I haven't been here in a while. Have you missed me?I joined the board of directors of the Broward County Audubon Society, and getting to know these people has been real darned interesting. They are currently wrestling with their mission. One of my fellow board members wrote this and I decided this would be a really good place to share someone else's words. Especially, these words ...
Birds and Audubon
Bird watching is an enjoyable, economical hobby that is swiftly growing, and the Broward County Audubon Society is happy to welcome birders to our events. The focus of the Broward County Audubon Society is and always has been…..birds. In today's rapidly changing world, our focus is not changing, but it is broadening.
The Broward County Audubon Society has embraced five areas of advocacy:
- Land Conservation
- Water Resource Protection
- Growth Management and Transportation
- Wildlife Policy
- Global Warming
The common thread that ties these areas together is ….. birds. Global warming and the resulting climate change will, over time, affect every single living thing on the planet, but the birds of the world will be among the first to be affected.
Much has been said about the fate of the polar bears and their shrinking habitat. The Northern Pika has been pushed to the upper limits of its' mountain habitat. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the fate of our birds.
Wildlife habitat worldwide has been shrinking at an alarming rate through deforestation, building and development; clean farming, where the land is worked right to the fence lines, resulting in a loss of bird habitat, as well as a loss of floral species through changing climate.
Population growth and the growing need for transportation facilities to support the growth are responsible for habitat loss around the world. The need for food for the growing population leads to more deforestation and wetland loss. Today's trend towards aqua-culture is the number one cause for the present rate of decline in mangroves.
Wildlife policies throughout the world are changing as governments try to seek a compromise between the needs of wildlife and the needs of our growing population. In the US, there is a current movement to open previously protected areas to hunting, vehicular traffic, oil exploration and drilling, strip mining and the new craze, mountain top removal, where the tops of mountains are literally blown off to get to the coal beneath them. This blatant destruction does not stop with the aesthetic change; the spoilage fills adjacent valleys polluting or completely eliminating streams, destroying wildlife habitat, and leaving toxic wastes behind to affect all life.
Other sources of pollution have had a drastic effect on our waterways including air pollution that leads to acid rain, runoff from fertilizers, pesticides and polluted groundwater, much of which is finding its way into our aquifers. This not only affects our wildlife that utilizes the waterways, it also affects the human population.
These conditions are all brought about by man. All can be controlled, and all affect …..birds. Birds are an "indicator species," meaning that they will be among the first of species to be affected by global changes. Before the advent of the miner's safety lamp, canaries were used in coal mines to indicate the supply of oxygen. Canaries need a higher concentration of oxygen to survive than man does. When a canary died, it was time for people to leave the mine. Unless we make some drastic lifestyle changes soon, canaries will be dying around the world.
In the Broward County Audubon Society's advocacy programs, we are striving to bring about positive changes that will affect our global outlook and we, as birders, can present a united front and a voice that will be heard. Please join us in our quest to regain the diminishing habitat that our birds so desperately need.
Much has been said about the fate of the polar bears and their shrinking habitat. The Northern Pika has been pushed to the upper limits of its' mountain habitat. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the fate of our birds.
Wildlife habitat worldwide has been shrinking at an alarming rate through deforestation, building and development; clean farming, where the land is worked right to the fence lines, resulting in a loss of bird habitat, as well as a loss of floral species through changing climate.
Population growth and the growing need for transportation facilities to support the growth are responsible for habitat loss around the world. The need for food for the growing population leads to more deforestation and wetland loss. Today's trend towards aqua-culture is the number one cause for the present rate of decline in mangroves.
Wildlife policies throughout the world are changing as governments try to seek a compromise between the needs of wildlife and the needs of our growing population. In the US, there is a current movement to open previously protected areas to hunting, vehicular traffic, oil exploration and drilling, strip mining and the new craze, mountain top removal, where the tops of mountains are literally blown off to get to the coal beneath them. This blatant destruction does not stop with the aesthetic change; the spoilage fills adjacent valleys polluting or completely eliminating streams, destroying wildlife habitat, and leaving toxic wastes behind to affect all life.
Other sources of pollution have had a drastic effect on our waterways including air pollution that leads to acid rain, runoff from fertilizers, pesticides and polluted groundwater, much of which is finding its way into our aquifers. This not only affects our wildlife that utilizes the waterways, it also affects the human population.
These conditions are all brought about by man. All can be controlled, and all affect …..birds. Birds are an "indicator species," meaning that they will be among the first of species to be affected by global changes. Before the advent of the miner's safety lamp, canaries were used in coal mines to indicate the supply of oxygen. Canaries need a higher concentration of oxygen to survive than man does. When a canary died, it was time for people to leave the mine. Unless we make some drastic lifestyle changes soon, canaries will be dying around the world.
In the Broward County Audubon Society's advocacy programs, we are striving to bring about positive changes that will affect our global outlook and we, as birders, can present a united front and a voice that will be heard. Please join us in our quest to regain the diminishing habitat that our birds so desperately need.
Grant Campbell, Broward County Audubon Society
