WTC security and emergency response newspaper article

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

- uwia . .. trucks made several trips >fe»m Jackson, ISO imfes away, pumping 1W,QOO j^ions of water into the pond. Withouttheitankerdeliyeries.thepondwonld almost certainly have dried up? "We would have had no reproduction for the third year in a row,” said Seigel, “and I would have put the frog’s chances of surviving at one in five, at best.” Mississippi gopher frogs once inhabited a wide swath of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. But no longer: For the past five years. Seigel and others have searched the region, in vain, for additional gopher frog populations. Over the past half-century, the fre^s two habitats have been all but obliterated by hum^M. When on land, gopher frogs .live priimtrily in Longleaf pine forests, which once stretched^m Loui­ siana to North Carolina. Throughout thatl,200-miie expanse, ft was the dominant tree, uniquely adapted to the region, which with its hot, climate is j^ne to forest fires. The tree not only withstands fire, it re­ quires it; seedlings will not sprout until burned, in Longleaf areas, frequent fires clear undergrowth and thin out other trees, producing “open canopy” forests that have ample space and light. These forests attract a wide variety of animals, in­ cluding the gopher tortoise, a foot-long land turtle that thrives on the tender leafy plants that sprout after fires. The tortoises live in burrows, which typi­ cally extend for 25 feet emd reach depths of seven or eight feet. These tunnels make ideal shelters, and around 200 other animals, including Mississippi go­ pher frogs, use them for dens. But because it grows slowly, and requires lots of sunlight, the tree is not favored by timber growers. Starting in the lS26s,. these companies began cleareutting Lon^eaf pine forest and -replacing it

31 pines, ^^es’fiiat grow much fast­ er than Longleaf and require less space and sunEght. To maximize profits, they plant the trees densely — usually between 16 and 20 inches apart — leaving lit­ tle room for sunlight, small plants, or animals. ‘Tine plantations are an ecological desert,” Seigel says. Along with the spread of human sprawl — malls, suburbs and the like—pine plantations and fire sup­ pression have decimated Longleaf forests. Over the past century, 97 percent of the original Longleaf stands have Reappeared. It is the most endangered ecosystem in the United States. Many animals that thrive in these forests have also become endangered: the indigo snake, the red cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise and the Mississippi gopher frog. The gopher frog has another disadvantage. From December to March, it lives in ponds, breeding and laying eggs. It is very particular about where it win­ ters, only frequenting what are known as ridgetop in­ termittent ponds. As the name suggests, the ponds exist on high ground, and, as a result, they dry up by the end of summer and refill during winter rains. Because they are dry for part of the year, they don’t have fish, which makes them ideal for amphibians. Fish eat frogs, and especially frog eggs. Over the past few decades, these once-common ponds have become very rare — the closest one to Glen’s Pond is 150 miles away, in Florida. Their un­ doing: They often occupy prime real estate. “The only place you find these ponds is on high ground, wtdch is where houses and roads tend to get built, where pastures are put,” says Glen Johnson, an , whom. Glen’s Pond

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