November 15, 2021
ANTHRACITE RIDGE SIGN-ON LETTER!

The chapter leaders who participated in the Pennsylvania Audubon Council on November 8th learned about an Industrial wind farm proposed for construction in Schuylkill County. It is located just west of Hawk Mountain and the Kittatiny Ridge. The Kittatiny Ridge is an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Global Significance and a major migratory pathway for raptors. Though the project is not in the IBA, it is a site of significant concern for raptors, songbirds and other wildlife. Everyone at last Monday’s zoom meeting heard an excellent brief on the concerns related to this project from Laura Jackson, vice-president of Juniata Valley Audubon Society. She reviewed an “Information Sheet” that outlines the issues and it can be viewed in the link below.

We all agree that action on climate change is an imperative for birds, wildlife, habitat and people! We support the move to renewable energy sources like wind and solar with the understanding these projects need to be appropriately sited. There are many concerns associated with the Anthracite Ridge Project in Schuylkill County.

There was broad support from participants on November 8th for the Pennsylvania Audubon Council (PAC) to voice our collective concerns with this proposed Anthracite Ridge project. Last Friday, November 12th, the Council Executive Committee unanimously approved that PAC be a signatory to the coalition letter that includes Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the American Bird Conservancy, HMANA, SOAR, and many other concerned organizations.

The PAC Executive Committee also endorsed moving ahead with our Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters to sign-on to a joint Council letter. Laura Jackson drafted the letter for our chapters to consider. That letter can be found at the link below along with the link to “sign on” with your chapter’s name and the name and title of the person authorized by the chapter to sign. Your swift response is needed. The deadline to “sign-on” is Monday, November 22, 2021. If you need more information, contact paauduboncouncil@gmail.com.
A REMINDER: IT'S TIME TO DECIDE WHAT MATTERS MOST!
The major focus of the special Council Meeting on November 8th was to walk through the package of materials provided for each of our twenty-one Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters in the process to prioritize our conservation issues of greatest concern. Four chapter leaders shared the approach used in their respective chapters. Ali Bowling, President of Appalachian Audubon; Sue Murawski, President of Presque Isle Audubon; Bill Ross, Council Representative for Tiadaughton Audubon; and Shirley Dodson, Advocacy Committee Chair of Valley Forge Audubon, each described their chapter’s approach. As a reminder, the “prioritization package” is available for each chapter to use for this purpose.

Our goal is to receive a response from all twenty-one of our Pennsylvania Audubon Chapters. We ask each chapter to complete the process over the next few weeks.

Please submit your chapter’s Response Form by the NEW deadline of FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17,2021. 

The “prioritization package” includes three documents that can be accessed below:

  1. Directions for Chapters to Prioritize the Conservation Issues of Concern for Our Council 
  2. Pennsylvania Audubon Council Conservation Issues of Concern
  3. Chapter Prioritization Response Form/Survey - COMPLETE THIS SURVEY
DUKE MOA LOW FLYOVER:
ANOTHER ISSUE FOR YOUR CHAPTER “RADAR”

The PAC Executive Committee discussed another issue that has particular significance of the “Ridge and Valley Provence” of Pennsylvania with particular focus on our northern tier counties and chapters. This is an issue we ALL need to track but it is of particular concern for Lycoming Audubon, Juniata Valley, Seven Mountains Audubon, and Tiadaughton Audubon. The Maryland National Guard is seeking to schedule low altitude flights as training for their pilots through Pennsylvania. There is a coalition of concerned organizations. DCNR has recommended some sensible alterations to the plan. We will seek to learn more to determine how the Council and our chapters can support reasonable modification to the military plan. More information on this issue can be found at the link below:
THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER
FOR THE AUDUBON MIDATLANTIC CHAPTER GATHERING!
There is still time to register for the upcoming Chapter Gathering on Friday, November 19th and Saturday, November 20th. Sign up today and share the details with other leaders in your chapter so everyone who is interested in participating has a chance to join in.

Here is the link to the webpage.
And the registration form.