Apr 2001 Apalachee Audubon Society Newsletter

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Apalachee AudubonThe Newsletter Of The Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.

April, 2001Vol. 101, no. 7 www.apalachee.org

Birdcall Hotline 513-1771

Program HighlightTuesday, April 24

Forest Management in the Apa-

chicola National Forest

Chuck Hess will discuss the manage-

ment of the Apalachicola National For-est. What are the management objec-

tives and how can they be achieved?

How does this relate to our objectives

as stewards of the environment? On

Saturday, May 5, Chuck will lead a trip

in the Apalachicola National Forest

with an emphasis on forest manage-

ment. The Apalachicola National For-

est is the largest National Forest in

Florida, comprised of 564,961 acres on

gently rolling flat terrain, located south-

west of Tallahassee, FL.

Well meet at 8:00 am at the 1st Un-ion Bank across from the fairgrounds.

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Two editions back I challenged

Apalachee members to think about

the chapters role in our community

and region. A dozen folks wrote

back, and others pulled me aside at

our March meeting, to say they sup-

port greater involvement in local is-

sues, along with our continuing mis-

sion to educate people about birdsand wildlife habitats.

So, at the next board meeting just

prior to our monthly program, I will

recommend to the directors that we

focus our attention on our conserva-

tion program and set an activist

agenda identifying issues and pro-

jects to undertake as a chapter. You

may want to attend.

Such activities may address the

impact of Blair Stone Road on

Goose Pond, implementation of theBlueprint 2000 referendum, energiz-

ing the Big Bend Environmental Fo-

rum, nature-izing storm water ponds,

or just stopping by the court house

or city hall to let elected officials

know our 800 members care about

public decisions affecting our envi-

ronment.

Here are a few excerpts from

member comments I received:"A line from Sarah McLachlans

song Carnival plagues my mind: Have Ibeen wise to shut my eyes and play

along? Ive decided the answer must

be no. I am completely supportive...."

EH

"(We) drove Potts Road Sunday. It

has been widened and the trees and

bushes on the pond side are mostly

gone. We saw two red shouldered

hawks, a male anhinga and lots ofsmall birds on the other side. We

need to get together and do some-

thing." HG

"You can certainly add my name to

the list of people who are in the envi-

ronmental activism camp. I have no

interest in belonging to a (only) bird

watching club, although I do enjoy

going out with experts to experience

nature." BL

"I think yes, the local chaptershould become more vocal in matters

of conservation, growth and activism

to help protect what is left of our

unique community. We can no longer

look the other way while development

and mismanaged growth runs ram-

pant." JH

"I have lived in Tallahassee since

1982 and continue to be disturbed at

the lack of an overall design that at

least partially protects the canopy

roads and bird habitats. I do thinkwe need to ... develop a collective vi-

sion that our numbers and members

could all support. Yes, its time to

become activists...." DW

"To ignore the mechanisms that de-

termine the future of our natural envi-

ronment (allows) others to have con-

trol over the very reason we (are)

drawn together...the opportunity to

watch birds. The chapter needs to be

a voice at the local level.... We

should advocate for ecotourism andclean industry and ensure steward-

ship of our nearby St. Marks Wildlife

Presidents ColumnRefuge, Apalachicola National Forest

and nationally-significant Apalachicola

Bay estuarine ecosystem...." DA

"Although I am a quiet person and do

not usually express my opinions, I feel

strongly about this issue. We are all

aware that urban sprawl is rapidly

affecting the habitats and breeding of

our beloved birds, as well as that of all

wildlife. Can Audubon...sit idly by and

allow this to happen? I do not think

so." JF

"Our objective is to observe and

teach. What will we observe and what

will be the point in teaching when the

damage (to habitats) is already done?"

JDF

More to come.Jim Crews, President


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OfficersPresident:Jim Crews 567-8795

[email protected] President:Bob Cross [email protected]

Treasurer: Harvey Goldman [email protected]

Secretary:Ellen Shelton [email protected]

Board MembersLarry Thompson

[email protected] 681-2591

Marvin Collins 224-9549

[email protected]

Hans Van Tol 656-4039

[email protected] Daniels 894-4553

[email protected]

Bill Lowrie 962-4138

[email protected]

Committee ChairsConservation:Marvin Collins

Birdathon:Larry Thompson

Education:Ellen Shelton

Hospitality:Ed Gartner386-6543

Membership:Harvey Goldman

Newsletter: Val Weeks [email protected]

Publicity:Hans Van Tol

Past President/Field Trips:Jim Shelton942-5194 [email protected]

Ex-Officio, Sierra Liaison: Grayal Farr385-5732

The Apalachee Audubon newsletter is

published 8 times yearly (Sept.

May, except Dec.) by the Apalachee

Audubon Society, Inc., P.O. Box

1237, Tallahassee, FL 32302-1237.

This newsletter is printed on

partially recycled paper.

Mission Statement

Protection of the environment

through education, appreciation

and conservation

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The following folks joined us at the

end of December and in January. Wel-

come aboard and please join us at our

next program so we can meet you per-

sonally!Sandy Beck

Ms Debbie Burgess

Ms Margy Callaghan

Ms Kathy Cole

Ms Kay Crowell

Ms Sonjia Daymond

Sigrid Fain

Mr. & Mrs. Einer Gregoriussen

Ms Elizabeth B. Gregory

Jan Grove

Mr. Chad Hanson

G. Harris

Jean Hutchinson

S. Jacobs

Earline W. Knight

Connie Koenig

Mr. Paul Lamaster

Ms Nancy Lewis

Eric and Ann Lingswiler

Ms Nancy Long

E. J. Love

Ms Shari Magee

Ms Diane McGrath

Mr. Ben Ochshorn

Ms Margaret StallworthMr. Ross E. Tucker

Jo Vincent

Ms Angie Williams

Ms Bonnie Wright

If you have a friend whom you

think would be interested in becom-

ing a member there are a number of

ways you can introduce them to

Audubon. For example, you could

share your newsletter with them,

show them a copy ofAudubon

Magazine, or invite them to one of

our programs or field trips. Extra

copies of the newsletter are usually

available at the monthly membership

meetings. If they have access to the

Internet, perhaps the best way for

them to learn about us is to visit our

website at www.apalachee.org.

There they can find past newsletters,

a schedule of events, and a lot of

other information that may help them

decide to join us. They will also find

links to the sites for Audubon of

Florida and the National Audubon

Society to get a larger picture of

Audubon.

Submitted by Harvey Goldman -Treasurer and Membership Chair


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A couple of weeks ago the board was con-

tacted by Joanna Miller, a Coordinator of the

Clean Water Network, asking us to cosponsor a

petition protesting a change to the Florida Pol-

luted Waters Rule. The Clean Water Network

(CWN) is an alliance of more than 1,000 organi-

zations that endorse its platform paper, the Na-

tional Agenda for Clean Water, which outlinesthe need for strong clean water safeguards to

protect human health and the environment.

CWN includes a variety of organizations repre-

senting environmentalists, family farmers, rec-

reational anglers, commercial fishermen, surfers,

boaters, faith communities, environmental jus-

tice advocates, labor unions, and civic associa-

tions. (Website www.cwn.org) The following is

an excerpt of the information sent to us by Jo-

anna Miller.

The Polluted Waters or TMDL rule being

proposed by DEP is an attempt to standardize the

way waters are listed on the Impaired Waters

List. Currently there are over 700 waters on this

list that are in need of a clean-up plan. DEPs

new rule creates unreasonably high scientific

standards for the data collected on a body of wa-

ter so that many of the waters that are currently

listed will not meet these new requirements and

will be removed and neglected. Potentially, hun-

dreds of impaired water segments could be re-

moved from the polluted waters list, and any wa-

ter not on the list does not get a TMDL, or clean-

up plan. These new requirements are inconsistent

with the federal guidance and, in fact, Floridas rule

will be the precedent for the rest of the nation.

Clean Water Network and Earth Justice have had

several meetings with the DEP about the Polluted

Waters Rule with little success. We have decided

that we will have to file a rule challenge in which an

administrative hearing will take place. We are ask-

ing groups to sign onto this rule challenge for a

greater impact when we file. It makes a much

stronger statement to list the names of 50 organiza-

tions throughout Florida who oppose this rule than

it does to just say CWN doesn't like it.

With the help of our Internet listserver the board

was polled and we responded within a day. We

were able to quickly notify Joanna that Apalachee

Audubon would endorse the petition. The ability

for us to respond so quickly to an important request

is a good example of the value of the Internet to

public discourse and our participation in public af-

fairs.

Submitted by Bill Lowrie, Board Member


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Monthly meetings are free and open to the public. They are held at 7:00 p.m. at the UnitarianUniversalist Church in Tallahassee, 2810 North Meridian Road. Unless otherwise stated, field trips will depart

from the First Union Bank at 3400 S. Monroe Street (opposite the Fairgrounds). Note time of departure. For moreinfo, or to leave a message, call our activities hotline at 850-513-1771 or check out our web site at

http://www.apalachee.org/calendar.html.

3URJUDPV Programs begin with an informal social at 7:00 p.m., followed by the program at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday April 24 Chuck Hess will discuss forest management in the Apalachicola National Forest. What are our ob-

jectives and how can the forest best be managed to meet those objectives? How does this relate toour objectives as stewards of the environment? This is where its at, sportsfans.

Tuesday May 22 Spiders with Dave Gowan. Whats that big hairy thing crawling up my wall? Find out! If you havespiders to identify, bring them in.

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Saturday May 5 Chuck Hess will lead a trip in the Apalachicola National Forest with an emphasis on forest manage-ment. We'll meet at 8:00 a.m. at the 1st Union Bank across from the fairgrounds.The description for the field trip associated with the May 22ndprogram on Spiders by Dave Gowanis still unavailable and will be announced in the May newsletter.

Other Events

Friday April 20 to Saturday April 21 Welcome Back Songbirds and Earth Day. The annual celebration of Earth Day atWakulla Springs State Park begins with an Owl Prowl on Friday night and continues with boatrides, programs, and nature tours all day on Saturday. See our website www.apalchee.org fordetails.

Saturday April 21 to Sunday April 29 Apalachee Audubons annual Birdathon.

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Events

Saturday April 7 Longleaf Pine Loop - driving tour around Otter Lake in the Panacea Unit of the Refuge to learn

about longleaf pine, wiregrass, wildflowers, research, etc. that is happening in this valuableecosystem. Meet at the Otter Lake Picnic Area at 10 a.m. Joe White, leader.

Saturday May 19 Welcome Back Manatees festival at Fort San Marcos, sponsored by Humanatee.

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

Paid

Permit No. 30

Tallahassee, FL

Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.P.O. Box 1237

Tallahassee, FL 32302-1237

To check membership status, or to change address, call the National Audubon Society Office at 1-800-274-4201

Monthly Meetings, field trips, conservation activities and bird walks

Audubon Calendar

Documents

Apr 2001 Apalachee Audubon Society Newsletter