12-2007 Part 1 Towhee Newsletter Tahoma Audubon Society

8/9/2019 12-2007 Part 1 Towhee Newsletter Tahoma Audubon Society

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Published by the Tahoma Audubon Society: Connecting people with nature since 1969. Vol. 38 No.10 Dec. 2007 / Jan. 2008

Saturday, December 15, 2007 will be the

Christmas Bird Count for our Tahoma

Audubon Chapter. You are welcome

to join in the fun of this annual holi-

day tradition! Every year Audubon

chapters around the world organize

their own CBC to continue this lon-

gest running citizen-scientist proj-

ect. Counters count every bird that is

seen or heard on the designated day,

within their designated Count Circle. Our

Circle contains 8 different Areas. In the map

on page 6, you will see the Areas, along with the Area Coordinators.

You can contact the Coordinator of the Area that you would like to

count in, or contact the Count Coordinator directly if you are not sure,

or would like to offer help in an Area that might need extra birders:

Faye McAdams Hands 253-942-9233, [email protected].

Exciting news from last years CBC: out of 1,624 Counts in the

US, our very own Count Circle had top numbers for 2 species Red-

ITS HERE! ITS HERE!The 108th Christmas Bird Count By Paul Webster

This distinctive diving duck is a com-mon winter visitor in Western Washington.The velvety-black male features large white patches onthe forehead and nape, white eyes, and a bill that naturalist William Dawson acentury ago called one of the most bizarre appearances in nature. Multicolored

with white, red, yellow, and a black spot near the base the colors merge ata distance to make an orange impression. It looks almost swollen on top, andblack feathers extend down over it almost to the nostrils. This outlandish billserves to pry young mussels and clams from the near-shore bottoms and crushtheir protective shells.

Surf Scoters are familiar sights in shallow water as they deftly navigate evenrough surf over substrates of pebbles, sand, rock, or eelgrass beds the latterespecially during what one source calls herring-spawn events. They breed onlakes across northern Canada and Alaska, and winter along both coasts ofNorth America from the eastern Aleutians and New Brunswick south to BajaCalifornia and the Gulf Coast.

The Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) shares the genus Melanitta (blackduck) with two other scoter species, the similar-sized Black and the heavierWhite-winged. Its odd that this common duck has been so little-studied, butcurrent knowledge of the species is replete with large gaps flocking behavior,

Surf Scoter

Kite flying field trip

Roger Orness, well-known localRaptor expert, escorted a selectgroup of birders from Tahoma

Audubon and Rainier Audubon south toLewis County and surrounds on November11, 2007, to look for his favorite Raptor,the White-Tailed Kite (formerly Black-

Shouldered Kite). It was a bit breezy, justperfect for kite flying! Some 250 milesand 10 hours later we returned to ourstarting point, not knowing how exhaust-ed we were because we were still higherthan a kite from a great day!

Kites were little known in Washingtonuntil the last ten years or so. The westernpopulation resided mostly in California,but Kites had been seen in Oregon andoccasionally in Washington. Whether ornot they have been actually been makinga northward incursion is hard to say, since

they are so local, mostly seen in unpop-ulated areas, or at least areas unpopu-lated by birders. So more eyes looking inrecent years, especially Rogers eyes,may explain much of the apparent largernumbers recently, as well as loss of habi-tat pushing them around where they

might not have otherwise ended up.This is a stunning bird pure white with

black trim a ferocious Bird of Preyresembling nothing so much as an angelhovering delicately in one spot lookingdown on the chosen beneficiary of itsardent attention, but in this case thatwould be a mouse and not a supplicant.Playing the wind, it kites like a gianthummingbird while getting ready to drop onits prey.

Roger took us to about twenty different

See "Christmas bird count" on page 6See "Surf Scoter" on page 7

See "Kites" on page 7

Story and photos by Diane Yorgason-Quinn


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EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Corner

Tahoma Audubon Staff

Flint, Bryan Executive Director

[email protected] 253-565-9129

Kyer, Krystal Conservation Coordinator

[email protected] 253-232-9978

Newton, Gabriel Education Coordinator

[email protected] 253-565-5479Kerrigan, Julie Volunteer Coordinator 253-565-1884

[email protected]

Tahoma Audubon Board of Directors

Brosius, Jane Membership

Carkner, Dick

Garner, John

Gilmur, Thelma Membership

Hukari, Molly Past President

Jordon, Al

Larson, Sally

Larson, Wayne

LeGreid, Kathleen Publication [email protected]

Matthaei, Fred

McNair-Huff, Rob Conservation

Roening, Marcus

Sloat, Sally Administration(contact)

Shea, Margie Education

Sullivan,Brian Volunteer [email protected]

The Pierce County Chapter of The National Audubon SocietyLocated in University Place's Adriana Hess Wetland Park

2917 Morrison Rd W University Place, WA 98466Office hours 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Front desk 253-565-9278

e-mail: [email protected]

The Towhee is a publication of the Tahoma Audubon Society.

The Tahoma Audubon Society was chartered in 1969. TASadvocates

for the protection of wildlife and promotes conservation through education

and activities that enrich its members experiences in and with the natural

world.

The Towhee is published monthly, nine times a year, with a combined

Jul/Aug and Dec/Jan issue. Submissions of articles and photographs of

birds, bird lore, natural history, conservation, and environmental educationare reviewed and considered for inclusion by the editor. Copy is due by

the 15th of the month and may be sent by e-mail, disk, or typed.

Editor: Kathleen Ann LeGreid: phone 360-458-1483

E-mail:kaleditor@ mindspring.com

Mailing: Vera & John Cragin and Winfield Giddings

Design & Layout: Robert Kelton: E-mail: [email protected]

Printing: Consolidated PressPrinted on recycled newsprint

Page 2 www.tahomaaudubon.org December 2007 / January 2008

A great year for Tahoma AudubonI had not even

taken my jacket off

on the first day of

2007 as the newly

minted Executive

Director when a vol-unteer asked, Would

you like to solve a

problem?

Despite that omi-

nous start, 2007 has

been a year of opportunity and success for Tahoma

Audubon. For me it has been a year of excitement,

learning, and joy. It has been an honor and a privilege to

be part of the largest grassroots environmental organiza-

tion in Pierce County.

Here are some of the things we have accomplished:

Helped pass State legislation to protect shorelines

from unregulated Geoduck farming. The legislation

limits the number of acres to be harvested and provides

funding for research into the effects of Geoduck farmingon habitat.

Worked with County government to pass interim

regulations on Geoduck farming, a new aquaculture.

Protected over 800 acres of pristine oak prairie and

wetlands from the proposed Cross-Base Highway. Doubled the number of youth and adults we are serv-

ing through our educational programs. We are expand-

ing our after school program, the Osprey Club, into

Tacoma Schools. Helped get the Green Tacoma Partnership off the

ground to protect and restore our urban green spaces.

We accomplished these goals while continuing tobuild Tahoma Audubon to address these issues long into

the future and better serve our members: Redesigned the Towhee and reorganized our calen-

dar to be more accessible and helpful.

Redesigned our web site for ease of use and to pro-

vide more timely information.

Brought on an AmeriCorps volunteer coordinator to

help organize the next generation of Audubon leaders. We even reorganized our office and the building at

the Adriana Hess Audubon Center was painted.

We have received tremendous support in our work

from members and donors:

Our Board of Directors has personally committed

over $40,000 this year alone.

Over eleven hundred people have helped us raiseover $43,000 for the 2007 Birdathon.

Two hundred community, political, business, aca-

demic and environmental leaders attended our Early

Bird Gets the Worm Breakfast Event and raised over

$25,000 dollars.

The year brought some changes. Judy Austin retired

as program chair, a job she held for over a decade. We

are very excited that Katrina Weihs, previously our edu-

cation coordinator, has stepped up and agreed to be

program chair. We are looking forward to others joining

her as we take a fresh look at how we do programs. Sue

Summers retired as field trip chair.A special thanks goes out to Molly Hukari for her

board leadership as president. In her five years on the

board she rarely missed a board meeting and always

stepped in to get things done. Molly leaves the board so

that she can devote all her time to going back to school

at Evergreen. Molly has played a central role in the day

to day upkeep of Tahoma Audubon and her energy and

wisdom will be missed.

A new baby has come into the life of our Education

Coordinator, Gabriel Newton. We are very excited for

the arrival of Durante Newton in Gabriels life.

Unfortunately by the time you read this, we will have

lost Gabriel as he also heads back to school at night and

becomes the stay at home parent by day. Much of the

growth and success of our education programs is due tothe energy, skill, and pure talent Gabriel brought to his

job. He will be missed for sure.

As I look back on the last year it gives me energy for

what 2008 has to offer. I look forward to being part of it

with you, the Audubon family and to seeing you at our

member banquet in February.

It was a wonderful success!Two hundred community, political, business, academic and

environmental leaders attended our Early Bird Gets the WormBreakfast Event where we raised over $25,000 dollars.

For more photos of the event, turn to page 6.


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December 2007 / January 2008 www.tahomaaudubon.org Page 3

ENVIRONMENTMatters

It is time to stop losing the trees and forests in

our cities. Keeping existing trees and planting new

ones enhances quality of life, increases property

values, and gives us cleaner water and habitat for

birds and wildlife. In January, Auduboners acrossthe state will spearhead the Evergreen Cities leg-

islative campaign, one of the four top environmen-

tal priorities for 2008!

Some of our cities have innovative programs to

retain, plant and maintain trees, but there is much

room for improvement because only: 47% of our communities have tree ordinances

20% of our communities do routine tree care

12% of our communities have management plans

and only 10% of our communities have up-to-

date tree inventories.In 20 years 70% of some cities public forest

lands will be dead or dying due to poor mainte-

nance and thousands of community forest acres

will be removed for new development.Washingtons population is expected to increase

by 2.3 million by 2030. We need action today to

support planning and management for cities to en-

sure the Evergreen State is full of Evergreen Cities.Scientific studies show that trees in cities provide

many benefits including reduced energy consump-

tion and greenhouse gas emissions, improvedstorm water management, 20% increase in prop-

erty values, 12% increase in consumer spending,

lower crime rates, and of course enhanced bird and

wildlife habitat areas.

This legislation will provide funding and encour-

age partnerships to help local governments update

ordinances and management plans to grow healthy

trees and urban forests. The bill will establishstatewide performance standards for tree retentionand forest canopy goals, guaranteeing benefit from

healthy trees in our communities.

To get involved contact Lisa Paribello at

360-786-8020 ext. 201 or lparibello@audubon.

org, or visit http://wa.audubon.org. or sign-up for

Audubons biweekly updates and action alerts at:

http://www.audubonaction.org/washington.

If you missed the fall Audubon Council of Washington

(ACOW) conference last October in Sequim,

Washington, you also missed a great weekend of bird-

ing and fieldtrips to places like Johnnycomelately

Creek and Dungeness Audubon Center restoration

project and the soon-to-be deconstructed dam on the

Elwah River. You also missed some great guest speak-ers and presentations, and the beautiful Jamestown

SKlallam Tribal Center as the setting for the weekend.

Attending ACOW is a great opportunity to connect

with birders from all across Washington, meet new

friends, and reunite with old ones, as well as having fun

exploring new areas by going birding!

ACOW is always a busy event. A series of panels

and workshops occurred over the weekend. The con-

servation committee and education committee met

simultaneously. Chapter reports were given, and

poster presentations were on display all weekend high-

lighting chapter projects related to the conference

theme: Restoring and Protecting Washingtons Natural

Areas. Tahoma Audubon shared our role in the Green

Tacoma Partnerships efforts to restore and protecturban open spaces in Tacoma. Learn more at: www.

greentacoma.org.

Christi Norman, Audubon Washingtons Birding

Trails Coordinator, gave an update about the upcoming

birding trails maps. Work is currently being done on

birding trail maps in Eastern Washington, and the

Puget Loop (our region) is set to be published in 2010.

However, now is the time to start thinking about pos-

sible stops on our loop. Where are the best places to go

birding in Pierce County? If you are a local birder, you

can probably name more than a few.

Exciting things are also happening with the Important

Bird Area or IBA program in Washington. With some

funding still available, we have the opportunity to add

to the current list of 56 IBAs in the state. You can learn

more about IBAs on our website: www.tahomaaudu-

bon.org under the conservation tab.

There are only two IBAs in Pierce County: Nisquallyand Fort Lewis. However, there are many other places

that have the potential for being an IBA. Thats where

we need your help. Between now and February, we

will be nominating additional IBAs in the region. Your

job is to make the nomination. After that, we will work

with Don McIvor, Audubon Washington IBA

Coordinator, to review and/or gather data on bird spe-

cies and counts in the area.

Before nominating a site, consider the following

guidelines. To qualify as an IBA, an area must meet at

least one of the following criteria it must support:

1. Species of conservation concern (e.g. threatened

and endangered species).

2. Range-restricted species (species vulnerable

because they are not widely distributed).3. Species that are vulnerable because their popu-

lations are concentrated in one general habitat type

or biome.

4. Species, or groups of similar species (such as

waterfowl or shorebirds), that are vulnerable because

they occur at high densities due to their congrega-

tory behavior.

Although only a few sites nominated may actually

meet the criteria, the nominations will also be used to

help create our portion of the Puget Loop of the Birding

Trails Map so your nomination is of double value.

All nominations will

be reviewed at the

spring ACOW in

L e a v e n w o r t h ,

Washington on April

11-13, 2008 at the

Sleeping LadyMountain Resort.

Do you know of

any areas in Pierce

County that meet

one or more of these criteria?

If so, please call Krystal Kyer, Conservation

Coordinator at: 253-232-9978 or e-mail:kkyer@taho-

maaudubon.org or mail in the information below to:

Tahoma Audubon, 2917 Morrison Road W., University

Place, WA 98466.

Please provide the following information with your

Important Bird Area nomination:

Your name, phone number and/or e-mail.

Site name and location.

Is this site currently protected in any way? How?Which IBA criteria does the site meet?

Why are you nominating this site as an IBA? (Please

list specific reasons, such as a presence of a specific

endangered species or further explain how it meets the

criteria)

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of birds by

helping us find the best birding spots and Important

Bird Areas in Pierce County!

The Conservation Committee meets on a regular basis.Contact Krystal for details: 253-232-9978 or e-mail [email protected]

Last April, Governor Gregoire signedlegislation that establishes goals toreduce the states global warmingpollution and increase the number ofgreen jobs in the state. Winning leg-islative approval of that legislation SB 6001 -- was a major victory notonly for the environmental communi-ty, but everyone in Washington con-cerned about the threat of globalwarming to our state and our world.

But, the work is not done. The 2008Legislative Session is fast approaching, andactivists across the state are gearing up for acampaign to pass legislation that will make thegoals set forth in SB 6001 a reality.

That effort will focus around the WashingtonClimate Action bill -- the next important step ourstate can take to reduce global warming pollu-

tion, build the clean energy economy,create green jobs for all sectors of soci-ety and increase energy indepen-dence.

The Washington Climate Action Billwill have two important objectives:Reduce global warming pollution: thebill will give the Washington Departmentof Ecology authority to implement thepollution reduction goals established by

SB 6001 by setting responsible limits onglobal warming pollution produced in the state.Washington could then enter into a regionalmarket-based pollution trading system like theone now being developed by six western statesand two Canadian provinces.A registry will also be created to keep track

of major sources of pollution in the state.Create green jobs: addressing climate change

offers a hugeopportunityfor invest-ment, innovation and employment growth intomorrows clean energy economy. The bill willcreate a new training program to prepareWashington workers for good jobs in that cleanenergy economy, providing pathways out ofpoverty for lower-income communities.

To find out more about the WashingtonClimate Action bill, contact:

Meagan Dixon,Climate Solutions1601 2nd Avenue, Suite 615Seattle, WA 98101.Phone: (206) 443-9570 x23,fax: (206) 728-0552e-mail:[email protected]://www.climatesolutions.org

The Washington Climate Action Bill

Evergreen Cities legislative campaign for 2008

More Environment Matters on page 5.

GovernorChristine Gregoire

Nominate an Important Bird Area today!


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EDUCATION Page


2917 Morrison Road W.,

University Pl. WA 98466

253-565-9278

www.TahomaAudubon.org

Open Mon Sat. 10a.m.-1p.m.

1919 South Tyler Street,

Tacoma WA 98338

253-591-6439 www.metroparkstacoma.org

Open Tues. Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

& Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For class times and dates, please check the Calendar listing on the back page of the Towhee or on our website, www.tahomaaudubon.org

The air is crisp

and birds are on the

move. 2008 is right

around the corner!

Before we charge

off into the New

Year like chickadees to a caterpillar, Id like to

reflect upon the many successes that our Education

Department has had in the past year. During the

course of 2007, TAS has attempted to expand the

number and quality of environmental education

programming offered throughout Pierce County.

Not only have we increased the number of indi-

viduals who have been connected to nature

through educational activities by over 250%, but

in doing so, we have motivated a vast network of

organizational partners, educated citizens, and

inspired youth to carry out our mission of protect-

ing habitat and wildlife.

One of our most exciting and innovative new

programs was the Osprey Club. With the financialsupport of Audubon Washington, and in part-

nership with the University Place

School District, Tahoma Audubon

was able to lay the groundwork for

an ongoing program that is now

expanding into the city of Tacoma

and, hopefully in the future, the

rest of Pierce County. The Osprey

Club is a weekly after school

club, offered at Narrows View

Intermediate, which gave children

the opportunity to learn about, appre-

ciate, and rehabilitate local green

space and wildlife populations. Witha focus on outdoor activity and envi-

ronmental discovery, participants

were exposed to the natural world

in a fun and accessible way. Now

in its second year, club members

have created their very own wild-

life sanctuary within the con-

fines of their school play-

ground, and have the responsi-

bility to maintain it.

Central to our ability to carry

out quality educational pro-

gramming is the wealth of help

and cross-promotion that we

receive from our allies in the

community. Working together

in a strong partnership, Tahoma

Audubon and the Tacoma

Nature Center offer year-long, progressive learn-

ing opportunities for all ages. Ask one of the many

children that participated in our joint summer

camps, science classes or nature walks, and you

will understand just how valuable this relationship

is to the public. Similarly, our work with such

organizations as the Tacoma Art Museum, Harbor

WildWatch, Flying WILD, Pierce County

Plant Salvage, and the NatureMapping program have allowed us

to cast our nets of environmental

education wide, across the county.

In just one year, Tahoma Audubon

was able to spread our message of

conservation to plant nurseries,

Boy Scout troops, libraries, civic

groups, retirement communi-

ties, classrooms, parks, festi-

vals, and zoos. Whew! What

is in store for 2008? Through

the continued support of our

membership and the hard work

of Tahoma Audubon volunteersand staff, we plan to maintain

our programs and activities,

while building on some exciting new

possibilities. We will be offering

expanded shoreline and waterway edu-

cation. Our adult birding classes will

be restruc-

tured to

include more

progressive

and in-depth

study options

(including a Master Birder course!). Additionally,

we will be streamlining our Education and

Conservation departments to work jointly onimportant issues.

OK, now for the bad news As your Education

Coordinator, I will be stepping down in 2008 and

vacating my position in order to attend graduate

school and work to attain a Masters Degree in

Education. While it will be difficult for me to leave

such a vibrant, energetic, and exciting environment

as Tahoma Audubon has become for me, I feel con-

fident that there is a wealth of capable individuals to

fill my place. Thank you all, for allowing me the

opportunity to work alongside and learn from so

many of you. Its been a blast.If you would like to

help lead Tahoma Audubon Education through the

upcoming year by assisting in events, pro-grams, or committee work, please con-

tact Marjorie Shea,

Education Chair, by call-

ing 253-591-6439, or by

e-mail at: marjories@

tacomaparks.com.

Sample Weaver NestIn his text, Ornithology, Frank Gill discusses the birdsin the weaver family and their incredible nest-build-ing ability. The knots below were adapted from this

discussion. Participants who try these knots will real-ize that building a nest is not such an easy task! Birdsin the weaver family, Ploceidae, are seed-eating birds

closely resembling finches. Weavers are named for thehighly complex woven nests built by many species.

what a year!Tahoma Audubon reachesnew heights in education

Members of the Osprey Club, a weeklyafter-school club at Narrows ViewIntermediate, have created this wildlifesanctuary.

Photos/GabrielNewton


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Hawks of Kent ValleySaturday, January 19 8a.m. to early afternoon

Leader: Roger Orness

Roger will once again guide us through the Kent

Valley to find raptors. We will be looking for

Peregrine, Merlin, Red-tails & Bald Eagle, and of

course anything else that comes our way. There is

not a lot of walking involved. Dress in layers andbring a snack.

MEET: 8:00a.m. at the McDonalds in the

SuperMall parking lot (in Auburn). We will car-

pool from there.

CALL: TAS office to sign up 253-565-9278

SkagitSaturday, February 2 7:00 a.m. to late afternoon

Leader: Bruce LaBar

Join Bruce on a winter trip to Skagit flats and sur-

rounding habitats. We will be looking for Snow

Goose, Swans, Rough-legged & Red-tailed Hawk,

falcons and Bald Eagle.

Bring warm clothes & boots and a lunch. Therewill be minimal walking involved.

MEET: 7:00am at the Tacoma Dome Park&Ride,

610 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma (covered garage near

Freighthouse Square).

CALL: TAS office to sign up 253-565-9278

108THChristmas Bird Count!

TAS CBC-Sat., Dec. 15-Contact Faye McAdamsHands 253-942-9233,[email protected].

The Tally Dinner is at The Nature Center at Snake

Lake - 1919 S. Tyler St, Tacoma - from 5:00 6:30

p.m.

Neighbors CBC-Dec. 30 - Sunday - Please vol-

unteer to help out on another Christmas Bird

Count for our neighboring chapters:

Vashon CBC (includes parts of North Pierce andKitsap counties): Contact Sue Trevathan, sue.

[email protected] or 206-463-1484.

Rainier CBC (Kent/Auburn): Contact Nancy

Streiffert, [email protected] or

253-852-8394.

FIELD TRIPS and Events

December 2007 / January 2008 www.tahomaaudubon.org Page 5

Adriana Hess Wetland Park Activities2917 Morrison Rd. W. in University Place

Bird WalkSecond Monday, December 10 and January 14,12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Plant WalkThird Monday, December 17 and January 21,12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

All Fridays:Come at 9:00a.m. for a lightbreakfast and stay to weed until 11:00 a.m.

If you wish to help on your own time, we nowhave a book with entire grounds marked offand pictured in small segments. You canchoose your portion of the grounds, and atyour own convenience, keep it looking like thepicture. Thanks for considering this great wayof helping out.

Call TAS to register (253-565-9278). Some1.

trips are people limited out of necessity.

Notify TAS 24 hours in advance if you cannot2.

come. Field trip leaders put in a lot of time and

planning and no shows disrupt field trips.

More than three no shows a year can result

in revoking the opportunity to participate.

Arrive at the meeting place early.3.

No pets are allowed.4.

Be prepared for seasonal weather.5.

Bring lunch, drinks and snacks if the field trip6.

is scheduled past mid-day.

All passengers divide total carpooling expens-7.

es. Current guidelines are 20 cents a mile

per car, not including driver.

Beginners are always welcome.8.

Have fun.9.

RULES

The choices that we make today about howwe manage growth lock us into patterns that

determine our global warming pollution for

decades. In order to achieve the States goal

of significantly reducing climate emissions,

we must make responsible decisions now so

we can reduce driving and promote efficient,

livable communities.

Poorly planned irresponsible develop-

ment is driving global warming pollution.

Poorly planned development creates auto-

oriented neighborhoods farther away from jobs,

schools, shopping, health care and other needs

in our daily lives. The traffic which results

from this development is Washingtons largestsingle source of greenhouse gas emissions. In

addition, sprawling development is the leading

cause of farm and forest conversion another

contributor to global warming. Washington

loses ten acres of farmland every hour. Trees

that have been cut down and farms

that have been paved over lose

their carbon sequestration

function. Further, the loss

of local farms results in

increased greenhouse

gases from hauling

food across the coun-

try instead of acrossthe county.

The first rule of

holes: When you find

yourself in one, stop

digging.

If Washington is

serious about ad-

dressing our impact

on global warming,

we need to stop the

digging by reducing irresponsible develop-ment in rural areas and on the urban fringe and

by promoting higher intensity development in

cities.

Our Growth Management Act (GMA) is an

excellent framework for tackling global warm-

ing most cities and counties are already re-

quired to develop a local comprehensive land

use plan. The choices made in comprehensive

plans about where a growing population will

live and work and how they will get around

have a huge impact on global warming emis-

sions.

Local Solution to Global Warming would

add a 15th

goal of reducing climate impact tothe GMA and identify reducing global warm-

ing as an important aspect of comprehensive

planning. This provision would increase pro-

tections against land use decisions that increase

global warming pollution and would require

local governments to proactively

plan to minimize land use con-

tributions to global warm-

ing. This approach will

give local governments

the tools and directive

to make responsible

choices about where

we live, how we get towork, and how we do

those with less impact

on our climate.

For more infor-

mation on solutions

contact Futurewise

Lobbyist April Put-

ney; 206-343-0681

extension 120 or

[email protected].

More ENVIRONMENTMatters

Environmental Legislation Priorities

December 13: CommunityForum at the Tacoma PublicLibrary, main branch, Olym-pic Room. 6:00-8:00 p.m.This is your local chance tolearn about the four newenvironmental prioritiesfor the January session.

January 12: LegislativeWorkshop, 9:00 a.m.-1:00

p.m. at Seattle Pacific Uni-versity. As the states leadingconservation groups preparefor the upcoming legislativesession, well hear from leg-islators, environmental poli-cy experts, members of themedia and others regarding the communitysPriorities for a Healthy Washington.

January 23: EnvironmentalLobby Day in Olympia. Lastyears legislative session wasa banner year, as we suc-

cessfully passed all fourPriorities. Lobby Day is agreat way to get involved,learn more, and connectwith hundreds of others.

To learn more and join in the excite-ment: www.pugetsound.org/index/lobby-day or call Rein Attemann to pre-register at206-382-7007.Online: www.environmentalpriorities.org.

Local solutions to global warmingSave these dates:

December

200713th

January

2008

12th

January

200823rd


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Area 1: Art Wang 253-752-1714

Area 2: Carol Schulz 206-824-7618 [email protected]

Area 3: Diane Yorgason-Quinn [email protected]

Area 4: Roxy & Bill Giddings 253-537-3075

Area 5: Chris Chappell 360-709-0503

Area 6: Marcus Roening has 2 helpers this year.Sue Summers 253-460-5569 [email protected] Sladek 253-927-6278 [email protected]

Area 7: Stan & Sharon Johnson 253-848-2090

Area 8: Ruth Sullivan [email protected]

Area Coordinator: Faye McAdams Hands

253-942-9233 [email protected]

necked Grebe (331) and

Thayers Gull (762).

The Tally Dinner direct-ly after the Count is

always a fun event, and a

great way to meet the

other birders and share

stories from the day, while

eating a tasty meal! Come

join us at The Nature

Center at Snake Lake -

1919 S. Tyler St, Tacoma

- from 5:00 6:30 p.m.

See you there!

...ChristmasBird Countfrom page 1

How about abig round ofapplause for

our successful

Photos/Kyle Duba [email protected]

Left: State Representative Pat Lantz(D-Gig Harbor) received recognition

for her efforts to pass and fundHouse Bill 2220, the outcomes of

this will be increasedscientific know-ledge with whichto make soundenvironmental

and regulatorydecisions, and animproved regula-tory process.

Left: Tacoma City coun-cil man Tom Stengerwas recognized fortaking important stepsto improve the qual-

ity of life for all Tacomaresidents people andwildlife! For environ-mental stewardship andleadership in support ofthe Green Tacoma Part-nership and the protec-tion of Tacomas urbanwildlife habitats.

Left: KC Golden, Policy Director ofClimate Solutions paints a picture ofhow we can address climate changein a positive way.

Above: Table captain Nancy Pearsonand Kathy Kravit-Smith, Director ofPierce County Parks, were among the200 people at the Early Bird Gets theWorm Breakfast Event on October 30,2007.

Right: For going above andbeyond what was asked andmaking the Osprey Club afterschool programs a successSara Siemens-Luthy gets ahug and truly deserving re-ward at the Early bird Gets

the Worm breakfast event

Left: As members of theCross-Base Highway Coali-tion with Tahoma Audubon,members of the WoodbrookHunt Club where given rec-ognition for their tireless ad-vocacy on behalf of pristineoak prairie habitat, a uniqueway of life and livelihood. In

the face of unyielding oppo-sition they never waveredin speaking what they knewto be true and right.

Julie AndersonTacoma City

Council Woman

12-2007 Part 1 Towhee Newsletter Tahoma Audubon Society

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Transcript of 12-2007 Part 1 Towhee Newsletter Tahoma Audubon Society