Snow Geese flock by Denny Colvin

Volume 7, Number 1

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Circulation: 4,700

“The CBC dataset now covers 109 years,
and this remarkable temporal extent,
along with geographic range that spans the
continent, enables scientists to address
questions that would otherwise be
as inaccessible as a Higgs boson.”

- The New York Times January 13, 2009


Please continue to send your announcements and news stories, including web links, to Delta Willis at dwillis@audubon.org.


NEWS FROM THE AUDUBON NETWORK
Highlights of recent achievements, events and actions throughout the Audubon Network

It's Official! LEED PLATINUM Designation for Headquarters Announced
On January 6, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Newswire shared the news nationwide that Audubon has once again raised the bar for sustainable office design by achieving the top LEED Platinum certification.

Per the CSR Newsletter: "The bid for the greenest green building title has taken another step forward in New York City, an epicenter of 'competition,' as the National Audubon Society's new headquarters earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum designation, the highest of four levels of certification. In fact, the Audubon space scored the highest point total of any commercial interior in the world evaluated by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED certifier."

According to MSNBC, "The Audubon home office not only fulfills the organization's mission 'to conserve and restore natural ecosystems...' it creates a standard of excellence in green construction others will strive to emulate."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28522524/

GreenBuildingsNYC said "Audubon Cops Highest LEED Platinum-CI rating Ever"
http://www.greenbuildingsnyc.com/2009/01/08/audubon-society-highest-leed-ci-rating/

Real Estate Weekly, GreenSource, Contract Magazine and GreenrightNow have feature articles in the works. Select media have been invited to attend a USGBC Case Study forum being hosted at the headquarters January 14.

See the video about how and why Audubon achieved this top ranking and share this link with friends http://web1.audubon.org/video/player_leeds.html.

Carol Browner to Join Obama Administration
Ms. Browner is stepping down after 8 years as Audubon Chair to oversee energy and climate change policy in the new administration under President-elect Obama. She was instrumental in moving Audubon forward in its fight against global warming - which she described as "the greatest environmental and public health problem the world has ever faced." She will be sorely missed but Audubon is grateful she will be sharing her insight and expertise with the nation and the rest of the world. See a video clip of the announcement by Mr. Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/us/politics/16energy.html?scp=2&sq=obama%20names%20browner&st=cse

Christmas Bird Count Breaks Records for Media Outreach
This year's media coverage for the Christmas Bird Count excelled in quality and quantity. Media hits averaged 32 a day during the count period December 14-January 5 and continue to accumulate, exceeding last year's CBC record of 600 hits, and Audubon's impressive coverage nationwide on Common Birds in Decline, with 611 media stories generated nationwide by that announcement in 2007. Google already cites over 700 CBC stories - penetrating virtually every state, many Canadian provinces and Europe. These include major papers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and TIME for Kids magazine. Audubon Field staff, as well as Chapters and CBC compilers, were instrumental in this year's terrific media relations success.

NATURE issued an editorial citing CBC as a "model" for Citizen Science
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7225/full/457008a.html

The Economist described it as "A splendid tradition in its 109th year."
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12866435

The Central Park Count was covered by a film crew from PBS for later broadcast on Channel Thirteen, and radio interviews included an interview with CBC Director Geoff LeBaron on NPR's Science Friday.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98738138

Great Backyard Bird Count
As CBC coverage winds down, promotion of The Great Backyard Bird Count begins.
http://web1.audubon.org/news/pressRelease.php


AUDUBON IN THE NEWS
A monthly round-up of some of the ways Audubon is making news coast to coast

TOGETHER GREEN

2008 TogetherGreen Fellow (and Nevada director of Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society) Robin Powell was featured in a recent Reno News & Review article, where she discussed her community organizing project and her focus on preserving the Lahontan Valley Wetlands.
http://www.newsreview.com/reno/Content?oid=888700

Barbara Sacerdote, a TogetherGreen Fellow and Development Director for Washington Audubon, was interviewed about her project-creating an accessible online conservation resource-in the Bainbridge Island Review.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/news/36261149.html

TogetherGreen Fellow and Clemson University professor Drew Lanham was featured in The Greenville News, highlighting the work his Conservation Action Project will be doing with the help of rural black farmers.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081220/NEWS01/81220002/1004

The Brooklyn Green Team blog posted a story on Prospect Park Audubon Center Director Jillian Rubio, a TogetherGreen Fellow, and the project she will undertake with partner Stoked Mentoring.
http://brooklyngreenteam.blogspot.com/2008/12/local-green-heroes.html

Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center Director receives fellowship
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/12/01/news/local/doc493328bb13523710429785.txt

Pennies for the Planet launches!
Check out our Pennies for the Planet campaign, and learn how you and your community can get involved in helping Maine's puffins, Wyoming's sagebrush habitat, and South Carolina's Beidler Forest. The site also includes tips for parents and educators and fun nature activities for kids!
http://www.togethergreen.org/p4p/

AUDUBON POLICY

April Gromnicki Smith, lobbyist for Audubon, tells the Miami Herald, ''Now is the time for the federal partner to step up,'' to help restore the Everglades; "The state has done all it can do.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/845125.html

An editorial by The Denver Post cites Audubon support of Senator Salazar for Interior post in new administration
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11256444 Gary Langham, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon California, penned an Editorial in the Ventura County Star about the Delisting of Brown Pelicans.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jan/13/brown-pelican-die-off-shows-challenges-in/

IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS

Senator John McCain visited Sierra Vista and held a public meeting about the Upper San Pedro River Riparian Conservation Area (An Important Bird Area). Tricia Gerrodette, representing Huachuca Audubon and Audubon Arizona, spoke at this meeting about water conservation needs.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/12/17/news/doc4948921eac643444826089.txt

Director of the Montezuma Audubon, Frank Moses, wants to educate and inspire neighbors to care about the Important Bird Area at Onondaga Lake. See this news report on CBS affiliate WTVH Channel 5
http://www.wtvh.com/home/related/36504129.html Audubon At Home plays role in protecting Bucks County PA IBA
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/27/2009/january/05/effort-aims-to-preserve-unique-habitat.html

AUDUBON STATE, CHAPTER AND CENTERS

The magnificent Sandhill crane migration will be the focus of 39th Annual Rivers and Wildlife Celebration in Nebraska March 20-22. Plan to attend and please promote this event at Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary in your newsletter.
http://www.nebraska.audubon.org/RWC.htm

The Audubon Society of Central Oklahoma has received a $10,000 grant from Chesapeake Energy to aid in building an Eagle Viewing Tower at Lake Arcadia in Edmond, OK.
http://www.oklahomaaudubon.org

Bedford NY Audubon Society Names First Executive Director
After 95 years as a volunteer-based organization, Bedford Audubon Society has chosen Jim Nordgren as their first Executive Director. Formerly head of the Northeast Wilderness Trust in Boston, Jim's accomplishments include passing of the nation's first inter-municipal agreement on biodiversity. With an MBA in Finance he worked on Wall Street for 20 years, but last year completed another Masters degree, in Environmental Management at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science.
http://www.bedfordaudubon.org

Sante Fe Audubon Center listed in travel feature in the New York Times
If the weather is accommodating and you want to see some of Santa Fe's natural beauty, get out of town. The Randall Davey Audubon Center at the end of Upper Canyon Road offers two trails, one of them an easy half-mile loop.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/travel/escapes/09Santa.html?_r=1

St. Petersburg FL Audubon Society Conservation Chair Dave Kandz took Tampa Bay reporter Kathyrn Bursch on a boat trip to Egmont Key State Park. Florida is considering turning over the Park to the NWR system, which would remove protection currently afforded to the state's largest Royal Tern nesting colony. In addition to Royal Terns, Egmont Key hosts large colonies of Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans (who nest on the ground at this location), and Black Skimmers.
http://www.tampabays10.com/video/default.aspx?maven_playerId=immersiveplayer

Nebraska's Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center obtained a road closing between two fields, to benefit wildlife, including eastern meadowlark, bobwhite quail, and greater prairie chicken.
http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/11/25/news/local/doc492c961f9ce05625350339.txt


GET INVOLVED

Comment on Sustainable Forest Report
Are forests in the United States being managed in a sustainable way? Find out by reading the Draft National Report on Sustainable Forests - 2010 at http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/2010SustainabilityReport/. Make your comments by April 10, or attend one of the workshops in Denver, CO; Athens, GA; or Washington DC in February and March. For workshop details visit the USDA Forest Service website above or the Roundtable on Sustainable Forests. Audubon is represented on the Roundtable by Chief Science Officer (or whatever title he uses) Dr. Tom Bancroft and Dr. Graham Cox of Audubon New York; Cox co-chairs the National Roundtable's communications and outreach work group.


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