[audubon-news] Audubon Newswire, 11/23/04

  • From: "BIANCHI, John" <JBIANCHI@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
  • Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 11:43:11 -0500


Audubon Newswire 
Volume 2, Number 21
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 

In this Thanksgiving issue:
-- Audubon North Carolina Announces 92 Important Bird Areas
-- Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society's Vice President Rolls Out Another Lake 
County Water Day
-- Audubon Florida Launches Sustainability Plan for Everglades Agricultural Area
-- Great Turnout for 3rd Annual Rivers and Bluffs Birding Festival
-- Audubon New York Receives $5000 Member Item Grant for Audubon at Home 
Demonstration Garden
-- NY Times Editorial Highlights Audubon New York for its work with New York 
City on "Save the Sound"
-- Heather Starck to Head Columbus Audubon Center
-- Audubon Science Makes Fact Sheets Available for Chapter and Staff Use
-- Annual Meeting of Members and National Board Meeting 2005
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Audubon North Carolina Announces 92 Important Bird Areas

Wilmington, NC, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - Last week, Audubon North Carolina 
announced the release of Important Bird Areas of North Carolina, a scientific 
assessment of the most important habitats for birds in the state. The 
culmination of six years of study, the publication identifies 92 places from 
the mountains to the coast that are vital for breeding, migrating, and 
over-wintering birds.  

The nearly 4.5 million acres of land and waters encompassed by the report range 
from internationally known natural heritage sites such as 300,000 acres of 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park to a handful of two-acre islands that are 
little known but vital to breeding waterbirds.  Manmade features, such as Falls 
and Jordan lakes, known for their growing populations of Bald Eagles in the 
midst of developing cities, also made the list.  One Important Bird Area (IBA) 
includes 600,000 acres of ocean off Cape Hatteras where seabirds congregate and 
forage in huge numbers.

"Important Bird Areas have no minimum or maximum size limit," said Audubon 
North Carolina Deputy Director Walker Golder, leader of the IBA program in the 
state.  "What these sites have in common is that all are important and all are 
essential to North Carolina's birds."

To read the entire release, visit 
www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/index.html  .  To read more coverage on 
North Carolina's IBAs, visit 
www.bladenjournal.com/articles/2004/11/19/news/news10.txt .
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Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society's Vice President Rolls Out Another Lake County 
Water Day

Lake County, FL, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - On November 22, 2004, 
approximately 8,000 Lake County third, fourth, and fifth graders celebrated 
their second Lake County Water Day, so designated by the Board of County 
Commissioners, the Lake County School Board, and the Lake County Water 
Authority.
 
This event is sponsored by the Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society who received a 
grant from the Lake County Water Authority with the help of Vice President and 
Education Chair of the Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society, Mary Anderson. 
 
Each student received the Audubon Adventures nature news magazine "It's Only 
Water, Our Only Water."  This is an award-winning educational newspaper with 
challenging activities and materials that address water conservation, 
pollution, and the water cycle to illustrate that water equals life and is an 
essential habitat or home for many animals and plants. These studies will be 
followed by an essay writing contest for the children and will be judged at 
both the school and county levels, and awards will be given for the winning 
essays.  

For more information on the Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society, please visit 
www.oklawaha-audubon.org/index.html .  For more information on Audubon 
Adventures, please visit www.audubon.org/educate/aa . 
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Audubon Florida Launches Sustainability Plan for Everglades Agricultural Area

Palm Beach, FL, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - Audubon Florida, working with 
Florida Wildlife Federation and the conservation organization 1000 Friends of 
Florida, has launched a sustainability plan for Florida's Everglades 
Agricultural Area (EAA). Covering nearly 700,000 acres, the EAA represents one 
of the largest undeveloped landscapes in Florida and maintaining the area as a 
rural landscape is vital to restoring the Everglades.

The launch of the sustainability plan presents a blue print for future land use 
in the EAA, taking into account the need for increased water storage, improved 
water quality measures, increased wildlife habitat, revitalizing human 
communities, and ensuring that farming is able to continue as a viable economy 
in the region. Recognizing that the management of land and water in the EAA 
profoundly affects Lake Okeechobee, coastal estuaries, the Everglades, and 
Florida, the plan builds a case for decision-makers to adopt measures in the 
plan prior to adopting further development densities.

Through being proactive in presenting a sustainability plan that supports, 
agriculture, local communities, and birds and wildlife, Audubon Florida is 
offering an alternative to a surge in proposals to develop western Palm Beach 
County's sugar fields. This counterproposal: a sweeping, 10- to 20-year plan to 
keep most of the land in agriculture, puts about a fifth of it under water, and 
steers appropriate development to existing western cities such as Pahokee and 
Belle Glade. 

Audubon of Florida Policy Director Eric Draper said taxpayers would have to 
spend billions of dollars on roads, schools and myriad other needs if 
development sprawls across the 450,000 acres of farms. "If we don't do 
anything, this will just be one big series of developments," Draper said. "We 
think it's important that our communities and wildlife have an alternative to 
what developers are proposing." 

To download a fact sheet and overview of the plan visit 
www.audubonofflorida.org 
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Great Turnout for 3rd Annual Rivers and Bluffs Birding Festival 

Lansing, IA, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - The Nov. 12-14, '04 3rd Annual Rivers 
and Bluffs Birding Festival has come and gone, but the assistance of eleven 
co-sponsors and numerous other partnering businesses, organizations, and 
individuals made this three day event a significant success.  A total of at 
least 257 individuals from 53 cities in 9 states attended this year's 3-day 
event headquartered at Kee High School in Lansing. Birders came from Florida, 
California, Ohio, Kansas, Illinois and Michigan, plus Iowa and nearby Wisconsin 
and Minnesota.

Half-day birding trips on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning explored 
Mississippi River habitats teeming with Tundra Swans and many varieties of 
ducks, as well as some upland habitats, all within easy driving distance in 
Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Two boat trips each day took participants nearer 
to waterfowl on Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and 
Fish Refuge - one of Iowa's 70 officially recognized Important Bird Areas 
(IBAs).  

A total of 91 species of birds were observed during the event, the most popular 
bird of the festival being a Red-necked Grebe.  The composite total of 78 
species observed during the first two festivals was easily exceeded this year. 
Recent mild weather and the involvement of a higher number of excellent birders 
as bird trip leaders helped push the total species seen to a new high.
 
For more information on Audubon's Iowa IBA programs, visit 
www.iowabirds.org/IBA .  
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Audubon New York Receives $5000 Member Item Grant for Audubon at Home 
Demonstration Garden

Albany, NY, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - Building on Audubon's priority 
promotion of the Audubon At Home program, Audubon New York is working with 
Chapters across the state, urging them to advocate for the elimination of 
pesticide use, water conservation, water quality protection, and planting 
native species in their local communities.  As part of this initiative, Audubon 
New York is proud to announce that they have helped secure a $5,000 "Member 
Item" grant through State Senator Vincent Leibell for the Bedford Audubon 
Society's creation of a demonstration garden at their Bylane Farm Sanctuary in 
Katonah, NY.  

The demonstration garden at this sanctuary will help connect area residents to 
their local environment by providing education programs and opportunities to 
learn the goals and benefits of managing their backyards in an environmentally 
friendly, non-toxic way.  

"This grant highlights the strong collaboration between our state office and 
the local Chapters for a national priority, and we can't thank Senator Leibell 
enough for all his efforts" said David Miller, Executive Director Audubon New 
York.  "We look forward to building on this success with other Chapters, and 
expanding this excellent program across the state."  Audubon New York is 
engaged in a broad campaign, encouraging and helping Chapters and Audubon 
Nature Centers to create demonstration gardens that can illustrate to local 
residents the ease and benefits of turning their backyards into healthy 
backyard habitats that can and should support a wide variety of birds and other 
wildlife

For more information on Audubon's Audubon at Home, visit 
www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/index.html . 
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NY Times Editorial Highlights Audubon New York's 'Save the Sound' Initiatives

Albany, NY, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - In the Sunday, November 14, 2004 issue 
of the New York Times City Editorial page, the column brings attention to the 
environmental plight of the Long Island Sound - one of America's great 
estuaries - and the efforts that must be taken to clean up its nitrogen 
polluted waters.  Audubon New York's work to come up with a plan that keeps the 
City of New York on time and on target with restoration efforts was praised in 
the piece:

"Earlier this year, the city, with the help of environmental groups like 
Audubon New York, devised and submitted to Albany a plan that assuming some 
wiggle room in the timetable, promises to meet the 58.5 percent target at just 
over half the original estimated cost."

To view the entire column, visit the New York Times archives at 
http://query.nytimes.com/search/advanced. 
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Heather Starck to Head Columbus Audubon Center

Columbus, OH, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - Last week, Audubon Ohio announced 
the appointment of Heather Starck as the new director of the future Columbus 
Audubon Center on the Whittier Peninsula.  The announcement was made at a 
welcoming reception in her honor at the law offices of Porter, Wright, Morris, 
and Arthur.  A major gift of $75,000 from the Estabrook Trust (a fund managed 
by Porter Wright) was also announced at the reception, and a letter of intent 
spelling out the terms of future collaboration between COSI and Audubon on 
education programs at COSI and the center was distributed.

Starck's role as director of the Audubon Center will cover a range of duties, 
including responsibility for all aspects of planning, developing, operating and 
managing the center.  She will also be charged with carrying out Audubon's 
conservation mission of protecting birds and habitat through the center's 
educational programming.  Starck begins her duties immediately, working out of 
the Audubon Ohio state office in Columbus until the center opens in 2008.

"Heather brings the perfect blend of environmental education experience and 
on-the-ground field work to this position," noted Audubon Ohio's Executive 
Director Jerome Tinianow, at a welcoming reception for Starck.  "Her previous 
work with urban nature education programs has given her the skills necessary to 
get the Audubon Center off the ground, and to serve Columbus' families and 
children successfully."

To read the entire press release, visit 
www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/Starck_11-16-04.html#TopOfPage . 
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Audubon Science Department Makes New Fact Sheets Available for Member, Chapter, 
and Staff Use

Ivyland, PA, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - The Audubon Science Department 
announced today that fact sheets summarizing all of science's programs are now 
available for use by all Audubon Chapters, members, and staff.  

A good resource for anyone wishing to know more about Audubon's activities, 
they provide general descriptions of Science's most important work.  These fact 
sheets may be useful in creating proposals, conducting community outreach, and 
responding to requests for information.

Visit www.audubon.org/bird/index.html for PDF files of all eleven program fact 
sheets, listed on the right hand side of the page.
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Annual Meeting of Members and National Board Meeting 2005 

Naples, FL, Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - The Annual Meeting of Members of the 
National Audubon Society is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 28, 2004 
at 10 am at the Blair Audubon Center at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The meeting 
is open to all Audubon members and attendees are encouraged to stay to enjoy 
the Sanctuary after the close of the Annual Meeting. 

It is helpful to know in advance who will be attending, in order to assure that 
adequate seating is available. For that reason, anyone planning to attend the 
Annual Meeting is asked to contact Lynn Tennefoss in the Chapter Services 
Office at ltennefoss@xxxxxxxxxxx or 800-542-2748. The Chapter Services Office 
will also be happy to answer any questions about the meeting. 

The National Board Meeting will take place at 9 am on Sunday, January 30, 2004, 
at the Naples Beach Hotel. The Board Meeting is open to members, who are asked 
to please inform the Chapter Services Office if they plan to attend. 

Details and an agenda are available on the Audubon site at 
www.audubon.org/nas/board/0105meeting.html .

- 30 -


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