Volume 12, Issue 3 Summer 2010
Sustaining the Roots of a Green Economy
National Coalition Calls for Investment in Working Lands When President Obama talks about his vision for a “green economy,” it can seem like a novel concept, dependent on high-tech clean energy from the sun or wind, or food transformed into fuel. But green jobs mean something more traditional for more than 3 million people who depend on America’s working forest, farm and ranch lands for their livelihoods. Many can trace the roots of our green economy back through multiple generations of their family trees.
Productive, privately owned forests have long been an economic mainstay of many communities. Composing 60 percent of all U.S. forests, they provide wood products, renewable energy and employment that allow forest-related industries to funnel more than $100 billion dollars into the U.S. economy annually. The natural, working landscapes that surround us make significant contributions to local, state, regional and national economies, while providing clean air, water, wildlife habitat and renewable biomass energy. Yet, privately owned U.S. forests increasingly are threatened by economic forces that drive owners to sell the land for conversion to other uses. The majority of family-owned forests will be sold and developed over the next 50 years, according to recent USDA projections.
In that scenario, our iconic, forested landscapes will look more like urban suburbs, their heritage and economic contributions lost.
“This originally was a lumber-based community,” recalls Gary Hendrix, spokesman for a seventh-generation forest- and mill-owning family in Shasta County, Calif. “Originally, there were 56 sawmills here—now there are three. We had 10 full-time employees. Now we’re down to two plus ourselves, just getting by with the bare minimum. Rural communities like ours are really hurting.”
Times are hard in forest communities all over the U.S.
The economic downturn and related drop in demand for wood products forced the Collins Companies—a fifth-generation, family-owned enterprise and one of the largest forest landowners in Pennsylvania—to lay off 300 people since the recession started in 2007.
Hendrix and Mosby are part of a PFT-led coalition of working lands supporters, including large and small forest landowners, mill owners, market makers, and conservation and environmental organizations. Coalition members have been asking lawmakers to secure the roots of our nation’s new “Green Economy” by ensuring climate and energy legislation contains funding allocations for land conservation.
“Here in the South, landowners need these new revenue streams to help sustain our productive open landscapes and the rural economies they support,” says coalition member Walter Sedgwick, a family-forest owner in Georgia. He noted that 3.6 million acres of forest, farm and ranch land in the Southeast will be converted and developed by 2030 according to recent USDA projections.
“Investment in forest conservation and stewardship can be a powerful stimulus for economic recovery and jobs while providing great climate benefits,” Wayburn added, citing a 2007 study by the University of Massachusetts’ PERI Institute. The study found investment in forest conservation and restoration yields the most jobs per dollar invested of any industry studied—including renewable and conventional energy sources like oil and nuclear.
Economic Bedrock in the Granite State
Coalition member Jameson French is president of New Hampshire- and Virginia-based Northland Forest Products, Inc., which owns 10,000 acres of working forestland. His family has been in the hardwood trade since the 1880s. He and fellow coalition member Peter Stein, a noted conservationist and managing director for the Lyme Timber Company, recently wrote an opinion piece urging New England lawmakers to remember the proud role of working forests in their local heritage and economy for the past 150 years. In New Hampshire alone, forestry based activities—including saw milling and paper manufacturing—generate almost $1.2 billion in gross revenues each year while providing more than 16,600 jobs. In all, more than 25 percent of private sector employment in the Granite State is dependent on forestry, recreation, agriculture, and the natural and working landscapes that sustain all three industries. “These same New Hampshire landscapes could play a key role in the shift to a low carbon, climate-friendly economy if new incentives are provided to encourage sustainable land management practices that capture and store the greenhouse gas pollution responsible for climate change,” French and Stein wrote in their editorial. “But they can’t do that if they disappear completely, plowed under for the next strip mall or big box store.”
Reprinted with permission of Pacific Forest Trust, from ForestLife, Summer 2010, Pages 4-5.
Janine Burns, Mathews County VA  Mathews County, Virginia Shoreline Management Plan Mathews County, Virginia consists of a peninsula and an island with over 350 miles of shoreline, including upland creeks. The County is naturally beautiful with the largest concentrations of marsh grass on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Since the County is at or near-sea level, erosion is a challenge. Long-time residents tell tales, handed down through generations, of now-gone beaches, orchards and forests. Newcomers are typically retirees, often unfamiliar with homeownership in a coastal community and options for protecting their land. Aided by its location at the end of the road, a high water table, and public policy, Mathews has escaped extensive large-scale, commercial development. That’s good. On the flip side, it means the County has limited revenue options and depends on property taxes for over 90% of its local revenue.
County government is united in recognizing the need to improve water quality and moderate erosion.
A recent study conducted through the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), College of William & Mary, found over 50% of U.S. east coast tidal wetlands will disappear by 2100 if current shoreline practices continue. Tidal wetlands can accommodate up to 2.5 millimeters of sea-level rise annually by trapping sediments and forming peat. Unfortunately, sea level is rising about 3.0 millimeters per year with a 5.0 to 10.0 millimeter rise anticipated in the coming decades. Under anticipated conditions, tidal wetlands, vital for filtering pollutants, sustaining fisheries and protecting land against storms, could survive only by migrating landward with rising seas. Bulkheads, riprap and like-structures prohibit migration, essentially drowning the wetlands in place. The VIMS study foresaw an untenable future for Mathews County and focused attention on the need to educate coastal homeowners about living shorelines and other alternatives to current management practices.
In 2008, supported by a 5-0 vote of its Board of Supervisors and led by the County Administrator, the County offered itself to VIMS as a living laboratory to monitor and manage the effects of rising sea levels on a fragile ecosystem. The objective was to gather data to supplement anecdotal beliefs and to determine best practices for shoreline management. VIMS accepted the offer. Since 2008, VIMS has mapped the entire shoreline. A Shoreline Studies Program, a joint effort with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has begun to place GPS-supported devices on select properties to monitor sand movement for two years. The result will be a plan for best use of dredged sand on Mathews County beaches. Additionally, a Shoreline Management Plan, currently in draft form, will be published shortly.
Shoreline in Mathews County ranges from land fronting the Chesapeake Bay to sheltered, interior creeks. Soil type, bank height, potential for flooding, fetch (distance over which wind can blow to create waves), water depth, land use, severity of erosion, and other conditions require tailored recommendations for erosion control that are site specific. The Mathews Shoreline Management Plan will provide property owners and others with strategies for each section of the County’s inhabited, eroding shoreline. Recommendations for erosion control will incorporate information that will preserve or create wetlands, beaches and dune habitat, all contributing to improved water quality. A homeowner will be able to view online site details and learn recommendations tailored to conditions at that site by 2011.
A shoreline project will still require a site survey, geotechnical evaluation, detailed drawing by a qualified engineer or contractor, and permits. Ultimately, the landowner is responsible for deciding how to manage his/her shoreline. Because of the partnership between Mathews County and VIMS, it is hoped the landowner’s decision will be an informed one.
The Conservation Leaders Network at NACo
Commissioner Mike Murray, Lewis & Clark County MT, working the "Conservation Makes $ense" booth with Lane County OR Commissioner Pete Sorenson.
Held in Reno NV in mid-July, the National Association of Counties (NACo) annual conference was again an important opportunity for the Conservation Leaders Network to make personal contact with our many pro-environment allies. It gives us a chance to meet many of the county officials we've worked with over the years, folks we've only known by phone and email.
This year's "Conservation Makes $ense" booth co-sponsors were The Wilderness Society and the Pew Environment Group.
The attendance at this year's conference was way down; we heard only one-third of the normal 4,000. Although attendance has been dropping over the last couple of years, this year was noticeably slower. It may have been due to the location, or county budget woes with travel budgets being slashed or other factors. We met only a quarter of the number of pro-environment county officials we usually meet.
Supervisor Steve Wilensky, Calaveras County CA, discussing the economic benefits of natural resource conservation.
And we know it's not that they aren't out there, only that they didn't come to the NACo conference in Reno. Fortunately, we expect a more robust turnout at next year's event in Portland, OR.
You can see more photos by going to our website at www.conservationleaders.org/naco-10 and see the list of materials we distributed at www.conservationleaders.org/naco.materials-10. We still have copies of some of the handouts; we are happy to share them with members so let us know if you'd like to receive one or more.
Local Officials for Clean Water Launched!
Monday, July 19, saw the public launch of "Local Officials for Clean Water" during the National Association of Counties' Annual Conference in Reno NV.
Speakers included Conservation Leaders Network's Executive Director Peg Reagan, Marin County CA Supervisor Susan Adams, Lane County OR Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Queen Anne's County MD Commissioner Carol Fordonski, and Henderson County NC Commissioner Chuck McGrady.
See the principles of Local Officials for Clean Water on the Conservation Leaders Network's website at: www.conservationleaders.org/clean.water.principles.
We are working to expand the group. Conference calls are scheduled for the first Monday of the month. If you are interested in joining, contact Peg Reagan at 541 247-8079 or by email at info at www.conservationleaders.org.
A sample resolution in support of clean water, based on one passed in Mathews County VA in 2009, is available for your consideration. To see the draft resolution, go to: www.conservationleaders.org/clean.water.resolution.
Montgomery County MD: First to Pass a Countywide Carbon Tax
By Christopher Johnson, Editorial Assistant, National Association of Counties While Congress continues arguing over climate and energy legislation, Montgomery County, Md. passed the nation’s first countywide carbon tax. The Montgomery County Council voted 8–1 on May 19 to enact a carbon tax of $5 per ton of carbon dioxide on power stations that produce more than 1 million tons in a given year. Under those terms, the tax only applies to Mirant Inc., owners of a coal-fired power plant that emits 3 million tons of carbon dioxide annually or 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the county.
Berliner, who introduced the bill, added that the $15 million this bill will raise could help finance programs such as the Home Energy Loan Program, which was passed in FY09 to help finance residents’ energy-efficiency projects through personal property taxes so the loan is tied to the property it benefits. Mirant says that such taxes don’t create a level playing field among the larger carbon consumers and that the company already pays for its own emissions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state carbon-trading auction. After failing to kill the measure, Mirant recently filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County in federal district court seeking a restraining order or injunction. The company also argues that the tax violates the so-called dormant commerce clause, a legally inferred corollary to the Constitution’s Commerce Clause that limits state actions. “Mirant faces the choice of paying during the litigation or not and face a 20 percent penalty should the county prevail,” Berliner added. “The county will obviously defend the tax in court, and the tax liability has begun accruing.” Permission to reprint granted by the National Association of Counties.
In addition to our work at the National Association of Counties and on clean water, the Conservation Leaders Network has been working on member recruitment and other much-needed capacity building. Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, a member of the Conservation Leaders Network's Board of Directors, recently sent out a letter to more than 500 county officials across the country encouraging them to join the Conservation Leaders Network. Next month, Board Chair Commissioner Barry Jacobs, of Orange County NC, will be writing to our former members inviting them to rejoin us. I hope you will take a few moments and encourage your pro-environment county officials to join, too. We need your help to remain strong. If we want to grow and take on more natural resource issues of interest to you, we need to expand our membership. Our staff and board is working hard at it and I hope to have tangible results to show for all that effort.
I mentioned other much-needed capacity building in the prior paragraph. Most members know that I was a county commissioner from a rural county in the early 90s. What you might not know was that I knew nothing about forming a non-profit organization; I didn't even know how to use a computer! Every step of the way has been a learning process--first how to write grant proposals, how to engage an active and effective Board of Directors, then how to get tax-exempt status, then how to become a membership organization and how to recruit and retain members, i.e. how to provide services to members, such as our newsletter, our website, our "$$ for Counties" email funding opportunities service. Now we have to work on attracting major donor contributions, becoming more effective at grant writing and learning better how to measure the effectiveness of our work. That's all in addition to our project work--the stuff the foundations want to fund us to do. If you have suggestions for how we might improve--whether it's services to members, specific issues you'd like to see us engaged in, or other ideas--or you'd be willing to offer your time, talents and support to us, I would love to hear from you!
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Local Climate and Energy Program Clean energy strategies help local governments achieve important environmental and economic objectives, including:
The Local Climate and Energy Program is an informational resource network designed to:
What is EPA doing to assist Local Governments? EPA offers or is developing resources to aid and recognize local government action:
Clean Energy Savings Potential EPA estimates that state and local cost-effective clean energy policies could cut the expected growth in electricity demand in half by 2025, and meet additional demand through cleaner energy supply. This would prevent the need for 300 power plants, and save over 900 billion kWh or $70 billion in energy bills. It would also avoid the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 80 million vehicles annually by 2025.
What is Clean Energy? Clean energy includes demand- and supply-side resources that offer clean, reliable, and low cost ways to meet our growing energy demand. Energy efficiency measures reduce demand for energy generation, which reduces the amount of fuel needed to power our daily lives. Renewable energy sources avoid the use of fossil fuels, and combined heat and power can provide much greater energy output for the amount of fuel used. Transportation clean energy strategies include fuel-efficient technologies, renewable fuels and other transportation options that reduce energy demand. What can local Governments do? Local governments can tap into the Climate and Energy Local Network, a publicly accessible information sharing resource. Municipalities can use the Network to:
For more Information: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy-programs/state-and-local/local.html U.S. EPA Clean Energy Programs for Local Governments Energy Star Energy Star brings government agencies, school systems, and private building owners and managers a proven energy management strategy to save energy and money while demonstrating environmental leadership. Resources include: tools for tracking buildings’ energy use, online trainings, communications kits, financing information, and case studies. Local governments and school systems can become Energy Star partners, apply for the Energy Star label for high performing buildings, take on the Energy Star Challenge to improve energy efficiency by 10% or more and bring the Energy Star Challenge to others in their community. Visit: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=leaders.bus_challenge for details. Green Power Partnership Green Power is an environmentally friendly electricity product that is generated from renewable energy sources. Buying green power is easy, and it can offer a number of environmental and economic benefits over conventional electricity. The USEPA Green Power Partnership assists local governments that are buying or planning to buy green power. The EPA offers credible benchmarks for green power purchases, market information, and opportunities for recognition and promotion of leading purchasers. Visit: http://epa.gov/greenpower/index.htm for details. Combined Heat and Power Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is an efficient, clean, and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single fuel source. The CHP Partnership is a voluntary program that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of power generation by promoting the use of CHP. The Partnership can assist local governments in evaluating and implementing new projects and promoting their energy, environmental, and economic benefits. See: http://epa.gov/chp/ for details. Landfill Methane Outreach Program Landfill gas is the natural by-product of landfills that can be captured and used as an energy resource with air quality and greenhouse gas benefits. The U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance program that helps to reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging the recovery and use of landfill gas. LMOP offers technical assistance, guidance materials, software tools, and assistance creating partnerships and finding financing for projects. Visit: http://epa.gov/lmop/ for details. Heat Island Reduction Initiative Heat Islands describe urban air and surface temperatures that are higher than nearby rural areas. EPA’s Heat Island Reduction Initiative offers outreach materials, tools, and guidance that provides communities with information to develop projects, programs, and policies to implement strategies that reduce heat islands and save energy. Visit: http://epa.gov/hiri/index.html for details. Office of Transportation and Air Quality: State and Local Resources website offers useful information, tools, and resources to help local governments achieve their air quality and transportation objectives. Visit: http://epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/index.htm for details. SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaborative voluntary program between EPA and the freight industry to increase the energy efficiency and energy security of our country while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases. See: http://epa.gov/smartway for details. SmartWay Grow and Go is a program developed by EPA to promote the environmental benefits of renewable fuels and is a renewable fuel component for EPA’s existing SmartWay Transport Partnership. See: http://epa.gov/smartway/growandgo for details. The National Clean Diesel Campaign is a collection of successful voluntary programs all designed to reduce emissions from the diesel fleet. Visit: http://epa.gov/cleandiesel for details. Best Workplaces for Commuters is a business/governments voluntary initiative offering innovative solutions to commuting challenges faced by employers and employees. See: http://www.bestworkplacesforcommuters.gov/ for details. EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide is a consumer-oriented web site providing information about the environmental performance of cars and light trucks. Visit: http://epa.gov/greenvehicles for details. Reprinted from EPA material.
Public Health and Safety Benefits of Wetlands
Wetlands act as natural sponges and barriers that protect communities from severe storms, hurricanes, flooding, drought and harmful water pollutants. The porous soils and plants of wetlands buffer communities from hurricanes and store vast quantities of runoff water during floods. Coastal wetlands serve as the first line of defense against coastal storms and hurricanes. Communities buffered by wetlands incurred significantly less damage during Hurricane Katrina than communities without this natural defense. Wetlands in the interior of the U.S. also protect communities against natural disasters. The loss of wetlands in the Midwest greatly increased the damage caused by The Great Flood of 1993. Many communities in the Midwest are working together to protect their citizens by restoring the region’s wetlands and their natural role as floodplains. The slow release of water from wetlands is also critical to water safety and quantity. Wetlands release water slowly to rivers and streams as floods recede. This gradual process allows suspended sediments to drop out and settle to the wetlands floor. In many cases, wetland plants remove much of the excess nutrient and pollutant loads from waters that pass through a wetland. The storage and slow release of runoff water by wetlands also helps to prevent erosion in downstream channels, and stabilizes the flow in streams and rivers. Protecting wetlands may greatly reduce, or even eliminate, the need for expensive structural flood controls. In times of drought, wetlands help keep streams flowing by releasing stored groundwater. County Spotlight – Orange County, Florida This coastal county is one of seven counties recognized as comprising Central Florida. Orange County is a charter county, meaning it has its own constitution and is self-governing. Its 907 square miles include the city of Orlando, and in 2000, the population was slightly over 890,000 people making it a growing urban county. Orange County, Florida is an area that has experienced rapid development and is particularly susceptible to flooding due to its low-lying elevation, heavy precipitation, number of slow- moving waterways and the threat of hurricanes. The county has made a serious education and outreach effort to the public for the last twenty years detailing the importance of wetlands conservation and stormwater management in effectively preventing flooding. Orange County’s Office of Emergency Management works in conjunction with local water management districts to conduct hazard area identification and mapping as well as to promote community involvement in floodplain management activities. The county has also utilized tools such as mitigation banking to ensure that a sufficient amount of wetlands and other natural resources remain to protect against coastal waves and wind. Did you know ? An acre of wetland can store 1-1.5 million gallons of floodwater. To learn more about Orange County, Florida’s flood prevention efforts using wetlands go to www.orangecountyfl.net/cms/DEPT/pw/stormwater/default.htm. More information about mitigation banking can be found of the EPA’s website. Go to www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/fact16.html. Reprinted with permission, National Association of Counties. Biobased Products Help Protect Yellowstone
Environmental Protection Specialist Jim Evanoff takes his job seriously. “When you work at Yellowstone National Park, it is incumbent upon you to do everything you can to be innovative in protecting the Park’s sensitive environment,” he says. Evanoff and the Park’s best known efforts regarding biobased products center on their early use of biodiesel. In addition, they are early adopters and proactive advocates for a number of other products including using:
During a conversation with Evanoff, it usually returns to his favorite topic, biodiesel. That’s only natural because each year, as he explains it, the Park has more than three million visitors and virtually every one of them arrives by automobile or bus. Beyond that, Yellowstone itself has a fleet of more than 700 vehicles. It is no wonder that Jim’s first environmental concern centers around vehicular transportation, and biodiesel fuel, in particular. “I first became aware of biodiesel in 1995 through a proposed demonstration project with the University of Idaho, State of Montana, the Department of Energy and a myriad of private entities” he explains. “It just seemed like something we should investigate and try.” Out of that early interest grew Jim’s idea to run the now famous diesel pickup truck on B100 (100% biodiesel). As an integral part of the project, Dodge Truck, Inc. donated the new truck. In 2008, Jim continues to operate the truck that currently has 195,000 miles and still using B100—all year round in sometimes harsh weather/temperature conditions. The truck became a symbol for the use of biodiesel not only in Yellowstone, but also in other facilities as Jim spread the biodiesel/biobased message. “Over the years I’ve given dozens of presentations on the environmental advantages of using biodiesel, not only in the Park system but to other entities as well,” he says. Jim still enjoys telling the story about one of the beneficial effects of biodiesel—the elimination of the well known diesel fuel exhaust odor. When operated on B100, vehicles produce a fume aroma that smells much like that of cooking French fries. “There became concern that this smell might attract some of the park’s grizzly bears. To ensure that the truck was not a bear attractant, it was driven to Washington State University where tests were conducted with captive bears that were being used for research. Eventually it was concluded that the bears exhibited minimal attraction to the exhaust fumes,” he says.
“These buses have several purposes,” explains Jim. “They reduce congestion and obviously cut down fuel consumption and exhaust fumes, but they also are a way of bringing biobased fuel to the attention of visitors. “We have the world’s largest concentration of geo-thermal features, and they present a unique environmental challenge. Just think, during the summer 10, 000 tourists a day, most of them driving their own automobiles, visit Old Faithful alone. As stewards of the world’s first national park, we continually strive do everything possible to preserve and protect all of the natural resources we have here at Yellowstone.” Reprinted with permission of the US Soybean Board, which is composed of 68 U.S. soybean farmers appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to invest soybean checkoff funds.
CLN Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
The Conservation Leaders Network's Volunteer Appreciation Lunch was held in June. Present were Karim Shumaker, former CLN staff, Kay Jenson--the one with the beautiful handwriting you might see on some CLN envelopes, Mary Spini, Office Assistant, Peg Reagan, Executive Director, Laura Greathead, our trusty proof-reader, and Jan Short, our new Administrative Assistant.
Not present were Yekaterina Ageyeva, who is designing our new website, Suzanne Ankrum, Laurie Brand, Morgan Covington, Deborah Lieberman, Ben Pearlman, Evelyn Reagan, Elaine Smithand the county officials who worked our "Conservation Makes $ense" booth in Reno NV: Lewis & Clark County MT Commissioner Mike Murray, Calaveras County CA Supervisor Steve Wilensky, Lane County OR Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Mono County CA Supervisor Byng Hunt and Queen Anne's County MD Commissioner Carol Fordonski.
We really appreciate all they give to the Conservation Leaders Network!
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Individual and county memberships are now available. Individual memberships start at $45/year; county memberships start at $250/yr. Counties with more than 5 commissioners may inquire about rates. With my membership, I will get:
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“We’re trying to stay in these
communities but it’s really tough out there. Quite frankly,
we’re losing money,” said Collins’ Senior Vice President
Wade Mosby. “If we were just intent on dollars and cents, we
would have shut some of these facilities down. But we’re
trying to keep the core employment going to maintain some of
these rural communities. In a town like Lakeview, Oregon, we
had 110 people on the payroll. Now we’re down to 68 and
that’s still the largest private employer in a town of 2,700
people.” 
Executive
Director Peg Reagan was assisted at the booth by Lewis &
Clark County MT Commissioner Mike Murray, Calaveras County
CA Supervisor Steve Wilensky, Lane County OR Commissioner
Pete Sorenson, Mono County CA Supervisor Byng Hunt and Queen
Anne's County MD Commissioner Carol Fordonski.
“It is
responsible, fair, fiscally prudent and good public policy
for them to pay to clean up after themselves,” Montgomery
County Councilmember Roger Berliner said.
I am always
glad to get back home after the National Association of
Counties annual conferences. We've been attending
since 1998, bringing our "Conservation Makes $ense" booth
and materials that show that protecting and restoring
America's natural resources makes good economic sense.
Earlier in this newsletter as well as on our website, you've
been able to see a list of this year's materials, photos of
county officials working the booth and information about the
public launch of "Local Officials for Clean Water."
Yellowstone
National Park celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1997 and
the question arose about what could be done to protect
America’s first national park for the next 125 years. The
use of biodiesel fuel and other environmental activities
laid an excellent foundation for an overarching effort that
is now called “The Greening of Yellowstone.”
Also,
the Park has revived an old tradition from the 1930s and
40s—a renovated fleet of famous 16-passenger “old yellow
buses” that moves visitors on winding and narrow roads to
major attractions throughout the Park. Additionally, six
replicas of the old buses are powered by biodiesel. These
replicas can be converted from wheels to tracks so they can
be operated during the winter season. The seven original old
yellow buses that have been restored are powered by an
ethanol-blended fuel.