People Just Don't Get It

At Butterfly Ridge, we are not just an environmental education site, we are also a conservation site. We are not just a conservation site; we are also a research facility. We are not just a research facility; we are a training site for young people wanting to enter the field. We are not just a training facility; we are a business.

As you can see, we wear a lot of hats (bandanas for those who know me) at Butterfly Ridge. We have to protect our conservation, education, research, from a lot of threats. The weather, deer, sometimes our visitors, South Central Power, and now Spectrum are among the threats.

Spectrum (or their contractor) is apparently stringing fiber optics from the power poles out here. And they paid Butterfly Ridge a visit the other day when we were out of town. I will give them credit, at least they came when we were closed. My preference would have been to not even be able to tell they we here.

How did we know they were here? A bench along the trail was broken and a single-stranded wire fence had been disassembled so they could drive over it, but then not fully replaced.

The only way for the 2x4 to fall out is to either take the seat off or to spread the stumps apart.

Single stranded wire fencing laying on the ground.

We could also tell they had visited our site because they left their tire tracks. This was the reason they took the single strand down, to get the vehicle through. However, they could have saved the effort and simply driven on the grassy path that was literally a few feet away, as you can see by where my Jeep is parked. Once they got past the broken bench, they in fact did drive on the grassy path.

By choosing to avoid the grassy path, they drove through the red loop of our prairie. I know a lot of people look at this and assume, “Oh, that’s just a hay field.” No, this isn’t just a hay field. While it may not look it, this is actually an intensively planned and monitored habitat. The fact that it doesn’t look intensively planned and managed I would argue is a testament to Butterfly Ridge being very good at what it does. So, what are some of the plants that got crushed by our friends at Spectrum?

Indian Plantain

Wild Bergamot

Compass Plant

The section with the Indian Plantain and Bergamot was planted in 2023. The section with the Compass Plant was planted in 2020. The Compass Plant has never bloomed. I was hoping maybe this year; now probably not. These plants we planted for a reason. These are not plants that just popped up on their own. All of these started life in our greenhouse from seed, with a specific plan to help our pollinators and to teach others about that help. These plants were planted for a purpose.

On Sunday morning we had a utility truck come speeding up our driveway as two volunteers arrived. The vehicle drove to our 4WD parking area, turned around spinning gravel everywhere (that happens when you try to back up a gravel surface not in four-wheel drive) and then sped back down the driveway. As it sped out I was standing about ten feet away. As he sped past me I shouted, “What!”, as in “What are you doing?” He comes to a sudden stop, shouts out his window that he was just turning around. He could have chosen far easier and more obvious places to turn around.

About ten minutes later we get a call on our business line. It is the driver of the utility truck expressing concern because someone from our property had “approached him very aggressively”. Hahahaha!!! That is what you call aggressive is it? I have been held at gunpoint in this county for far less of a sin than this. So, if you consider me asking for an explanation about what is happening on my property with a one-word question aggressive, then sir, this is why I approached you aggressively. Because EVERYTIME a utility company enters my property they tear up my hard work, including you sir, by spinning a hole in my parking lot.