Wisconsin NWR Budget Issues
November 20, 2007
Article in: Birding
Wisconsin National Wildlife Refuges are facing a $16.7 million deficit in funding, greatly hurting the management of these wonderful bird havens.
A typical scene at Horicon in July
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge staffing will be reduced to a single maintenance worker, shared with three other refuges. This will severely impact maintenance of the miles of dikes and levees upon which the 32,000 acres of Horicon marsh… -C.A.R.E.
The lack of proper funding will also hamper efforts to restore Whooping Crane populations at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge as well as protect federally endangered species such as the Piping Plover.
Wisconsin is home to 7 National Wildlife Refuges and gets over 1.5 million visitors a year. To learn more about ways you can help support these wildlife havens, visit RefugeNet. Or you can check out Pathways to Nature – Friends of Necedah.
A Contract With the Earth
November 19, 2007
Article in: Book Reviews
To many people who are deeply devoted to the environment, there is a tendency to place the values of environmental causes and goals as political issues. Unfortunately, political sparring can often hurt conservation efforts. It hasn’t always been that way and it shouldn’t be that way in the future. All people of the world have a vested interest in the benefits of a healthy environment. Thus, we must all work together.
A Contract With the Earth is an excellent vision formed into a book by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Terry L. Maple, President and CEO of Palm Beach Zoo. It may come as a surprise to some, but Newt was once an environmental studies professor and has devoted much of his life to environmental solutions.
The crux of Contract With the Earth is to bind citizens to the issues of the environment through a wide array of efforts. These include:
- Entrepreneurial Environmentalism
- Environmental Philanthropy
- Partnerships
- Strong Leadership
- Citizen Science
- Environmental Education
Contract With the Earth discusses issues such as the “nature-deficit-disorder” that has struck much of the nation’s youth to the wonderful environmental accomplishments of generous private citizens and businesses. And yes, the government is talked about as well: how some species, such as the Whooping Crane, have been saved from extinction do to thoughtful political involvement.
Some observers believe that nations united by the cohesive demands of environmentalism are more likely to find common cause on many other international issues and thereby avert serious conflict.
Some of what Gingrich and Maple discuss might come as a surprise coming from a conservative. But it shouldn’t. As E.O. Wilson’s foreword states, “both ‘conservatism’ and ‘conservation’ are derived from the Latin conservare because each is meant to convey the ideal of saving and treasuring that which has, over time, proved best for humanity.”
Contract shows how we have a golden opportunity. While we fix environmental problems we will “launch an unprecendented epoch of economic prosperity.” “The business of conservation will generate revenue, whereas a high price will be paid if we ignroe the warning signs of our troubled planet.”
Organizations like Conservation International and the Nature Conservancy are leading the charge of sound business practices mixed with partnerships across a wide spectrum of organizations, both public and private. Contract shows how these partnerships have accomplished much more than they ever could by being divided and self-fulfilling.
Thus, if you believe that conservation is the duty of everyone and the environment is worthy to protect, check out A Contract with the Earth.
“The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.” – Theodore Roosevelt – Republican, Conservationist, Hero
Whooping Crane MileMaker Campaign
November 17, 2007
Article in: Birding
Operation Migration, the force behind the ultralight flights of young Whooping Cranes (not as young as the one pictured), is in need of funds. Their MileMaker Campaign for 2007 is running short on money for the 1,250 mile journey from Necedah NWR in Wisconsin to Chassahowitzka NWR in Florida.
Consider helping the Whooper’s journey by sponsoring a mile, 1/2-mile, or 1/4-mile (or any donation for that matter).
Prices:
- $206 – 1 mile
- $103 – 1/2 mile
- $51.50 – 1/4 mile
Phriday Photo – Burning
November 16, 2007
Article in: Photography
Recently, I stumbled across a prescribed burn in action at one of our county Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.
Rockford Rotary Forest Preserve, 11/13
Same location, 11/14
The after-burn wasn’t as interesting as during the burn but it was fun to walk around the charred earth and listen to the birds, singing as any normal blustery November day…
Bordering on Conservation
November 15, 2007
Article in: Bird Conservation
The border wall has been an issue for some time now and there is no doubt that it will have some impact on wildlife. This is the typical short-sighted response to an issue, the same sort of thing we see time and time again. Not thinking in the long-term is the same reason most start-up companies fail.
A great example of this in action can be read over at Refuge Watch about a land swap on Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge property that hasn’t been done legally.
The Nature Conservancy, an organization we fully support, also has wonderful information about the issues of the border wall as well as why it is vital to keep the Hidden Wilderness on the Texas-Mexico Border “conservationally” secure.
This rich habitat is one reason why more than 400 bird species have been seen in the 800,000-acre Big Bend National Park—more than in any other national park in the United States.
No matter your view on this issue one thing is certain. The Nature Conservancy will continue to make great advances in conservation:
Private land owners, agricultural cooperatives, corporations, governments and conservation groups have banded together to place more than 2 million acres on both sides of the border under some kind of protection. And more land is being added every year. Through their efforts, the borderlands remains one of the continent’s wildest places.
It is necessary to keep our borders secure but there are many other ways to accomplish this.
Integrated Bird Conservation in the United States
November 14, 2007
Article in: Bird Conservation
The U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Committee is a forum of government agencies, private organizations, and bird initiatives designed to meet common bird conservation goals. The focus is to advance “coordinated bird monitoring, conservation design, private land conservation, trinational projects, and institutional support in state and federal agencies for integrated bird conservation.”
Some of the highlights from the NABCI is their effort for partnering with groups from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Also, the NABCI has created a 3-5 year vision and work plan for conservation design. There are too many issues to discuss all at once but the overall plan of the NABCI is wonderful and something we plan to delve further into.
More Links:
- Bird Conservation Plans
- North American Waterfowl Management Plan
- Partners in Flight
- United States Shorebird Conservation Plan
- Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan
- Waterbird Conservation for the Americas
13 Prairie Birds Needing Conservation
November 13, 2007
Article in: Bird Conservation
The Nature Conservancy’s Prairie Wings project has mapped out the places needing conservation to protect thirteen birds of the prairie/grasslands. These include:
- Lark Bunting
- Cassin’s Sparrow
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken
- Greater Prairie-Chicken
- Sprague’s Pipit
- Ferruginous Hawk
- McCown’s Longspur
- Scaled Quail
- Long-billed Curlew
- Baird’s Sparrow
- Burrowing Owl
- Mountain Plover
- Chestnut-collared Longspur
The Nature Conservancy’s site has detailed species profiles on these 13 birds, including the places they are protecting for them. The Nature Conservancy has been a leader on bird conservation and continues to not just provide insight into the problems birds face, but provides solutions to these problems.
PIF Landbird Population Estimate Database
November 12, 2007
Article in: Bird Conservation
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and Partners In Flight (PIF) have teamed up to bring about a wonderful database of landbird populations.
The data comes from the North American Landbird Conservation Plan from 2004, which is mostly from Breeding Bird Survey data from the 1990s. You can download whole tables of data or query individual species.
A few examples: Cerulean Warblers are estimated at 560,000 and Henslow’s Sparrow at 80,000. These are two species that are rare but breed in our county in northern Illinois. And then there are Red-winged Blackbirds estimated at 190 million!!
The database is an excellent source of information and a good tool for bird conservationists.
