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Lunar Eclipse as seen from Reston, VA, Feb. 20, 2008

Volume 6, Number 3

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Circulation: 4,700

“The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great,
and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich,
precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment..”

- Johannes Kepler

Please continue to send your news and updates to Dianna Parker at diannaparker@audubon.org.

In this issue:

Audubon Board Approves Wind Power Policy
New York State Legislature Approves Great Lakes Compact
Evergreen Cities Act Poised to Save Taxpayers Millions
GBBC Games and Contests

ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS

GBBC Checklist Deadline Approaching

Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 Competition

Chapter Workshop at Rivers and Wildlife Celebration

Stories Sought: What Are You Doing to Help Fight Global Warming?

Audubon Board Approves Wind Power Policy

Washington, DC — The National Board approved Audubon's policy on wind power at its January 2008 meeting in Tiburon, CA. The policy, developed by Director of Conservation Policy, Mike Daulton, and Global Warming Campaign Director, Julia Levin, supports "properly-sited wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Wind power facilities should be planned, sited and operated to minimize the negative impacts on bird and wildlife populations.

To read the entire policy, please visit:http://www.audubon.org/campaign/windPowerQA.html.

New York State Legislature Approves Great Lakes Compact

Albany, NY - The New York State Assembly approved the Great Lakes Compact last week, bringing the legislation one step closer to ratification. The bill, which was passed by the State Senate on February 4th, is now headed to Governor Eliot Spitzer’s desk for his signature. The Compact will implement a strong and effective water management plan for the Great Lakes ecosystem, and must be adopted by all eight Great Lakes states and ratified by the U.S. Congress before taking effect. Among the protections in the compact is a measure to prohibit removing or diverting water from the Lakes, squashing recent threats that conservationists say would disturb the fragile ecosystem.

Audubon New York commends the Senate and Assembly, especially Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, for passing the Great Lakes Compact,” said Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York. “The Great Lakes Compact is critical for the long-term protection of the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin, and for the revitalization of the upstate New York Economy. As Governor Spitzer made this a priority in his State of Upstate speech, we hope that he will quickly sign this important measure into law.

Evergreen Cities Act Poised to Save Taxpayers Millions

Olympia, WA - The Evergreen Cities Act, one of Audubon Washington’s legislative priorities for 2008, passed out of Washington state’s House Appropriations Committee late Monday night. The Evergreen Cities Act, sponsored by state Representative Ruth Kagi, will help cities restore forested park lands, retain urban trees, and establish more trees to expand Washington’s urban forest canopy. The bill directs the Dept. of Natural Resources to conduct a statewide urban forest inventory and assessment to support local governments’ planning. It also includes incentives for municipalities to become Evergreen Cities.

TIn addition to obvious benefits for air, wildlife, and recreation, Audubon Washington’s policy director, Heath Packard says that recent assessment of the Portland, OR, forest canopy shows the significant return for taxpayers when investing in trees. “Portland’s annual environmental benefits provided by the entire urban forest canopy exceed $38 million,” Packard said. The bill is now set to move to the House floor for a vote.

For more about the Evergreen Cities Act, visit Audubon Washington’s website here.

GBBC Games and Contests

New York, NY - Now that you’ve sharpened your keen eye for spotting birds with last weekend’s GBBC, test your skills of observation! Find five differences between two seemingly identical photos with Eagle Eyes, Audubon’s latest online game. See if you can beat Newswire’s editor—she only scored 30 points! Play the game here.

New York, NY - Calling all artists, 17 and under: Submit your bird pictures and paintings to Audubon’s Great Backyard Bird Count Art Exhibit! Selected artwork will be displayed on Audubon's web site starting April 1, 2008, and others may be exhibited at local Audubon Centers and other Audubon locales. Visit http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/Art_contest.shtml for submission guidelines.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

GBBC Checklist Deadline Approaching - Nearly 70,000 checklists have been submitted to date for this year’s GBBC! Log on to http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ to submit your checklist by March 1, 2008.

Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 Competition-Do you have a great photo or painting of any of these rare birds? Or, have you encountered one and think you can write about it? Submit your entries to the Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 competition for a chance to have your work published in this year’s yearbook and a shot at a prize. The photo competition closes May 31, 2008. For every book sold, £4.00 (roughly $8 US dollars) will be donated to Audubon’s partner, BirdLife International, to help conserve these rare species. To learn more or to enter, please visit http://www.rarebirdsyearbook.com/compete_categories.htm

Chapter Workshop at Rivers and Wildlife Celebration - Don't miss the Audubon chapter workshop, "Taking Action for Birds in a Changing Climate," to be held Friday, March 14, 2008 at the Holiday Inn in Kearney, NE as part of the Rivers and Wildlife Celebration. Attendees will have opportunity to explore a number of topics in the areas of Chapter development, Important Bird Areas, Audubon's science programs and Chapter resources. Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska will host this workshop which is open to all Audubon chapter members and the general public.

Registration material is now available for both Workshop and Celebration at http://www.audubon.org/states/ne/. Early Bird registration discount through February 29!

For more information and to place an order, contact DK Publishing at (800) 788-6262 or visit .

Stories Sought: What You Are Doing to Help Fight Global Warming - We're looking for stories from the Audubon family. Tell us what steps are you taking - both individual actions and chapter or other group initiatives. We will share your experiences through Newswire and on the Audubon website - inspiring others to join Audubon in making a difference. Please send your story to kconnors@audubon.org - with photos showcasing what you are doing, if you have them!