If this week’s temperatures are any indication, the summer season is upon us, and that means there is a lot of work to be done on the lake. This past weekend I was camping in Chamberlain Reynolds Memorial Forest, checking up on campers, setting up swim lines, clearing some trails, and re-doing the swim lines because we messed them up the first time. Friday night came around and we had started a fire to cook our meal when I glanced at the base of the fire pit at something small trying to escape. Lunging forward, I picked up an eastern red-spotted newt that had been hanging out under the leaves and ashes in our fire pit. It had been struggling to get away from the heat of the fire, and I fear it would not have made it out if I had not been quick to take action. I carried the little guy to a nearby area that had plenty of moisture and cool dark places. I quietly asked him if he was really a peasant turned into a newt by a witch, but I didn’t get much of a response. I returned to the fire to eat my burrito, sans newt.
Eastern red-spotted newts can live up to fifteen years, but they spend the first couple years of their adult life on land before returning to the water to breed. This particular newt was probably in its terrestrial juvenile life stage, otherwise referred to as a red eft. Only two percent of the larva even survive that long. If he had succumbed to a fiery end at campsite four he may not have made it to the water to breed in the next year or so. That means less newts in the future, or if this particular newt was Dwayne The Rock Johnson of eastern red-spotted newts, less genetically superior newts. Alternatively, the loss of this newt would mean one less food source for its predators.
Newt reproduction and predator-prey relationships seem insignificant and not very important to us as humans. But the thirty seconds it took for me to remove the newt from danger was the most important thirty seconds of its life. One miniscule action can start a ripple effect creating a big impact that might go unnoticed by the average person. Finding the connections within ecosystems and communities is a daunting task, and in most cases, it never ends. However, these connections are all important to those they affect and can set a sequence of events that may change a way of life forever.
While reading this weekend, I came across a phrase that brought these thoughts together. Hais cuaj txub kaum txub. It is in the Hmong language, and it means “to speak of all things.” It is often used before telling a story to remind the listener that even the most tiny, basic detail is connected in some way, and that these tiny details are necessary to understand the full picture.
“Hais cuaj txub kaum txub - to speak of all things”
We will probably never fully comprehend how everything is connected, but it is important to be conscious of that potential. Reflecting on how our actions, despite their size or nature, may change an organism’s life can impact our decision making. It can help bring someone closer to their environment or others by knowing every action they take matters. I try to be conscious of this in my everyday life because I believe nature has intrinsic value; I believe nature is important and holds value in the world just because it exists. I want to preserve the environment to the best of my ability, so that it remains far longer than I do. I do not always grasp how my actions may change something, and that is okay. It’s more important to simply realize the impact exists. The more I remember that, the more I can apply that thought process in my future actions involving the environment.
It can be easy to forget the little things beneath the shadows of much larger problems. The sooner we start appreciating them, the better off we will be. So next time your roommate argues with you about removing your dirty dishes from the sink, remind them that cleaning them can severely alter the lives of the ants that usually show up the next morning.
Rachel is a half term LRCC member serving at the Squam Lakes Association. Rachel graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology; you can learn more about Rachel here!