INDEX

• President's column: What is our role ?
• Great BackYard Bird Count 2001
• The National Audubon Society Population and Habitat
• Audubon's Birds of America

   We watch birds, more or less.  Should we do more?

    For some time now I’ve questioned Audubon’s role in our community.  I’d like to know what you think.

    The chapter traditionally educates members and others about birds and habitats.  Evening programs and weekend outings draw sometimes up to 80 attendees.  We fund Audubon Adventures for local fourth graders to learn about the wonders of nature, and our newsletter is read by over 800 residents.  Our local bird counts aide scientific research.
      Yet, as a chapter, we rarely show up at city hall or the county courthouse.  We generally steer clear of controversial issues, such as the recent Blueprint referendum to build miles of roads and buy a little open space.  Letters to the editor or official statements under my signature as president almost never go out.
    Instead, we usually rely on the Big Bend Sierra Club to tote the water when it comes to local government and public issues.  They are the political “activists.”  We are the “birders,” though many local environmental advocates are members of both Tallahassee groups.

   In Audubon we call public advocacy our Conservation Agenda.  The Agenda mainly manifests itself in the state legislature, as last year with Florida Forever, and Congress, as evidenced by the recent Everglades act.  Where would our state be without Florida Audubon?     Meanwhile, our town changes before our eyes almost daily.  Community character and natural ecology give way to sometimes mismanaged growth and often to inefficient development.  Parking lots displace trees.  Fill replaces wetlands.  Clear-cuts destroy bird habitats. Urban ecology and community design are just about missing  completely.  Poor site plans discourage transportation efficiencies.  Shopping centers level slopes.  Roadways cut wide asphalt scars across our city.  Traffic threatens neighborhoods and places pedestrians at risk.

   Other cities and towns get it: new traditional designs, traffic calming, sidewalks and bikeways, wildlife corridors, urban greenways, transit incentives, in-fill, mixed-use projects, redevelopment, neighborhood enhancements, “streetscaping,” landscaped medians and safe crosswalks, downtown revitalization, efficient site layout, integrated planning. Most important, our collective vision for the future appears to be misplaced for the moment.

    Our community can do much better.  Should we as a chapter help it do better?  Should we actively work to make our town a more livable place?  Should we testify at public hearings?  Should we adopt official position statements?  Should we muster our troops?

   Should we have a local Conservation Agenda?  In short, should we be activists, along with our vital role as educators?

    Our members are quite a mixed bag with both Republicans and Democrats, generally older and wealthier than most conservation groups, and many of us just want to look at and learn more about birds.  Other members want to know why we are so silent on local issues.

   I’d like to learn how you feel.  You can contact me at my e-mail address listed on page 2, or pull me aside at our next program or outing.

   Please let me hear from you.

Jim Crews, President

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Put your own bird sightings on the map in the 4th Great Backyard Bird Count, which will take place February 16-19. National Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology invite birders of all ages and skill levels to participate in this project, that helps scientists mapping the distribution and abundance of the wintering birds of North-America.

   Participants are asked to count the numbers and kinds of birds that visit their feeders, local parks, schoolyards, and other areas during any or all of the four count days. Last year in Florida around 2000 count reports resulted in 173 different species, and 89 species for Tallahassee (5th highest in the state). To participate, tally the highest number of each species seen at one time (so as not to count the same birds more than once). Then log on to BirdSource (www.birdsource.org) and click on the “Great Backyard Bird Count” button. Directions are provided at the site. Participation in the count is free, and no registration is necessary. Results, in the form of colorful maps and charts, are available at the web site for all to view as quickly as reports arrive over the Internet.

   For more info go to www.birdsource.org, or for those without internet connection call Hans van Tol at (850) 656-4039 (evening).

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Submitted by Harvey Goldman

   103 hours from now, a million new members will be born into the human family. This year alone, global population will increase by 85 million people. According to current projections, the world's total population will more than double, and may triple in a single generation. With today's population of over six billion, local and international attention to bringing population growth and consumption into balance with the natural world is essential.

   While a number of population and environmental groups are working to educate the public on these issues, Audubon's particular role is to utilize its large and active citizens' network and membership. Audubon educates its 550,000 members on the relationship between population and environment utilizing video, television, a bi-monthly newsletter, Audubon magazine, and electronic networks including an electronic mailing list and website. We emphasize the role family planning and women's health plays in bringing population growth into balance with the natural world for the good of humanity and of the other species with which we share the planet.

   The need for local leadership and citizen participation in addressing population and environment concerns continues to grow. Over the past year, Audubon has expanded its citizens' network on population and habitat to over 21,000 members and reached out to hundreds of thousands of citizens in the general public. Over the coming years, we will continue to frame the discussion about population and environment from the local to national level through grassroots activities and education of policy makers and the general public.

   Please explore the Audubon website to learn more about Audubon's Population and Habitat Program and its message. Meet the staff, and feel free to email them with any comments and/or questions that you may have regarding Audubon's Population and Habitat Program.

Population & Habitat Program
National Audubon Society
3109 28th Street
Boulder, CO 80301
Phone: 1-800-741-9658
Email: population@audubon.org
Web Site: http://www.audubonpopulation.org
 

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The Thomasville Cultural Center will exhibit 52 original John James Audubon lithographs, on loan from the Colorado Springs Museum.  The show runs from February 10 - March 22, 2001.  The museum is located at 600 East Washington St., Thomasville, GA.  (229) 226-0588.  Museum hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 1-5
p.m.
   Audubon's life ambition was "to complete a collection of drawings of the Birds of our country from Nature... and to acquire... a knowledge of their habitats and residencies."  Each wildlife portrait in this exhibition expresses Audubon's skill as an artist and scientific naturalist as he recreated the natural wonders of America's wildlife.  His masterwork played a crucial role in the development of America's knowledge about the natural world.  A brief presentation will be given on March 15, 2001 at 7 p.m. in the main gallery by Kathleen Brady of Birdsong Nature Center and by Ellen Shelton of Apalachee Audubon Society.  Refreshments will be served.
 
 

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