VOLUME 33, NUMBER 8 MAY 2002
WARIOTO AT A GLANCE
REGULAR MEETING: Thursday, May 2, 7:30 p.m., E-106B, Sundquist Science Building, APSU.
PROGRAM: Jim Manning, CDE Power Use Manager, will discuss "Green Power
Switch," a TVA "green" power initiative
HOSPITALITY: Following the program, Rebecca and Jerod Houtman will provide refreshments.
BOARD MEETING: Thursday, May 2, 7:00 p.m., D-125 (Biology Conf. Rm.), Sundquist
Science Bldg., APSU.
FIELD TRIP: April 27th trip to Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY. Meet
this Sat. at 7:00 a.m., McCord parking lot.
SPRING BIRD COUNT: May 11, throughout Montgomery County. See information below for details.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Sally Schiller
Celebrate
With the return of warmer weather, sightings of Spring migrants and warm weather resident bird species, reopening of Tennessee State Parks including Dunbar Cave State Natural Area, and the recent U.S. Senate vote soundly defeating a proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, there is much to be optimistic about!! The Warioto Audubon Chapter plans to celebrate these natural and political wonders during events in May: May 2nd CDE’s Jim Manning will give a presentation on TVA’s "Green Power Switch" in TN, May 11th is the Spring Bird Count, and May 25th we will co-sponsor A Spring Fling at Dunbar Cave SNA. Details for each activity follow. As always I encouraged you to come join us for the facts, the fun, and the fellowship.
Elections to Be Held
During the regular program meeting on May 2nd members will have an opportunity to vote on next year’s slate of officers and board members. We still need more nominees/volunteers to fill some vacant positions. Is this your year to become more involved?!! If so, please give me a call at (931) 221-6335 or (931) 387-4071. You can nominate yourself.
Office
Nominee
President Randy Ellis
VP, Programs VACANCY
VP, Field Trips VACANCY
VP, Memberships Debbie Hamilton
VP, Conservation Joe Schiller
VP, Editor Steve Hamilton
Treasurer Gloria Milliken
Secretary Amy Atkins
Publicity Chair Evette Strickland
Hospitality Chair Suva Bastin
Board Members: Barry Podell, Sally Schiller, Alan Bottomlee, Barbara Wilbur, June
Stratton, ONE VACANCY
An Arctic Connection
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is one of the birds that we may sight during the Spring Bird Count. This is a species that will leave our area during summer to breed far to the north in Canada and Alaska. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is considered to be a common breeder in the South Slope area of the Brooks Range in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Why do we care about places we may never personally see? ... because we may know someone who flies there every year.
From Jeff Barrie of the Alaska Coalition
Friends,
For all of you that have made a call, written a letter, volunteered time for our campaign, or taken a picture, THANK YOU!
We all won a tremendous victory today as the US Senate defeated the Arctic Refuge drilling bill, by a vote of 54 to 46. In the words of pro-drilling kingpin Frank Murkowski, speaking at a press conference after his defeat: "What this really boiled down to was the power and influence of America's environmental community. And they, frankly, didn't budge on the issue."
Sadly, both Tennessee Senators Fred Thompson and Bill Frist ignored thousands of Tennesseans and voted to drill.
If you would like to express your disappointment, please call their offices:
Thompson: 202 224 4944
Frist: 202 224 3344
Please write them a short letter: Senator ___
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Please write a short letter to the editor of your local paper.
And please take a moment to celebrate this historic victory for the Arctic Refuge, the Gwich'in Nation, and the millions of Americans who demonstrated that the big money of powerful oil corporations was no match for the power of the people. Let this be a lesson in democracy. Let's cherish this moment, stay vigilant, and use this momentum to roll out even bigger victories in the future.
Peace, Jeff Barrie
PROGRAM REPORT
For our May meeting, Randy Ellis has arranged for Jim Manning, Power Use Manager for the Clarksville Department of Electricity, to speak with our group about the "Green Power Switch." This is a TVA green power initiative being offered through regional power distributors. Through these distributors the customer can buy "‘blocks’ of power generated from three renewable resources – the sun, wind and methane gas." Locally, CDE and Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) are offering green power blocks. That means that most readers of this newsletter have the opportunity to participate in this program. While the power you would receive may come from any of the many power-generation sources TVA operates, by participating you are supporting efforts to develop green power sources in our region.
Please come to our May meeting and learn more about this program. Learn about how participating can reduce your environmental impact.
In June we will have Richard Kirk, director of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Non-game Species Program. He will be discussing Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Programs in Tennessee.
SPRING BIRD COUNT, MAY 11th
Continuing a tradition of several years, Warioto Audubon will again participate in the North American Migratory Bird Count. This count is held each year on the second Saturday in May in conjunction with International Migratory Bird Day. It is an important measure of the "health" of our Neotropical migrants as well as that of our resident and non-Neotropical migrant species. On the designated date, groups from all over North America identify and enumerate birds in their areas. Through the coordinated effort we can contribute to the "snapshot" of the North American migration in progress. The information can be used to follow population trends of migrant and resident species and provide long term documentation of New World avifauna activity.
The designated date for the 2002 spring count is May 11. As I read my comments from last year’s newsletter, I see that I was reporting unusual weather "as usual" and that the migration well in progress. Well, that is the case again this year. Our recent jump to summer weather and now back to more typical spring weather might make things interesting. No matter my assessment of climatic conditions, the birds will migrate and probably do it with the proficiency that has sustained them through millions of years.
The spring count tallies species and numbers of individual much like the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). You must keep a record of your activity on the count. That is, record distance traveled on foot and in the car and time in and out of the car just as you would for the CBC. Also, similar to the CBC are the count week records. This allows you to report observations of birds that were seen in the three days before and three days after the count day, but were not observed on the count day.
The count is organized differently from the Christmas Bird Count. We (1) do not meet at Shoneys, we (2) do not have a post-count meeting, and (3) we are not restricted to the 15-mile count circle, only by the county boundaries. While it is an all-day count, you are not required to put in a full eight hours as you are with the CBC (although, as with several of you, Debbie and I will get in at least eight hours). It is organized as follows: (1) You MUST call Gloria Milliken (358-2998) in advance to select your count areas/locations. You pick the areas/locations were you plan to count and she makes sure there is not an overlap or duplication of efforts with other birders. Gloria may be able to direct you to an area or pair you with someone. (2) Call Gloria and report the results of your count. Gloria will compile and submit Warioto’s results. (3) The count is restricted to Montgomery County. If you have any questions about the count, call Gloria at the number provided above.
To learn more about the North American Migratory Count and read more detailed instructions, visit the following web site:
http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/migratorybirds/pif/dc18s03.en.html
For information on International Migratory Bird Day, check the following web site sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
http://birds.fws.gov/imbd/basics.html
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DAY-TRIP TO AUDUBON STATE PARK
Remember the April 27 field trip to Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY. With cooperation from the weather, this should be a great trip. Please join us at
7:00 a.m. in APSU’s McCord parking lot. From there it is an easy two-hour drive straight north to Henderson. We are planning to spend the morning hiking while viewing birds and flowers. Some may also want to visit the Audubon Museum housed there. It is a great exhibit of Audubon works and other artifacts of his life in Henderson. I have visited the park and museum several times over the past years and have enjoyed it greatly each time. For more details see your April newsletter. Did you recycle your newsletter already? Then you might want to visit the Warioto Audubon web page to view past Warioto Warbler newsletters:
http://www.apsu.edu/schillers/Audubon/Warioto_Chapter.htm
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CONSERVATION LETTER by Joe Schiller
Good News! The Senate voted not to open the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling. The hard work of conservationists in Audubon and many other organizations paid off. They should all congratulate themselves on a job well done. Before we get too caught up in our accomplishment we should remember, we can save wilderness from destruction a thousand times, but we can only lose it to development once. The proponents of drilling for oil in ANWR will try again. For that reason it is essential to continue to provide the public with accurate information about issues such as ANWR. The pro-drilling contingent of congress demonstrated an incredible contempt for the truth during the debate over drilling ANWR and the conservation community is going to have its job cut out for it for some time to deflect the outrageous claims of the pro-drilling lobby. However, both time and the truth are on our side. In 2001 total installed wind energy capacity in the U.S. increased by more than 60%. Even more wind power is projected to be installed in the U.S. in 2002. World wind power has increased four fold in five years. In California which provides a "buydown" subsidy to homeowners who install solar or wind power systems, installed Photovoltaic (PV) power systems increased seven fold in 2001 compared to 2000 and as of early 2002 there were 10 times the number of customers who have signed letters of intent to install PV systems as were installed in 2000. In addition, nine production homebuilders in Sacramento, CA have begun building new homes with solar hot water and PV. I could provide many additional examples, but I think you get the message. The administration’s claim that alternative energy is needed, but not technically and commercially viable at this time is contradicted by thousands of American households throughout the country that have or soon will install alternative energy systems. Join the revolution! Take a walk on the sunny side.