2

Scholarly Notes

Election of Officers

by Eric Scholar

To fill two resignations after the April elections, a vote is needed at the September general meeting.

Nelli Falzgraf, Nominating Committee Chair, announces the candidates: Terri Lassek for Corresponding Secretary and Clem Klaphake for Director.

Our by-laws require that the membership be given advance notice of an election. All members attending the general meeting will be eligible to vote.

I am pleased to announce the awarding of the Audubon Society of Omaha's first college scholarship of $1,000. The recipient of this year's award was Erin McIntyre, a senior at both UNO and Bellevue University.

Students at area colleges who are biology or environmental science majors were eligible. They were asked to write an essay on an environmental topic and submit their college transcripts. We plan to make this an annual event.

A committee consisting of Clem Klaphake, Chairperson; Jackie Scholar; and Laurine Blankenau evaluated the applications. The unanimous choice was Erin.

In addition to the scholarship, ASO will provide Erin with a membership to the Audubon Society. Besides helping the student, we hope this scholarship will spur interest in ASO and environmental concerns among college students and that it will lead to their participation in environmental causes and ASO.

Thanks

I want to thank the outgoing board members for their help and support of ASO over the last year: Clem Klaphake, 1st Vice President; Garry Mick, Treasurer; Rosemary Holeman, Recording Secretary; Kay Strong, Corresponding Secretary; and Cal Wolf, Director.

I also welcome the new members of the board: Elliott Bedows, 1st Vice President; Sharon Draper, Treasurer; Terry Lassek, Corresponding Secretary; Martha Massengale, Recording Secretary; Mark Armstrong and Clem Klaphake, Directors. Terry and Clem will be officially voted in at the September general meeting.

Fundraising

ASO is carrying on some new fundraising activities this year to supplement our annual bird seed sale fundraiser. Bechara Embaid has reinstituted and reinvigorated the birdathon program. We hope members will give strong support to the birdathon and help build it into a successful as well as fun activity.

We are also planning to institute a garden walk next year. If you know someone whose home garden is designed to attract wildlife, etc., we would appreciate knowing about it. The walk will occur next summer and probably involve five to six special habitat gardens. Please lend your support both in time and finances to these programs.

Butterfly Count at

Spring Creek Prairie

Audubon Spring Creek Prairie will be one of the local sites participating in the 28th annual butterfly count sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association. At 9:00 a.m Saturday, July 13, participants will meet at Pioneers Park Nature Center in Lincoln in the Prairie Building for a short, informative, introductory presentation. Groups will then disperse to areas of the Nature Center and Audubon Spring Creek Prairie for the count.
Participants do not need to be experts—an experienced person will accompany each group. Groups will meet at noon to tally their counts. Those who wish may bring a brown bag lunch to eat on site. Beverages and a cookie will be provided. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Preregistrations will be taken at Pioneers Park Nature Center, (402) 441-7895. Cost is $6 per person. Registration deadline is July 10.

If you find an injured bird of prey, please contact a Raptor Recovery Center volunteer at 402-734-6817 or 402-731-9869.

4

Environmental/ Legislative Action

By Ione Werthman

I'm on vacation, but legislative action never takes time off! So......

Did You Know?

¨ Grassland Reserve Program: Recently a recommendation was made to Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture, that the Natural Resources Conservation Service rather than the Farm Service Agency be given administration of the new $254 million Grassland Reserve Program in the Farm Bill.

Senator Harkin has said this part of the Farm Bill has great potential to boost efforts for prairie and grassland restoration in the Loess Hills. Guidelines and rules have not been finalized.

¨ Non-Game Reserve Program: ASO, Audubon Nebraska staff, and other conservation groups have formed a loosely knit association to help Nebraska Game & Parks decide how non-game reserve program monies should be allocated.

Audubon Nebraska Director Dave Sands was appointed to a committee to form the organization. At least $900,000 is scheduled to come to Nebraska to help preserve our non-game wildlife species.

Hoping that a grant from this fund could become available for use in an Important Bird Areas program, the Audubon Nebraska Board of Trustees voted to enter into the IBA program directed by National Audubon in America. The Nebraska Ornithologist's Union has been asked to partner in this project because of their knowledge about important bird areas.

¨ DOD Bill in Debate: As I write, the U.S. Senate is debating two House-passed proposals that would grant the Department of Defense exemption from following environmental laws pertaining to wetlands, rivers, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and other provisions of the Endangered Species Act.

Under the proposal, the DOD would determine by themselves what impact on migratory birds is acceptable, without any input from or oversight by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Senator Ben Nelson voiced his opposition to this exemption to me.

¨ Red-Winged Blackbird Poisoning: The poisoning of blackbirds has been postponed for the time being, thanks to letters from environmentalists across the nation.

¨ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: There is still no word from the Congress Conference Committee as to whether the House version (which includes drilling in the Refuge) or the Senate version (which does not) will win in the conference debate.

¨ Missouri River: The U.S. News & World Report of June 3 reports that "for over half a century, the federal government has played God with the Big Muddy."

Now the Army Corps of Engineers has once again delayed the critical decision to turn back the clock (just a little) on the Missouri River, even though the U.S. Fish & Wildlife and National Academy of Sciences have gone on record that the Missouri River is in need of change - the need to restore more natural flows to the River to improve its health.

The Corps has thrown the issue onto Congress and the President.

We know that President Bush, who has time and time again said, "Environmental decisions will be made on the basis of good science, has time and time again asked for "new reviews" (until he gets the results he wants??)

Continued on page 5

A Catbird Story

By Laurine Blankenau

Ruth Green related a most unusual recovery of a male Gray Catbird at Chalco Hills on May 5 of this year.

This bird had been banded as a hatching-year bird in 1991 on Block Island, Rhode Island, making it 11 years old. The record for a Gray Catbird's life is 12 years. Not only had this one eluded potential predators and survived many kinds of weather and other vicissitudes, it was in breeding condition.

Ruth believes it came westward and southward not in one move but a state or a few hundred miles at a time. Did this resourceful bird also discover a fountain of youth along the way (Ponce de Leon: Florida was much too far south) and stop to drink?

Whatever its secret, the Gray Catbird gave Ruth an all-time record for longevity and distance of travel from its home base.

Great Backyard Bird Count

A Letter from Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Dear Great Backyard Bird Count Participants:

As birds begin to fledge their broods in back yards across the continent, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for helping us document the winter birds in your community during the 5th Great Backyard Bird Count. Your checklists have allowed us to create wonderful maps of bird distribution in the winter of 2002. Thank you for contributing to this important resource!

This year we received over 47,000 checklists from tens of thousands of Citizen Scientists. Our count results included a number of rare/unusual species - a Gyrfalcon, in Massachusetts (a powerful falcon from the Arctic), a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Alaska (visiting from Asia), a Ruddy Turnstone in the Michigan snow (possibly a first for February), and a Broad-billed Hummingbird in Georgia (probably a first for the state).

More importantly, participants helped document the ranges of common winter bird species like Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, Mourning Doves and Spotted Towhees.

We invite you to explore the results and see how spring has transformed the bird community. Click here for GBBC results: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/results.htm

The maps for these species may be a good starting place:

Sandhill Cranes - GBBC participants reported cranes along the length of the eastern migration route. The map for this species shows a clear band of reports running from Florida to Michigan. Possibly due to the mild winter, a greater number of cranes were reported along the northern end of the route than in 2001. This was also true for Red-winged Blackbirds, which were reported in greater numbers in the Northeast and the Great Lakes.

Evening Grosbeaks - Out west, Evening Grosbeaks were nearly absent from California, where they had been reported in large flocks in 2001. The count is a valuable tool for tracking the continent-wide wanderings of Evening Grosbeaks, crossbills, redpolls and other species known for their winter travels in search of food.

Snowy Owls - These magnificent hunters found predominantly in the north part of the continent often move great distances in search of prey. Reported in 20 states/provinces during the count period, including as far south as Colorado, Oklahoma and Virginia.

Eurasian-Collared Doves - GBBC maps for the last four years show that Eurasian-collared Doves are also on the go. Since their arrival in Florida in the 1980's, they have increased there and have steadily expanded their range, so much so that they were reported in 21 states in this year's count.

Scientists are keeping a sharp eye for signs of their impact on native species such as the Mourning Dove. Citizen scientists' continued participation in the Count may help shed light on the ecological effects of its expansion.

From all of us at Audubon and the Lab, thank you for helping us. We hope you will join us next year, February 14-17, 2003.

Frank Gill, Senior Vice President for Science, Audubon

and

John Fitzpatrick, Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Birdline

For an update on the sightings in the state, call 292-5325.

Report your sightings after listening to the tape.

Continued from page 4, Legislative Action

Watch to see if he will accept the USFWS and Academy of Sciences decision or if we can look forward to another 10 years of study. I recently read that of the 55,000 Americans who wrote to the Corps of Engineers on the Final Environmental Impact State

ment, 54,000 asked the Corps to restore the river to a more natural flow. We just keep trying.

Join us for our next Legislative Action/Conservation meeting - August 5, 7:30 PM, ASO office, 11809 Old Maple Road.

6

Legislative/Conserv. Action,

Continued from page 4

Audubon Society

Membership Application

Addresses to Remember

President George W. Bush

The White House,1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington D.C. 20500-0001

Comments: 202-456-1111; fax: 202-456-2993

Senator Ben Nelson

U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510; 202-224-6551;

fax 202-228-0012; Lincoln: 402-437-5246

Omaha address: 7602 Pacific St, #205, 68114

Senator Chuck Hagel

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510-2705

Phone: (202) 224-4224; Fax: (202) 224-5213

Omaha phone: (402) 758-8981

Representative Lee Terry

U.S. House of Representatives,Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4155 ; Fax: (202) 226-5452

Omaha phone: (402) 397-9944

Representative Douglas Bereuter

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4806; fax (202) 225-5686

Lincoln phone: (402) 438-1598

Governor Michael Johanns

Capitol Bldg, Box 94848 Lincoln, NE 68509

Phone: (402) 471-2244; Fax: 471-6031

Mayor Mike Fahey

Omaha/Douglas Civic Center

1819 Farnam St, Omaha NE 68183

Phone: 444-5000 Hot Line: 444-5555

Memorials

The Audubon Society of Omaha greatly appreciates the memorials it receives.

When sending your gift, please identify the person you wish to memorialize. Please also give the name and address of the person to be notified.

The Audubon Magazine*(see below, chapter-only membership) and your membership card will be sent to this address:

Name_________________________________

Street_________________________________

City____________________State_______

Zip Code________Phone:_____________

Email:_____________________

Introductory Membership

National Audubon & Local Chapter

(1st & 2nd Year) $20 -

Renewals - 3rd Year - $25

4th Year & thereafter - $30

*Chapter-only Membership: $15

(No National Audubon Magazine)

Mail to Audubon Society of Omaha

11809 Old Maple Road

Omaha NE 68164

PO 3

7XCH

Bequests

A bequest to Audubon is a gift to those who will succeed us; a gift to secure our natural heritage.

Audubon Society of Omaha, 11809 Old Maple Road, Omaha 68164

Phone: 445-4138 - http://audubon-omaha.org

Elected Officers:

President Eric Scholar, 5012 Nicholas St, Omaha 68132 551-5045

1st Vice President Elliott Bedows, 309 Greenbrier Ct, Bellevue 68005 292-5017

2nd Vice President Nelli Falzgraf, 414 Ridgewood Dr, Bellevue 68005 292-9687

Past President Lisa Peterson, 8911 Q St, Apt 212C, Omaha 68127 453-9146

Treasurer Sharon Draper, 1713 Brenda Dr, Bellevue 68005 292-4835

Recording & Corres. Sec'y..Martha Massengale, 11667 Fowler Ave, Omaha 68164 493-5062

Elected Directors Jackie Scholar, 5012 Nicholas St, Omaha 68132 551-5045

Sue Mattix, 11111 "T" Plaz, #206, Omaha 68137 593-7433

Mark Armstrong, 12741 Forestdale Dr, Omaha 68123 292-9770

Bob Fuchs, 1113 Dillon Dr, Omaha 68132 553-8242

Paul Kardell, 1112 South 218th St, Elkhorn NE 68022 289-9864

Standing Committee Chairpersons:

Conservation Ione Werthman, 11649 Burt St, #011, Omaha 68154 493-0373

Education Brian Jensen, 12430 Bel Drive, Omaha NE 68144 333-6375

Field Trip Clem Klaphake, 707 Garden Ave, Bellevue NE 68005 292-2276

Finance Nelli Falzgraf, 414 Ridgewood Dr, Bellevue 68005 292-9687

Fund Raising Steve Lamphere, 3101 Washington St, #98, Bellevue 68005 291-9149

Hospitality DwanDean Leach, 3006 Poppleton, Omaha 68105 346-5769

Membership Bechara Embaid, 3218 No. 120th Court Apt. 221, Omaha 68164 965-9598

Natural Areas Mgt

Omaha Raptor Team Jenny Henricksen, 4845 So 167 Ave 68135 895-5487

Program Ed Higgins, 3717 No 93rd St, Omaha 68134 572-1957

Publication Laurine Blankenau, 3808 Grebe, Omaha 68112 451-3647

Publicity Kathy Schwery, 3616 So 96th St, Omaha 68124 397-7343

Non-Proft Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

PERMIT NO. 79

Other Activities:

Speakers Bureau Ione Werthman, 11649 Burt St, #011, Omaha 68154 493-0373

Naturestudy Nelli Falzgraf, 414 Ridgewood Dr. Bellevue 68005 292-9687

Bird Seed Sale Sally Hansen, 2330 Bel Court #12, Omaha 68144 334-2329

Historian Kathleen Rose, 123 Bellevue Blvd So, Bellevue 68005 292-8912

Audubon Nebr Director Dave Sands, P. O. Box 117, Denton NE 68339.............. (402) 797-2301

NAS Board Member Dave Tylka, tylka@stlcc.cc.mo.us

Audubon Society of Omaha

11809 Old Maple Road

Omaha NE 68164