J.B. OWEN MEMORIAL AWARD for Welfare and Conservation of Birds in Tennessee The J.B. Owen Memorial Endowment honors the memory of J.B. Owen, longtime Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) member who was widely known through his popular columns in Knoxville newspapers. The Endowment provides funds for the annual J.B. Owen Award, with expected value of $250 to $500 per year. The J.B. Owen Award is open to anyone with a project that promotes the welfare and conservation of birds in Tennessee. Applicants are encouraged to submit: · Cover letter with short project description and applicant contact information · Resume · Project proposal, of up to three pages, showing topic of the project, problem to be addressed, objectives, expected results and significance, deliverables (for example, written report, journal article, presentation), project location, and project schedule. Each year, applications are due by May 1 and should be sent by e-mail to jjadmj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or mailed to Jean Alexander, 3908 Riverview Drive, Maryville, Tennessee 37804. The J.B. Owen Endowment Committee of the Knoxville Chapter of TOS will evaluate applications and will typically announce the Award winner the following September. Previous Owen Award winners were: 2002: Foothills Land Conservancy of Maryville, Tennessee, for the Conservancy?s work in the acquisition of wetlands - for the welfare and conservation of cranes and other birds - in the area between the Yuchi and Hiwassee Island Refuges; 2003: Jennifer Powers, of East Tennessee State University, for support of graduate research on the reproductive success and natal dispersal of American Kestrels; 2004: Samuel deMent of Greenwood, SC, David Vogt of Chattanooga, and Keith Hobson of Saskatoon, SK Canada for support of the project on Stable-isotope feather analysis and foreign band encounter comparisons of wintering American Kestrels in similar habitats west and east of the Southern Appalachians. · 2005: Ijams Nature Center of Knoxville, Tennessee, for support of educational outreach programs. 2006: Jim Giocomo of Knoxville, for support of his project on Northern Saw-whet Owl Monitoring in Knox County, Tennessee; and Mark Armstrong of Knoxville, for support of The MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity Station) at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge. The winning 2005 proposal is shown below as a guide for applicants. EXAMPLE PROPOSAL FOR THE J.B. OWEN AWARD To the J.B. Owen Memorial Fund Endowment Committee: Currently Ijams Nature Center instructs approximately 50,000 school students annually while doing curriculum-based, grade-specific classes that augment the classroom instruction of the teachers. Approximately 60 percent of the above numbers are outreach programs where an Ijams? educator goes to area schools in Knox and all of the surrounding counties. Many of the outreach programs include a live non-releasable education animal: amphibian, reptile or bird. We know from experience that nothing focuses a student?s attention and creates a lasting memory like seeing a live bird of prey. In addition, Ijams educators, including myself, routinely speak to adult groups about local birds, their habitat requirements and conservation status. Currently we only have transportation boxes for our small birds: two screech-owls and a kestrel. Ijams Nature Center would like to apply for a $500 grant to purchase two large transportation cases for our barred owl and red-tailed hawk. This would allow us to take these birds off-site to visit schools and other groups. The American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge has recommended a local craftsman who custom builds boxes to fit specific birds. The cases are lightweight, made from aluminum and ABS plastic. They have a barred window that can be closed should the birds become nervous; key latches, removable perches for easy cleaning and are designed with a low center of gravity to help prevent them from tipping over. These cases are very durable and should be in use for years. Ijams would also be pleased to purchase decals for the cases that would have the KTOS logo and the wording, "Funding for this case provided by the J.B. Owen Memorial Endowment. The fund is administered by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society for the advancement of conservation and educational awareness of the birds of Tennessee." Thank you for your consideration. Most sincerely yours, Lyn Bales, Ijams Nature Center Jean Alexander Maryville, TN (Blount County) J. B. Owen Endowment Committee Knoxville Chapter of TOS =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. 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Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________