[chapter-communicator] Newswire, Friday, October 8, 2004
- From: "TENNEFOSS, Lynn" <ltennefoss@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
- Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 19:42:41 -0400
Audubon Newswire
Volume 2, Number 18
Friday, October 8, 2004
In this issue:
-- Harriet Bullitt Awarded the 2004 Audubon Medal
-- Golden Gate Audubon Chapter Finds Win-Win Resolution with Gateway Valley
Developer
-- Audubon's Greg Butcher on the CBS Early Show This Saturday
-- Green Mountain Audubon Celebrates 40 Years of Connecting People with Nature
-- Audubon Texas Partners with San Antonio Water Systems to Open Nature Center
at
Mitchell Lake
-- Audubon Texas Receives $286K Grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
-- Hawk Ridge Designated as Minnesota's First Important Bird Area
-- John Flicker Appoints Branding and Marketing Task Force
-- Audubon Withdraws From Environmental Lawn Care and Landscaping Steering
Committee
-- Bob Perciasepe Letter to the Editor on Invasive Species Featured in The
Baltimore Sun
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Harriet Bullet Awarded the 2004 Audubon Medal
Seattle, WA, Friday, October 8, 2004 - On Saturday, October 2, National Audubon
Society presented the 2004 Audubon Medal to environmentalist, philanthropist,
and patron of the arts, Harriet Bullitt. A Leavenworth, Washington resident,
Bullitt is being recognized for her individual achievement in the field of
conservation and environmental protection. The medal was awarded to Bullitt by
Audubon President John Flicker at a special dinner in her honor in Seattle.
Bullitt has devoted her life to preserving and protecting the environment. A
former National Audubon Society board member, she is a strong force behind the
Bullitt Foundation, which has funded efforts to save the ancient forests of the
Pacific Northwest, rebuild salmon runs, protect and restore wetlands, and clean
up nuclear waste. In 1999, Bullitt created the Icicle Fund to support
environmental protection and promote the arts and history in the Upper
Wenatchee Valley in eastern Washington.
Bullitt has spearheaded efforts to create a new 5.5-acre Audubon Center in
Leavenworth, which will combine Audubon's educational programs about birds,
salmon, and other wildlife of the region, with exhibits and programs focused on
local cultural history and the arts. She is the owner and chief executive
officer of Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat, a natural environment conference
resort on the Icicle River in Leavenworth. Since opening in 1955, the retreat
has garnered numerous awards for its environmentally sound construction,
design, and development.
For more information, visit www.audubon.org <http://www.audubon.org>.
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Golden Gate Audubon Finds Win-Win Resolution with Gateway Valley Developer
Orinda, CA, Friday, October 8, 2004 - Gateway Valley, a very wet 1000-acre
valley in the dry East Bay hills of San Francisco Bay, has been saved from
development through the conservation efforts of the Golden Gate Audubon
Society, led by long-time environmentalist, Conservation and Education Director
Arthur Feinstein.
The Valley was designated an Aquatic Resource of National Importance by the
federal EPA and USFWS several years ago, due not only to its wetland and
perennial stream habitats, but also to the golden eagles and over 100 other
bird species that call the Valley home.
Golden Gate Audubon has fought hard to preserve this land for 14 years through
four different development proposals, but when a multi-billion dollar hedge
fund bought the land, the outlook for this land turned bleak. The Audubon
Chapter hired a lawyer, and submitted comments in response to the Army Corps of
Engineers public notice of development.
Hoping to find a compromise to benefit both parties, Arthur Feinstein contacted
the developer. "I called and said let's talk," said Feinstein. "We did so for
two long years and in July, signed a Settlement Agreement that provides for the
developer to build on 215 acres of the valley, while setting aside not only the
remainder of Gateway Valley - 750 acres - but 600 acres of an adjacent valley
also owned by the developer."
As a result of the Agreement, over two square miles of land is preserved and
will be owned by the East Bay Regional Park District and the East Bay Municipal
Utility District with strong conservation easements to prevent future
development. The preservation of this area completes a twenty-five-mile-long
corridor of publicly owned wild lands in the East Bay, ranging from Castro
Valley to San Pablo.
For more information on Golden Gate Audubon, visit www.goldengateaudubon.org
<http://www.goldengateaudubon.org>.
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Audubon's Director of Bird Conservation Greg Butcher on the CBS Early Show
New York, NY, Friday, October 8, 2004 - Audubon's Director of Bird Conservation
Greg Butcher will be featured on the CBS Early Show, the national morning
television show, this Saturday, October 9.
Greg will represent Audubon in a segment about birdwatching, and will be joined
by Don Riepe from NYC Audubon and Gabriel Willow from the Prospect Park Audubon
Center. The program will be filmed in Prospect Park and Jamaica Bay, two
Important Bird Areas in New York City.
To learn more about the CBS Early Show on Saturday, please visit:
www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/saturday/main3480.shtml
<http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/saturday/main3480.shtml>.
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Green Mountain Audubon Celebrates 40 Years of Connecting People to Nature
Huntington, VT, Friday, October 8, 2004 - The Green Mountain Audubon Nature
Center last month celebrated 40 years of connecting people with nature through
environmental education, land stewardship, citizen science, and conservation
advocacy with an all-day gala on September 11 at the Audubon Center in
Huntington. The birthday celebration, sponsored by Audubon Vermont, honored
the oldest operating nature center in Vermont and the many individuals who have
kept the Green Mountain Center a community resource for the past 40 years.
The celebration consisted of activities for the entire family including music,
puppets and story telling, nature walks, live bird demonstrations, bird banding
and face painting. Guests participated in a silent auction and art raffle of
outdoor-nature items and dinners at local restaurants.
"The 500 people who attended turned this into a true community celebration - if
we had city blocks in our rural town, this would have been one heck of a block
party," said Jim Shallow, executive director of Audubon Vermont. "The Green
Mountain Audubon Center is a place where the community comes to enjoy nature,
learn, and be a part of a greater whole. The founders, many now in their
eighties, came out and saw that the work they started 40 years ago is still
going strong."
The keynote speaker for the celebration was John Elder, Stewart Professor of
English at Middlebury College and author of Following the Brush, Imagining the
Earth, and Reading the Mountains of Home, who spoke about the role of
conservation in Vermont, past and future.
For more on Green Mountain Audubon Center, visit
www.vt.audubon.org/centers.html <http://www.vt.audubon.org/centers.html>.
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Audubon Texas Partners with San Antonio Water Systems to Open Nature Center at
Mitchell Lake
San Antonio, TX, Friday, October 8, 2004 - Mitchell Lake Wildlife Refuge, long
a destination for tens of thousands of migratory birds, is now a little
friendlier to a different kind of visitor - people. San Antonio Water System
(SAWS) - which owns the Mitchell Lake property - and Audubon Texas are
celebrating the launch of the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center. The Center serves
the greater San Antonio community with nature education programs, using the
resources around the 600-acre lake and adjoining wetlands as an outdoor
classroom for visitors of all ages.
"We could not imagine a more visionary partner than San Antonio Water System,"
said John Flicker, President of the National Audubon Society. "Early on, the
staff and board there recognized Mitchell Lake's exceptional ecological value
and its potential to be a vital educational and recreational resource for the
community. Through this unique partnership we have an extraordinary
opportunity to work together to open new eyes to nature."
To facilitate Audubon's operation of Mitchell Lake as a public use and
education facility, SAWS, in conjunction with the Mitchell Lake Wetlands
Society and the McNay Art Museum, recently renovated an historic home and
actually moved it to the wildlife reserve. This house will serve as the
Center's headquarters and staff offices. SAWS has also made upgrades to the
entrance of the site and improved interior roads and parking areas on the tract
for visitors.
For more on this story, visit www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/index.html
<http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/index.html>. Visit the Mitchell
Lake Audubon Center website at www.tx.audubon.org/mitchell.htm
<http://www.tx.audubon.org/mitchell.htm>.
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Audubon Texas Receives $286K Grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Austin, TX, Friday, October 8, 2004 - The Department of the Interior recently
announced more than $70 million in grants to 28 states and one territory to
support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened
and endangered fish, wildlife, and plant species. Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department has been awarded five grants for a total of $7.8 million to conserve
endangered songbirds and protect water quality, including $286,500 to Audubon
to go toward the acquisition of habitat specifically for golden-cheeked warbler
near Cedar Hill State Park - Dogwood Canyon - in Dallas County.
"These grant programs are some of the many tools we have to help landowners
conserve valuable wildlife habitats in the day-to-day management of their
lands," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve Williams said. "They
help landowners finance the creative solutions to land use and conservation
issues that ultimately lead to the recovery of endangered and threatened
species."
The acquisition of a 24-acre tract of land will provide high quality breeding
habitat for the golden-cheeked warbler in Dogwood Canyon. The acquisition is
part of a larger project to protect 250 acres of Dogwood Canyon for the benefit
of the warbler and the black-capped vireo, and other wildlife species.
For more information on the 2004 grant awards for these programs see the USFWS
Endangered Species home page at
www.endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html
<http://www.endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html>.
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Hawk Ridge Designated as Minnesota's First Important Bird Area
Duluth, MN, Friday, October 8, 2004 - National Audubon Society has designated
Duluth's Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve as Minnesota's first Important Bird Area
(IBA). The designation ceremony featured a number of speakers, including Mayor
Herb Bergson, State Representative Mary Murphy, Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) Commissioner Gene Merriam, and several DNR representatives.
"Hawk Ridge is the first IBA to be named in Minnesota Audubon's recognition of
truly extraordinary bird habitats across the entire state," said Mark Martell,
Audubon Minnesota's director of bird conservation. "We want to work
cooperatively with landowners, land managers, and local communities to maintain
and improve the value of these places for birds and other wildlife, and for
people as well."
Founded and managed by Duluth Audubon Society, Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve is
gaining IBA recognition due to its vital importance for hawk migration. At
this time of year, raptor migration at Hawk Ridge is at its height: so far this
season, three Mississippi Kites have been seen, an all-time record for this
bird at any Great Lakes area count site.
Audubon's IBA program recognizes places of natural significance to bird
populations due to habitat, breeding areas and migratory pathways. Hawk Ridge
easily met the requirements to be nominated as an IBA. Jan Green, one of the
founding members of Hawk Ridge, said the history of the area stretches back to
the 1940s, when the Duluth Bird Club organized a campaign to put a halt to the
shooting of hawks and migrating birds. It was through the counting methods of
retired University of Minnesota professor Jack Hofslund that the mass numbers
of raptors traveling through the area was realized. "All through the '50s and
'60s there was quite a bit of activity up there that showed what a fabulous
fly-way for hawks it was," Green said.
For more on the IBA Program, visit www.audubon.org/bird/iba/index.html
<http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba/index.html>. For information on the Hawk
Ridge Bird Observatory, please contact Dave Carman at 218-726-0089 or
carmandave@xxxxxxx <mailto:carmandave@xxxxxxx>
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John Flicker Appoints Marketing Task Force
New York, NY, Friday, October 8, 2004 - Audubon President John Flicker has
appointed a task force to develop a new brand and marketing strategy for the
National Audubon Society, it was announced today.
"Audubon has one of the strongest brands and reputations in the conservation
movement, and while 100 years of history and accomplishment has gotten us
there, it is important to keep our overall strategy fresh and focused on
helping us achieve our conservation goals," said Flicker. "Our brand and
reputation help us with recruitment of members and staff, fundraising, and
achieving conservation. It has been some time since Audubon has looked at an
overall plan and implementation measures. Strides have been made with some of
our physical and visual branding but more needs to be done with messages, tone,
and style across all field efforts and programs."
Audubon Vice President Tamar Chotzen will chair the task force, which is
charged with developing a brand management and marketing strategy for Audubon
that addresses all of the organization's primary communications vehicles with a
goal of strengthening and improving Audubon's brand and messages. In addition
to Chotzen, the Task Force will include: Marketing Director Nancy Severence,
Executive Director of Audubon Missouri Roger Still, Director of Development
Marketing and Communications Ed Whitaker, Vice President of Constituency
Development Denise Scelzo, Communications Director John Bianchi, and Audubon
Editor-in-Chief David Seideman. Input from Licensing, State Programs, Centers,
Chapters, Policy, Science, and Information Services will also be sought to aid
in developing the strategy. The task force will present preliminary
recommendations by the year's end.
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Audubon Withdraws From Environmental Lawn Care and Landscaping Steering
Committee
New York, NY, Friday, October 8, 2004 - The Center for Resource Management, a
non-profit environmental organization, held an Environmental Lawn Care and
Landscaping stakeholder conference this past March in San Antonio, Texas. The
conference was attended by 104 people including several Auduboners: Tess
Present from Science; Bill Cooke from Audubon New York; and Susan Hughes,
former National Board Member and President of San Antonio's Bexar Audubon
Society.
Audubon's Tess Present served on the Steering Committee for the effort leading
up to the conference, which was designed to find common ground on responsible
lawn care and landscaping practices by stakeholders, which included
conservation organizations, industry representatives, and government officials.
There was agreement on many issues at the conference, and significant progress
towards agreement on others. A key area where agreement could not be reached
centered on the extent public education should emphasize responsible use of
pesticides, or encourage non-chemical means to address pest problems.
Some of the draft recommendations discussed at the conference represented
compromise positions between industry and environmental participants. Audubon
is concerned that if the organization remains on the Steering Committee, it
could be incorrectly implied that Audubon endorsed the recommendations.
Therefore, Audubon has withdrawn from the Steering Committee.
Audubon will monitor discussions among the diverse stakeholder-participants as
these continue.
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Bob Perciasepe Op-Ed on Invasive Species Featured in The Baltimore Sun
The following piece ran in the Letters to the Editor section of the Baltimore
Sun on Thursday, September 11, 2004:
"Invasive species ruin native habitats
"In his column 'Feathered friends under fire' (Opinion Commentary, Aug. 31),
Michael Markanian of the Fund for Animals argues for national policies that are
totally out of step with the priorities of conservation groups, fish and
wildlife agencies, and professional wildlife managers.
"Mr. Markanian wants the federal government to protect invasive species despite
their devastating ecological and economic impacts - species such as the mute
swan, nutria, and snakehead fish.
"In their zeal to extend protections to invasive species, animal rights groups
would take limited funding away from real conservation programs for imperiled
native species and ecosystems on the brink of collapse. They want taxpayers to
protect invasive species that threaten to undermine the very ecosystems that we
are fighting to restore.
"Invasive species infest more than 100 million acres of American land, ruining
priceless habitat for native wildlife and costing the economy about $130
billion a year.
"Legislation introduced by Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest and Sen. George V. Voinovich
would stop the insanity. Their bill would clarify that the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act (MBTA) applies only to native birds such as Maryland's black
skimmers and least terns and does not protect invasive species such as the mute
swan.
"Along with virtually every major conservation organization, from Environmental
Defense to Ducks Unlimited, the National Audubon Society supports their
legislation.
If the animal rights groups can successfully hijack the MBTA and use it to
conserve invasive birds, they will be well on their way to forcing taxpayers to
subsidize the destruction of native ecosystems by unnatural invaders."
Bob Perciasepe
New York
The writer is chief operating officer of the National Audubon Society.
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