FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] "THE BIRDER CONSERVATIONIST": Vol 2, No.5 (May 2003)

[Larry R Lynch <birder6@xxxxxxxx>]

Richmonders,

Here is the latest issue of "The Birder Conservationist" from ABA.

Larry Lynch       birder6@xxxxxxxx

------------------------------------------------
From: "Paul J. Baicich" <pbaicich@xxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 09:49:52 -0400
Subject: THE BIRDER CONSERVATIONIST: Vol 2, No.5 (May 2003)

THE BIRDER CONSERVATIONIST
an electronic ABA newsletter

Volume 2, No.5 ? May 2003


This issue of THE BIRDER CONSERVATIONIST continues spreading the news and
the announcements that we think are important for engaged birders. Of
course, most of us are into spring and spring migration! 

As for celebrating spring migration, International Migratory Bird Day is
on
10 May. Although the official celebration is always on the second
Saturday
in May, events are taking place for most of the month. Public events will
be taking place in parks, refuges, schools, libraries, and other venues
across North America.

IMBD, of course, is an annual event designed to recognize the wonder of
migratory birds as well as to raise awareness of their needs. The annual
observance is supported by organizations from the world of conservation,
government, education, private business, and recreational birding.

For more information on IMBD you can review the ABA web pages here:
<http://americanbirding.org/imbd/>

Or check out the official IMBD site:
<http://birds.fws.gov/imbd/2003theme.html>

Birders across North America are encouraged to partake in this effort,
celebrating the annual fascination we have in migration and linking that
to
the needs of birds, the threats they face, and the many things we can do
to
appreciate and save them.

Good birding!


                ? Paul J. Baicich
                   Director of Conservation and Public Policy, ABA


_______________

"DUCK STAMP" PROCEEDS ARE ACQUIRING REFUGE WETLANDS

At its early spring meeting in Washington, D.C., the Migratory Bird
Conservation Commission approved the acquisition of 3,160 acres of
migratory bird habitat to be added to the National Wildlife Refuge
System.
Nearly $3.7 million in funds generated from the sale of Federal Duck
Stamps
(the "Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp") will be used to add
land to eight different National Wildlife Refuges across the country.

Refuges benefitting from decisions made at the meeting were Alamosa NWR
in
Colorado (638 acres), Blackwater NWR in Maryland (89 acres), Cape May NWR
in New Jersey (91 acres), Horicon NWR in Wisconsin (40 acres), Moosehorn
NWR in Maine (1,084 acres), Chickasaw NWR in Tennessee (609 acres),
Conboy
Lake NWR in Washington (60 acres), and Trinity River NWR in Texas (549
acres).

Unfortunately, not enough birders know about the activities of the
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission and the use of these stamp
revenues.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 established the Migratory
Bird
Conservation Commission to approve waterfowl breeding, wintering, and
migration habitat to be purchased for the refuge system with monies from
the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. The fund is supported by revenue
collected from the sale of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation (Duck)
Stamps, refuge entrance fees, ammunition duties, among other fees. Since
the first sale of the Duck Stamp in 1934, an estimated $675 million has
been raised to purchase over 5 million acres of wetlands for the National
Wildlife Refuge System. 

The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission meets three times a year to
approve funding proposals. Permanent Commission members are Secretary of
Interior Gale Norton, Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and John Breaux
(D-LA);
Representatives John Dingell (D-MI) and Curt Weldon (R-PA); Secretary of
Agriculture Ann Veneman; and Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator
Christine Todd Whitman. 


_______________

DC EVENT FOR STATE-BASED WILDLIFE FUNDING

The Teaming With Wildlife Coalition (TWW) needs you to become a part of
an
important event - a chance to show your strong support for adequate
funding
for state wildlife agencies. Planning has been completed for a funding
event on Capital for later this month. We need to come together to build
on
past successes, to raise awareness of the need for increased
bird-and-wildlife conservation funding. The goal of this event is to
generate bipartisan support for funding the "State Wildlife Grant
Program"
at $125 million in FY ?04. 

This will take place on 21-22 May 2003 in Washington, DC to educate
Congress and share success stories with like-minded people.

On Wednesday, 21 May, there will be important training and issue
briefing,
bringing participants up to date on what has been achieved and not
achieved
over the past few years in the area of CARA and State Wildlife Grants.
Meetings will be scheduled with members of Congress and their staffs.
That
evening there will be a reception focusing on recent accomplishments
through the State Wildlife Grant funds. On Thursday, 22 May, meetings
will
continue with folks on the Hill.

The bird-connection to State Wildlife Grants is clear and important. SWG
funds have been instrumental across the country, delivering on-the-ground
bird conservation for birdlife in forests, fields, deserts, and marshes.
The only thing that stands in the way of further success is more money.

For more information on this DC event, see
<http://www.teaming.com/site/index.cfm> and click on "Information on the
Teaming with Wildlife Days at the US Capitol - May 21-22, 2003."

And since most of the recipients of this E-Newsletter can't attend the DC
event, there is still something very important you can do to support the
effort. It's really simple.

In the next two weeks you can prepare members of Congress for our message
of 21-22 May from your own home! Simply send your two Senators and member
of the House a clear message (via FAX, e-mail, or snail-mail):

"Birds and other wildlife need reliable state-based wildlife funding.
State
Wildlife Grants for FY ?04 should be increased to $125 million. Short of
a
CARA-like piece of legislation that would secure long-term, reliable
funding, this $125 million should maintain projects already started to
address much-needed conservation needs and keep our common bird and other
wildlife species common."

This way, when our friends knock on those doors on 21-22 May, the offices
will have already received message from a concerned bird constituency
back
home.


____________

BOREAL BIRD CONSERVATION NETWORK

The Canadian Boreal Forest is the largest intact forest ecosystem left on
the planet. It offers the very best chance for large-scale, world-class
forest conservation. The intact Canadian boreal forest is 50% larger than
the remaining intact Amazon rain forest. As the Continent's largest
source
of fresh water, with 1.5 million lakes, Canada's Boreal provides breeding
grounds for 40% of North America's waterfowl and 30% of North America's
landbirds. It is estimated that three to five billion landbirds (the
numbers reflect a "spring vs. fall" estimate) call the Boreal Forests of
North America home.

Luckily, a Boreal Songbird Initiative has been launched to address some
of
the bird-conservation needs of this vast region. The Boreal Songbird
Initiative's mission is to educate naturalists and birders about the
importance of the Boreal forest for birds and to encourage them to become
active in protecting it. International attention is also a key part of
conserving the Canadian Boreal because of the volume of trade between
Canada and U.S.

This initiative should provide practical ways for bird conservationists
in
both to get involved with the conservation of the Boreal Forest.

"The Importance of Canada's Boreal Forest to Landbirds" by Peter Blancher
of Bird Studies Canada, is a study, based on an unprecedented compilation
of bird census data from across Canada and the United States. It will be
released on May 10th, International Migratory Bird Day by the Boreal
Songbird Initiative.

For more information (and for a copy of the report) you can check out the
web site at <http://www.borealbirds.org/> or
<http://www.borealcanada.ca/>
or get in contact with Marilyn Heiman, Boreal Songbird Initiative, 1823
Warren Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, 206/352-8046;
<marilynheiman@xxxxxxxxx>.


______________________

BIRDERS' EXCHANGE NEEDS

I was very fortunate to have made a short trip to Nicaragua last month,
investigating the connections between coffee and birds for our ongoing
ABA
efforts in that area. While there, I helped to facilitate the delivery of
binoculars and books to hard-working Nicaraguans doing pioneer work in
the
realm of sustainable coffee and birds. These people are doing great
things
with very little in the way of resources.

I returned with a "shopping list" of items for folks there. A general
equipment "wish list" also appeared in the March issue of WINGING IT, but
a
few pieces are in particular need in Nicaragua. These include ANY Mexican
bird guides (especially AVES DE MEXICO by Peterson and Chalif), the
Spanish-language version of the Costa Rican guide by Stiles and Skutch,
and
quality, waterproof binoculars.

Again, if you have any such equipment to contribute in an effort to
enhance
inter-American bird conservation, send it to ABA, Birders' Exchange, P.O.
Box 6599, Colorado Springs, CO 80934. 


____________________

SPOONBILL NETWORK NEEDS HELP

Meanwhile, on issues concerning bird-conservation in another
hemisphere...
There was a very good article in the April-May 03 issue of NATIONAL
WILDLIFE on the "Case of the Disappearing Spoonbills." (You can find it
here:
<http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleId=765&issueId=61
>.)
The article focused on the plight of Black-faced Spoonbills in east Asia
and popular efforts to save the species. Readers of this E-newsletter are
familiar with this story, especially with the struggle in Taiwan where
the
future of the Black-faced Spoonbill depends on the protection of the
Chiku
wetlands on the southwest coast.

Our friends at SAVE, based in Berkeley, are continuing their efforts to
help build a spoonbill flyway network. While they have partners in Japan
and Taiwan, they are still looking for them in Korea. They also
anticipate
another busy year on a shoestring budget. They need to raise some
additional funds (about $7,500) for essential "flyway" activities.

For more details and a way to contribute to SAVE, see this page:
<http://www.earthisland.org/project/viewProject.cfm?subSiteID=25>


___________

PIF AWARDS AND ABA

Each year, Partners in Flight presents awards to those individuals,
groups
or organizations who have made exceptional contributions to the field of
landbird conservation. Awardees are recognized in one of four categories:
Leadership, Investigations, Land Stewardship, and Public Awareness. For
the
past couple of years these awards have been sponsored by the American
Birding Association. Ten awards were recently distributed at the 2003
North
American Wildlife Management and Natural Resources Conference in
Winston-Salem North Carolina to the following: 

1.   Leadership - Point Reyes Bird Observatory, California.
The PRBO has been significantly involved in numerous avian conservation
efforts across the State of California, has spearheaded the collaborative
development of multiple conservation plans now in use in across
California,
was instrumental in helping to develop the Riparian Habitat Joint
Venture,
and organized and hosted the successful 3rd International Partners in
Flight Conference in 2002.
                
2.   Leadership - Ernesto Ruelas
In 1991, Ernesto Ruelas helped launch the Veracruz "River of Raptors"
conservation initiative with a goal of establishing the first
standardized
migration count and conservation initiative for migratory raptors and
water
birds ever conducted in Mexico. The project records over 4 million
migrants
annually including nearly 95% of the world's populations of Mississippi
Kites, Swainson's Hawks and Broad-winged Hawks. Through these efforts,
our
understanding of raptor population size and concentrations has been
greatly
expanded.

3.   Leadership - Megan Hill, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Megan Hill has coordinated the international component of the Park Flight
Migratory Bird Program since 2000, including provision of technical
assistance to projects in six Mesoamerican countries, and through her
Guatemala-based work as Director of International Programs for NFWF,
Megan
is credited with creating, organizing, coordinating, and supporting the
Partners in Flight - Mesoamerica Group.

4.   Leadership - Steve Wendt, Canadian Wildlife Service
Steve Wendt has played a central role in Partners in Flight since its
inception, and has served as the Chairman of PIF-Canada since 1993. He
initiated the funding mechanism by which PIF Canada's National Working
Group is maintained, which has led to the development of national level
tools like the Framework for Landbird Conservation in Canada and the PIF
Canada newsletter. Steve has also played similar roles in the waterfowl
and
shorebird communities, making him truly a force towards the NABCI goal of
conserving all birds in all habitats.

5.   Stewardship - Missouri Department of Conservation, Natural History
Division. 
MDC Natural History staff have written numerous grants to raise funds for
acquistion, management, and monitoring in focal areas identified by the
Missouri Grassland Coalition, and have worked closely with partners to
restore or enhance habitat for prairie-chickens and other high priority
grassland birds. They have conducted numerous workshops for both private
landowners and government employees to improve knowledge of prairie and
grassland habitat management for priority bird species.

6.   Stewardship, Terry Sharpe, North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission
Terry Sharpe has dedicated much of his 20+ year career to promoting
conservation of early-successional bird habitat. He has diligently worked
to improve and implement federal Farm Bill conservation programs on
private
lands. He played a large role in creating and implementing North
Carolina's
Cooperative Upland Habitat Restoration and Enhancement (or CURE) program,
which focuses on restoration and management of early-successional habitat
on a landscape scale. The CURE program has established management plans
for
habitat improvement on over 38,000 acres of public and private land.

7.   Investigations - Dr. Daniel Twedt, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center
Daniel Twedt has been instrumental in developing bird conservation plans
and conducting research that furthers our understanding of bird habitat
relationships in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. He has been
instrumental
in developing the biological models that relate bird populations to
habitat
objectives which have since become the foundation for many PIF bird
plans.
He has used his extensive knowledge of GIS to assist the Lower
Mississippi
Valley Joint Venture partnership in developing a spatially-explicit
decision support model to prioritize reforestation activities in the MAV.

8.   Investigations - Erica Dunn, Canadian Wildlife Service 
Erica Dunn was the first Canadian to actively contemplate the concept of
bird-species priority setting. Her landmark publication "Setting
priorities
for conservation, research and monitoring of Canada's landbirds" in 1997
first developed an approach that included the concept of conservation
responsibility. She has also been the Canadian leader in developing
"landbird action sheets" that summarize the status and main conservation,
research or monitoring needs of approximately 200 species of landbirds in
Canada.

9.   Public Awareness, Joni Ellis
Joni Ellis initiated Optics for the Tropics in September 2001 to provide
binoculars to ornithologists in the Caribbean and Latin America where
equipment is lacking. Her efforts have led to the acquisition of
significant grant money not only for purchase of binoculars, but also
field
guides, tape recorders, scopes and other materials desperately needed by
projects.

10.  Public Awareness, Susan Bonfield
Sue Bonfield has been the full-time coordinator for International
Migratory
Bird Day since 1999, responsible for annual promotion, product
development,
sales, budgeting, and coordination with partners.She designs and
publishes
a catalog of IMBD sale items that is used at hundreds of events, reaching
hundreds of thousands of people each year. Her efforts to provide useful
and unique resources provide an outstanding source of educational
material
that otherwise may not be available.

ABA was proud to make these awards possible.


______________

SOME FINAL NOTES:


Our ABA Conservation Fund is one way we maintain a robust birder's
conservation agenda at ABA. (Contributions can be made online at
<https://commerce10.pair.com/ambirder/abasuppforms.htm> or simply sent to
the ABA offices ? P.O. Box 6599 Colorado Springs CO 80934 ? made out to
ABA
and marked "Conservation Fund.") If you have an ABA friend who would like
to receive this E-newsletter, have him/her contact me at
<pbaicich@xxxxxxx>. If that birding friend is not an ABA member,
membership
can be secured on-line: <http://www.americanbirding.org/memform.htm>.
                                        
There is also varied bird-related conservation news put on the ABA web
site
on the "Birding News" page:
<http://www.americanbirding.org/news/birdnews.htm>.

Finally, you are welcome to reproduce any of this information, as long as
the original ABA source is cited. (It's good to know that the past issues
of this newsletter, THE BIRDER CONSERVATIONIST, are now archived on the
ABA
web site at:
<http://www.americanbirding.org/programs/constbc.htm>)

=====================================================
Paul J. Baicich
Director of Conservation and Public Policy
American Birding Association
P.O. Box 404
Oxon Hill, MD 20750

     301-839-9736 (839-wren)
     301-839-2763  [fax]

ABA: A lot more than listing!
Check out the ABA web site:  <http://www.americanbirding.org/>
And for our online birding store:
<http://www.americanbirding.org/abasales/>

    "The whole idea is to deliver what money can't buy"
        -- Bruce Springsteen




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