"The Voice of Conservation in South Florida"
March 2015
In This Issue
Rock the Commission this Tuesday!
Rare plants of Everglades National Park
Ludlam Trail Public Charrettes
Join the Support the EAA Reservoir Coalition
TAS Conservation Committee
March Art Walk: Natural Ties
Int'l Migratory Bird Day @ TAS March 21
ConCon Double Date! Three Sheets to the Winf + Allen, Bello & Co
Join the Biscayne Bay Coalition
Join the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition
Join the Hold the Line Coalition
Is Your TAS Annual Membership Up To Date?
Join/renew Today!
Swallow Tailed Kite

2015 is proving to be a busy year for the Conservation Movement, and TAS is ready to make it a Banner Year for Conservation, but we need the support of our members and generous donors.

Consider joining/renewing your commitment to keep South Florida Wild & Beautiful. Click here to join/renew your Annual TAS Membership 
and help us grow our Mission.  

Urge FL Senators to designate Amendment 1 funding for Conservation projects, NOT infrastructure! 


Thanks to involved citizens, the Florida Senate has already received more than 3,800 comments urging Senators to dedicate Amendment 1 funding to Conservation. But we need more to keep those comments coming! 

 

Please click here to share your comment with the Senate's Environmental Preservation & Conservation Committee. Tell your friends to also send a note to the Committee members urging that Amendment 1 dollars be spent on water and land conservation projects, not on infrastructure! 


 Submit your comment today and help assure that Amendment 1 funds are earmarked for Conservation in Florida! Click here for talking points to help draft your comments.
  
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RESTORATION WORKDAYS AT TAS:

Learn about native flora and fauna while you earn your community hours with us!


Upcoming Restoration Workdays: 

Sat., March 14
Porter-Russell Pine Rockland Preserve
22100 SW 124th Ave Miami, Fl 33170

8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

R.S.V.P. to [email protected]


 

Sat., March 21
Steinberg Nature Center 

5530 Sunset Dr, Miami, FL 33143 

8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

R.S.V.P. to [email protected]


Toyota TogetherGreen    

Restoring these properties is possible thanks to volunteers like you!

BIRDING CALENDAR

 

Sat., March 7 | Everglades National Park

John Boyd will lead this all day carpool trip. Meet in the parking lot of the Coe Visitor Center at Everglades National Park at 7:30am. There is an entrance fee to the park. Bring lunch.

 

Sat., March 14 | Everglades East Area

Carlos Sanchez leads this half-day trip to the east Everglades. Meet at 7:00am at the C-357 sparrow fields. From Krome Avenue, drive west 3.0 miles on Richmond Drive (SW 168 Street). Park near the entrance, at a yellow gate just west of the C-357 Canal. Return is at approximately 11:00am. No fee.

 

Sat., March 21 | South Broward

John Hutchison will lead this carpool trip to birding locations in southern Broward County. Meet at 8:00am at Plantation Preserve. The preserve is on Broward Blvd., two miles east of University Drive. Meet at 8:00 AM at the trailhead past the playground. Bring lunch.
 

Sun., March 22 

Spring Wildflower Walk with Roger Hammer

Well known South Florida plant expert, Roger Hammer, will lead this walk down the Long Pine Key Nature Trail in Everglades National Park. Meet at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park at 8 a.m., return approximately 11:30 a.m. There is an entrance fee to the park.

Reservations and fee required: $40 members/$45 nonmembers includes an autographed copy of one of Roger's recent books: Everglades Wildflowers, Florida Keys Wildflowers (your choice). A $25 discount ($15 members/$20 nonmembers) if you bring along your own copy of one of Roger's books! Call 305-247-1634, or email Roger to register or for more information.

Sign the "Floridians for Solar Choice" Petition Today!
The Floridians for Solar Choice Petition    is an initiative to amend the FL Constitution to provide more  choices  for Floridians to power their homes and businesses with  solar  energy. 

Registered voters can help in as easy as 1, 2, 3:
1. Download, print and sign the petition
2. Mail signed petitions to  Floridians for Solar Choice
120 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Suite 105, 
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
3. Share via Social Media!

For more information, please contact  [email protected] or click here to get the facts about this important campaign!
Take the Pledge: 
Keep Your Cats Indoors!
If you take no other action for birds this month, consider this significant step  toward responsible pet ownership Sign the pledge to keep your cats indoors   or on a leash at all times. Free-roaming cats are the largest source of direct, human-caused bird mortality, with an estimated billion+ birds killed by domestic felines each year in the U.S. alone. If you've already taken this pledge, sign to reaffirm your commitment!
More About TAS:
Click here to learn more about who we are!
Click here to learn more about who we are!

The Historic Doc Thomas House
The Historic Doc Thomas House

Pine Rocklands
Pine Rocklands
We are part of AmazonSmile! 

Support TAS while you shop at Amazon! Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to TAS whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Click here for a direct link. Thank you for supporting South Florida's Voice of Conservation.  

Action Item: Mar. 3

Save the Pine Rocklands: 
Rock the Commission Tuesday, March 3

Tues., March 3 | Commission Chambers | 9:30 a.m.

 

Join TAS & the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition (MPRC) on Tuesday at the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting and helps us keep the momentum going! You will have 2 minutes to share why we need to preserve the remaining 2% of globally imperiled Pine Rocklands. 

 

The Coral Reef Commons project and Miami Wilds Theme Park threaten to erase the Richmond Pine Rocklands, the largest tract of Pine Rocklands left outside of Everglades National Park. Please join us and ask the Commissioners to find another place for these developments and preserve the Richmond Pine Rocklands! Share the flyer below with all concerned friends/family.

 

Can't attend in person? Email/call the BCC. Please click here to read our talking points and click here to watch a recap of the "Shame on U" Pine Rockland Rally that took place Feb. 28. For more information, email MPRC. See you there!

March Calendar:

Rare plants of Everglades National Park:

their history, conservation and restoration

Mon., March 2 |Garden House, Fairchild Botanic Garden | 7 p.m.

 

Paul Marcellini Photography

Join the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC) and TAS Advisory Board Member George Gann, at FTBG to celebrate IRC's decade-plus of work on the native plants of Everglades National Park. Learn about some of the region's rarest plants found in the largest National Park in the eastern United States; which plants have disappeared; which are still present; and efforts to monitor and restore their populations. 


 George will describe the massive collaborative effort to document the status of rare plants in the park, and share recommendations to improve their plight in the face of Sea Level Rise, exotic species invasions and other threats. An open discussion will follow, and will include Everglades Botanist Jimi Sadle and FTBG's Joyce Maschinski. A reception with refreshments will cap the program. 

 

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please [email protected] 
Ludlam Trail Public Charrettes -- 
Your Input is Needed!

March 2-4 | March 9 | March 10-12

Multiple Locations, see below

 

Thanks to the advocacy of concerned citizens like you, we all now have an opportunity to weigh-in on the fate of the Ludlam Trail. If you favor a linear park, now is the time for you to make your voice heard!


 

Please attend one of the following meetings and state your opinion about the fate of the Ludlam Trail:

For more information contact [email protected] 

Join the Support the EAA Reservoir Coalition & Sign the Petition to #BuyTheLand & #SaveOurWater!

Click here to join; Click here to sign the petition

 

Ever-Love The current level of water flowing through the Everglades ecosystem is not enough. More clean, fresh water needs to flow south if we are to successfully restore our River of Grass and recharge our aquifer. 

Right now w e have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy prime land from U.S. Sugar to build a much-needed reservoir that would hold, clean and send water to the south  Everglades region.  The time to act is now, as this offer expires October 12, 2015.  The Everglades Agricultural Aarea (EAA) Reservoir is key to solving our water crisis.

Please click here to join the Support the EAA Reservoir Project Coalition, and ask friends and your favorite businesses to do the same. Click here to sign the petition to ask Governor Rick Scott to #BuyTheLand and protect our drinking water for years to come!

For more information, please read our talking points
TAS Conservation Committee Meeting

NEW DATE: Wed., March 4 | 5530 Sunset Drive | 7:30 p.m.

 

Be part of the conversation with South Florida's Voice of Conservation!


Hot topics this month: Pine Rocklands, Marine Stadium, FPL Cooling Canal System and more! Help us save South Florida's precious places. 

 

Attend the meeting to find out how you can become part of the solution! Request call-in information if you can't attend in person.

March SoMi Art Night @ TAS Presents:
Natural Ties
Fri., March 13 | 5530 Sunset Drive | 6-9 p.m.

 

The period parlor at our Nationally Registered Historic Doc Thomas House headquarters is transformed into a vibrant art gallery during SOMI Art Walk season.

 

Artists Quentin Minnis, Jedda Wong and Sophie Wong show works that express their love of the natural world.  Subjects include florals, birds and marine life done in watercolor, batiks and acrylic as part of the March SoMi Art Walk. Begin your Art Walk journey at our Historic Headquarters, where TAS members can park for free on our Steinberg Nature Center grounds. Enjoy a glass of wine from our donation Bird Bar, and stroll into town to enjoy more of our burgeoning local art scene.

 

The exhibition will hang at the Doc Thomas House throughout March. Thirty percent of the proceeds from the sale of all art benefit Tropical Audubon Society.

Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day 
at our Steinberg Nature Center Campus
Sat., March 21 | 5530 Sunset Drive | 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

 

Join us on March 21 to learn how important South Florida is to birds across two continents!

 

Find out more about living in our species-rich region, and do your part to support migrating bird populations in North and South America. We have hatched a fun agenda full of engaging activities that will teach you and your family all about our precious feathered friends. 

Live bird species, interactive games, prizes and more! Join us for this fun, educational free event. 
ConCon Double Date!
Three Sheets to the Wind
and
 Allen, Bello & Co

Sat., March 28 | 5530 Sunset Dr | 7-11 p.m.


Pencil in a Conservation Concert double-date as TAS welcomes two bands to the Keystone stage on Saturday, March 28! The night air will come alive with a tapestry of music as critically acclaimed Three Sheets to the Wind and Allen, Bello & Co perform back-to-back sets. Three Sheets plays a lively mix of traditional & contemporary world music - from Americana roots to Blues to Rock & Reggae, spiked with captivating originals; the dynamic duo of Phil Allen & Diane Bello mellows the mood with Folk Rock favorites and originals with prominent vocals!

Bring a blanket, your sweetie, children, or a friend and come out to enjoy a laid-back "Old Florida" evening.

A donation BirdBar, courtesy of  Republic National Distributing Co., provides liquid refreshment and the Il Fiorentino Food Truck will please palates with its authentic Italian menu. Additionally, neighboring TAS community partner restaurants (George's, Sports Grill SoMi and Whisk Gourmet) offer takeout.

This first-ever double-header ConCon is being orchestrated as part of our "100-Year Celebration of Audubon Presence in South Florida" festivities. (Centennial events continue through May; see calendar listings.) 

 

Gates open at 7 p.m., music starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission:$10 donation, children free. Picnic Tables available on a first-come basis. 

 

Parking: Limited parking is available on the TAS grounds via the 55th Avenue gate. Limited free parking along 56th Avenue. Metered parking available on Sunset Drive; various garage and valet parking options within 1-3 blocks; South Miami Metro-Rail Station approx. 5 blocks.

Get Involved:

Join the Biscayne Bay Coalition! 
Open Bay_TSmith
Photo Credit: Tom Smith

   

TAS is recruiting civic groups and concerned citizens to join the Biscayne Bay Coalition (BBC). The Coalition advocates for the integrity, preservation and restoration of a healthy, viable Biscayne Bay. Read more here.
Help protect Miami's Endangered Habitat: 
Join the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition!
Photo Credit: Paul Marcellini


Following the recent series of attacks to Pine Rocklands (UM-Walmart-RAM, Miami Wilds Park, Palmetto Bay Village Center), Tropical Audubon, concerned partners and neighbors banded together to create the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition to protect the Richmond Pineland Tract (see map below) and any other parcel of Pine Rockland remaining in Miami-Dade County. 
Read more here.

Join the Hold-the-Line Coalition

sprawl

The main objective of the Hold-the-Line Coalition is to ensure that South Florida becomes sustainable and resilient by protecting the rural and natural resource areas to the west and south of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), and by endorsing smart growth projects within our urban core. Read more here.

Get Social, follow us online:


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A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR TROPICAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION (REGISTRATION NO. CH 1300), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.