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AUDUBON CALIFORNIA NOTES
March 2007 e-newsletter
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In this issue:
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Audubon Assembly, Pacific Grove,
October 7- 9, 2007
Mark your Calendars, Tell Your Membership
The Audubon Assembly will be held on October 7-9, 2007 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay. All Audubon members, supporters and allies are welcome! Plans are in the works for great workshops on bird conservation, CEQA, training field trip leaders, Ecosystem restoration, birds and climate change, and more. We hope to see all of you there! Registration begins in May
Proposed Lead Ammunition Ban in Condor Country
 The California Fish and Game Commission is considering an amendment to ban the use of lead bullets in Condor country. Studies show that lead poisoning from ingestion of ammunition is one of the most serious threats to Condor recovery. With the addition of new F&G commission who is supportive of Condors, there is real potential to improve the survival of California’s largest bird.
The California Condor is one of the world’s most endangered species with fewer than 200 birds left in the wild and captivity combined. The State and Federal Governments have worked for decades and spent millions of dollars on the Condor recovery program, but recovery efforts have stalled, in part because of lead poisoning from ammunition in the carcasses of the Condor’s prey. At least 10 California Condors are thought to have died from lead poisoning in California and Arizona, and in most Condors tested showed elevated levels of lead in the blood. The proposed amendment is a ban on lead ammunition while hunting big game, we hope that this amendment is a step towards banning lead bullets through the state.
The Commission will meet again on March 1 and 2 in Arcata to consider a limit on lead bullets for big game hunting. This is a critical meeting and we need your help to speak up and send comments in support of eliminating lead bullets in Condor range.
Send comments to fgc@fgc.ca.gov by February 22. For more information : http://ca.audubon.org/California_Condor.html The Commission will make its final decision by April 25th.
Audubon California Directs over $100K to Chapters
Audubon California recognizes the magnitude and value of conservation work undertaken by Chapters forwarding the Audubon mission. We send thank you’s and kudos to our Chapters. But even more, Audubon California has strived in the last year to direct funding towards Chapter- sponsored projects. Since June 2006, Audubon California has directed almost $120,000 in grants to 15 Chapters.
Many Chapters are benefiting from the Collaborative Funding grants awarded for the last two years. Collaborative funding is designed to support all types of Chapter projects as long as the project has some public outreach component. From reviewing applications for the collaborative funding, we realized there was an opportunity to help fund an acquisition effort by Buena Vista Audubon in Northern San Diego County with $10,000 we had in a special acquisition fund. Three Chapters are also working on pilot projects for a statewide Audubon at Home program funded through a $20,000 grant we received from the Packard Foundation.
The Packard Foundation awarded National Audubon with a $100,000 grant to solicit and fund Pacific Coast shorebird and seabird conservation projects at Important Bird Areas, from Alaska to Central America. From a pool of 15 competitive proposals, Audubon California was able to help secure funding for three California projects at IBA sites. $8,000 will go to San Diego Audubon for Least Tern Restoration, $12,000 to Mendocino Coast Audubon for the Save our Shorebird program to hire a coordinator to work with State Parks on a Snowy Plover program, and $12,000 will go to Santa Barbara Audubon for Invasive Plant removal in Snowy Plover nesting habitat at Coal Oil Point. We are also assisting Santa Barbara Audubon with a $40,000 grant to support the Coal Oil Point reserve.
We look forward to finding more ways to continue to support the important conservation work of California Chapters.
Recent E Coli Outbreak Threatens Farmland Habitat and Water Quality
 The outbreak of e.coli in spinach and lettuce crops in September was big news across the country. How is the e.coli relevant to conservation and Audubon?
In California, lots of habitat conservation takes place on farms. In the past two decades, conservation has advanced on farm wildlife conservation through programs that promote hedgerows and riparian habitat restoration alongside irrigations ditches.
In the aftermath of the e.coli outbreak, food processors are putting pressure on farms to use “clean farming” practices that require wiping the soil clean of living organism, clearing hedgerow plants, and use of rodenticide. These practices stand to reverse the progress of programs like Audubon’s Landowner Stewardship Program that has restored nearly 50,000 acres of riparian, wetland and native perennial grasslands habitat on farms and ranches.
To learn more about the real threats and solutions for food safety, read more here: http://ca.audubon.org/docs/ecoli.pdf
5th Annual Western Snowy Plover Conference hosted by Audubon California
 Over 90 participants from federal and state agencies, six Audubon California chapters, PRBO Conservation Science and other non-profits, and volunteers from Washington, Oregon, and California came to a three-day workshop sponsored by Audubon California at the San Francisco Zoo on January 24-26. This meeting is held annually in an effort to increase coordination and collaboration on the recovery of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover. Among other issues discussed was closer coordination among snowy plover monitoring programs, sharing information on outreach programs, predator management, and how to develop stronger relations between Audubon chapters.
Research by PRBO reveals the Snowy Plovers in Washington, Oregon, and CA declined about 20% between late 1970’s and 1980s, associated with changes in habitat availability. The Pacific Coast population of the Western Snowy Plover was subsequently listed as federally threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1993. A recovery plan, drafted in 2001, addresses a 3-part strategy to increase the population: 1) habitat loss, degradation, and restoration, 2) predator control, and 3) human-related disturbance. Because threats vary throughout the plover’s range, management is conducted on a regional level. Since listing, threats have been reduced by active management and protection of local populations.
The current population estimate of the U.S. Pacific coast is 2,334 adult birds, based on the 2005 breeding season survey (Gary Page, PRBO, 2005). Although numbers of snowy plovers have increased slightly since listing, the birds are still at risk from habitat loss and fragmentation, predation, and disturbance. While some sites continue to increase in numbers, birds are still absent from many other locations throughout their historic range.
With collaborative efforts and the hardwork and dedication of hundreds of people, success stories of increasing numbers at snowy plover breeding or wintering sites were highlighted across the region. However, in order for the Snowy Plover to reach its recovery goal, it is clear that a strong and coordinated network of agencies, non-profits, and volunteers will continue to be a crucial component of increasing population numbers and protecting breeding and wintering sites.
Update on Wind Power Guidelines
 The California Energy Commission, working with the California Department of Fish and Game, Audubon California and wind industry representatives released Draft Guidelines to help reduce the impacts of wind energy development on birds and bats. These voluntary guidelines, designed to be used by local government such as cities and counties, will include pre-and post-construction monitoring protocols and suggested mitigation strategies. The Commission released the Draft Guidelines to reduce impacts on birds and bats on December 22. The CEC has received such extensive public comment and suggestions for revisions, including many comments from Audubon leaders at the February 5th workshop in Oakland, that it plans to release a second draft of the Guidelines later this spring. It hopes to adopt final guidelines by the end of summer. To view the Draft Guidelines, go to http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/06-OII-1/index.html.
Upcoming Birding Events
2007 Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival, formerly the Biofest, celebrates an area that has garnered international recognition for its natural diversity. Friday-Monday, April 27-30, 2007 sponsored by Audubon California Kern River Preserve. http://kern.audubon.org/bioregion.htm, or contact: Alison Sheehey at krpfriends@lightspeed.net , (760) 378-2029.
The Aleutian Goose Festival, Crescent City, CA March 30-April 2, 2007
Choose from 80 guided birding, nature and heritage excursions, featuring coastal lagoon, river and ocean trips; and a coastal fly-off spectacle of 30,000 once-endangered Aleutian Canada Geese. http://www.aleutiangoosefestival.org/
Heron Festival and Wildflower Brunch, Kelseyville, CA
April 22-23, 2006
Celebrate the Great Blue Heron return to their nesting sites around Clear Lake. Activities include pontoon boat rides to view the heronry and guided kayak trips to view birds on Kelsey Creek. Contact: Redbud Audubon Society or call 1.800.525.3743
California Chapter Coordinator
– Chapter Coordinator
Audubon California
4225 Hollis Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 601-1866 x (extension) 3
(510) 601-1954 Fax
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