Fall leaves on the lawn might seem like a nuisance, but they actually play an important role for the environment. A new survey from the National Wildlife Federation reveals most people know that leaf layers provide a home to moths and insects, which birds need to survive - and yet, they continue to bag them up and send them to a landfill.

Tim Ifill, director of trees, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, explained trees are an essential part of the environment.

"They're these living things that are used to this nutrient cycle where, you know - in a forest setting, you can imagine - they drop their leaves on the ground, those leaves slowly decompose, return nutrients to the soil, and then the tree roots will take up those nutrients and use them to grow," he said.

The "Leave the Leaves" survey found more than 70% of people know that fallen leaves and leaf layers are beneficial to wildlife, soil health and biodiversity. But only one in four keeps their leaves on the lawn.

Instead of buying mulch for landscaping, Ifill said he runs over the leaves with a mower, which helps add organic matter to the lawn, and explained chopping up and using leaves also offers the benefit of moisture absorption, in a way that is friendly to the local ecosystem.

"The basis of that food chain, in many cases, is this great insect life," Ifill continued. "And they need that leaf litter to reproduce every year and to overwinter. And if we take that away from them, then they're not going to have any places to overwinter. And we're not going to have that basis of the food chain that every other beneficial animal is going to need to survive."

Ifill said another important part of the ecosystem is for people to put native plants in their yards and gardens, which also helps support wildlife.

David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, said the lawn still needs to breathe, so leaving it totally covered with a few inches of leaves is too much. It is better to chop them up, and added putting leaves in bags for disposal is not a good idea.

"Bagging them up and sending them to the landfill actually is a really bad thing," he explained. "It really contributes some really nasty greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that are a piece of climate change."

The survey notes around 14% of people toss ten or more bags of leaves into the trash per year. Mizejewski said Pennsylvanians can share their space with a wealth of wildlife if they "leave some leaves" and give them some habitat.

As West Virginia opens its door to the plastics recycling or "advanced recycling" industry, a recent report found only a fraction of plastics are recycled and plastics labeled as biodegradable in reality can take years to degrade.

One study found biodegradable plastic bags were still fully intact after three years of being buried in the soil. There are currently no federal standards regulating bioplastics, or products claiming to be biodegradable or compostable.

Judith Enck, president of the group Beyond Plastics, said the plastic recycling plants being built in Appalachia increase exposure to microplastics and pose health risks for neighboring communities.

"Chemical recycling just takes plastics heated at a really high temperature to make small amounts of fossil fuels, or uses vast amount of toxic chemicals to try to break down old plastic and make it new plastic," Enck explained. "(It is) the last thing we need."

Plastic production is forecast to increase by 70% over the next 20 years, with roughly half designed for single-use products, according to the report.

Enck argued without significant reduction in plastic packaging, consumers will continue to ingest chemicals like PFAS, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride and other chemicals found in food and beverage packing.

"We're particularly concerned by a chemical called polylactic acid, PLA," Enck noted. "That is typically made from corn or sugar crops, and they also contain toxic chemicals."

Microplastics and nanoplastics are produced when plastic products break down into tiny fragments, which end up in soil and waterways.

Enck pointed out plastic particles have been found in honey, beer, salt, tea bags, fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. Microplastics have been found in human blood, organs, brains, breast milk and in newborn babies. Research has linked microplastics exposure to heart attacks, stroke, and diseases related to hormone disruption.

Two new studies find that without sustained intervention, California may permanently lose big sections of old-growth giant sequoia groves.

The majestic trees only grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Since 2015, 20% of them have died, mostly in three megafires in 2020 and 2021.

David Soderberg, Ph.D, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a study co-author, said the blazes incinerated many of the older, seed-bearing trees.

"You're getting much larger patches of fires burning at what's called high severity. So, you have this kind of bad combination for the sequoias where many more of the mature trees are dying, and there are many fewer of the seedlings regenerating," he explained.

The studies show there are substantially fewer seedlings than in the past, and those that germinate are imperiled by drought and heat stress linked to climate change. The Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition partners have planted more than 500,000 native seedlings in severely burned areas where reproduction has been insufficient.

Paul Ringgold, chief program officer with the Save the Redwoods League, said the idea is to give forest regeneration a head start.

"When you're planting seedlings, you're planting trees that have been grown in the nursery for two years or more. They're more robust than a seedling that is sprouting from a seed, giving it a little bit of an edge against the impact of drier, hotter summers," he said.

Old-growth sequoia are the world's largest trees and depend on fire to reproduce. But Ringgold noted that past fire-suppression efforts have led to a buildup of excessive fuel loads in the forests. So, extensive projects are underway to clear out dead vegetation and make the groves more resilient to fire.

Nearly 10,000 Montanans have petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to prevent mining activity in the iconic Smith River watershed.

The Smith is known for its majestic views and numerous wildlife species but it is also a huge draw for outdoor enthusiasts seeking to "disconnect." The Smith River Public Lands Coalition has called on the Forest Service to withdraw mineral leases granted to a company planning a $4 billion copper mine on private land near Sheep Creek, which feeds the Smith more than half of its water.

Josh Seckinger, a Bozeman-based Smith River guide, estimated he has floated the 5-day, 59-mile-long Smith 100 times. He thinks the copper sulfide mine drainage would be devastating.

"It just decimates anything with gills downstream," Seckinger pointed out. "That's fish, that's amphibians, that's aquatic bug life. It's a terrible way to sterilize a river."

Mine developer Black Butte Copper said it is committed to preserving Montana's water while creating economic development opportunities in the state, and claims it can build the mine in an environmentally friendly way.

Seckinger noted beyond the environmental and wildlife damage the mine drainage could cause, it also threatens the local landscape and the recreational economy built around the Smith River. He argued it is not just a hit to the businesses but to Montanans who want to experience the trip. It requires winning a permit in a state lottery.

"It is my hope that every resident of this state puts in for a lottery permit and wins, so they get the chance to experience this place," Seckinger emphasized. "Because once you experience this place, you understand immediately why it needs to be protected."

Black Butte Copper has bought nearly 700 claims on the public lands surrounding the one near Sheep Creek, potentially allowing the company to further expand its mining operations.


get more stories like this via email