March 2001            Volume 31            Number 6

March Program

Nebraska Sandhills
by Stephen Jones
Recently, I stood on a wind-sculpted ridge with a friend, a Native American holy man, admiring the surrounding countryside and reflecting on its hypnotic appeal.  ‘The Sandhills,’ he said, ‘is the most sacred of all places.  It’s where our spirit goes to rest when we die.’  As we stood there with the wind whipping through our hair and nothing visible but grass, water, and sky, I knew his words were true.”  Stephen Jones brings the vast but fragile expanse known as the Nebraska Sandhills to life in an unforgettable collection of essays in his recent book, The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal.

Celebrated as one of the most visually stunning of American landscapes, the Nebraska Sandhills are the largest remaining relic of the majestic prairies that once extended from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains.  For our March program, Stephen Jones will introduce us to the Nebraska Sandhills through slides and descriptions of its natural history—dancing prairie-chickens, courting fireflies, the annual migratory flight of a half-million sandhill cranes, along with historical accounts of the trailblazing homesteaders, range wars, and devastating storms.  Steve will tell us about the recent efforts to save the Niobrara River from dams and developers.  Most of all, he will share his special experience of this place in which one can walk for miles through shoulder-high grass or sit on a hill for hours with only the cry of the curlew and the hiss of the wind for company.

Stephen Jones is a Boulder teacher, naturalist, and environmental consultant. He has written extensively about Colorado wildlife, and he helped organize and carry out the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas project. He also organized the Boulder County Nature Association wintering raptor and small owl studies. He currently teaches bilingual high school equivalency classes for Boulder Valley Public Schools and field ecology classes for the Boulder County Nature Association. Besides “The Last Prairie,” Steve is co-author of “The Shortgrass Prairie,” Boulder County Nature Almanac,” and “Colorado Nature Almanac.”

Come to the March meeting of the Fort Collins Audubon Society, prepared to buy an auto-graphed copy of Stephen Jones book, The Last Prairie: a Sandhills Journal.  Twenty percent of the cost of his book will go to the Fort Collins Audubon Society to help with nature projects in the Fort Collins area.

WHEN: Thursday, March 8, 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

New Challenges
I feel fortunate and honored to have been selected as President of the Fort Collins Audubon Society. I am also privileged to have a seasoned, thoughtful, and well-rounded Board of Directors, officers, editors, and committee chairs to help us keep the tremendous momentum of our group going. I cannot say enough about this hard-working crew, and I very much look forward to continuing my association with them over the next two years.

Our chapter has approximately 600 members, and in the coming years, we will face some new challenges. In June, we will begin a new Audubon dues-sharing policy, which will reduce the portion of dues our group retains for our activities. As our Board considers our 2001 budget, we will need to plan carefully with fewer outside resources. We will also be challenged to retain our existing members and to add new members. It is interesting to note that over 40 percent of our members have been with us more than five years, and 125 of our members have been with us for more than ten years! This speaks well of our organization.

Our chapter will also begin looking at the establishment of a nature center to serve the needs of the growing Northern Colorado Front Range community. In the coming months, we will be actively recruiting ideas and members to help us make the center a reality. Please contact me or any of our other directors or officers if you’d like to get more involved.

Conservation Corner
Bill Miller

National Wildlife Refuges Are in Crisis
Bird populations are plummeting worldwide, and in 99.9 percent of the situations, we are to blame. Deforestation, chemical pollution, diversion of water, introductions of exotic species, and even the “harmless” housecat are all causes of species declines.

Recently, National Audubon Society released a “Refuges in Crisis” report that you can read at http://www.audubon.org. The report tells the stories of ten wildlife refuges that are major national or international conservation priorities. It depicts a system facing critical threats from development, invasive species, and water pollution, which are destroying habitat and killing birds at alarming rates. These special places, set aside to be preserved and protected, are now in serious trouble and failing to protect bird species that are federally listed as threatened or endangered, or which are included in Audubon’s WatchList of species that could be headed for extinction. The 94-million-acre Refuge System, larger than the National Park System and roughly the size of Montana, is vital to birds and wildlife. Our refuges contain one-third of America’s remaining wetlands and protect more than 2,000 species of birds and other wildlife, including hundreds of threatened and endangered species.

The report states that the Refuge System faces a $1.6 billion backlog of operations and maintenance needs. “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. Hard working refuge professionals from across the country are crying out for help.”

“Refuges in Crisis” makes clear that we need to act now to save the treasures of our Refuge System: its spectacular scenic landscapes, the birds and wildlife that call it home, and the endangered species that find safe haven there. The report is a call to action to end the crisis in our National Wildlife Refuge System.

"On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.”  Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

A New Nature Center?

Fort Collins Audubon Society (FCAS) is forming a committee to draft a concept for a Nature Center to serve the needs of the growing Northern Colorado Front Range region. The first mission of this committee is to present several possible options (“visions”) to the FCAS Board. A Nature Center project requires a long-term commitment, but this is your opportunity to get involved from the very beginning!

If you are interested in joining this committee, please call or e-mail Nick Komar, 970-416-7527, nick.komar@juno.com.

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.