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October 2009
E-Newsletter
Visit Audubon Minnesota's website
Donate to Help Minnesota's birds
Inside this edition:
Annual Meeting
Climate Bill
Calendar
Audubon in the News
Chapter Happenings
Photography generously provided by: Mike Lentz: red-tailed hawk; Rebecca Field: golden eagle 42, green heron, midwest prairie; Jim Williams: great gray owl at sunset.
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From the Policy Director…
October is migration time. We look above and see the geese,
ducks or swans, tirelessly flying their journey of hundreds or thousands of
miles. Our butterflies have left; the warblers have gone
through. Hawk Ridge saw its tens of thousands of raptors already come and
go. Watching nature pass through is awe-inspiring, but for me the nature nearby
is what truly fascinates.
 Here at Audubon Minnesota’s
office, we have some birds that have become special to us – and they too follow
the signals of nature. In a simple office place in Woodbury Minnesota, we gather next to pheasants,
black-capped chickadees and grackles. A tom turkey regularly
raps on our glass front door. But it’s the chukars we regularly see that
intrigue me the most. Not a native Minnesota
bird, these 20 or so chukars had to have escaped from a game farm. They’re
adorable, but they’re also in serious trouble. We’ve seen the 20 turn to
18 then 13, now 10 – food for local predators. With a Minnesota winter on its way, we are watching
hopefully for the birds to take advantage of our feeders and make it through to
spring.
 On a happier note, our favorite golden eagle was
fitted with a GPS unit last spring and released near Red Wing. We watched
bewildered as the data points showed him summering far north in the Arctic Circle. In the last week, those data points
have made a bee line – back to toward the Red Wing area where we first found
the bird.
By the time this article hits your email, Golden Eagle #42
should be back home for winter. Welcome home to Eagle #42 and welcome to
all the other wintering birds who we’ll get to know in the coming months. You
can find Eagle #42 tracking updates here.
John Curry
Policy Director
November 14th Annual Meeting and Issue Ballot
 This is it – our annual meeting and issue prioritization
process are right around the corner. All Audubon members are encouraged to help
Audubon wrap up the old year and get prepared for 2010.
The first step is
to help shape our 2010 legislative agenda by filling out our Ballot as soon as
you’ve seen this document. We need your ballot before the November 14th Annual
Meeting. Our Online
Ballot is here. Please fill this out today, even right now!
 Secondly, this year’s annual meeting is shaping
up to be a real treat. We have Meteorologist and Climate Specialist Paul Douglas, updates
from the chapters, awards, door prizes, and speakers related to the top issues
as determined by our Ballot Selection Process.
The meeting is 9:00 am-3:00
pm on Saturday, November 14 at the Wilder
Center in St. Paul. Please register for our Annual
Meeting here.
Senate Introduces Climate Bill
Senators Boxer and Kerry introduced the Senate version of
the climate protection bill in the final week of September. Called the
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, this is the bill that caps greenhouse
gas emissions and reinvests revenues from carbon credit trading toward clean
renewable energies like wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower. Senate
leaders promise action on the bill in November and it could lead to possible
final passage by the year’s end.
 The bill is touted as a jobs producer during the recession.
In fact, according to the Center for American Progress, transitioning to a
clean energy economy will create more than 30,263 jobs here in Minnesota while
reducing harmful carbon pollution and breaking our dependence on foreign oil.
The bill is also critical for birds and wildlife across the globe.
If the world is to act against greenhouse gas emissions, it
needs to see immediate action from the United States. Predictably,
our Senators are hearing from oil and coal lobbyists about how to weaken the
bill. Call or email Senator
Amy Klobuchar, 612-727-5220 and Senator
Al Franken, 651-221-1016 encouraging them to hold firm on a strong Clean
Energy Jobs bill.
Calendar
October 24, 8:30 am: Buckthorn Removal, Prior Lake
October 24, 9:00 am: Solar Energy: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About
Photovoltaics, Century College, White
Bear Lake
October 27, 6:00-9:00 pm: Izaak Walton League Wildlife Art Exhibition, Brooklyn Park
October 31, 5:30 pm dinner, 7:00 pm show: Holiday Concert Series, Deep Portage, Hackensack
November 6, 6:30 pm: Landscape Ecology Awards Program with speaker Fred Rozumalski,
Vadnais Heights
November 11, 7:00 pm: Film Premiere – Precious Waters: Minnesota’s Sulfide Mining
Controversy, St. Paul
November 14, 9:00 am-3:00 pm: Audubon Minnesota's Annual Meeting
Audubon in the News
Commissioners sign off on emergency management proposal
Houston
County News - Craig
Moorhead - October 21, 2009
“I'm here representing the Minnesota Audubon Society and a
couple local organizations,” Edwards said. “Botcher Park
has a bluff prairie (and) it's about ...
Golden eagle with radio heading south from Canada
Post-Bulletin - October 20, 2009
As of Sunday the eagle was a few hundred miles north of Minnesota, still flying
south, according to the Minnesota Audubon Society. ...
Speaker addresses population concerns
St. Cloud Times - Kirsti
Marohn - October 19, 2009
... the College
of St. Benedict/St. John's
University, as well as at a public event Wednesday evening sponsored by the
Central Minnesota Audubon Society. ...
Eagle heading for Minnesota
Minneapolis
Star Tribune - Jim Williams - October 16, 2009
The bird is now moving south, and in a hurry, according to
Mark Martel, part of the eagle team and director of Bird Conservation for
Audubon Minnesota.
...
Local author to promote new book, The Bullhead Queen, in
Cambridge
Isanti
County News - October
14, 2009
... a doctorate in zoology from the University of Minnesota.
She is president of Wild River Audubon and lives in Center
City, on the shore
of Pioneer Lake.
...
Cyrus Scoop
Morris Sun Tribune - October 9, 2009
... Raptors (Audubon
Center), Orienteering,
Soils and many more. On Oct. 7, Ranger Randee was here for a session called
Mirrors of Minnesota. ...
Community calendar
Superior Telegram - October 9, 2009
Wednesday, Duluth:
The Duluth Audubon Society hosts a program on “The Ojibwe and Birds: The Sacred
Connection … Past, Present and Future” at 7 pm at Hartley ...
48 Environmental Groups Receive 2009 TogetherGreen Innovation
Grants
CSRwire.com (press release) - October 7, 2009
Funds were awarded to local Chapters or programs of
Audubon's large national network - each working in partnership with one or more
outside groups. ...
Clean Energy Bill Introduced
Lakeland
Television – October 6, 2009
Technically this is not an Audubon story, but Audubon was
the lead organizer behind the two press conferences that generated this 6
minutes lead news story.
Of odd birds and windmills
Albert Lea
Tribune - October 3, 2009
This is the first documented case of an active osprey nest
in southern Minnesota
in modern times, although there have been several unsubstantiated reports. ...
Solar energy tour includes Northland buildings
Duluth News Tribune (registration) - John Myers -
October 1, 2009
About 50 homes in Minnesota
will show off passive solar heating, solar-powered hot water, geothermal
heating, wind power and more. …
Blane Klemek column: Moose scarcity is a recent phenomenon
Bemidji
Pioneer - Blane Klemek - September 16, 2009
... Pines and Prairie Audubon Sanctuary, an 800-acre
wildlife refuge and environmental education center in northwestern Minnesota near the City of Warren. ...
Fall is upon us
Albert Lea
Tribune - September 26, 2009
The world is what you are - Thomas Dreier. Al Batt of
Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. E-mail Al.
Lights Out for the Birds
Minneapolis
Star Tribune - Kim Carlson - September 23, 2009
Training is required so contact Audubon Minnesota. Unfortunately, I knew only some
of this information yesterday. Had I known about the Wildlife ...
Bird Watching in Minneapolis/St. Paul
About - Cities & Towns - September 18, 2009
Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter, the most active
birding organization in the Twin Cities, also organizes trips to the North Shore,
as well as birding ...
Chapter Happenings
Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis
- November 3, 7:00 pm: Chapter Meeting, Breeding Bird Atlas,
Bonnie Sample at the Mayflower Church, 109 East Diamond Lake Road
Central Minnesota Audubon Society
- Wednesday, October 21, 7:00 pm: World Population
Balance, David Paxton at the Unitarian Fellowship, 3226 Maine Prairie Road, St. Cloud
Minnesota River Valley Audubon
- Saturday, November 21: Swans on the Mississippi (and Weaver Bottoms), led
by Mark Lystig, 651-452-1133
- Saturday, November 21, 2:30 pm: Wilkie Unit, MVNWR,
Shakopee, led by Craig Mandel, 952-546-3407
St. Paul Audubon Society
- November 12, 7:00 pm: Treasures of the Lost Gorge, with Mike
Davis, DNR River
Ecologist, Fairview Community Center, Roseville
- November 14, 6:00 am: Tundra Swan Bus Tour, led by Chase
Davies, 651-633-1663
Wild River Audubon Society
- October 24, 9:00 am-12:00 pm: Bird Seed Sale in Lindstrom at
the stoplight near the Holiday Station, Hwy 8 and Co. Road 20
- November 10, 7:00 pm, Wolves and the Wildlife
Science Center,
Peggy Callahan, Chisago
Lakes Library
Zumbro Valley Audubon Society
- October 27, 7:00 pm: Sand Prairie Ecology & Restoration
on Army Lands, A Primer for Land Managers, presented by Kurt A Brownell, US
Army Corps of Engineers, Quarry Hill Nature Center, Rochester
- November 7, 9:00 am: Bird Watching Tour at Quarry Hill
Park. Trip leaders are
Terry and Joyce Grier.
- November 14, 8:00 am: Tundra Swan Field Trip. Meet at the
east side of the RCTC Heinz Center
in Rochester. Trip
leaders are Terry & Joyce Grier.
Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. --Albert
Einstein
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