I often wonder if fellow nature lovers get as antsy as I do in the springtime.  Anyone who knows me well will tell you I’m always a bit more anxious when walking the woods in the Spring. I think most landowners and anyone else in close tune with their environment might understand what I am talking about.

Living in one place for many years allows one to become intimate with the natural wonders that occur each spring.  Old Timers know exactly where and when their favorite greens come up, bird lovers know exactly where and when to look for their favorite migrant species, and wildflower enthusiasts know exactly where and when to look for their favorite lilies and orchids. 

I look forward each year to the return of spring breeding Spotted salamanders, Wood frogs, and all their loud mouth relatives. I also love seeing the phoebe’s return to the same corner of the house each year, the purple martins to their PVC mansion, the Wood Ducks and Canada Geese to the lake, and what is more springish than seeing a woodchuck stuffing himself with fresh spring greens?  So where, you ask, does my anxiety come from?

I guess it goes back to that intimacy thing.  It’s not hard to get attached to the living things around you.  You nurture the flowers and trees you plant, you put out food and water for the birds, you build houses, shelter piles, and wildlife ponds for the animals, all of which involves a commitment.  And the more committed you become the more attached you become.  So when you hear about or read about habitat destruction in other parts of the world, or mysterious die-offs of insect or amphibian or bird populations, it enters your psyche and you can’t help but wonder if your part of the world may come under some unwanted threat.

You start wondering about the ducks on your pond, the tree frog on your screen door, or the beetle clinging to your favorite shade tree.  I don’t want to see “my” frogs killed by a fungus, “my” purple martin’s winter habitat destroyed by fire, “my” orchids choked out by invasive fescue, or “my” trees killed by an invasive beetle.

So, every year, when I see all the salamanders, frogs, martins, geese, woodchucks,  orchids and lilies return, I breath a sigh of relief, thank the world for returning them, and then do my best to share them with as many people as I can.

Conservation Matters!*

Sue and Mick

Really Good News! When we started going over our collection of news items from the past two months, we were thunder struck by how much good news there is! Even the dismal state of the world-wide economy has resulted in some environmental benefits. As a recent Newsweek reported, some of the world’s worst polluters and rainforest destroyers are closing shop as the sudden drop in market demand makes shaky business practices even riskier. Some polluted waterways in China and India are now running clean. Deforestation in Brazil has fallen 70 percent from a year before. Europe's emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief man-made greenhouse gas, have already this year been cut by 100 million tons. Coal plant construction in the U.S. has taken a major dive: just a few years ago, 180 coal plants were on the drawing boards but that number may be down by half, and only about 40 are under construction. Meanwhile, many utilities are turning to windmills and other green technologies.

In other good news, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has rejected a Bush administration plan to open vast waters off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and gas drilling. While not ruling out future expansion of off-shore drilling, Salazar said such energy plans must include a push for more renewable energy, principally wind power.

The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing some 200 applications for new or expanded mountaintop coal mining applications, and in a reversal of policy from the previous administration the EPA now seems determined to ensure coal mining does not harm streams and wetlands.

Barack Obama signed executive orders indicating that America will now play a global leadership role on climate change: he ordered the EPA to reconsider its refusal to allow California (and a dozen other states as well) to impose stricter controls on auto emissions, and he raised fuel efficiency standards on all cars and light trucks from 2011 onwards.

The UN has made a historic step in committing to reducing global mercury pollution. The agreement was spurred on by the US reversing its previous opposition, which in turn influenced reversals from other countries, including China and India.

The U.S. Senate and the House have both passed bills that will designate 2million acres of public land in nine states as federal wilderness area, protect 1,000 miles of scenic rivers, and ban gas and oil development on 1.2 million acres in Wyoming. [Our only regret is that Missouri is not one of the states benefiting from wilderness expansion, largely because of opposition from Congresswoman Emerson, a stand we hope will eventually yield to public pressure].

The United States National Parks Service announced it will begin taking action to phase out the use of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle in parks under its jurisdiction by the end of 2010. In 1994, the EPA proposed a complete ban of lead and zinc sinkers for use in America, and estimated that approximately 4.7 million birds could be saved by the proposed regulation at an estimated cost of $4 per year per angler.

Finally, it is noted that a recent court ruling and the Obama administration have both put on hold a 2008 executive order intended to allow open carrying of loaded guns in National Parks. That policy is widely felt likely to lead to increased poaching, wildlife harassment and increased risk to law-enforcement personnel. As frequent users of the Ozark Scenic Riverways, we’ve happened on enough intoxicated individuals shooting at basking turtles on logs to be convinced that loaded guns do not enhance public safety, public enjoyment, or resource protection. Guns yes, loaded no!

Unfortunately, not all is good news:  Birds (including penguins), tigers, turtles and other wildlife populations are declining. Permafrost is melting. Fish consumption must be limited because of mercury contamination of our waterways. And for just one more punch, we learn that the Humane Society of the United States has listed Missouri amongst the top five worst states in the country when it comes to the enforcement of exotic animal regulations.  But maybe we need to give the bad news and ourselves a break—let’s celebrate the efforts being made to make the world a better place in which to live. Join with us in this April’s Earth Day festivities!

*Opinions expressed herein, real or implied, reflect those of the authors and are not necessarily positions endorsed by East Ozarks Audubon Society.

The bins on the right contain 4 barrels, which hold black oil sunflower seed, wild bird seed, suet and Nyjer (thistle) seed.

 For our many members of East Ozarks Audubon who have never visited Engler City Park in Farmington, here’s a look at our bird viewing blind.  Since our Chapter covers six counties, it’s obvious that some folks just haven’t had the opportunity to sit quietly and watch eight or nine of our bird feeders.

   To locate Engler Park, first find the West Sewage Treatment Plant on US-67 just a mile south of the Highway W overpass.  Turn into the road beside the plant and head eastward toward the airport.  After about a mile you will see another road on your right that leads you to the park.

   Find a parking place upon entering the park and head down Lewis Trail on your right.  Notice the wooden bridge that our Chapter members built over the little stream along the way.  After a couple of hundred yards you will notice a trail to the right that leads you to our bird blind.

As many as four people can stay dry as they sit on the bench inside the little building and at least six more folks can sit on a bench outside the building.  Identification charts are indoors to help watchers identify the birds they are seeing.

   This blind (or “hide” as the British call it) was built in 2002 during the administration of Doug Willis.  Volunteers did the construction with materials provided by Gifford Lumber Company.  It replaced an earlier viewing blind that had been built around 1990.

   The idea for the blind was from a statement made by Jackie Boswell, a visiting bird watcher from Greenville, Texas.  Upon touring Crouch Sanctuary she said, “You really should have a place here where people could watch birds as they come to bird feeders.”

   Brad Jacobs, the top bird scientist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, once visited the blind and proclaimed it to be a “state-of-the-art” project.

   After completing the trail past the bird feeders, you can return to the parking lot and head for the St. Francis River trail that begins behind the nearby pavilion.

You have to climb over a lot of driftwood to reach the spot where this picture was taken on March 31^st  before the leaves sprouted.

Two pairs of Wood Ducks were seen in the river right in front of the nesting box in late March.  Baby ducks always appear in the nearby sewage pond but we’re not sure where they have been hatched.  Now they have a river penthouse

   The Chapter placed our first Wood Duck house at the Hamburg farm last year.  Other bird houses have been erected in Engler Park over the years and we also sponsored the placement of bat houses.

One Third of Nation’s Bird Species in Peril According to State of Birds Report

        By Bob Lewis

   In our March East Ozarks program we were warned by Dr. Bill Eddleman that there were many bird species now becoming imperiled or endangered right here in Missouri.

   A few days later Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species are either threatened or in a significant decline due to habitat loss, invasive species or other threats.

   The report actually comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service using data from three long-running bird censuses conducted by thousands of “citizen scientists” and professional biologists and is the first-ever compre-hensive report on bird populations in the United States.

   “Just as they were when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring nearly 50 years ago, birds today are a bellwether of the health of land, water and ecosystems,” Salazar said.  “From shorebirds in New England to warblers in Michigan to songbirds in Hawaii, we are seeing disturbing downward trends that should set off environmental alarm bells.  We must work together now to ensure we never hear the deafening silence in our forests, fields and backyards that Rachel Carson warned us about.”

   The Fish and Wildlife Service coordinated its creation as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, which includes partners from American Bird Conservancy, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Klamath Bird Observatory, National Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Geological Survey.

   The report concludes that grassland birds have declined 40 percent over the past 40 years while birds of arid lands have declined by 30 percent.  Birds along the coast are down by 39 percent and the situation in Hawaii is considered a crisis.

   Although the report makes for sobering reading, it also reveals convincing evidence that birds can respond quickly and positively to conservation action.  The data show dramatic increases in many wetland birds such as pelicans, herons, egrets, osprey and ducks. 

   “These results emphasize that investment in wetlands conservation has paid huge dividends,” said Ken Rosenberg of Cornell Lab. “Now we need to invest similarly in other neglected habitats where birds are undergoing the steepest declines.”

   The United States is home to a tremendous diversity of native bids.  More than 800 species inhabit terrestrial, coastal and ocean habitats.  Among these species, 67 are federally listed as endangered or threatened.  In addition, 184 are designated of concern due to small distribution, a high level of threats or declining populations.