Washington's Not-So-Common Loon
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Black Hills Audubon Society Olympia, Washington Volume 40, Number 1 January/February 2009 Participate in In this issue of The Echo Environmental Lobby Day .............................. 1 Environmental Lobby Thurston Co Mineral Lands, Asphalt Plants .... 2 Dave McNett–In Memoriam ........................... 3 Day, February 19 Dave McNett Education Award ....................... 3 Black Hills Audubon is a co-sponsor of the eighteenth Spring Birding Class ....................................... 4 annual Environmental Priorities Lobby Day, Thurs- BHAS Annual Dinner ...................................... 4 day, February 19, 2009, in Olympia. We have joined Field Trips and Events .................................... 5 other leading conservation groups and hundreds of Summit for Planning Field Trips ...................... 5 citizen lobbyists across Washington State to push for New WDFW Wildlife Website ........................ 6 the passage of the Environmental Priorities legislative Observations from the Window ...................... 7 package. These four priorities are legislation for: BHAS Calendar ............................................... 8 Birding in Earnest ........................................... 9 • Cap greenhouse gas emissions by setting real limits Conservation Updates ...................................10 on global warming pollution Bird Book Review........................................... 11 • Promote super-efficient, low-energy-use buildings BHAS Roster ................................................. 12 • To create and support transit-oriented communities Membership Form ........................................ 13 • Invest in Clean Water through targeted fees to be Nominations for Conservation paid by polluters and Education Awards ............................ 14 Continued on page 2 Thursday, January 15 Thursday, February 19 The Macaws of Washington’s Tambopata Not-So-Common Loon Joe and Kathy LaTourrette spent more than 3 weeks Daniel Poleschook, Jr. and Virginia R. Gumm will in Peru in October 2009, including a week in the Tam- feature common loon description, behavior, ecol- bopata National Reserve (TNR). At 3.7 million acres, ogy and the necessary conservation required to TNR is one of the largest tracts of protected tropical maintain or increase its low breeding population rainforest in South America. They stayed at the Tam- of less than 15 territorial pairs in Washington. The bopata Research Center (TRC), a seven-hour trip up team has been doing common loon research proj- the Tambopata River from the nearest town. They will ects and observations on Washington’s common show snapshots and video clips of macaws and parrots loons since 1996. They use high-magnification at the largest know mineral claylick in the world, as digital images to record and make determinations well as 100+ other species of birds, monkeys, reptiles for their fieldwork. Their conservation work for and amphibians in the upper Amazon basin. Continued on page 7 Lobby day, Feb 19 schools and food banks (SB6483) On February 19, during the 2009 legislative session, From page 1 Environmental Priorities Lobby Day again brings During Lobby Day last year, members of Black Hills citizen activists from all over the state to Olympia to Audubon and others from the Olympia area par- meet with their elected representatives. ticipated in strategic briefings led by environmental Make a Difference. Sign Up Today! organizers, had questions answered, and practiced our powers of persuasion. Register today so we can schedule meetings with Then we had good meetings all your legislators. To register, with Senator Karen Fraser and On February 19, during the go to pugetsound.org/policy/ Representatives Sam Hunt and lobbyday09 or contact Rein Brendan Williams. 2009 legislative session, Attemann, People For Puget Environmental Priorities Sound, rattemann pugetsound. In the 2008 legislative ses- org, (206) 382-7005 x213 sion, ALL four of the environ- Lobby Day again brings (People for Puget Sound is mental priorities of Priorities citizen activists from all handling registration for Lobby for a Healthy Washington Day). were successfully passed and over the state to Olympia signed by the Governor (with to meet with their elected Environmental Priorities Lobby some modifications in SB6580 representative. Day will begin at 8:30 am at and HB2844): the United Churches, 110 East 11th Ave., in Olympia, opposite the Capitol Campus. • Climate action and green jobs (HB2815) There will be a reception in the evening. • Providing local governments local solutions to global warming (SB6580) To learn more about the four priorities go to ww • Evergreen Communities Act, protecting and pro- environmentalpriorities rg moting urban trees (HB2844) —Submitted by Sam Merrill, BHAS President • Bringing more locally grown produce into our Thurston County Moves Forward on Mineral Lands and Asphalt Plants Washington State’s Growth Management Act tatively, the BOCC will hold hearings on this in the requires counties to identify lands where gravel, Fall of 2009. sand, and rock mining may occur. These are called In addition, county staff will be making recommen- mineral lands of long-term commercial significance. dations directly to the BOCC, perhaps as early as In 2003, Thurston County adopted a moratorium on January, 2009, for the adoption of interim regula- the designation of these lands and on the siting of tions on permitting new gravel mines and asphalt new asphalt plants. The moratorium was adopted plants. This more immediate process is being done due to concerns about insufficient environmental so that an additional renewal of the moratorium, and public-safety protections in the permitting unpopular with the gravel mine and asphalt indus- process. This was a six-month moratorium that has tries, will be avoided. been renewed eight times. BHAS will be monitoring this process and comment- During the moratorium, a Mineral Lands Task Force ing on the recommendations. Immediate concerns and an Asphalt Advisory Task Force (both made up are that the thoughtful mineral lands designation of industry, government, and citizen representa- process, as envisioned by the Task Force, will be tives) have met and have provided some guidelines circumvented in a hasty regulations adoption pro- for making changes to the designation and permit- cess. This could result in reverting back to mineral ting processes. Now, Thurston County will move lands designation based on individual gravel mine forward on these issues. In March of 2009, the proposals rather than designation based upon a Planning Commission will begin review of the work more comprehensive approach. Appropriate sites of the Task Forces and will make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). Ten- Continued on page 8 2 Black Hills Audubon Society In Memoriam – BHAS Volunteer Dave McNett It is with sadness that we note the passing this his memory and the principal readily agreed. fall of one of Black Hills Audubon’s most steadfast and enduring volunteers, David McNett. Dave was David lived on a shockingly paltry retirement in a a charter member of BHAS and he served on the subsidized apartment downtown. He had been un- board for three decades in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. able to drive a car for years, due to failing health. In this decade, he continued to serve as one of our And he remained a prime motivator of environmen- best bird identification volunteers, helping beginners tal concerns, having played a role in Audubon’s and experts alike sort out their bird sighting—en- programs for well over thirty years. Professors of tirely through discussions of characteristics over the biology at the nearby Evergreen State College often telephone. consulted Dave about the numerous species of the area’s gulls, which even skilled ornithologists find Dave served in many leadership roles for BHAS; difficult to identify in the wild. If Dave didn’t know some of his best contributions were in the form of the answer, the question was hardly worth asking. letters to the editor and letters to officials in which he took informed and principled stands on conser- At his memorial on November 8, over two hun- vation issues. dred people came. No clergymen, just friends, and students and teachers from the schools where he Dave’s modesty and shyness belied a razor-sharp tutored and taught, and enthralled and inspired. mind and ready sense of humor. He mastered not The service was a true “celebration of life.” Not a only birds but multiple foreign languages. The tele- sad word. Dave was no admirer of religious dogma- vision quiz-show Jeopardy was a nightly tradition for tism. He deplored the divisiveness that keeps the Dave; he used to take quiet pleasure in outperform- world suffused with hatred. He lived as a Humanist, ing the contestants, especially in science catego- whether he joined any organization or not. ries. Besides natural history and foreign languages, Dave’s major passion was young people and their “Old Dave” is already deeply missed. learning. In his retirement years, he volunteered at several Olympia public schools, tutoring in a variety of classes. Because of Dave’s deep commitments to environ- The Dave McNett mental care and lifelong learning, the Black Hills Audubon board has renamed the annual Education Environmental award the David McNett Environmental Educator of the Year Award. It will be presented at the BHAS Educator Award Annual Dinner, March 7th, 2009. In addition, if Echo BHAS has named the Education Award in honor of