|
|
|
|
Aquascapes
Tue May 04, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.
We put ponds and streams in peoples' yards for them.
Marnie Johnson, of Montana Ponds, is an aquascaper.
MJ: Well, it's kind of like a landscaper but instead of using just sod we typically put
down rock and water -- make a pond or a stream or a swimming hole or something to
do with water (laughing).
BY: So is it all for aesthetics or are there practical uses for it as well?
MJ: People first want to do it because they like the looks of them -- they think it adds a
lot of property value to their home. But in Montana we've had such a drought here that
we're finding people are requesting them more and more for fire suppression -- to
have water available on their property.
MJ: This last summer was very, very scary. People with their life savings are building
homes in beautiful, beautiful spots, but that, typically, on a hillside covered with timber;
that timber is really, really dry. The ground underneath for maybe a foot to two feet is
totally dry so the burn potential is just amazing right now.
BY: OK, so they use it for fire suppression. How big does the pond area have to be to
be useful for that?
MJ: The ponds vary from a little tiny, maybe a quarter acre pond ... there can be several
acres or there can just be a little one like out here, 100 ft. by 200 ft. pond.
BY: And if you get hungry you can just go to the pond and pull out supper?
MJ: Yes, you can. We've done that plenty of times at our house.
You can connect to Montana Ponds from out website: www.weathernotebook.org. Our
show is funded by Subaru and the National Science Foundation. Thanks for technical
production to Trish Anderton.
Today's Links
Montana Ponds
http://www.montanaponds.com/
|
|
