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<P>The environment of the Jamestown, Rhode Island Housing Authority (45
Pemberton Avenue, Jamestown, Rhode Island 02835) apartments is one of the issues
addressed in my November application for a position on the JRIHA board. Some
residents had presented to management literature from The Rhode Island Wild
Plant Society in an effort to live in a more natural and quiet space and to curb
pollution of an acre lawn maintenance damaging the ecology of our Narragansett
Bay environment and the noise of mowing and weed-whacking as much as four days a
week all summer long. Management tries to discourage us by damaging and
destroying plants by weed-whacking down to the dirt even after we bordered the
plants because maintenance claims they can’t distinguish the plants from lawn,
and at the height of flowering management uprooted our wildflowers and threw
them in the dumpster. </P>
<P>On December 18 2003 the <B>United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development, New England Office of Public Housing</B>, 10 Causeway Street,
Boston, Massachusetts 02222-1092, <B>responded</B> to my board application, "In
response to your gardening concerns, the <B>JRIHA Director Sirje Carl</B>
<B>stated </B>that you planted 'wild flowers' on the grounds and were informed
not to do so since the<B> 'wild flowers' are considered weeds. The Jamestown
Housing Authority cleaned all weeds from the grounds of the Authority</B>,
<B>removing the 'wild flowers'</B> that were planted. Very sincerely yours,
<B>Ernest M. Blanchette</B>, <B>Division Director</B>,
New England Office of Public Housing." </P>
<P>Our <B>United States Senator Jack Reed intervened on our behalf. United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development, New England Office of the
Regional Director</B>, 10 Causeway Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02222-1092,
<B>responded</B> on December 22, 2003, "Dear Senator Reed: In response to Mr.
DiMario’s gardening concerns, the JHA states that Mr. DiMario planted 'wild
flowers' ... around the property. The <B>Jamestown Housing Authority apparently
is not allowing 'wild flowers' to be planted on the grounds because they are
considered weeds. </B>The Executive Director informed him not to plant the 'wild
flowers'... <B>The Housing Authority has acted within the Department’s
guidelines and regulations as well as their own policies. </B>Sincerely
yours, <B>Kevin Keogh, Regional Director.</B>"</P>
<P>We cannot recall anyone who dislikes wildflowers and we are seeking support
for our wild plants and wild flowers, in contrast to the intently mean-spirited
dislike of wildflowers directed by HUD New England and the Jamestown Housing
Authority. Some time ago The United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development with the vast properties it oversees should have joined with the
"Plant Conservation Alliance consortium of Federal government member agencies
and over 145 non-federal cooperators representing various...non-profit
organizations, concerned citizens, nature lovers, and gardeners...to pool
resources and combine energies to develop innovative approaches to ensure the
continued existence of our plant resources. Most current plant conservation
efforts lack focus and are fragmented among Federal agencies, States,
conservation groups, botanical gardens, academia, and private individuals. The
national Plant Conservation Alliance provides a framework and strategy for
linking resources and expertise in developing a coordinated national approach to
plant conservation...for the enduring benefit of the Nation, its
ecosystems, and people, to conserve and protect our native plant heritage by
ensuring that to the greatest extent feasible, native plant species and
communities are maintained, enhanced, restored, or established on public lands,
and that such activities are promoted on private lands. The presence of plants
in their native habitats and in cultivation enhances our world in many ways.
Native plant communities and natural areas provide opportunities for people to
experience nature. Most people do not appreciate and understand how important
native plant diversity is to sustaining our world, health, and
lifestyles,...many people have not had opportunities to learn about native
plants and to enjoy the beauty of wildflowers, just one of the many aesthetic
values of native plants." With groups like the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower
Center <http://www.wildflower.org/> we hope to help people know "about the
environmental necessity, economic value, and natural beauty of native plants and
their role in a healthy ecosystem, to value the beauty and health of the natural
landscape, to conserve and restore wildflowers, native plants, and the
biological communities on which they depend."</P><B>
<P>We are seeking advocacy for The United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development to encourage the right of ecologically aware
residents to enhance the environment of their homes with
native wild plants and wildflowers.</P>
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