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Audubon Washington
Audubon
Washington E-Newswire Audubon Washington
E-Newswire March 2008 Volume 4 Number 3
It's Crunch Time
for the Evergreen Cities Act
OLYMPIA - With only a couple weeks left this session you can
feel the tension start to build. Lobbyists and legislators
are on edge trying to pass their bills before this short session
comes to an end March 13th. Last week, the Evergreen Cities
Act, E2SHB 2844, passed out of Senate Natural Resources and
on Monday passed Senate Ways and Means Committee. It is crunch
time for this urban forest legislation because it still has
to pass out of Rules and be voted on the Senate floor. We
would like to thank Representative Ruth Kagi (D-32) for her
unwavering support. She continues to be our champion for this
legislation. Rep. Kagi was recently quoted as saying, "The
incentives and tools in the Evergreen Cities bill will help
communities across Washington protect and plant trees that
are essential to our future air quality, water quality and
quality of life". Please contact your Senator and ask them
to fund and move E2SHB 2844 to the floor for a vote, and vote
YES to support this important legislation. Call 1-800-562-6000
or click here.
Some IBAs Move Toward
Greater Protection Thanks to AW Lobbying Successes
TWISP - Two bills initiated and steered through the Washington Legislature by Audubon Washington's policy staff are facilitating the integration of Audubon's Important Bird Areas into the Natural Heritage Program. Audubon Washington has begun working with the Washington Department of Natural Resources to accomplish this. Don McIvor, Audubon Washington's Science Coordinator, is now working part-time for the state on IBA integration. This project breaks new ground for the state. As a first step in the process, protocols for integrating IBA data into the Natural Heritage Program's database must be developed. In addition to being integrated into a widely distributed natural resource database, sites integrated into the Natural Heritage Program's database have the potential to become part of the state's system of Natural Areas, thus receiving a higher level of protection. To be selected for the Natural Area System, IBAs must be screened through the Department of Natural Resources' selection criteria and then be reviewed by the Natural Heritage Program Advisory Council. Washington DNR has set a goal of selecting two IBAs and moving these sites through each step of the Natural Heritage Program's site management process during the project's first year.
"You've Got Mail"
OLYMPIA - If you get an email from Survey Monkey entitled "Audubon's Birding Trail Map Survey" - please open it and respond to the eleven brief questions. Audubon staff and volunteers sent the survey to 3,870 people who have ordered one of the four birding trail maps online. The survey's goal is to assess the maps' convenience, type of paper, and size. Information from the survey will be used to determine modifications needed before the Great Washington State Birding Trail program reprints the Cascade Loop and designs future maps. Thanks for your input!
Dungeness Classes
and Festival Teach Owl You Ever Wanted to Know
SEQUIM - Spring has sprung at the Dungeness River Audubon
Center. Upcoming Center classes include Introduction to Birds
and Birding starting March 3 and Early Spring Birds of the
North Olympic Peninsula starting on March 6. The Olympic Bird
Festival occurs from April 4 to 8 - check the website, http://www.olympicbirdfest.org,
for information and to register for events. This year the
festival includes many field trips to hot birding spots, a
presentation by the Northwest Raptor Center, a salmon banquet
at the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, an Owl Prowl in the Owlympics,
and a three-day cruise from April 6 to 8 around the San Juan
Islands, staying at Roche Harbor Resort on San Juan Island.
All money raised by Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society during
the festival goes to support the programs of the Dungeness
River Audubon Center. So head to Sequim for some fun, and
support a great cause at the same time.
Name Your Favorite
Eastern Washington Birding Spots
OLYMPIA - Research on the next two maps of the Great Washington
State Birding Trail - the Southeast and Spokane loops - is
underway, with workshops scheduled in March and April in Kennewick,
Walla Walla, Spokane Valley, Ellensburg, and Toppenish. Birders
and business people team up to help create the trail, which
attracts tourists to rural areas, spurring sustainable economic
development and helping protect natural areas. Details are
here.
One Bird, One Birder,
and One Economic Boom
OAHE DAM, S.D. - Birders from all over the country are flocking
to South Dakota to see an Ivory Gull that has been vacationing
at Oahe Dam. This gull species normally stays on the arctic
ice pack year-round and is an extremely rare bird for the
continental United States. Doug Backlund, with the South Dakota
Game, Fish and Parks Department, says, "It's hard to measure
the economic impact but I think it's safe to say that hundreds
of people will come here to see this, and it's too cold for
camping so they will use motels, restaurants, etc. If the
gull stays around, even more will take the trip if they feel
they have a good chance of seeing it. It could easily turn
into thousands of birders coming here. Oahe Dam is getting
quite a reputation as a place to see rare gulls, thanks largely
to one local birder, Ricky Olson." Pictures of the gull are
here.
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