NAS Board Member on San Pedro River Review

The San Pedro River in Arizona is one of the most critical bird habitats in the country; it was the first national IBA designated, and is now recognized as the first site in the U.S. to be reviewed by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation established by NAFTA side accords on environment. A tri-national advisory board has been established to review an upcoming study on the Upper San Pedro River, and to make recommendations to policymakers on the conservation of the river's resources. NAS Board member Ruth Russell has been appointed to serve on this 10-member panel representing Mexico, Canada and the U.S. Congratulations, Ruth!

National River Cleanup Week is May 9-16, 1998.

For information on organizing cleanups, call America Outdoors (423/558-3595) or American Rivers (202/547-6900).

On Chapter Insurance

The insurance firm of Franey, Parr & Muha (FPM) (exclusive insurance broker for National Audubon) wrote to Networker to let Auduboners know that FPM has two FREE booklets they will send to Audubon chapters upon chapter request (call toll-free; see below): (1) the Non-profits' Essential Handbook on Insurance, and (2) Directors' and Officers' Liability Loss Prevention for Non-profit Organizations. FPM reports that it has also created the Conserve-A-Nation Insurance Program, through which Audubon chapters can purchase general liability, property, automobile, workers' compensation, volunteer accident and directors and officers insurance, as well as insurance for most special events such as fund-raisers, athletic contests, "and other unique events." FPM prefers to explore each chapter's potential insurance needs on an individual basis "because each chapter is different," rather than offering blanket solutions.

For More Info, Contact: Steve Childress, Franey, Parr & Muha, Inc.; 11781 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy., #220; Fairfax, VA 22033; ph: 800/298-7373; FAX: 703/934-0147; email: landcons@aol.com.

Birdathon '98 Visit the Birdathon Web site: http://www.audubon.org/bird/birdathon/, or contact Susan Murray, NAS-DC for more info.

Bigger Voice for Refuges

The NAS National Wildlife Refuge Campaign announces two new communications initiatives: public service announcements (PSA's) in print, and a new Web site, both donated by Enten & Associates of Rockville, MD. Over the next few months, keep your eye out for PSA's in publications such as Outside, Better Homes & Gardens, and Business Week, among others, who are also donating space for these PSA's. The new Web site, a pro-bono courtesy of Marie Condron and JustNet, includes an opportunity for Audubon Refuge Keepers (ARK) to display their pages on the site, hot-links to other wildlife refuge Web sites, action alerts, and much more. Access the Web site through "Campaigns" on the NAS site http://www.audubon.org/campaign/refuge/. Or, contact Lora Wondolowski (NAS-DC) for details.

Catching up on Coffee For more information on research underlying the "coffee" issue and songbirds (see Networker Vol. II, No. 4, 12/97), check out the Web site of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center: http://www.si.edu/natzoo/zooview/smbc/.

International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)

... is Saturday, May 9th! The 6th annual event will roll out the red carpet for migratory birds as they return to their nesting grounds after a winter in the tropics. For quick information on IMBD and a downloadable order form, visit IMBD at http://www.americanbirding.org/imbdgen.htm or contact: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management: 4401 N Fairfax Dr.; Arlington, VA 22203; ph: 703/358-2318; e-mail: imbd@fws.gov.

Get Wet Together! May is American Wetlands Month! Join hundreds of other Audubon volunteers in celebrating the wonders of wetlands and spring migration by taking your Members of Congress and other decision-makers birding in wild areas near and dear to your heart. To order an American Wetlands Month packet, please contact Mac Blewer: ph: 202/861-2242; e-mail: mblewer@audubon.org, or leave a message on 1/800/659-2622.

Audubon on QVC?!

Yes! On Thursday, April 23, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., Audubon and Audubon products will be featured on QVC, the Home Shopping TV Channel. NAS V-P for Education, Talbert Spence, will be the Audubon host; he will provide information on NAS and its programs and chapters.

Tell the world: tune in!

"MAPS" Update

Currently, The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) has funding available from the Department of Defense to subsidize training for people to run MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity & Survivorship; see Networker, Vol. III, No. 1, 3/98) stations on military installations. IBP is offering free training in April and May for people living near IBP-operated, militarily-funded MAPS stations and who are willing to adopt one or more of these stations as volunteers. These are at Camps Bowie and Swift and Fort Hood, TX; Forts Leavenworth and Riley and Sunflower AAP, KS; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; NSWC Crane and Jefferson PG, IN; Fort Knox, KY; NOC Indian Head and NAS Patuxent River, MD; Forts Belvoir and A. P. Hill, Mason Neck NWR, NSWC Dahlgren, Camp Pendleton, NAS Oceana, and NSGA Northwest, VA; and NSGA Northwest and Fort Bragg, NC. For people interested in running MAPS stations on other military bases, IBP is reserving space in their summer classes and will reimburse trainees for training once they have submitted data. Arrangements for running stations must be made directly with personnel on the military bases concerned.

For More Info, please call Ken Burton: 415/663-2051.

New Membership Committee Guide

The NAS Membership Dept. announces the newly issued, newly revised Chapter Membership Committee Guide, full of great ideas, answers to commonly asked questions -- and getting rave reviews already! The Guide is available from the Membership office in New York (NAS-HQ, ask for Iris Blumenthal), and is also posted on the Audubon Web site. To access it on the Web site, you will need to use the URL http://cmcg:8604@www.audubon.org/restricted/cmcg/; the username is "cmcg", and password is "8604".