NEXT STEPS
“Lights Out” and “Mitigation of Bird Collisions”
There were representatives from a majority of our Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters as well as leaders from several of our Bird Town Pennsylvania communities who participated in our webinar on the evening of June 6, 2023. The webinar focused on ways for chapters and Bird Towns to become more engaged with the issues of excess outdoor lights and bird-window collisions. The goal of the evening program was to outline opportunities to become engaged in these issues and act at the individual, community, and/or State or Federal levels. A recording of the presentation is available on the Pennsylvania Audubon Council YouTube Channel.
There are important next steps we can take to make a difference with these issues that our chapter network identified as conservation issues of highest priority:
· BIRD COLLISION TOOLKIT TRAINIG: Peter Saenger, President of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society and staff at the Acopian Center of Ornithology at Muhlenberg College offered to present his workshop on implementing the “Bird Collision Toolkit” with your chapter. Contact Peter to schedule a presentation for members of your chapter board, bird friendly community committee, or other interested chapter members. Reach out to Peter at: psaenger@muhlenberg.edu.
· INITIATIVES AT STATE AND MUNUCIPAL LEVELS: There is interest in exploring whether the Council can encourage action at the state level to increase “dark skies” and reduce window collisions to enact protections for birds. We learned from Mark Southerland , with the Maryland Ornithological Union, that the Maryland legislature adopted measures after many years in pursuit of this outcome. We also recently learned that the Connecticut legislature adopted measures as well. Peter Saenger and Jeff Stratford, Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society and Wilkes University, will lead the Pennsylvania Audubon Council Bird Safe Building Committee in this effort.
· FEDERAL BIRD SAFE BUILDING ACT: In addition, we just learned from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) that Congressman Quigley (D-IL) and Congressman Griffith (R-VA) have reintroduced the Federal Bird Safe Building Act in the House of Representatives. They have been enduring champions of this effort having introduced this in each of the last several legislative sessions. Keep posted for an upcoming Pennsylvania Audubon Council Conservation Alert. See the ABC announcement HERE.
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LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FALL:
(HB 1032) Solar For Schools!
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council has encouraged chapters to be active in support of the Solar for Schools (HB 1032) legislation. As you know, it has been the focus of two of our most recent Conservation Alerts!
We are thrilled the bill passed the House last week 134-69. 32 Republicans, including Minority Leader Cutler, joined the entire Democratic Caucus in support of the bill! We encourage chapter leaders to reach out and THANK those state representatives whose districts include portions of your chapter territory and who supported this bill.
There was some hope that the Solar for Schools program would be included in the state budget for FY 24. Unfortunately, funding for our Solar for Schools program was not included in the House approved budget. Authorization is required by the State Senate and for the Governor to sign the budget into law. There are a number of issues that include school funding that will need to be resolved before the budget is passed. Regardless, we will need to look ahead to move the Solar for Schools initiative forward.
Representative Fiedler, (D-184) who introduced HB 1032, has had encouraging conversations with House leadership, the Administration, and Senate Republicans, and she is optimistic that the bill has a path forward in the Senate this fall. We will follow up with our chapters for help in getting the bill over the line.
Thank you all so much for helping us get this far! Passing legislation is not easy, and creating a new and unique program is especially challenging. That said, everyone that has studied this bill closely recognizes that it makes sense for the moment. We are confident that with your continued support, we can make Solar for Schools law.
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Pennsylvania Audubon Council:
Election of Officers and Executive Committee Members !
Thank you for the tremendous participation of the Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters in this years elections. We are pleased that twenty chapters cast their ballots in support of the recommended slate of Officers and Executive Committee Members for one-year terms from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. Congratulations to Officers: President: Leigh Altadonna, Wyncote Audubon Society; Vice President: Paul Burroughs, Presque Isle Audubon Society; Treasurer: Jim Bonner, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and Executive Committee Members: Laura Jackson, Juniata Valley Audubon Society; Susan Murawski, Presque Isle Audubon Society; Peter Saenger, Lehigh Valley Audubon Society; Jeff Stratford, Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society and Bird Town Pennsylvania Liaison: Heidi Shiver, President, Bird Town Pennsylvania. The Officers and the Executive Committee members conduct a monthly meeting and hold additional meetings as needed.
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BLM Public Lands Chapter Sign On Letter
Audubon Rockies, the National Audubon Society Regional Office serving Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, reached out nationwide to the Audubon chapter network to request support for a letter to the Bureau of Land Management for the protection of Greater Sage-grouse and the iconic sagebrush ecosystem. Thus, engaging in harnessing the power of our chapters in a letter to the Bureau of Land Management.
Daly Edmunds, the Policy and Outreach Director for Audubon Rockies, reported that 194 chapters from 41 states stood together to reach out to the BLM. The Pennsylvania Audubon Council was a signatory on the letter. Bucks County Audubon, Lehigh Valley Audubon, Presque Isle Audubon, South Mountain Audubon, Valley Forge Audubon, Wyncote Audubon, and our friends at Delaware Audubon also signed on to the letter.
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Update on the Council Facebook Page!
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council Facebook Page is up and running as a public Facebook group. It has been established as a means for our Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters to share posts that spotlight special projects, events, and other significant activities. The goal is to demonstrate the contributions that our chapter network makes to benefit the conservation and protection of birds and the environment. It is a public Facebook group intended as a vehicle to highlight our important work in communities throughout the Commonwealth.
The Council will continue to issue invitations to any representative designated by a chapter with authority and access and post items to the Council Facebook. Please continue to alert us with contact information for any specific individuals you would like to have your authority to post to the Council Facebook! Let us know at: paaudubon@gmail.com
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We Need Your Updated Chapter Contacts!
Many chapters have their elections for officers and directors on a fiscal year schedule. Please share your updated list. We also welcome requests for chapters for any names and contacts to be added to the DRUMMER mailing list. Similarly, contact us if individuals whose names are on the current distribution list should be removed. Members of the Council Executive Committee will also follow up as needed to confirm any changes, additions, or deletions to the contacts listed for your chapters. Please send your most current and updated list to paauduboncouncil@gmail.com
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Manage Your Email In Box!
A Recommendation:
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council uses a Gmail address for many routine communications. Because Gmail uses a “.com” in its address, many recipients will find messages routed to a “junk” or “spam” folder. This can be avoided by a simple step as you manage your email at home or work. Simply add paauduboncouncil@gmail.com to your email mailbox and future messages will appear in your regular “inbox” of incoming emails.
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