April 2001            Volume 31            Number 7

April Program

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge
by Gary Langer
Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge supports diverse wildlife habitats including sagebrush-grasslands, grassland meadows, willow riparian areas, and mixed aspen woodlands. Arapaho is situated at an elevation of 8,200 feet near the town of Walden, Colorado. Created in 1967, the refuge’s primary role is to provide suitable nesting and rearing habitat for migratory birds. It was created in part to offset losses of nesting habitats in the prairie wetland region of the Midwest. The Refuge supports at least 240 species of wildlife including moose, elk, deer, coyotes, badgers, and a host of passerine and raptor species.

This 24,804 acre refuge is one in a system of over 530 National Wildlife Refuges across the United States managed specifically for wildlife. With a backlog of $1.6 billion in unmet operations and maintenance needs, the national refuge system is facing a crisis. Hundreds of refuges have no staff and no visitor center, no signs, brochures or restrooms, no way to serve the public, and few avenues through which to aid resident wildlife populations.

The Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge is presently preparing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan that will guide its management over the next 15 years and is encouraging public participation in the plan’s development. Greg Langer, Manager of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, will talk to us about the refuge and its future. Following his presentation, Greg will be eager to hear our input and ideas. Those of us who have visited the refuge know of its special qualities. Here’s our chance to make our opinions heard.

Greg Langer earned a master’s degree from Colorado State University in Fish and Wildlife Management, and was formerly the assistant manager at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver.

WHEN: Thursday, April12, 7:30 pm

WHERE: Ludlow Room, Fort Collins Lincoln Center 417 West Magnolia Street

Fort Collins Audubon Society programs and field trips are free and open to the public

President's Message
Rick Harness

Spring is in the air, and changes are on the way for our chapter. The national Audubon organization has changed the rules for dues-sharing with the chapters to decentralize the administration of the certification process and help grow Audubon’s national membership. We expect the result to be lower dues for FCAS, so we will need to plan carefully as we fund our projects with less outside resources.

On a positive note, we will start working directly with Audubon of Colorado (AOC). The state board is the primary liaison between National Audubon and our chapter, and we are fortunate to have Ron Harden as our representative to AOC, letting us work more closely with Susan Kirkpatrick, AOC Executive Director, and her excellent staff. Recently, members from our chapter attended a legislative workshop sponsored in part by AOC. We are also working with AOC to develop a strategy for a nature center in Fort Collins. Our board established a committee last month, and we are looking for energetic volunteers! If you’re interested, please contact a board member.

We are also continuing to track national issues, such as drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and helping to put the environment in education. As I’m writing this from Arizona, I can hear a cactus wren calling outside my room. It’s time to get out and enjoy the sun before a stream of birders shows up at my door and scares my wife! She’s wary of Audubon as it is!

Special CSU Event: Gary Paul Nabhan

The Provost’s Lecture Series and Award for Interdisciplinary Environmental Achievement at Colorado State University will feature one of the American West’s more notable nature authors and ecologists. Gary Paul Nabhan, recipient of both a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and Pew Scholarship for conservation research, will discuss “Linking Cultural and Biological Diversity in Western North America” on April 6 at 4:15 p.m. in Room 146C of the Plant Sciences Building on Colorado State campus. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marie O’Neill at (970) 491-4697.

“When It Rains, It Pours!”
Not just a springtime phenomenon, it happens in our personal lives as well as within organizations. We have many items on the FCAS plate this spring:

EARTH DAY
Earth Day falls on Sunday, April 22, this year. The CSU Chapter of CoPirg is organizing Earth Day events at City Park on that date. We will have a booth at the event and can always use volunteers to help out. E-mail Bill Miller at 5mcorp@verinet.com or call him at 493-7693.

CLEANUP RESCHEDULED
After getting snowed out twice, cleanup of the Fossil Creek Wetlands will be Saturday, April 21, from 1 pm until approximately 3 pm. The City’s Natural Resources Department will provide trash bags and hauling. Please join us at the parking area on Trilby Road at the north end of the Wetlands, on the south side of Trilby Road, and immediately east of the railroad tracks that are between Lemay Ave on the west and Timberline on the east. Wear boots and gloves, and perhaps bring a rake or shovel.

POUDRE RIVERFEST
2001 This year Friends of the Poudre and Trees, Water, People are holding the Poudre Riverfest 2001. This event will replace the Poudre River Festival of years past and will take place on the weekend of June 2 and 3 at Heritage Park on the bank of the Poudre River behind the Aztlan Center. Riverfest 2001 will include a Rendezvous theme. Advertising will be appearing shortly.

RIVER CLEANUP
The river cleanup, organized by the Riverfest committee and supported by the City’s Parks and Natural Resources Departments, is scheduled for Saturday, May 19. Because of the number of people expected to participate, organizations have been asked to coordinate their own volunteers. If you wish to participate, please e-mail Bill Miller at 5mcorp@verinet.com or call him at 493-7693. Once we know the details, we will notify you about times and what portions of the river we’ve been assigned.

RIVERBEND PONDS
The restoration work and boardwalk extension at Riverbend Ponds is scheduled for Saturday, May 26. Details will be provided in the May issue of Ptarmigan.

FIELD TRIPS
FCAS is endorsing the Procession of the River Species during Riverfest. To that end, FCAS will be sponsoring numerous field trips from the end of March through the Riverfest itself. The field trips will provide participants an opportunity for a closer look at the Poudre River, as well as the wildlife and plant communities found along it, and will help to bring attention to both the Procession of the River Species and the Riverfest events in June. The field trips are announced elsewhere in this Ptarmigan.

Procession of the River Species

FCAS is endorsing this year’s Procession of the River Species, an event being put on by Audubon member Lynne Hull, and modeled after a similar procession in Olympia, Washington. The procession will be held during Riverfest on Saturday, June 2. Participants will produce their own masks and/or costumes that resemble one of the species of wildlife or insects found along the Poudre River Corridor and then march in the procession. This should be an enjoyable learning experience for folks of all ages and bring much-needed public attention to the wonderful resource we have flowing through our community, but which is under increasing pressure that may produce undesirable change.

Field Trips

Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds is now available online: http://www.birdzilla.com. Click on wild bird omnibus, enter a species name in the “Search” frame, and then click “Search.” In the screen for your selected species, click on the “Bent Life History” in the upper right corner for a thorough discussion of that species.

The Fort Collins Audubon Society meets at 7:30 P.M. on the second Thursday of each month, September through May, excluding December, in the Ludlow Room at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, 417 West Magnolia Street. Members and non-members are welcome at all meetings, field trips and special events.