NEWS FROM THE AUDUBON NETWORK
Achievements, issues and announcements from throughout the Audubon network

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT IN THE NEWS

Audubon’s 110th annual Christmas Bird Count is making news from coast to coast. With over 1,008 media results thus far during December, we have already passed last year’s record. The Los Angeles Times joined the count in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Saturday, The Seattle Times featured a local count in Washington state, and a Reuters reporter will join a team near Dallas December 26.

On January 1, Glenn Olson, Audubon’s Donal O’Brien Chair in Bird Conservation through Advocacy and Public Policy, will be interviewed by Ira Flatow on NPR’s Science Friday, talking about how vital these data are to bird conservation, and his own CBC experience in California. Listen Live Friday, January 1, between 2-4 pm Eastern. Read more.

To find out more about this signature Citizen Science program which continues through January 5 and counts you may join across the continent, go to get involved.

Below a few select media reports on this Audubon signature Citizen Science program:

Featured in 300 newspapers across the country, this link to the CBC for Kids program is part of a growing initiative by Tom Rusert of Sonoma Valley Birding, which founded the Binocular Boot Camp for Kids. SonomaBirding.org is a conservation organization based in Sonoma Valley, CA. since 2004. It sustains the two annual Sonoma Valley Audubon Christmas Bird Counts for adults and kids, bird camps, seasonal bird lists, a nature lecture series, classes and other bird and nature related educational collaborations for all ages. Its primary objective is to foster greater understanding of birds through "Citizen Science" activities.

Seattle Times on Audubon Count "Nature Gives Peace of Mind"

Birders brave snow for Audubon count: news story video

Rufous Hummingbird surprises birders in Indianapolis

Florida CBC volunteers include new birders

John Flicker Letter to Compilers Run in Florida paper

Videos and photos featured in this report on the Green Examiner

David Ringer and Bruce Reid interviewed by Vicksburg Post for local Audubon Bird Count.

BirdLife & Audubon Receive Royal Support from Monaco’s Prince Albert
“Protecting threatened species is vitally important to developing a different relationship with our planet,” said HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco at a recent event in Washington DC attended by Audubon President John Flicker and partners from BirdLife International. Read more.

AUDUBON POLICY ACTION HIGHLIGHTS
As 2009 comes to a close, we celebrate many conservation victories in a tough year.

1. Climate and Energy Bill Heads for Final Lap
2. Endangered Species Act Wins Back Protections
3. Neotropical Migratory Songbirds Singing a Sweeter Tune Thanks to Congress
4. Record Funding for Conservation Programs and Ecosystem Restoration
5. Sage Grouse Works Sets New Standard for Habitat and Species Protections

Audubon President John Flicker Praises EPA Finding on Carbon Emissions. Read more.

TIM WILLIAMS WINS AUDUBON GOLDEN EGRET AWARD
As the Center Director of the Clyde E. Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary and Audubon Center since 1975, Tim Williams has been responsible for all aspects of running the Center and 379-acre Sanctuary in order to make the only Audubon facility in Kentucky well-known, well-used and very well-regarded. His dedication to the Center and his pride in Audubon is unparalleled. Tim has built an innovative and creative education program. Through community events, field trips with the local chapter, large numbers of visits by school children and drop in visitors, he has made Audubon synonymous with open access to a native landscape, environmental education, and smart land stewardship. Tim has mentored over 100 interns, kept the sanctuary in pristine shape, and raised the funds needed to build an outdoor pavilion. Tim is “classic” Audubon: he has a sunny personality, positive can-do spirit, and good humor. He is the only Audubon staff person in Kentucky and cares deeply for the land he has been charged with stewarding - and just as much for the people who visit it. To learn more.

AUDUBON MARKETPLACE NEWS

MISSISSIPPI RIVER INITIATIVE
As part of its large-scale effort to protect and restore the Mississippi River system, Audubon partners with 30 other national, regional, and local organizations in the Mississippi River Network. The network is launching a major nationwide campaign – called 1 Mississippi – to help people reconnect with the Mississippi River and build a groundswell of citizen involvement to protect the river’s environment and heritage for future generations. You can sign up to become a River Citizen – especially if you live in one of the 10 states along the Mississippi River – to learn more about the river and events you can participate in, click here.
Become a River Citizen
Mississippi River Initiative

Corps could be helping rebuild coast with dredged river sediment, state says. Read more.

"This is perfect timing, I think," said Paul Kemp of the National Audubon Society. "The state has really done its homework," as Louisiana and Corps mud-wrestle over coast. Read more.

TogetherGreen

The second annual Pennies for the Planet campaign has begun. Get your kids or students involved in direct conservation action for America’s threatened coastlines through fun activities and creative fundraising. To download activity sheets and materials, and learn more about the projects that will benefit, visit Pennies for the Planet.

Check out the second issue of the TogetherGreen Inside Scene Newsletter for info on 2009 Grants and Fellows, updated Volunteer Day stats, and how you can win a TogetherGreen t-shirt. Read it now.

Green Right now takes an in-depth look at select 2009 Fellows, including New York’s Ajamu Brown and Philadelphia’s Valerie Peckham. Read more.

Watch 2009 Fellow Cheryl Calaustro discuss her TogetherGreen Fellowship Project, along with some baby Guam Rails!

Toyota’s 2009 North American Environmental Reports includes TogetherGreen accomplishments. Read about it here.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune covers two local Florida TogetherGreen Fellows, Yvette Little and Julie Henry. Read more.

2009 TogetherGreen Fellow Ralph Rollins is featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Read more here.

Learn about 2008 and 2009 Innovation Grantee Audubon South Carolina and their citizen science program, Project PROTHO, in this new TogetherGreen Video! Watch it now.

AUDUBON STATE, CHAPTER AND CENTER NEWS

Audubon Connecticut
Audubon Connecticut, the state office of the National Audubon Society, received a three-year, $75,000 grant from the Naomi Law Terrell Foundation Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven bird habitats. Read more here.

Audubon of Florida
After 20 years of legal and bureaucratic battles, the Army Corps of Engineers is ready to break ground on a Tamiami Trail overhaul considered a milestone in broader Everglades restoration efforts. Read more.

Audubon in Louisiana
Audubon Features in documentary about Birds of Louisiana; See video.

Audubon’s Dr. Paul Kemp comments on lessons learned from Katrina.

Audubon Minnesota
Wetlands, Pines & Prairie Audubon Sanctuary, home of the Agassiz Audubon Society, recently been gifted a large bird collection containing more then 200 birds and most of the collection is over 100 years old. The value of this collection has been appraised at over $500,000. The historical value of the collection is irreplaceable.

Audubon New Mexico
Statewide environmental education highlighted in article about the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area near Belen, New Mexico along the Rio Grande. Read more.

This coming spring, the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe is partnering with Whitfield to train 10 volunteers Whitfield education center grand opening on Saturday.

Audubon New York
Soccer field threatens wilderness area; June Summers, a member of the Genesee Valley Audubon Society, said. “We want to keep the ecosystem in the park as it is,” she said. “It’s really a great place for winter bird watching because not a lot of people come.” Read more.

A new workshop will be offered this summer to help Onondaga County middle school teachers learn more about Onondaga Lake and its birds, plants and ecosystems. The workshop was created by Montezuma Audubon Center and Onondaga Audubon Society. Read about it here.

Audubon North Carolina
Cars vs Birds (Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a Globally Significant Important Bird Area - More here and here.

Audubon South Carolina
Silver Bluff Audubon Center & Sanctuary Manager Dan Connelly to Retire After 34 Years. More here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

Each year, Audubon members can shape the future of Audubon by participating in the election of Audubon’s directors at the Annual Meeting of Members. However, if you cannot attend the Annual Meeting, you can still participate in one of two ways.

First, you can submit one proxy by mail. Audubon Magazine gives you two opportunities: in the November/December 2009 issue between pages 80-81, and in the forthcoming January/February 2010 issue between pages 32-33.

Second, if you allow Audubon to contact you by email, you should have received an email asking you to submit your proxy online. Another email will be sent in the first week of January 2010. If you have any questions about the online proxy, please contact Proxy_vote@audubon.org.

On the other hand, if you will be in the Dallas area, join us at the Annual Meeting. Audubon’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Members will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29, 2010 at the Stoneleigh Hotel, 2927 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75201

By participating in the election of Audubon’s directors, you help play a vital role in Audubon’s conservation efforts. Thank you for everything you do!

Please continue to send your announcements and news stories, including web links, to Delta Willis dwillis@audubon.org. The next edition of Newswire will be January 15.