From The Publisher November 1999 Erosion Control, Irrigation Design and the Medical profession. Whoa . . . Hold on thar . . . Don't turn the page . . . Ok . . Ok. . . I know that Erosion Control and Irrigation Design are two of your most favorite topics ;-} What I want to know is where in the hospital do you find the Erosion Control Specialist and the Irrigation Designers? Are they the janitors, the receptionists or the nuerosurgeons? That's right . . . back to the ol'e medical metaphors . . . This time we're talking about opportunities and parts of the profession where there is demand but only a reluctant supply. Erosion Control and Irrigation Design are two of the least talked about opportunities for the Landscape Architectural Profession. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, (and using the Medical Metaphor) they rank up there with the most skilled of all surgeons. It doesn't take genius to put art in landscape and that is why there continues to be resistance to the licensure of Landscape Architects. The artists . . . you know them by their "look-but-don't-touch" projects . . . are like the plastic surgeons of the profession. Working with the wealthy, they seem to get the high profile cases, but their work is superficial, often only benefiting a select few and then only playing to their need for fleshly gratification . . . There are no general practitioners in the profession. This service has been forfeited to the landscape designers and contractors who now can buy a franchise where they drive a van filled with computers, loaded with software, that allow them to visit a residence, take a digital photo of the property and put together a lovely little landscape for the homeowner. The next step up (where lives the main stream Landscape Architects) are the OB/GYN's, the Orthopedic Surgeons, and ER LA's, who work with smaller (but not necessarily small) projects and nurture them through primal planning, working with the proper amenities and piecing together the many revisions of day-to-day construction. The brain surgeons of the profession are the land planners who take vast areas of land and work to unite the many nerve centers into a cohesive community. Hand-in-hand with these professionals are the Landscape Architects who work with the natural resources. These are the Oncologists, the Invasive Surgeons, the Surgical Specialists who repair the broken down, regenerate the dying and are the sustainers of life. These are the Landscape Architects who bring water to the landscape, who keep the runoff from polluting the streams, who keep the slopes from devastating the highway, and prevent the loss of life and property. Rarely do you hear from the upper echelons of the medical profession. They are busy with the research and planning needed to carry out their most delicate of operations. Instead it's usually the plastic surgeons who make the news as they work with the celebrity clientele. We all know, though, which is the really important work. As the profession looks to the next hundred years, practices that incorporate the resources are the ones that will continue to plant the profession on firm ground. While there will always be demand for the old school/society of artsy designers and posy planters, the real growth of the profession lies ahead, in the work of those who really do protect the public's health, safety, and welfare while restoring life to the developed lands. I hope you enjoy this issue on Erosion Control . . God Bless . . .