locations in Newfoundland and Fogo Island. New Northern Houses is his first major monograph and emphasises Saunders expertise in creating architecture that reflects and blends with the nature that surrounds it. The book features 11 projects across Scandinavia and Canada and delves into the architects creative process and design philosophy.

Photography: Marchand/Meffre

Published by Prestel PublishingAbandoned places are a perennial source of fascination, and the grander they are, the more intriguing they become. Movie Theaters documents the crumbling picture palaces across the US, which photo duo Marchand/Meffre have been capturing for the last 16 years. The books oversized format does full justice to the pairs work, featuring hundreds of images of gracefully decaying movie theatres, filled with mouldering velvet seats and defunct equipment.

Continued here:
10 books we loved this year - The Spaces

A concrete podium topped with a sculptural, glazed volume forms Casa S, a cliffside Chilean house by architecture firms Gubbins Polidura Arquitectos and Ms Arquitectos.

The project is located in Punta Pite, a community that sits between the beach towns of Zapallar and Papudo on the Chilean coast. As indicated by its name punta is Spanish for tip the site juts out into the sea.

Santiago firms Gubbins Polidura Arquitectos and Ms Arquitectos were tasked with designing a second home for a couple with three children.

Their design was heavily influenced by the clients unique property, which is almost 100 metres long and has a steep, rocky drop of 20 metres.

"One of the main objectives of the project was to create a horizontal plane a large podium that allows for habitation and highlights the strength of the landscape, the view of the sea and the sunset," the team said.

The two-level Casa S consists of a V-shaped, concrete podium topped with a glazed, amoeba-shaped volume.

The podium is embedded in the site, making it barely visible from certain vantage points.

"This reduces the image of a large house in the landscape," the team said. "When you are in the pavilion on the upper floor, the rest of the house disappears."

Within the 420-square-metre dwelling, there is a clear division between public and private areas.

"The idea of the proposal was to separate the public and private programs into two pieces arranged one on top of the other, relating both levels to the landscape," the team said.

Upstairs one finds the kitchen, dining area and living room. Each occupies a circular room with a sunken central portion.

Floor-to-ceiling glass enables the rooms to feel integrated with the natural terrain. Granite flooring continues outdoors, further helping the interior merge with the landscape.

At the heart of the ground level is a spiral staircase, which leads down to the sleeping area. One side holds a main suite, while the other encompasses three bedrooms.

Throughout the home, the team used a restrained palette of materials, including stone, wood and board-formed concrete. Stacked plywood boards form the stairs and dining furniture.

Given Chiles high amount of seismic activity, the architects were mindful of earthquakes while designing the building. The upper portion consists of a concrete slab that rests on 21 steel columns.

"The height of the columns is the minimum, 230 centimetres, thus avoiding the possible deformation of the structure in the face of dynamic stress," the team said.

"This height enhances the horizontality of the enclosures, highlighting the views always towards the horizon."

Other coastal dwellings in Chile include a pair of minimalist, timber-clad cabins by Croxatto and Opazo Architects, and a cliffside retreat by the late Chilean architect Cristin Boza that features a winding yellow wall and circular swimming pool.

The photography is by Cristobal Palma.

Project credits:

Architecture firms: Gubbins Polidura Arquitectos and Ms ArquitectosArchitects: Antonio Polidura and Alex BrahmLandscape:Juan GrimmArchitecture collaborator: Hernan FourniesProject calculations: Alberto MaccioniConstruction: Daniel AlemparteLighting: Greene During Iluminacion and Luxia Lighting

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Casa S is an amoeba-shaped home on the coast of Chile - Dezeen

A massive Arvene East project in Queens has been approved and up to 30 million worth of funding was secured from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, by a tri-joint venture consisting of Triangle Equities, The Bluestone Organization, and L+M Development; in order to undertake the first phase of the project. This development is intended to become the first net-zero community in the city.

The Arvene East project will be located on a vacant 116 acres plot, nestled between Arvene and Edgemore neighborhoods along Rockaway Peninsula. Development plans for phase I will cover the restoration of a 116 acre vacant site; construction of a new building, which will house a welcome center, a park ranger office and comfort station; and a nature preserve which will be developed on 35 acres of land between Beach 44th Street and Beach 56th Place. The nature preserve will be managed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Also ReadAlloy Sunnyside housing project to be developed in Denver

Design plans for the Arvene East project show that the building plans will incorporate various energy saving techniques, to ensure that the buildings produce more renewable energy than they consume. A net-zero energy status will be attained by using the passive house construction method, which will develop highly insulated and airtight buildings that make use of new efficient mechanical systems to bring in fresh, filtered air. In addition, photovoltaic panels will be used all through the development to ensure that enough energy is produced to offset the energy used in the new buildings.

The Arvene East project, on completion will have about 1, 650 housing units built on the property, with 80% of them to be offered as affordable units and the remaining 20% to be set at the market rate pricing. This new development will also feature numerous retail and public spaces, along with a community center housed within the new building. The community center will be owned and operated by a non-profit group RISE, based in the Greater Rockaway community.

Urbane, a community development consulting firm with an MBE certification will also become part of the tri-venture. The company will serve as development partner on the Arvene East project and will also be responsible for the management of retail and small business, with the aim of promoting the growth of new and existing local, small businesses. Other companies involved in this development include Starr Whitehouse, a certified MBE firm, serving as the landscape architect, and the WBE certified, WXY architecture firm, serving as the nature preserve architect.

If you have a remark or more information on this post please share with us in the comments section below

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$30m secured to begin Phase I of the Arvene East project in New York - Construction Review

Grappling with flathead catfish: An Oklahoma noodling adventure

David Dishman and Ed Godfrey waded through a creek for a noodling adventure. Noodlers use their bare hands, and some times feet, to catch flathead catfish.

Jordan Green and Paige Dillard, Oklahoman

John Stephens chuckled at the question ofwhetherbabies born in Stuttgart, Arkansas, are given duck calls instead of pacifiers to suck on.

"It seems like everybody that comes from here knows how to blow a duck call," the 48-year-old call maker said.

Stephens is a world duck calling champion who grew up on arice farm nearStuttgart, longknown as the "Rice and Duck Capital of the World."

Atown of about 10,000 residents, Stuttgart is a six-hour drive from Oklahoma City and is hallowed ground to duck hunters. Mallardshave been flocking to the rice fields and bottomlandforests aroundStuttgartfor many, manyyears.

That, plus the maze ofrivers, bayous, sloughs and oxbow lakes makeStuttgart, located 45 miles southeast of Little Rock,a magnet for ducks.

"We have a lot of hardwood bottoms around here that flood naturally," Stephens said. "It's just kind of a natural funnel where ducks come for wintering grounds."

And it's wintering grounds for duck hunters from across the country.

More: 'Every single life matters': WildCare saves wild animals and returns them to the wild

The flooded timber of theBayou Meto Wildlife Management Area, about 15 miles southwest of Stuttgart, is considered thecrown jewel of public lands for waterfowl hunting.

The opening days of waterfowl season can get crowded atBayou Meto, even with its 33,832 acres.

Between1,500 to 2,000 hunters usethe area each day in the early days of duck season and about350 hunters use the area daily therest of the season.

Thirty-five miles southeast of Stuttgart is the White River National Wildlife Refuge, home to the largest concentration of winteringmallard ducksin theMississippi Flyway.

AcrosstheDelta region of southeast Arkansas, near the confluence of the White, Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, there are duck hunting opportunities galorewhen there is adequate rainfall to flood the public hunting areas alongthe river bottoms.

"This is a very dry year for us and we don't have quite the public land available because it's not flooded," Stephens said. "But on a normal year, that's what I think brings a lot of people here. You can just put a boat in and go somewhere and hunt."

Last weekend, Stephens met duck hunters from Florida, Maine, North Carolina, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas in Stuttgart.In additionto mallards, hunting speckled-belly geese has become extremely popular in recent years, he said.

"There's a lot of good hunting in Stuttgart, for sure," Stephens said.

More: Do the dead stick drift: How to catch big stripers in the winter on Lake Texoma

The town of Stuttgart embraces all things duck and duck hunting, during and outside of waterfowl season.

"That's one of thecool things about Stuttgart," Stephens said. "It's kind of duck season 365 days a year.Everything is just centered around the rice harvest and the fall migration of ducks,"

There are numerous of duck hunting guides operating in Stuttgart. Itis home to the world duck calling championships each Thanksgiving weekend.

Mack's Prairie Wings, which advertises itself as America's Premier Waterfowl Outfitter, calls Stuttgart home.

Down the road from Mack's is Rich-N-Tone Calls (also called RNT Calls), one of the largest duck call manufacturers in the world. Stephens is RNT'spresident and chief executive officer.

And his journey to the top of the call making world began when he was a young boyin Stuttgart.

More: Catch and keep: Oklahoma Wildlife Department hopes to change mindset of bass anglers

Stephens first went duck hunting with his dad at age5.

"I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I remember when I got to be the age of 6 or 7 they gave me a duck call to blow when we were sitting out in a blind," he said. "I was just making a bunch of racket, really."

A duck flew inand the hunters shot it. Stephens said there is no way thatduck could have beenresponding to the noise he was making, but it hooked him on duck calling.

In Stuttgart, there was a community of call makers, and a young Stephens would be a frequent visitor to watch them work and pick their brains.

"There were probably a dozen call makers in this town," Stephens said.

One of the bestwas a local craftsman namedButch Richenback, who won a world duck calling championship in 1972 and was the 1975 Champion of Champions caller.

In 1976, Richenback startedRich-N-Tone duckcalls. In the beginning, making duck calls was more of a hobby and not a full-time job for Richenback, Stephens said.

"I grew up going over to his little shop in his garage, learning how to blow a duck call," Stephens said. "And that is where I got interested in making calls."

More than 20 years later, when Richenback began having health issues, he began looking tosell the company. Richenback could have sold Rich-N-Tone to alarger companybut he asked Stephens, whom he had mentored as a boy, tobuy it.

Stephens was working as a landscape architect at the time and was reluctant about taking over for a legend, but he bought the company in 1999.

Oklahoma outdoors: MLB pitcher Archie Bradley turns into a duck hunting outfitter during the offseason

Today, Rich-N-Tone is one of the top sellers of duck calls in the world and the company has its own duck hunting show on the Sportsman Channel. Stephens is one of three co-hosts.

Rich-N-Tone calls aremachine-builtthen finished by hand and tuned, but Stephens also has his own brand of custom-made calls that he still makes by hand. The Rich-N-Tone calls sell from $65 to $200, while Stephens' customcalls start around $500.

Visitors to Rich-N-Tone's headquarters in Stuttgart can view how the calls are made. They can also see a collection of vintageduck calls.

In addition to being a call maker, Stephens is a call collector. He displays old duck calls from different collectors around the country at his store and manufacturing facility in Stuttgart."Right now, we have a duck call collection from Tennessee," he said. "It's over 200 calls dating back from 1880 to 1950. We get a lot of people that come through to see the calls and get a beer."

That's because three years ago Stephens also addeda tap room for craft beer atRich-N-Tone. The company's flagshipbeeris the"Flying Duck."

Rich-N-Tone partnered with Flyway Brewing in Little Rock to makethe "Flying Duck" beer, which is sold in Harps Food Stores and liquorstores across Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The Flying Duck tap room getscrowded during duck season.

"During duck season we are packed," Stephens said of the tap room. "It's cool because you don't go to too many places where the whole placeis filled with duck hunters."

Reporter Ed Godfrey looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at egodfrey@oklahoman.com or on Twitter @EdGodfrey. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

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Duck, Duck, Beer: What makes Stuttgart, Arkansas, the duck hunting capital of the world? - Oklahoman.com

Kim Frisbie| Special to the Daily News

I was delighted the other day to pass a bright sign outside a garden along the ocean proclaiming, Native Plants bring Life to this Landscape. The sign was outlined with pictures of cardinals, butterflies, coral honeysuckle, dune sunflower, gaillardia, and other native flowers, with the logo FANN, the Florida Association of Native Nurseries at the bottom. Peeking over the gate, I saw a mass of colorful natives thriving happily along the dunes. People are paying attention.

The New York City Parks Department recently jumped on the native plant bandwagon, urging the public to plant natives to help sharply declining bird and pollinator populations, which they acknowledge are in dire need of more natural space.The Parks Departments Pollinator Place Program supports birds, bugs and bees year-round by planting native gardens in city parks.Similar native gardens are springing up across the country, as people become more aware of the urgency to save our existing species, which happen to include us.

We have the all-native Pans Garden at The Preservation Foundation, and Lake Drive Park at the towns new marina hosts an enormous number of native species. The town and The Preservation Foundation are now collaborating on the exciting 18-acre Phipps Ocean Park, a visionary oasis of native plants stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway. Designed by renowned architect Raymond Jungles, the park will include trails through coastal hammocks of native trees, shrubsand wildflowers, educational outdoor classroomsand beautiful vistas overlooking restored dunes and mangrove islands.

These parks play a vital role in reconnecting us with naturebut we shouldnt have to go to a park to hear birds and see butterflies. This should be a part of our everyday lives.

The tropical jungle that was once Florida has been almost entirely replaced with exotic species. Many of these are beautiful and do indeed add to the allure that is Palm Beach, but we need more native plants in the mix to establish balanced ecosystems that support essential polllinators and the birds and wildlife that depend on them.

Diversity of plant material is also crucial; monocultures created by using too much of a single species invite disease and pests. This is underscored by the overuse of Ficus benjamina hedges, which cannot survive without toxic pesticides that poison our air and pollute our water and soil. Native plants have evolved with their insect pollinators in adapting to our specific growing conditions, so they require no chemicals.Once established, native plants will literally bring life to your landscape, providing sustainable habitat for butterflies, bees and other pollinators, songbirds, hummingbirds and interesting wildlife.

There is nothing more joyful than a real, living garden, full of color, fragrance, and activity. This is a far cry from the sterile landscapes to which we have grown accustomed in Palm Beach: lifeless, chemically treated lawns surrounded by sterile, manicured ficus hedges accented with spikes of podocarpus or globes of schefflera trinette provide no environmental sustenance.

A common complaint about natives is that they are too unkempt or not formal enough, but this is not the case if they are planted correctly. Sun-loving plants wont thrive in the shade, and shade-loving plants wilt and yellow in full sun. Its just a matter of learning what to plant in your specific location.

Its also important to take size into consideration: Dont plant a shrub that will grow to 10 feet in front of a window if you want to see out. And understand the natural growing characteristics of plants: tall slender myrsine fits nicely into a shady corner while open spreading fetterbush needs more space, but makes a great hedge or accent plant.

If you want a manicured look, plenty of natives are fine with pruning, including cocoa plum, buttonwood, Simpson's stopperand red cedar. Give plants room to grow; planted too closely, they will not thrive or reach their full potential.

And it wouldnt hurt us to modify our conception of the perfect garden to include more naturalistic plantings. Its fun to experiment with new species to add variety to your landscape; the more diversity you incorporate, the more birds you will attract.

Here are some interesting, beautiful natives that will add grace, distinction and sustainability to your gardens.

Blacktorch, Erithralis fruticosa, is a beautiful accent shrub with glossy evergreen foliage and small star-shaped white flowers followed by striking clusters of shiny black berries. This does well in sun or shade and grows to 6 feet.

Snowberry, Chiococca alba, has drooping clusters of fragrant white bell- shaped flowers followed by lovely bright white berries that glisten against the glossy green foliage. This grows to 8 feet in sun or part shade.

Fetterbush, Lyonia lucida, is a sprawling evergreen shrub growing 3-5 feet, thriving in moist soils in filtered shade. Fragrant white to deep pink flowers appear in spring attracting numerous butterflies, and the fruit is loved by mockingbirds. The evergreen leaves are coppery when young.

Golden creeper, Ernodea littoralis, is a fabulous low-growing, sprawling shrub perfect as a ground cover or in a planter where its arching stems will cascade gracefully over the sides. In coastal areas it forms a spreading mat controlling sand erosion, and the small whitish-pink flowers bloom all year. Heat- and drought-tolerant, it thrives in full sun. This is a threatened species, so you will be doing yourself and the environment a big favor by planting it.

Pearlberry, Vallesia antillana, is another undemanding shrub with beautiful elliptical foliage setting off delicate clusters of milky star-shaped flowers and white, translucent pearl-like berries.This makes a lovely specimen or dense screen in sun or part shade.

White indigoberry, Randia aculeata, is a tough, slow growing evergreen shrub that's perfect for difficult sites with no irrigation. The fragrant white flowers appear year-round, and the white berries enclose an indigo blue pulp. Reaching 10 feet, this can be pruned to a smaller size. It is the larval host for the tantalus sphinx moth and provides nectar for numerous butterflies.

Finally, native plumbago, Plumbago scandens, provides delicate white star-shaped flowers year-round in sun or shade. Growing 3-4 feet, the arching stems intermingle with adjacent plants, making them appear to be blooming as well. The crushed foliage is used medicinally in the Caribbean.

Planting just a few natives will add interest and variety to your gardens, and you will love the butterflies and birds that seek out the nectar and habitat provided by their fruit and foliage. Every one of the plants Ive mentioned can be seen at Pans Garden, and I have them in my garden as well, so I can vouch for their beauty and performance.

There are hundreds of natives from which to choose:experiment with different colors, textures, sizes and shapes. And let the plants natural characteristics dictate where they will be best suited in your landscape. Then sit back and enjoy natures pageant of birds and butterflies.

Read more from the original source:
Green Gardening: Enjoy the bounties of nature that native plants bring - Palm Beach Daily News

The prize is named for Cornelia Hahn Oberlander,aGerman-born Canadian landscape architect who died in May of complications from COVID-19, weeks shy of her 100th birthday. TheNew York Timescalled her the grandedame of landscape architecture, and she was renowned for socially responsible, collaborative work, from playgrounds to museums, which blended prescient advocacy for environmental sustainability with a modernist sensibility. Perhaps her most celebrated project Robson Square,a three-block public plazain Vancouver, designed with architect Arthur Erickson.

Bargmann, who has practiced for more than 30 years (she is also a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia) focuseson contaminated, neglected, and forgotten urban and post-industrial sites. Working closely with architects, historians, engineers, hydrogeologists, artists, and local stakeholders, she has transformed Superfund, mining, and manufacturing sites, and created parks, corporate campuses, and housing.She often speaks of her her desire to unearth design elements from cast off places.

Shealsobrings her background as an artist (she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Carnegie Mellon University and aMaster in Landscape Architectureat Harvards GraduateSchool of Design) to all of her work, unearthing a narrative for each project that is rooted in its history and offers up alternative and experimental possibilities for the future.

Asked what she might do with the Oberlanders cash award,Bargmanntells Metropolis: It will probably involve a few of my favorite things: A long road trip, defunct and fallow land, the neighbors, mayors, and aspiring landscape architects.

By honoringBargmannan activist, provocateur, critic, and public intellectualas its inaugural laureate, the Oberlander Prize claims landscape architectures increasingly cross-disciplinary mantle with pride and urgent, agitational insistence.

The clear signal that [the Oberlander] sends to the landscape discipline is that those who are working on the margins are those who are creating the most innovation, often, says Maurice Cox, commissioner of Chicagos Department of Planning and Development, in a TCLF video introducingthe prize winner. Bargmann was selected by an independentseven-person jury chaired byDorotheImbert, the landscape architecture chair and director of the Knowlton School at The Ohio State University.

TCLF has been working for years to establish the prize. In 2017, TCLF board member JoanShafranand her husband RobHaimesdonated $1 million to supportits creation; TCLF board members and other supporters have since made significant donations. Honorees will be included in TCLFs oral historyarchiveand their projects will be added to the organizations database of more than 2,100 significant built landscapes. Going forward, their work will be assessed on a regular basis for any threats from neglect or destruction.

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Julie Bargmann Is the Winner of the Inaugural Oberlander Prize; a Pritzker Prize for Landscape Architecture. - Metropolis Magazine

Construction on the Rockford Airport cargo expansion has come right to the edge of Bell Bowl Prairie. (Courtesy of Cassi Saari)

Most battles between development and conservation, or the economy and the environment, are pitched as an either-or.

Supporters of the movement tosave Bell Bowl Prairie, a small patch of rare remnant prairie situated within the boundaries of Chicago Rockford International Airport, continue to hold out for a win-win.

At a meeting held Tuesday evening and attended by 150 people (counting both in-person and online), an alternative layout was presented for the expansion of the airports cargo facilities. Landscape architect Domenico DAlessandro demonstrated how a road, currently planned to plow through Bell Bowl, could be rerouted.

Renderings demonstrating the road (left) that would run through Bell Bowl Prairie as part of the Rockford Airport cargo expansion. (Courtesy of Save Bell Bowl Prairie)

The answer is simple, he said. Lets realign this road. All this road has to do is skim around (the prairie). Thats all we have to do.

Amy Doll, director of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, reiterated the stance ofBell Bowl backers: Saving Bell Bowl doesnt mean development doesnt happen. The coalition of conservationists respects the airports economic value to Rockford and the surrounding region, she said, but theres a better way to do this.

Still, with bulldozers stationed at the prairies fence, the time to present airport officials with options may have long passed.

A proposal to reconfigure the road that would plow through Bell Bowl Prairie, and have it skirt the natural area instead (blue dotted line). (Courtesy of Save Bell Bowl Prairie)

Rockford is ranked as the 17thlargest cargo airport in the U.S. and the fastest growing in the world, with business up 300% over the past five years, officials say. The cargo expansion a cornerstone of the airports strategic plan was cleared for takeoff years ago, backed by federal funds, and is barreling down the metaphorical runway.

In June 2018, a contract for design of the nearly 100,000-square-foot cargo facility was approved. Construction began October 2020. In January, $50 million in bonds were issued, and in February, the announcement of a seven-year lease agreement for the facility. This past July, Emirates and Qatar airlines were reported as new cargo clients. These and other milestones can be found in thepublished meeting minutes of the Greater Rockford Airport Authoritys board of commissioners.

Along the way, airport officials say they dotted all their is and crossed all their ts in terms of following guidelines and rules related to Bell Bowl, which is listed on the Illinois Natural Areas Inventoryas an outstanding, high-quality gravel prairie, fewer than 22 acres of which exist in Illinois in total.

The airports outreach included public notices, public meetings, and notices to all media in the area,Zack Oakley, deputy director of operations and planning, said in a statement provided to WTTW News. As required, RFD (Rockford Airport) completed the Environmental Assessment in 2019 and ultimately received a Finding of No Significant Impact from the FAA in November 2019. Construction has since commenced in areas that were included in the 2019 Environmental Assessment.

Bell Bowl isnt referenced in meeting minutes, but notes from theAugust 2018 meetingbriefly state:Were working on environmental studies in order to move forward with any midfield construction in the future.

Those studies were severely flawed, prairie proponents say, and they also dispute the airports version of its communication efforts regarding the cargo expansion.

The two sides have been at a stalemate since August, when the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee was spotted at the prairie. The airport agreed to pause construction in the area until Nov. 1, a date pegged as the end of the bees foraging season. A plan to relocate two state-listed endangered native plants by Nov. 1 the large-flowered penstemon and the prairie dandelion is being coordinated with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Oakley said.

IDNRcouldnt immediately provide details on the relocation plan.

While the airport pushes forward with its construction timeline, the Save Bell Bowl Prairie coalition continues to pursue legal recourse but is relying largely on a grassroots campaign to drum up support for, if nothing else, a chance to press pause.

Our immediate goal is that on Nov. 1, bulldozers dont go through a high-quality area, said Doll.

Thousands of letters have been sent to elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, whose record straddles both sides of the issue: His environmental advocacy recently earned him a conservation leadership award from Openlands, while airport meeting minutes cite the senator as instrumental in the growth at RFD. (The senators office hasnt responded to multiple WTTW News requests for comment.)

Representatives from the Illinois Environmental Council say the action is moving the needle, minimally in terms of putting Bell Bowl on legislators radar, but has yet to produce concrete results.

As the clock ticks on Bell Bowl and its loss creeps closer to reality, its supporters are left with the existential question of why, with climate change crises at hand, these 11th-hour scrambles are still necessary.

Why is the prairie expendable? DAlessandro asked. Why is this happening? It boggles the mind.

Contact Patty Wetli:@pattywetli| (773) 509-5623 |[emailprotected]m

Originally posted here:
Bell Bowl Prairie Proponents Have a Proposal to Save Rare Land and Allow Rockford Airport to Expand - WTTW News