SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY CONSERVATION NEWS
Border Fence threatens Sabal Palm Audubon Center -- http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/audubon_87752___article.html/fence_sabal.html
Poll says Americans Support Continued Protection for Arctic Refuge, Don't Believe Big Oil's Misleading Claims on Gas Prices -- http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/prnewswire/press_releases/national/Alaska/2008/07/02/DC26814
Researchers at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon are helping to monitor the environmental impact of last fall's oil spill. http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_914739
Hatching a Plan: After years of controversy, a federal judge has accepted a plan that limits beach driving at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. (Audubon North Carolina played a key role in protecting this vital habitat area.) http://www.newsobserver.com/print/sunday/opinion/story/1060236.html
Audubon Alaska’s Stan Senner is quoted in editorial on the administration’s decision to defer, for at least 10 years, more oil and gas leasing around Teshekpuk Lake on Alaska's North Slope http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/363618_joel19.html
Trinity River Audubon Center is transforming a former illegal dump site into an eco-friendly gateway to nature. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/DN-trinityaudubon_30met.ART0.State.Edition1.4709403.html
Audubon to Partner with NRDC in Google-funded Conservation Initiative --Audubon and NRDC have each received $25,000 in funding from Google.org for a joint initiative promoting renewable energy planning that minimizes impacts on wildlife and habitat. Collaborating with wildlife and wind energy experts, federal, state and local agencies, and other stakeholders, Audubon will identify critical habitat areas and other geographically-based environmental factors. This information will be incorporated in GIS maps, GoogleEarth layers and other tools, providing accessible information to support environmentally sensitive renewable energy siting decisions. The goal is to provide planners, regulators, and other decision-makers with data that will enable them to reduce the costs and accelerate the development of renewable energy, while also reducing habitat fragmentation and direct impacts to vulnerable species. This is critical to the long-term viability of wind power and other forms of renewable energy. The grant will focus on the high-wind, high transmission states (Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota), but also provide the foundation similar maps in other states.
Guyra Paraguay completed a Pride Campaign at San Rafael National Park -- The Pride Campaign reached out to the target audience through workshops, environmental festivals, campaign materials, and radio and television media sources. With teachers as the main ally, the Campaign engaged over 600 students in local schools and reached out to approximately 1,500 children and adults through environmental festivals held in the local communities. Over recent months, the Pride campaign trained 35 local conservationists in a nationally accredited biological and forest ecology workshop, providing the skills necessary to effectively monitor and promote conservation in San Rafael. One of the biggest successes to date of Guyra's Campaign is the outreach and engagement of 190 local farmers. With approximately 2.5 million hectares of soy monoculture currently in production, unsustainable agriculture practices are one of the leading causes of deforestation. As fields encroach on the borders of the national park, forest areas decrease every year in the region, while the number of soybean hectares in production increases. With help from numerous volunteers, Guyra motivated 95 farmers to adopt sustainable agriculture practices including the production of organic soybeans.
Ballast Water Amendment Passes House -- Washington, DC-The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure April 24 that would require ships to treat its ballast water before discharging it at port. The amendment, offered by Rep. Mark S. Kirk (R-IL), targets viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a highly contagious disease killing thousands of fish in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Kirk Amendment gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to request that Great Lakes vessels install ballast water treatment systems approved by the U.S. Coast Guard by 2015, and it must remove all living organisms from the water. Currently, only ships entering the Great Lakes are required to treat ballast water to prevent the introduction of invasive species. The bill passed as an amendment to the Coast Guard Authorization Act (H.R. 2830). Ballast is millions of gallons of water put in tanks of oceangoing ships to maintain stability. As a ship loads ballast, it also loads many of the organisms living in that port. When the ship discharges the water, the organisms are introduced into the new ecosystem. To learn more about how ballast water introduces invasive species, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/invasive_species/bal_links.html
Audubon California Helps Craft Historic Conservation Pact for Tejon Ranch -- Up to 240,000 contiguous acres of spectacular and ecologically significant California wildlands will be protected under a precedent-setting agreement brokered by Audubon California and five other environmental groups with the Tejon Ranch Company. The agreement will protect approximately 90 percent of Tejon's rich natural habitat from development and open new opportunities for Californians to enjoy this tremendous landscape firsthand. "If you look at a map of California, you can see just how big a victory this is for Californians," said Graham Chisholm, conservation director for Audubon California. "The protected area is immense - 375 square miles - and the only place in North America where four distinct ecoregions meet on one property."
Farm Bill Deal Boosts Conservation but has Flaws --The House passed a $290 billion farm bill Wednesday. While it includes increases in some conservation incentives, it also has provisions that undercut many of the bill's positive achievements. Betsy Loyless, Audubon's Donal O'Brien Chair for Policy and Advocacy, issued the following statement: "When farming is done properly, we can produce abundant food while ensuring stewardship of wildlife and habitat. While the farm bill that has emerged from conference negotiations does much to achieve this goal, there are negatives that considerably undercut the positive achievements. Though the process was not very open and the result less than ideal, we congratulate the conferees for advancing an historic farm bill that will do much to increase land and habitat conservation in the U.S. The farm bill that has emerged from the conference boosts funding for incentives programs that are proven to help conserve grasslands and prairie that are so critical to species conservation, particularly our declining common birds and endangered birds. The compromise that has emerged also has a "sodsaver" provision that would expand farming on untouched lands. If it becomes law it would result in a widespread loss of native grassland habitat with a massive release of global warming gases." For more information go to http://www.audubon.org/news/Farm_bill.html
San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society Shares Award for Work on Global Warming -- LOS ANGELES— San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society was part of a team of conservation groups given an environmental award for their work to address climate change in land-use decisions. The award focused on a landmark settlement to reduce greenhouse gases and improve conservation in San Bernardino County. For more info about San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society see www.sbvas.org
Betsy Loyless Statement on Global Warming Senate Debate --Washington, DC -- The Senate global warming debate ended June 6 with a 48-36 vote against evoking closure on a bill to curb heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. While obstructionists won the day, the number of votes in favor of passing global warming legislation in the Senate reached a new high and set the stage for victory in the next Congress. Six senators who were not able to attend the vote issued statements expressing support. Thus a total of 54 senators, a solid majority, showed support. Audubon members and activists played a big role in increasing momentum for passing global warming legislation by calling and writing senators during the critical days prior to the vote. Betsy Loyless, Audubon's Donal O'Brien Chair for Policy and Advocacy, issued the following statement: "It's now clear that climate legislation enjoys support from a bipartisan majority of the Senate. We are confident that the stage has been set for a new president to champion legislation to ultimate victory in the next Congress.
Audubon New York helps secure passage of New York Senate Conservation Incentive for Landowners -- ALBANY, NY - The New York State Senate passed legislation, sponsored by Senator James L. Seward (R/I/C-Oneonta), providing an important incentive for private landowners who engage in habitat conservation activities on their property. The Habitat Conservation Tax Credit (S.2179) gives eligible landowners a credit on their income taxes of 25% of the property taxes paid on land enrolled in a habitat conservation program. “Habitat loss is the leading threat to birds and other wildlife in New York, and as the majority of the state is in private ownership, the actions of private landowners will determine the future of our wildlife,” said Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York, the state program of the National Audubon Society. “This bill invests wisely in wildlife conservation by creating an incentive to landowners to provide an important public service through habitat conservation activities on their own property. We applaud Senator Seward and the State Senate for passing this critical measure.” To learn more about Audubon New York www.ny.audubon.org
Audubon Denver and Audubon Colorado Host Global Warming Forum --Denver, CO The Audubon Society of Greater Denver and Audubon Colorado jointly hosted the Global Warming Forum: Taking Action in YOUR community, on May 31 at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, Colorado. Close to 100 people from the surrounding community attended, including Audubon members and representatives from other environmental organization including the hunting community. The forum focused on climate change impacts in the West, state and federal solutions, and how to take action at the local and individual levels. More at www.denveraudubon.org
Audubon Ohio Plays Key Role in Ohio's Ratification of Compact to Protect the Great Lakes -- On July 7, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland signed legislation confirming Ohio's ratification of the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact. Audubon Ohio was an active participant in a coalition effort to win ratification, generating 20 published letters to the editor in Ohio newspapers, and over 1,600 postcards to state legislative leaders urging strong action to protect the Great Lakes. This led to a joint press release in which House Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris committed to ratification of the Compact - a promise both eventually kept. Audubon Ohio was the only conservation group to recruit and train two citizen activists, Robin Mullet and Kathy Hanratty, to testify in the General Assembly in support of ratification. Executive Director, Jerry Tinianow, also testified twice on the ratification bill. Audubon Ohio was also the only conservation group to enlist Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher to testify in favor of the Compact. His highly-effective testimony in April may well have been a turning point in the ratification effort. More at www.audubonohio.org
Tahoma Audubon Wins Shoreline Protection for Puget Sound -- On July 2 the Tacoma WA City Council unanimously passed an update to the City's Critical Areas Protection Ordinance to include marine shoreline buffers. Tahoma Audubon, along with partners Citizens for a Healthy Bay, People for Puget Sound, and Futurewise, sued the City to force the inclusion of buffers. Shoreline protection buffers no extend up to 200 feet in parts of the City, ensuring future protection of Puget Sound waters and our quality of life. Now the proposal goes to the Growth Management Hearings Board process for their approval. www.tahomaaudubon.org. Specific link for this news item http://www.tahomaaudubon.org/Default.aspx?pageId=30313
San Antonio Bexar Audubon Society is offering a prize for creators of the two best local green roofs finished by April 18, 2009. A vegetated-roof is just what the name implies, a roof covered largely or entirely with plants. Such rooftops are one of the most promising trends in urban conservation, for residential, commercial and public buildings. Buildings with such roofs incur lower heating/cooling costs. We all can benefit from the resulting reduced demand for energy, reduced heat-island effect on urban weather, cleaner air, and expanded habitat for birds and beneficial insects. http://endangeredspaces.blogspot.com/2008/07/plant-your-roof-and-win-prize.html
