Donna Dewhurst, USFWS

Volume 4, Number 13

Thursday, July 6, 2006

If future generations are to remember us
with gratitude rather than contempt,
we must leave them more than
the miracles of technology.
We must leave them a glimpse of the world
as it was in the beginning,
not just after we got through with it.

-- Lyndon B. Johnson

 

PLEASE NOTE: Future issues of Newswire will be distributed on Thursdays. Contact Sally Montgomery at smontgomery@audubon.org with any questions.

In this issue:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Audubon Society Condemns Passage of House Offshore Drilling Bill

July 6, 2006, Washington, DC - Last week the House passed legislation intended to expand offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

According to Mike Daulton, Director of Conservation Policy for the National Audubon Society, "in a Congress that has produced no productive solutions to the biggest energy and environmental challenge of recent times, this offshore drilling proposal sets a new low.

"Removing a quarter-century old ban on dangerous drilling off of our irreplaceable coastlines is reckless and irresponsible.

"The oil and gas industry already has access to over 80 percent of the known reserves of oil and natural gas in our offshore areas. They have rights to more than 4,000 untapped leases in the Gulf of Mexico alone. It makes no sense to put our coasts at risk when the industry has not even tapped into the leases they already have."

The bill, which has been strongly criticized by conservationists, now heads to the Senate, but faces tougher challenges under the threat of filibuster.

For more information about the bill, please visit: http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/offshoredrilling_06_30_06.html#TopOfPage

National Audubon Society Offers Beachgoers Tips on Having Fun While Protecting Shorebirds

July 6, 2006, New York, NY - Fourth of July weekend is normally a call to the coast for boating, beach parties and water sports, but it can also mean disaster for shorebirds. To help people enjoy the holiday and avoid disturbing our feathered friends, the National Audubon Society encouraged beachgoers to take a few easy precautions when they headed out for the holiday weekend.

Shorebirds use our beaches for nesting, resting and feeding, and include families like sandpipers, as well as their tern and gull allies. Their beach-toned plumages of white, gray and tan afford them critical camouflage protection from natural predators and make them well suited to life in a habitat of extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, their camouflage works on beachgoers too who inadvertently disturb the birds.

The crush of people drawn to the coasts for holidays can spell imminent doom to nesting shorebirds. Human disturbance flushes shorebirds off their nests, leaving their eggs to cook in the hot sun in mere minutes. Solitary nesting species like Plovers are often unnoticed and many colonial nesters, including Terns, are apparent only because their colonies are roped off by officials to help limit disturbance.

To see a full list of the precautions beachgoers can take to protect nesting and feeding shorebirds, please visit http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/ShorebirdTips_06_29_06.html.

To download a pdf for more information about Audubon's Coastal Bird Conservation Program, please visit http://www.audubon.org/bird/pdf/CoastalBirdConservation.pdf.

Andy Wood, Director of Education for Audubon North Carolina, Turns Radio Commentaries to Printed Page

July 6, 2006, Wilmington, NC - As anyone who has crafted commentaries for the three- to four-minute time slot of a radio feature can tell you, writing a book is a whole different matter. But after eighteen years and nearly eight hundred commentaries-all produced for WHQR 91.3 National Public Radio out of Wilmington, North Carolina-Andy Wood decided it was time.

Fans of Wood's vivid, thought-provoking on-air essays will welcome this volume of 52 selections, edited and arranged to present a cycle that reflects the world just outside their back doors. Those new to Wood's work will likewise enjoy Backyard Carolina. Though geared toward an adult audience, the topics covered, from the phenomenon of watching the daily parade of songbirds at feeders, to a humorous encounter with an unexpected alligator, to the stories of rescued snakes and seaturtles, will delight readers of all ages.

The book was the result of collaboration with the Publishing Laboratory at UNCW, a regional publishing imprint that involves students of creative writing in the "real-world" business of book publishing. Louisa Jonas, a master of fine arts candidate in creative nonfiction, spearheaded the project; finely detailed pencil illustrations were commissioned from Melissa Smith of UNCW's Marine Science Center; and other students under the direction of Dr. Barbara Brannon of the Creative Writing Department handled editing, design, and production.

The book is available in retail bookstores regionally or directly through the UNCW Department of Creative Writing and is also available for trade distribution nationwide.

For more information about the book, please contact Barbara Brannon in the Publishing Laboratory at 910-962-7401, brannonb@uncw.edu, or call the UNCW Department of Creative Writing at 910-962-7063.

For more information about Audubon North Carolina, please visit: http://www.ncaudubon.org/.

Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania Announces 2006 Environmental Education and Conservation Award Winners

July 6, 2006, Fox Chapel, PA - Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP) recently presented six awards to local individuals and organizations that exemplify ASWP's environmental education and conservation mission. This year's award winners are:

For more information about the award winners or the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, please contact Rachel Mohr Handel at rhandel@aswp.org or 412-963-6100.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Add Your Upcoming Audubon Events to the Birding Festivals and Events Calendar
- The National Audubon Society invites you to submit upcoming Audubon-sponsored events that have broad appeal to local and out-of-town participants, or national events of general interest to the birding and conservation community. These events will be posted on the National Audubon Society's Birding and Events Calendar, located on the website.

To submit an event, please visit: http://www.audubon.org/birdingcalendar/form.php.