I am often dismayed at how little the general population knows about the world around them.  I suspect the curiosity is there and people, if given the opportunity, would like to learn more than they already know.  As members of Audubon I can’t help but think we are all interested in how the natural resources of our country, our state, our county, and our community are being managed.  At the September Annual Meeting we’ll have an opportunity to learn about the history and management of one our favorite birding areas, the Duck Creek Conservation Area.

            Combined with Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Crowleys Ridge, and some adjacent Ozark uplands, Duck Creek Conservation Area is part of the Mingo Basin Conservation Opportunity Area.  This area is one of the Audubon Societys’ Important Bird Areas so its’ management should be of particular interest to us. You may recall a few years back the Missouri Conservation Department proposed its’ Golden Anniversary Wetland Initiative project and restoring the Duck Creek and Mingo Basin areas was one of its’ primary objectives.

            To really understand the entire story of what they mean by restoration may be somewhat difficult since both Mingo and Duck Creek were restoration projects to begin with.  So I guess technically we could say they want to re-restore the area using modern engineering and current wildlife and fisheries science.  Add in the mix of competing user groups and you have a land managers’ ultimate challenge.

            The challenge is daunting. The goal is to “create conditions that lend themselves to a sustainable and environmentally sound ecosystem within the Mingo Basin;  this involves restoring some semblance of original flooding patterns and water flow  ..…re-placing acres of lowland forest, swamps and open barrens/bottomland prairie …..and conserving critical habitats for rare, threatened, and endangered species of plants and animal.”  All they have to do is come up with 25 billion dollars and figure out how to keep the hunters, fisherman, and wildlife enthusiasts happy while they re-rearrange the earth.

            The history of Duck Creek Conservation Area is a fascinating one and I encourage everyone to come hear the story.

Local Exploitation Versus Resource Protection: The National Park Service (NPS) is currently developing a new management plan for Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR).  If you’ve ever floated the pristine waters of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers or camped in their shady valleys, you already know what gems they are. But if you’ve floated them lately on a warm summer weekend you also are familiar with the problems of crowds, noise, nearby road traffic and, yes, even horse manure from the enormous trail rides that cross the rivers. What once was a tranquil river experience is being destroyed by overuse and exploitative misuse. Regrettably, some of our local politicians are responding to the demands of the worst offenders by asking the National Park Service to lessen their already weak regulations!!! In the name of “local control” these politicians would turn resource decisions over to concessionaires, ATV lobbyists, real estate agents and others whose only interest is their own pocket books. The same ‘local control’ philosophy has been attempted elsewhere: advocates for ski-mobiles in Yellowstone, gas drilling near Arches, and helicopter tours over the Grand Canyon all try to push the notion that nearby citizens are being denied access and/or jobs because of environmentalists.

Visitation of our nation’s park system far outweighs the attendance of all sports combined. The Park Service has a mandate for preserving and protecting the natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment of future generations. On behalf of EOAS, we have responded asking for greater regulation of recreational activities and more emphasis on remediation of the damage done from too many years of lax enforcement of existing laws. It’s not too late to let our senators and our state officials hear from you.

Sludge-In My Back Yard? When Doe Run started to clean up the old lead mine tailings in St. Francois County, they sought community involvement—they are getting plenty of that now! Some residents of Leadwood are complaining about inadequate lead removal from around houses. But an even bigger controversy concerns the use of biosolids—treated sewage sludge—being spread on the remaining piles as a means of promoting plant growth. There have been reports that raw fecal matter (from port-a-potty companies and from animal waste collection sites) is being dumped on the ground, and that the refuse then drains onto nearby residential properties. Although both the federal EPA and Missouri DNR approved the use of sludge, the Missouri Attorney General’s office is now investigating. Manure has been used as a beneficial fertilizer almost as long as agriculture has existed, but today’s sludge often contains hazardous chemical and metal components. Some studies suggest sludge can cause serious health effects. Power to the people of St. Francois County as they demand close oversight!

Midwest Climate Change—The Forecast Looks Bad! Up to now, the obvious effects of climate change in Missouri have not been readily apparent, but according to a report issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists we are in for some bad weather. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase at current rates over the next few decades, heat waves such as the 1995 Chicago event which killed hundreds could occur yearly. By the end of the century, if conditions don’t improve Missouri will experience more than 100 summer days with highs over 90 degrees and 45 days with highs over 100; winters and springs would become 20% wetter, escalating flood risk; warmer winters and a longer growing season would enable agricultural pests to expand their range. Missouri‘s global-warming emissions have grown more than any other Midwestern state since 1990.

There’s A Price to Pay: Missouri gets 80% of its electricity from coal, and AmerenUE has said rates for Missouri electric customers will rise 10 to 20 percent by 2015, and more in future years if Congress imposes carbon limits. Many would dispute these figures, pointing out that significant gains in alternative energy production could offset the anticipated costs. Missouri ranks third in the nation for new wind power generating capacity, and the price of solar installations is rapidly falling. Further, not included in the price hikes are the human health costs and the wildlife and environmental damage costs of ‘doing business the same old way’. The price of ineffective action will be extermination of many species and an uncomfortable habitat for all the rest, including our own, through many future generations.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON  (1785-1851) was not the first person to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America (Alexander Wilson has that distinction), but for half a century he was the young country’s dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, quickly eclipsed Wilson’s work and is still a standard against which 20th and 21st century bird artists, such as Roger Tory Peterson and David Sibley, are measured. Although Audubon had no role in the organization that bears his name, there is a connection: George Bird Grinnell, one of the founders of the early Audubon Society in the late 1800s, was tutored by Lucy Audubon, John James’s widow. Knowing Audubon’s reputation, Grinnell chose his name as the inspiration for the organization’s earliest work to protect birds and their habitats. Today, the name Audubon remains synonymous with birds and bird conservation the world over.

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY  Like it or not, you are affiliated with the National Audubon Society by belonging to our Chapter.  The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservancy. Incorporated in 1905, it is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. It is named in honor of John James Audubon, a Franco-American ornithologist and naturalist who painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America in his famous book Birds of America  published in sections between 1827 and 1838.  The society has many local chapters, each of which is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization voluntarily affiliated with the National Audubon Society, which often organize birdwatching field trips and conservation-related activities. It also coordinates the Christmas Bird Count held each December in the U.S., an example of citizen science Together with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it created eBird, an online database for bird observation.  Its main offices are in New York City and Washington, D.C. and has other state offices in about thirty states. It also owns and operates a number of nature centers open to the public, located at bird refuges, urban settings and other natural areas, as part of its mission to educate the public about birds and to preserve avian and other habitats.

AUDUBON MISSOURI Organized about nine years ago, AUDUBON MISSOURI is the arm of National Audubon Society within our state. Historically, Missouri was a member of the five-state West Central Region with headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska, where Ron Klataske and ED Pemleton served as our represemtatives to National Audubon. Later our state chapters were somewhat afloat until AUDUBON MISSOURI was organized about the turn of the century.  Roger Still was our first statewide executive working out of Jefferson City and later from Columbia.  Finally a state headquarters for AUDUBON MISSOURI was extablished with the construction of WILDCAT GLADES NATURE CENTER near Joplin.  At that location we are served lbyTony Robyn, executive director and National vice president and by Marcia Kay Foster, state office managaer.  The mission of AUDUBON MISSOURI is “To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.”

AUDUBON SOCIETY OF MISSOURI  established in 1901 (before National Audubon was organized).  ASM proudly remains separate from National Audubon, having been organized earlier.  This organization holds a spring meeting at a location noted for good bird habitat and holds a falll meeting at Lake of the Ozarks State Park in the fall.  Bill Reeves currently serves on the board of directors of ASM.  Bill, Bob Lewis and Steve Dilks have each served two-year terms as president of ASM.  Local Chapters around the state are: Burroughts Audubon, Kansas City; Columbia Audubon at Columbia; East Ozarks in our six-county area; Foour Seasons, Cape Girardeau; Greater Ozarks Audubon at Springfield; Midland Empire Audubon at St. Joseph; Ozaark Gateway Audubon, Joplin; Ozark Rivers Audubon at Rolla; River Bluffs Audubon, Jefferson City; Scenic Rivers Audubon, Poplar Bluff; and St. Louis Audubon Society.

EAST OZARKS AUDUBON SOCIETY Hey, that’s us.  We were organized in October of 1980 so next year we’ll be 30 years old.   We held our first organizational meeting at Farmington Methodist Church.  For a time we met at Ozarks Federal in Farmington but we moved back to our beginnings.  You know what we do if you read Bird’s Eye View.  If you haven’t participated in any of our Chapter Activities, this is your invittion.

Hey folks, all these Audubon organizations have their purpose.  You might just enjoy our approach to nature!