Audubon Ohio News - March 24, 2003
- From: "SINGER, Deborah" <DSINGER@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <audubonoh-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 10:39:14 -0500
Audubon Ohio News - March 24, 2003
CONTENTS
1. Some Thoughts on the Arctic Vote
2. Columbus Audubon Center Moves Ahead
3. Columbus Foundation Supports IBA Work
4. Audubon Ohio Designates Wayne NF as Important Bird Area
5. Ottawa NWR May Grow
6. Executive Director's Travel Schedule
1. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE ARCTIC VOTE
Last Wednesday the United States Senate voted 52-48 to block efforts by =
the Bush Administration to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge =
(ANWR) to oil drilling. Previous efforts to push drilling legislation =
through the Senate had foundered when anti-drilling Senators had =
filibustered the legislation, and drilling supporters could not muster =
the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster. Seeking to avoid a =
filibuster, the President's supporters in the Senate had included =
provisions for such drilling in the budget resolution that, under Senate =
rules, was not subject to filibuster. This forced anti-drilling =
Senators to win 51 votes to take the drilling language out of the =
resolution, rather than the 41 normally needed to support a filibuster.
Ohioans can be proud that our Senator, Mike DeWine, voted with the =
majority to remove the drilling provisions from the resolution. DeWine =
needs to hear from all of us as to how much we value his support. The =
Senator's office can be reached by phone (202-224-2315) or through an =
e-mail form on his web site (dewine.senate.gov).=20
One has to wonder why President Bush and his supporters, on the eve of =
the commencement of hostilities in Iraq, chose to put such a divisive =
issue before the Senate. Moreover, having previously asserted that ANWR =
contains the last major untapped oil reserve within the United States, a =
decision to drill now would have sent a message of weakness to the =
world. The message would have been that the U.S. simply could not curb =
its oil habit, and lacked the ability to address its energy needs by a =
softer path. =20
This is not meant to suggest that drilling in the Arctic is simply a =
question of timing. Audubon opposes drilling in ANWR forever, and =
believes that the Refuge should be dedicated as a wilderness area. The =
issue may be dead in the current Congress, but it will be with us =
always, or at least until the United States energy market matures to the =
point at which oil is no longer necessary. Still, it is good to know =
that President Bush was unable to win approval for drilling even in a =
Senate controlled by his supporters. It shows that our efforts really =
do make a difference.
=20
2. COLUMBUS AUDUBON CENTER MOVES AHEAD
On March 12 the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department voted =
to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with Audubon Ohio and the =
Franklin County MetroParks to develop a new metropark and nature =
education center just south of downtown Columbus. The Memorandum had =
been approved the previous day by the MetroParks Board.
Under the Memorandum, the City will lease approximately half of the =
so-called "Whittier Peninsula" to MetroParks for creation of the new =
park. The "Peninsula" is actually the land on the east bank of the =
Scioto River along a sweeping curve of the River. MetroParks will =
sublease a portion of the land to Audubon, and Audubon will create a =
nature education center on the land. The center will be the first =
institution of its kind in a downtown area in Ohio.
Approval of the Memorandum received widespread press coverage in =
Columbus, including a large photo story on the front page of the =
Columbus Dispatch, a second large article in the Metro section of the =
Dispatch two days later, a front page article in Business First (a =
weekly business magazine) and news reports on the local National Public =
Radio station. News of the approval was also place on Audubon's =
national web page.
The last hurdle for the Memorandum is approval by Columbus City Council, =
which is expected to occur on March 31.
3. FOUNDATION SUPPORTS IBA WORK
Audubon Ohio has received a $25,000.00 grant from the Clifford and Mary =
Ozias Conservation and Forestry Fund of the Columbus Foundation to =
continue its work in protecting the Greenlawn Dam Important Bird Area =
near downtown Columbus. The grant will support efforts to gather data =
about habitat and birds in the IBA, and to develop a conservation plan =
for the area. The grant represents the largest grant that Audubon Ohio =
has received to date from the Columbus Foundation.
4. AUDUBON OHIO DESIGNATES WAYNE NF AS IMPORTANT BIRD AREA
The Wayne National Forest has recently been designated an Important Bird =
Area by the Ohio IBA Technical Committee. The Wayne NF is located in =
southeastern Ohio in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and is =
comprised of 178,000 acres. It is made up three separate, noncontiguous =
units.
The Ironton District located farthest south is located in Lawrence, =
Scioto, Gallia, and Jackson Counties. It contains the Vesuvius =
Recreation Area and is the most developed of the three.=20
Located northeast of Ironton District and adjacent to the Ohio River, is =
the Marietta District, in Washington, Monroe, and Noble Counties. Here =
the flora is thicker, wilder, and the forest has the character of the =
river.
The Athens District, primarily in Athens, Vinton, Hocking, Perry, and =
Morgan Counties, is a transition from the hills of southern Ohio to the =
farmland located to the north. The Athens District is much less =
developed than the other two districts.
The Wayne is important for a number of priority bird species, with its =
large blocks of forest providing strongholds for substantial breeding =
populations of many Appalachian specialties such as Cerulean Warbler and =
Worm-eating Warbler, along with Acadian Flycatcher, Kentucky Warbler, =
and Wood Thrush. The Cerulean Warbler is under consideration for Federal =
Endangered Species listing with the center of its distribution just =
miles away from the Wayne in Parkersburg, West Virginia.=20
Surprisingly, on the reclaimed strip mine lands, the Wayne also has =
significant populations of grass-land specialties such as Henslow's =
Sparrow and shrubby openings with Prairie Warbler.
5. OTTAWA NWR MAY GROW
Last year, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Toledo) introduced legislation to expand =
the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, one of the prime birding areas in =
North America. Although her bill was not enacted in the last Congress, =
she has reintroduced it as H.R. 289 in the current Congress.
Hearings were held on the bill on March 7, and the bill was reported =
favorably from committee. It may soon be before the full House for a =
vote. The bill has bipartisan support. Ohio Sen. George Voinovich is =
sponsoring companion legislation in the Senate. Prospects for passage =
in the current Congress are good, as the bill has not attracted any =
opposition.
Rep. Kaptur also recently succeeded in getting an appropriation of $1.95 =
million for construction of a new education center at the Ottawa Refuge. =
Ground was broken for the new center this month.
6. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S TRAVEL SCHEDULE
Audubon Ohio's Executive Director, Jerry Tinianow, has pledged to attend =
a function in each of Ohio's 20 Chapters once every calendar quarter. =
While a few dates have yet to be arranged, most of the schedule for the =
Second Quarter of 2003 is set. Tentative dates are as follows:
April 2 Columbus board meeting
April 15 Firelands Chapter board meeting
April 21 Audubon Society of Ohio (Cincinnati) members meeting
April 28 Clark County members meeting
May 5 Miami Valley dinner and members meeting
May 6 Tri-Moraine members meeting
May 17 Greater Mohican Birdathon
May 20 Mahoning Valley members picnic
May 27 Black River board meeting
May 21 Dayton members meeting
June 1 East Central members picnic
June 3 Western Cuyahoga members meeting
June 7 Greater Cleveland fundraiser and awards dinner
June 16 Black Swamp members picnic
June 17 Blackbrook members picnic
June 18 Canton members meeting
June 24 Greater Akron members meeting
TBA President Rutherford B. Hayes
TBA Appalachian Front
TBA Hocking Valley
With all of the dinners and picnics in June, expect Jerry to be a =
candidate for Weight Watchers by the end of the month.
*************************************************************************=
*****
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