For shame! Since when is conservation a sentimental activity? Language frames issues and sentimentality is certainly not an appropriate frame if the land is to be sustained. This is not the plot of a Victorian novel but more evidence that women land owners need to be helped rather than pigeonholed as 'sentimental.' <snip>"While most women still own farmland for income purposes, "almost 30 percent of single female owners say they own it primarily for family or sentimental reasons, not income," says Michael Duffy, an economist at Iowa State University who does a regular survey of land ownership. (More farm wives are inheriting farmland as their husbands pass on.) Those "sentimental reasons" often translate into conservation concerns - with animal habitat, environment, and water quality high on the list. Women land owners care more about land preservation than about maximizing crop yield - with potentially large implications for farming practices, the findings show." </snip> End of tirade, Linda Scarth Cedar Rapids ________________________________ From: Iowa Native Plants Mailing List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cindy Hildebrand Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:36 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [IOWA-NATIVE-PLANTS] news story about Iowa women landowners and conservation http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/02/25/women-lead-a-farming-re volution-in-iowa/ Cindy Hildebrand [log in to unmask] 57439 250th St. Ames, IA 50010 "Then as to scenery...while I know the standard claim is that Yosemite, Niagara Falls, and the upper Yellowstone and the like, afford the greatest natural shows, I am not sure but the Prairies and Plains, while less stunning at first sight, last longer, fill the aesthetic sense fuller, precede all the rest, and make North America's characteristic landscape." (Walt Whitman) ________________________________ Get a jump start on your taxes. Find a tax professional in your neighborhood today <http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=Tax+Return+Preparation+%26+Filing&n cid=emlcntusyelp00000004> . ________________________________ Iowa Native Plants mailing list [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> http://atmos.cgrer.uiowa.edu/herbarium/MailingList.htm <http://atmos.cgrer.uiowa.edu/herbarium/MailingList.htm> The Iowa Native Plants Mailing List provides a forum for those interested in Iowa's natural vegetation and in general conservation issues. Another objective is to promote the Iowa Native Plant Society. This list is owned and managed by Diana Horton, and sponsored by the University of Iowa Department of Biology. For assistance, contact Diana Horton, [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/