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BEXAR
AUDUBON
SOCIETY
Volume XIV, No. 3
March, 1996
-8-EXAR
TR CK San Antonio
Texas
Reforming The Magnuson Fisheries
Conservation & Management Act
What is the Magnuson Fisheries Act?
The Magnuson Fisheries Conser­vation
& Management Act is the key
federal law that protects and manages
our living marine resources. Enacted
by Congress in 1976 to curtail foreign
overfishing near U.S. coasts, the Mag­nuson
Act created federal authority to
manage the nation's fisheries, and
claimed the area out to 200 miles from
shore as the Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) of the U.S.
While the Act successfully Ameri­canized
our fisheries, it has been less
successful in conserving the fish.
Today, of the nation's conuner­ciallyvaluable
fish species whose status
has been assessed, 57% are overfished.
Entire historic fisheries have collapsed
with the Act in place, devastating fish­ing
communities and damaging ma-rine
ecosystems. ·
Overfishing is compounded by the
problem of "bycatch" -the catching
and killing of non-target fish and other
marine wildlife (which in some fisher­ies
results in 80% of the catch thrown
back dead or dying) and by the de­struction
of essential fish habitat such
as wetlands and estuaries.
Making History
This year we have an unprece­dented
chance to turn all of this
around-in fact, we are halfway there.
Just last October, the strongest-ever
reauthorization of this law came out of
a Congress that many consider to be
Conserving the Ocean's Bounty
environmentally hostile. As a result of
almost three years of intense and or­ganized
grassroots pressure on Con­gressional
lawmakers to strengthen
and reform the Act so that it works for
conservation (Audubon played a major
role in this effort) the House passed
tough new overfishing, bycatch, and
habitat ' lan~~e in their bill, HR 39.
~~.··
·- "'- -~~ "' .... - ... -~·'t ... ~. ( "-·-- -·:..!_-- --~ ..... -
isla tor listens when he/she hears that if
our fisheries were rebuilt and man­aged
for long-term sustainability, they
would contribute 300,000 fishery-re­lated
jobs, and $25 billion to the overall
economy of the natim1.
While the economic fallout from
overfishing and the waste of fish was
of necessity a central part of our mes­sage,
we also reminded lawmakers
that fish are an integral part of complex
oc;ean ecosystems, and their depletion
may have far-reaching and unknown
consequences for both marine and 1m­man
environments.
But as we celebrate the only envi- .
ronmental victory to come out of this
Congress to date, our exuberance is
tempered by an awareness thatthe bat­tle
is only half over. The Senate is now
writing S 39, its version of the Mag­nuson
bill, and we are concerned that
without a strong show of support for
retaining the tough House languge,
our victory will be short-lived.
Special interests that would bene­fit
from maintaining the status quo are
putting pressure on Senators to
weaken the new Magnuson conserva­tion
language.
Key provisions of this revolution­ary
bill include language that, for the
first time, defines and prohibits over­fishing,
explicitly defines bycatch and
requires that bycatch be reduced (an
amendment added on the House floor
closes a loophole that would have ex­empted
Gulf of Mexico shrimpers from
new bycatch reduction language in the
Act that applies to all other fisheries),
and adopts an aggressive national fish
habitat protection program.
-Why Is This Important To You?
Why Did Congress Do This?
Because there is a clear link be­tween
healthy fish populations, jobs,
and the econo.my, and that is a connec­tion
this Congress understands. Even
the least environmentally sensitive leg-
The Gulf of Mexico supports the
second largest commercial fishery in
the United States. Shallow reef and
reef-like hard bottom sustains snapper
and grouper, while expansive salt
marsh wetlands and shallow estuarine
areas nurture shrimp, the basis of an
coiztinued on page 3
; . BEXAR AUDUBON SOCIETY
P. 0. Box 6084, San Antonio, TX 78209
210-822-4503
Chapter of the National Audubon Society
The Chapter's primary goals are to pro­mote
species and habitat conservation,
and environmental education
in the community.
OFFICERS AND BOARD
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Susan K. Hughes 531-1331: fax 531-1013
Harriet Wiygul 534-7505
Bill Sain 408-7731
Anita L. Reeves 308-9154
Walter Barfield 73 6-0 3 55
Claire Drenowatz 5 99-41 68
Jim Garriott 695-9510
Patty Leslie Pasztor 814-113 5
Katie Nava-Ragazzi 804-1116
Richard Pipes 181-1451
Bill Woller 696-31 86
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Birdathon Marge Lumpe 545-181.2
Conservation Richard Pipes 181-1451
Earth Day Dana Bohne 738-1341
Education Katie Nava-Ragazzi 804-1116
Hospitality Harriet Wiygul 5 34-7505
Membership Dan & Kristy Davis 609-5678 .
Natural Initiatives Harriet Wiygul 5 34-7505
Outings Patty Leslie Pasztor 814-1135
Programs Chris Dullnig 818-40 I 7
Publicity Susan K. Hughes 531-1331
Ways & Means Bill Sa in 408-77 31
Be.xar Tracks Editor Claire Drenowatz 599-4168: fax599-3545
CompuServe 73131.506
Bexar Tracks is your newsletter. We welcome
your contributions. Next paper (hard copy,
fax) deadline 3/23, e~ectronic (diskette, email)
deadline 3/29. Please send fax or email to
Claire Drenowatz, as above; diskettes and
hard copy should be sent to Claire at P. 0. Box
63137, San Antonio, TX 78247.
Bexar Audubon Society ge11eral meeti11gs are
held on 3rd Thursdays at 7:30 pm, at the
Ruble Center, 419 East Magnolia; board meet­i~
tgs usually 2nd Thursdays at 7:00.
I11troductory memberships to NAS, in­cluding
AUDUBON Magazine, cost only $20.
Send check to BAS (payable to NAS) at ad­.
dress above. Note chapter code W19, and
name, address, and phone number of new
member.
USEFUL NUMBERS:
800-659-2622 NAS Actionline
210-733-8306 Rare bird alert number.
210-227"6143 To report local water waste.
800-453-SMOG To report smoking vehicles
(License#, date, time & location
March 1996
March Meeting: Kills and Spills
Texas Parks & Wildlife Battles Pollution
Jack Ralph is the Field Response Coordinator for the Kills and Spills
Team at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In this capacity, he helps
coordinate the agency role and response during major fish kills and
pollution events throughout the state. ,
Ralph will discuss the teari1's duties, in addition to pollution issues in
Texas and the differences between professional and public perception of
pollution problems.
Ralph earned a BS in aquatic biology and MS in chemical limnology
from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He has served 17
years with the agency: as a regional pollution biologist, director of the
agency analytical laboratory, and, as part of his present job, restitution
coordinator. '
He is past chair of the American Fisheries Society Pollution Commit­tee,
coauthor of the fish kill counting guidelines used by more than half
of the states in the U.S., and author of numerous articles and reports.
Meeti11g Specifics: Monthly meeting of Bexar Audubon Society,
Thursday, March 21, 7:30pm. Free and open to the public. Refreshments
available prior to the meeting, at 7:00. Come early to socialize. For more
information, call822-4503. · '
Co11servatio11 Committee: meeting at 6:00pm at the Ruble Center.
Locatio11: Ruble Center, 419 E. Magnolia (between McCullough and
!-37, Hwy 281). Nearest freeway exit i..o:; North St. Mary's, off Hwy. 281.
Public Tra11sportatio11: VIA Route 5 (St. Mary's-McCullough-North
Star Mall) to Magnolia Street.
March Outing Almost Full
On March 23 & 24 (Saturday & Sunday) we will head to Val Verde
County, north of Del Rio, to explore Devil's River State Natural Area.
We will visit the Devil's River springs and
possibly see some Indian pictographs. Trans-Pe­cos
Texas should be beautiful this time of year!
The bunkhouse where some of us are stay­ing
is just about full. We have a few slots avail­able
for camping out. Conservation passport is
required.
Call Patty Leslie Pasztor soon at 824-1235, to
sign up or be ~laced on a waiting list. ••••••••••
leon Valley Earthwise living Day: Fun for All
On Saturday, February 24, several BAS volunteers staffed our booth
at the very popular community environmental fair. Thanks go out to our
dogged helpers Cathy Newman, Marcus Beyerle, Ann Atwell, Dori::;
Townsend .
Together we handed out hundreds of newsletters, kids' activity hand­books,
diverse brochures, and sold a few fundraising items. Many families
and teachers stopped by our booth to chat about recent bird sightings,
with questions on wildlife-friendly gardening, and asking about our
ed ucatim1 activities.
We hope to see some of the faces we met that day at future meetings
and events, and on outings. It was a real pleasure participating in such a
well-planned, upbeat, and fascinating fair. Join us next time!
1
-Katie Nava-Ragazzi
Education Chair
Bexar Tracks
I l
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Magnuson Act: cont'd from page 3
industry worth approximately
$400 million per year. Mackerel and
other coastal pelagics (fish that mi­grate
through the open ocean),
drum, croaker, and spiny lobster
are other commercially important
Gulf species.
Unfortunately, overfishing
and inadequate management,
compounded by a high level of fish
bycatch in the shrimp fishery
(more than 4 pounds of nontarget
finfish to one pound of shrimp),
have severely depleted many
populations including king mack­erel,
bluefin tuna, red snapper,
Nassau grouper, jewfish, red
drum, and pink shrimp. The di­verse,
once-productive ecosystems
of the Gulf of Mexico are in tr_ouble,
and a united effort is necessary to
preserve this system for this and
future generations of naturalists
and fishermen alike.
Fixing the Problem
To reverse these problems, it is
critically important that the land­mark
provisions in the Hous.e bill
(HR 39) be retained by the Senate
in their bill, S 39. Texas Senators
need to hear that their constituents
want thriving fisheries and healthy
marine habitats.
Call or write your Senators
asking them to stop overfishing by
using ecological and biological in­formation
to set catch limits, and to
pass the same language passed in
the House regarding over~shing,
time limits for rebuilding of de­pleted
fish populations, and the
definition of optimum yield; tore­quire
each fishery management
plan to include measures to re­duce/
prevetlt bycatch of nontarget .
and prohibited species and to pro­vide
incentives for gear modifica­tions
that promote clean .fishing;
and, to protect essential fish habitat
by ensuring that alt' life stages of
fish governed by the Magnuson
Act are protected.
. We believe the Magnuson Act
is the single most important piece
of marine environmental legisla­tion
that will come out of Coi1gress
in this decade, and the time to
move on'it is now!
With adoption of strong provi­sions
that address the problems
plaguing our fisheries, S :w will be­come
a solid bill and will help tn
conserve our diverse · ocean life,
create jobs for thousands,'provide
healthy recreation for millions, and
sustaili coastal communities for
generations.
Write to Hon. Phil Gramm &
Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison,
United ·states Senate, Washington
DC 20510; phone 202-224-3121.
Senator Hutchison's e-mail ad­dress
is senator@hutchison.sen­ate.
gov (Gramm doesn't have
email).
- Marilyu Englaud
Living Oceans, National Audubon
Society, 550 South Bay Ave, Islip,
NY 11751; e-mail:
mengland(rl)audubon.org
Support Ginton's Vet9
As the budget debate heat.:: up again with the Continuing Resolutions
expiring on March 15, a critical ·element is still being ignored by the
media-the fact that the funding bills that President Clinton has vetoed
all include back-door dismantling of our environmental laws. The greatest
number of threats to the laws that Auduboners care rrwst about, habitat
prote~tion laws, occur in the Interior Approprjations hilt
Please write, call, or e-mail the President, while 'he is considering
reaching a deal on the Interior Appropriations bill.
Contact the White House by phone: 202-456-1111 (9am - 5pm EST),
fax: 202-456-2883; or email: president@whitehouse.gov; or by mail, Presi­dent
Bill Clinton, The White House, Washington, DC 20500
Bexar Tracks
Rshy Facts
Aside-from the effects on humans, the fishing
industry affects birds and other wildlife:
Overfishing ·
• The Aiaskan pollock fishery leads the
world in volume of fish caught in a single
fishery. Pollock is the main ingredient in
"sea legs," a crabmeat substitute. It is also
the num her one food item of Steller's :;;ea
lions in· the Gulf of Alaska and Bering
Sea. Steller's sea lion populations de­dined
85% between 1960 and 1992 .
• During the 1980's, Arctic terns on the
Shetland Islands experienced wholesale
breeding failure season after season,
with young birds dying of starvation.
Overfishing of sandeels, their primary
food source, was implicated as a cause.
Bycatch
• h) the world's conl.mercial fisheries, one
of every four animals taken from the sea
is "unwanted." In 1992in the Bering Sea,
fishers· discarded 16 million red king
crabs, keeping only about 3 million.
• The shrimp fishery is among the world's
most' wasteful. In the Gulf of Mexico,
shrimpers catch more than 4 pounds of
finfish for every one pound of shrimp: 35
million red snapper, 5 millionpounds of
Spanish mackerel, 4 billion longspine
porgy, and 13 billion Atlantic croaker,
wasted each year. Only 16% of each
hourly catch is shrimp! (Source: National
Marine Fisheries Service)
• In the Pacific longlir\e fisheries, albatross
are killed in tremendous numbers be­cause
they frequently grab at bait on
longlin'es set for tuna. Such losses
threaten the survival of several species.
Habitat
• In the Pacific Northwest, loss of habitat
to abusive logging and agricultural prac­tices,
and destruction of spawning
streams by dams and diversions are pri­mary
causes of the decline and extinc­tion
of salmon populations. The Timber
Salvage Rider-logging without
laws-which would increase cutting in
some ·coastal forests, poses a significant
threat to currently healthy salmon
spawning and rearing streams.
March 1996
CHAPTER NEWS
President's Annual Report to Members
Another successful year for your
chapter is now history. Ylmr board
hopes you will review this report and
that you will continue to participate in
ensuring the preservation and enjoy­mentofnature
during the coming year.
Challenges continue to loom large, but
the benefit._o:; easily outweigh the costs.
Programs, Outings, and Education
Chris Dullnig provided infonna­tive
and entertaining programming.
Topics were infrastructure develop-
111et1t, Planlt Texas, backyard habitat,
an informal dialog on takings, natural­and
cultural-based resource planning,
the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail,
rap tor migration, Texas horned lizards,
the Mexican wolf reintroduction plan,
the forgotten landscap~ of San Anto­nio,
and our annual holiday member
slide-show. Door prizes were awarded
at all program meetings. Our annual
planning meeting was held in August.
Outings organized by Patty Leslie
Pasztor included visits to the Chaparral
Wildlife Management Area, Last
Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conser­vancy,
Cibolo Wilderness Trail, the
Audubon watercolor exhibit in Hous­ton
linked with birding on the Katy
Prairie, Aransas National Wildlife Ref­uge,
Colorado · Bend State Park,
Mitchell Lake, Hawk Watch at Hazel
Bazemore park in Corpus Christi,
Golden-cheeked warbler walk at Frie­drich
Wilderness Park, and butterfly
migration on the Frio River.
In Birdathon news, the chapter
again mounted a successful fund-raiser
under the direction of Marge Lumpe.
Proceeds from Birdathon benefit the
Southwest Regional Office and sup­port
Audubon Adventures classrooms.
The Audubon Adventures curricu­lum
reached more than sixty class­rooms
this· school year, an increase of
about 20 percent over 1994. Special
contributions from members, as well as
memorials, contributed to our ability to
increase support. Katie Nava Ragazzi
has assumed chairmanship of the com­mittee
from Betty Minyard, who, we
are happy to report, continues to work
March 1996
with the Audubon Adventures pro­gram.
Sp~akers were provided this
year to schools, as well as community
groups, on topics from backyard habi­tat
and birding to takings legislation.
BAS continues its monthly Second
Saturday programs at Friedrich Wil­derness
Park, under the leadership of
Bill Woller, with subjects such as herpe­tology,
archaeology, butterflies, native
planlo:;, star gazing, bats, and endan­gered
species.
The BAS telephone, which pro­vides
callers a recording about outings,
programs, community events, and
other information about birds and
wildlife, moved this year, but the
number remains the same. Thanks to
Thelma Nungesser for being the "voice
of BAS" for many, many years.
Conservation and Communication
Conservation, under the direction
of Dick Pipes, was again concerned
with national, state ~ and local issues.
Locally we dealt with water and air
quality, drainage, water reuse, Mitchell
Lake, tree preservation, open space,
trat:tsportation planning, Camp Bullis
uses, Kelly restoration, City Public
Service generation planning, environ­mental
justice, and more. Many people
dedicated many hours of their per­sonal
time to represent your interests
on these issues.
The Texas Legislature was in ses­sion,
and BAS commented on issues
such as Edwards Aquifer management,
wildlife license plate bill, ad valorem
tax exemption for wildlife manage­ment,
water quality, pesticide regula­tion,
canned hunts, and other issues at
the state level. Members turned out for
a "Stand Up for Texas" rally in Austin,
and members of the board held a meet­ing
with the editorial board of the
Express-News on the takings issue.
Nationally, we continued to moni­tor
issues such as the Endangered Spe­cies
Act (members attended the House
hearings in Boerne), the Magousson
Fisheries Act, takings legislation, wolf
reintroduction (members attended
Austin hearings), and the like.lt seems
4
there are so many opportunities for
speaking out.
We again had twelve action­packed
issues of our excellent newslet­ter,
Bexar Tracks. Thanks to our editor,
Claire Drenowatz. Putting out a
monthly newsletter is an enormous
job, and we truly appreciate her efforts,
as well as those of the volunteers who
do the labels and prepare the mailings.
At Work in Coalition
The chapter sponsored a day-long
workshop entitled "Property Rights
and Takings: an Urban Perspective,"
which featured a national slate of
speakers on this troubling and confus­ing
topic. The workshop was co-spon­sored
by the League of Women Voters.
The Natural Initiatives program
continues apace with many activities in
1995. Coordinator Barb DeLuca de­parted
San Antonio this year, but left a
broad-based initiative with consider­able
momentum. This community­based
public-awareness program for
the San Antonio area promotes urban
habitat creation and represents the co­operative
efforts of many local groups.
A very successful full-day work­shop
and yard tour was held in the fall,
and the group also received kudos for
landscaping at the two Parades of
Homes. Offering technical assistance
on "wildscaping" to a builder for the
traditional Parade of Homes resulted in
awards for best site design, best land- ·
scape, and people's choice.
In December, the group ·volun­teered
to landscape a yard in the East­side
Parade of Homes. With volunteer
labor and donations of materials from
a wide array of vendors, the Natural
Initiatives crew garnered best site de­sign
and best landscape honors and
provided the new homeowner a wild­life
friendly yard to be proud of, and to
set an example for the neighborhood.
BAS, with leadership from Jim
Garriott, sustained the San Antonio En­vironmental
Network, spearheaded so
many years by Susan Rust. SAEN con­titmes
to provide' valued services to the
local environmental community. Last
Bexar Tracks
LOCAL & CHAPTER NEWS
President•s Annual Report, Continued
year's program topics were the Mitchell
Lake wetlands, sustainable building,
the Kelly AFB pollution prevention
program, and air quality.
BAS members participated in the
Rangeland Environmental Issues Fo­rum,
fostering cooperative efforts to
address rangeland, habitat preserva­tion,
and endangered species issues. I
spoke at the local meeting of REIF in a
discussion on common grouhd.
BAS participated, in community
events including Viva! Botanica, the '
Leon Valley Earth Wise Living Day,
Earth Day kick-off at Whole Foods, a11d
Earth Day itself. Harriet Wiygul and Bill
Sain were particularly influential in en­suring
Earth's Day's success in its first
year as an official Fiesta event.
The Bexar Land Fund was merged
with the Hill Country Foundation.
Planning and Funding
A long-range planning commith;e ·,
inet put its work is not yet complete.
Once again, we have an excellent board
and dedicated committee chairs and
other volunteers ... but more are
needed to help us implement programs
and projects that remain on our" wish"·
list for now.
We surveyed the members and
learned valuable information from
those who responded. We sent new
members questionnaires in September
and will continue periodic surveys.
The chapter held a yard sale in the
. fall to raise money for operating ex-
. penses. The World Wildlife Fund pro­vided
a $1000 grant to offset the
expenses of the property rights confer­ence,
and the Wray Trust awarded the
chapter two grants at the dose of the
year: $2000 for operating expenses and ·
$500 for a rancher-environmentalist
colloquium, which is planned for later
in 1996. Through the Audubon Foun­dation
of Texas the chapter received a
grant to assist board members partici­pating
on the CompuServe network, as
well as a new answering machine for
the chapter.
BAS members participated actively
in Audubon Council of Texas, holding
Bexar Tracks
offices of Conservation Chair (Dick
Pipes), and board members at large
(Pipes and Hughes). In September I
was elected president of ACT, Dick
Pipes was elected Vice President, and
Bill Sain was elected to an at-large po­sition
on the ACT board. Our official
chapter delegates to ACT were Claire
Drenowatz and Harriet Wiygul. BAS
member Barb DeLuca did a 2-day lead­ership
training program for ACT on
presentation skills.
Members of the board attended
meetings as ,part of the strategic plan­ning
process, including the NAS board
of directors meeting in Kearney, NE,
and multiple meetings in Austin. I par­ticipated
in a worJsshop to determine
the strategic direction of the NAS popu­lation
program at the Audubon Ceriter
in Greenwich, Connecticut. 'The BAS
board had an inf<1rmal meeting with
NAS Population Program Director Pat
Waak, here jn San Antonio.
Passing the Gavel
Many of you attended meetings,
enjoyed outings, and volunteered to
help. MaJ1 y of you faithfully read Bexar
Tracks and take action on items where
citizen support is needed.
We appreciate each and every one
of you and urge you to continue to
support the chapter at whatever level
you can-with your membership, your
additio'nal contributions, your time,
your energy, and your cm1m1itment to '
the hatural world we all treasure.
This is my Jm;t message to you as
. presidei1t of BAS. It i1as be~n my privi­lege
to serve you for two very busy
years. I now pass the gavel to my friend
Harriet Wiygul.with my hopes that she
will find this position as stimulating
and gratifying as I have.
As a parting note (though I don't
intend to wander far from BAS), I want
. to share with you the preamble to the
NAS 1995 Strategic Plan. Carry them
with you, please, through 1996 . . . and
beyond. If we can achieve this, we will
have achieved 111,uch:
- Susan K Hughes
March 2, 19961
5
Pre,amble to NAS Strategic Pla11, 1995
The mission of the National
Audubon Society is to conserve andre­store
natural ecosystems, focusing on
birds, other wildlife, and their habitats
for the benefit of humanity and the
earth's biological diversity. Yet tran­scending
this mission is an ideal: a
world where the conservation ethic is
automatic, not coerced. Conservation
cannot be limited to a few individuals
or organizations. To preserve the bio­logical
diversity of this planet-hmilan­ity's
ecological inheritance, which is
being so rapidly dissipated-conserva-
, tion must be an attribute common to all
-people. We envision a world where 1m­mankind
accepts the obligations of be­ing
part of nature, especially the
obligation of stewardship. We seek to
shape a culture in which the violation
of nature is socially, politically, and
morally mi.acceptable. In short, we seek
a culture of conservation and an envi­ronmental
ethic.
Audubon works toward a future in
which public policy and individual
choice are framed by environmental
consciousness and sensitivity. We work
toward a future where environmental
conflict and divisivene::;s are sup­planted
by cooperation ~nd respect; a
future where debate and dialogue are
shaped by environmental literacy, not
by political rhetoric and dogma; a fu­ture
where economic strategies are not
simply sustainable but environmen­tally
restorative as well; a future where
nature is a common, not a special, inter­est;
a future distinguished by the har­mony
of environmental, social, and
economic concerns.
We recognize that this culture of
conservation is only a concept, a vision.
A true cultural transformation may be
decades in the evolution, but we are not
afraid to begin. We aspire, therefore, to
germinate and nurture a global society
bound together by a commitment to
resource conservation and a passionate
respect for natur.e. Toward this
end-toward speeding t11e birth of a
. culture of conservation-we invest our
hopes, our labors, and our dreams."
March 1996
Backyard Watch
Carolina Wren
During one of our frequent visits to the Big
Red Nature Store, we came home with a new
bird feeder to add to our collection. We had, in
the past, used only black-oil sunflower seeds
and were very successful in attracting a wide
variety of birds.
Our new Birdola Feeder was an attempt to
diversify. It holds Birdola Bird Feed Cakes which
contains sunflower oil seeds, safflower, peanuts,
and white proso millet held together in a block
by gelatin.
Within a few days we started seeing a
number of new birds in our yard.
One of these new birds had a distinctive call,
often described a several variations of"teakettle,
teakettle, teakettle, tea".
I heard this call and looked out to see a
Carolina wren sitting on our rear fence, happily
singing away. It is amazing how such a loud
sound comes from so small a bird.'
According to "The Birds of Texas," by John
Tveten, " ... as many as 40 different versions of
their song ... " have been reported. Pairs often
sing in duet and nearby wrens may join in.
The Carolina wren is described in various
field guides as large as a small sparrow. It has a
rufous or rusty red back and huffy below. It also
has a white throat and a distinctive white stripe
above and behind the eye.
They do not migrate so can be found in the
area year-round. They are territorial and their
nests can be found in a variety of locations.
These include trees, in matted vegetation close
to the ground, stumps, roots of fallen trees and
man-made structures. Their nests have been
found in a number of strange locations, includ­ing
hanging baskets of flowers, barbecue grills,
tin cans, mail boxes, and (according to the Na­tional
Audubmz Society Field Guide to North
American Birds, Eastern Region) in pockets of
coats hanging on clotheslines. "
Next time you hear something calling for a
teakettle, grab your binoculars and head for the
window. There is a Carolina wren visiting and
may be eyeing your laundry as a potential
homesite.
-Bill Sain
Vote!
March 1996
BIRD TALES
Audubon On-Line -New Texas Lists
Thanks to Phil Schaefer (NAS-NY) and Ted Eubanks (our regionally­elected
Board member) we now have two list-servers for Texas. The first
is for conservation information and environmental legislative communi­cations.
You simply send a message to sign up, and then you will receive
everything that is posted on the list server. This will take the place of Texas
news in the Compuserve SW Regional Business Forum, and we will post
the Electronic News and Muse items there.
To suscribe, send a message to
majordomo@igc.apc.org
Do not put anything in the subject area (or if your program requires
a subject, place a period (.) only), and in the message say "subscribe
audubon-texas"
AND-TexBirds is now on-line, an electronic way to di.'ltribute Texas
rare bird alerts and bird sightings and to discuss birding topics in Texas.
'fexBirds is devoted exclusively to conversations about birds and birding
for Audubon members in Texas. The listservercan distribute rare bird alerts
and updates almost instantly throughout Texas. To be added to the list,
send an email message with the subject line blank (or as above) to
majordomo@igc.apc.org
and the message as follows
subscribe audubon-texas-birds
Backyard Noises
Heard a strange sound in my yardJast week (I do not pretend to be
very good at bird calls-yet-but I do know the soundsof the regulars at
my feeders). There was a small flock of dark birds scouring the lawn near
the tray feeder, and at first I thought they were starlings. But they didn't
sound right. They were just as argumentative, but chirrupy, too.
So I checked again an hour later. It must be ·spring. They're red­wingedblackbirds,
the ones with both yellow and red shoulder patches,
chowing down on the black oil sunflower seeds, everyone's favorite.
The blackbirds are almost as exuberant at bath-taking as the starlings,
who arethe champs around here. Back when the weather was down to 20
degrees and the birdbath froze solid, I put out pans of water on top of the
ice and kept changing them as they froze. MOST birds just came in for a
drink. Not the starlings. They cavorted and splashed as noisily and enthu­siastically
as if it were 100 degrees outside.
- Claire Drenowatz
6 Bexar Tracks
LOCAL & CHAPTER NEWS
Plan Ahead for Earth Day I 996
Plan now to spend Saturday, April20, in San Pedro Springs Park, at
the annual Earth Day Celebration, featuring
• Food and drink
• Games
• Music
• Informational booths
• Special fun for kids
• All-species costume parade
• And a whole lot more.
Volunteers interested in helping on the day of the event should attend
a volunteer organizational meeting on Thursday, Aprilll, at fi::\0 pm, at
the Ruble Center, 419 E. Magnolia.
Help spread the word. Pick up tiny flyers printed on recycled paper
and post them on bulletin boards all over town. They're available at Whole
Foods Market, and at the Bexar Audubon generalmeet}ng on March 21.
Related activities
Monday, April!, 8 am- 10 pm, 5% day to benefit Earth Day at Whole
Foods Market. 5% of all sales will be donated to help pay Earth Day
expenses-the more you spend, the more they donate!
Saturday, April5, 11 am-4 pm, 3rd annual Green Day .at Whole Foods
Market. Special guests will represent local environmental organizations.
Live music, children's activities, information, free samples, and fun. Free
1995 recycled 1995 Earth Day T-shirts to the first 200 customers after 11 m~1.
To hook up with Earth Day, call
Chair: Dana Bohne, SAWS, 704-7323
Publicity/M~dia: Genevieve Kerr, Whole Foods, 699-6400
Booth Registration: Debbie Reid, Tx Ag Extension Service, 828-:\292.
Educational News
A Committee with Big Ide'as
Several upcoming events
might tantalize BAS members with
a budding interest in our environ­mental
education activities.
To put our heads together on
the Big Picture, a gathering will be
held at the home of Education
Chair Katie Nava-Ragazzi, on the
evening of March 20, at 7 pm. Call
for details.
The 27th of March we're
, throwing a reception for our
Audubon Adventures teachers at
the Botanical Center, hoping to of­fer
to the teachers more assistance
and the opportunity to become
more involved in our chap.ter.
Twice recently I've had the
pleasure of appearing on a cable tv
interview, touting the activities and
mission of BAS ... we're trying to
get the word out in English AND
Spanish!
For our interactive booth in the
Fiesta Children's Festival on April
27, we are still looking for more vol­unteers
to lel1d a hand.
Call Katie Nava-Ragazzi, Edu­cation
Chair, at 804-1226 for infor­mation,
to sign up, or to volunteer
to help!
· Wanted
TPWD Tour Program Starting
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is
teaming up with private businesses and land­owners
to offer an array of nature tours begin­ning
in the spring.
Texas Passport Adventures, the first such
state-sponsored nature tour program in the na­tion,
is aimed at the growing popularity of out­doors-
oriented travel that conserves the
environmental, social and cultural values of the
area being visited.
Working with a dozen tour operators and
more than 75 other businesses and landowners,
the wildlife agency is offering 65 different tours
in 10 categories.
The tours offer trips centering on adventure,
fly fishing, water sports, naturalist, heritage, Hill
Country, photography/art, shooting sports,
· mountain bike/road tour, and Mexico.
The tours cater to smaller groups, eight to
ten people, and offer a personal, hands-on expe­rience
than most traditional tours.
The tours primarily are extended weekend
outings that include two nights lodging, meals,
on-site transportation, and guide services.
Among the offerings are five different four­to
six-day trips to natural areas in northern Mex­ico,
indluding the reserve across the river from
Big Bend National Park.
The tours begin in mid-March and run
through September, and range in price from $85
to $225 per day, depending on amenities.
The wildlife department this month is send­ing
out 28-page catalogs about the offerings to
holders of Texas Conservation Passports and
other targeted consumers. To request a catalog,
call800-841-6547 or contact a local travel agent.
Kudos!
BAS founding member Susan Rust was
voted recipient of the annual Floyd Potter Award
of the Animal Committee of the Texas Organiza­tion
for Endangered Species.
Susan's long-term dedication to conserva­tion-
related issues in Texas earned her the
award.
-Reported in TOES News & Notes
Fall1995
HEARTY individual(s) or couple to monitor and protect Texas' most important bird rookery islands. Extended island stays .
. . outstanding wildlife. Lots of sun. Nothing but obstacles. Computer literacy useless ... common sense indispensable.The
kind of work that can make you ... or send you back to get your MBA. Reply to Scott Hedges, Texas Coastal Sanctuaries
Manager, 101 N. Shoreline Drive #325, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 512-884-2634 or email shedges@audubon.org
Bexar Tracks 7 March 1996
ENVIRONMENTALISSUES .
Farm Bill Threatens Bird Habitat
During hurried debate on the farm bill (S 1541), approved by the US
Senate on February 7, Senator Brown (R-CO) attached an amendment that
seriously threatens habitat for threatened and endangered birds in the Big
Bend reach of the Platte River.
The Brown Amendment
The potentially sweeping Brown amendment would change the For­est
and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. This law
authorizes the Forest Service to attach conditions to permits for water
project~ located on Forest Service lands in order to mitigate adverse effects
on the environment, including downstream wildlife habitat.
The Brown aniendment would prohibit the Forest Service from im­posing
any requirement on project operations to address downstream
wildlife needs.
The Effect On Platte River Wildlife
A number of endangered and threatened birds, including the whoop­ing
crane, interior least tern, bald eagle, Eskimo curlew, and piping plover
depend upon Platte River habitat in Nebraska. These birds are threatened
with extinction in part because of extensive water development through­out
the Platte River basin, which includes Colorado. This development has
drastically reduced river flows and, as a result, has degraded the river's
habitat value for birds that roost and feed in and along the Platte.
Audubon members have fought long and hard to wotect Platte River
wildlife from the adverse effects of water development throughout the
basin, including the successful effort to block the Two Forks dam in
Colorado. Today, over 300 existing water projects in Forest Service lands
are scheduled for review by the Forest Service under the Endangered
Species Act. Already, the review process for a few projects has been
completed and changes to those projects imposed by the Forest Service
include financial contributions to habitat acquisition and restoration ef­forts
in the Big Bend reach in Nebraska.
The effect of the Brown amendment would be to stop this process in
its tracks and prevent the Forest Service from addressing downstream
wildlife needs in its permitting decisions. In addition, the amendment
would prohibit the Forest Service from requiring increases in water flow
in South Platte tributaries for the benefit of fish and wildlife in Colorado.
Thus, Audubon members imd other conservationists throughout the
Platte Bash'l have a conunon interest in removing the Brown amendment
fro-m the final version of the Farm bill.
What You Can Do
The House bill, HR 2854, contains no comparable provision, but Rep.
Allard (R-CO) will likely seek to attach a similar amendment. Urge your
Members of Congress to oppose the Allard amendment on allocation of
water use which he may seek to add to HR 2854.
Also, let your Senators know that you disapprove of the Senate's
action and that you want the Senate to drop this provision in conference.
This is particularly important for the Nebraska Senators;Kerrey and Exon,
to hear. Senator Brown obtained acceptance of the amendment on the
Senate side arguing there was no opposition. Audubon members need to
register their oppositions.
Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121. Honorable_, U.S. House of Rep­resentatives,
Washington DC 20515; U. S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
March 1996 8
Family Planning Jeopardized
Efforts are underway to reverse Congres­sional
action severely limiting funding for inter­national
family planning programs.
Activists may recall that in order to prevent
another federal government shut-down, Con­gress
passed an omnibus continuing resolution,
HR 2880, in January.
Opponents of family planning were suc­cessful
in including extreme restrictions on the
US international family planning program in
that legislation.
Specifically, funding for US population as­sistance
was reduced from last year's level of
$547 million to $72 million in this fiscal year.
Furthermore, funds will be withheld until July 1.
At that time, funds will be available at a monthly
rate ot"approximately $26 million. ·
In effect, that means the program will be
without funds for the first nine months of the
fiscal year, and will receive only a pitiful sum for
the remaining three.
The result is likely to be devastating for
women, children, families. It will have a pro­found
impact on efforts to stabilize population
growth which is critical to long-term global pro­tection
of wildlife habitat
In the words of anti-abortion Senator Mark
Hatfield (R-OR) "The family plannh1g language
in [the CR] is not pro-life, it is not pro-woman, it
is not pro-child, it is not pro-health, and it is not
pro-family planning. It inflicts the harm of a
profound misconception on very poor families
overseas who only ask for help in spacing their
children through contraception, not abortion."
Activists are encouraged to contact their
Representative and Senators and urge them to
restore funding for international family plan­ning
programs by whatever means possible.
Jf they tell you they are concerned about
abortion funding, remind them that under exist­ing
law, no US funds can be used to pay for
abortion abroad and that the best way to reduce
the demand for abortion is to provide access to
voluntary family planning services.
Activists who would like copies of recent
newspaper articles and editorials on this issue
should contact Lisanne Nelson at (202) 547-9009,
or by e-mail: inelson@audubon.org
Attend your precinct
tmeli1f9S after Voti1f9.
Get invoCved.
Bexar Tracks
],
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Operation Game Thief Bird-banding Courses Offered
The Operation Game Thief (OGT) Commit­tee
raised the maximum reward for callers who
report fish and wildlife law violations from $:l00
to $1,000, effective October 10, 1995, and taken
other steps to support conservation law enforce­ment
and enhance awareness of OGT.
OGT, which allows callers to remain anony­mous,
operates a toll-free, 24-hour phone hotline
(800-792-GAME) and offers rewards to callers
whose information leads to the conviction of fish
and wildlife law violators. It also provides bene­fits
to families of game wardens killed in the line
of duty.
Since its inception in 1981, OGT has been an
unquestionable success in Texas. More than
17,600 calls from concerned citizens · have re­sulted
in more than 6,000 criminal cases filed
against fish and wildlife law violators. About 98
percent of these cases have resulted in convic­tions
for which courts assessed more than
$778,780 in fines.
However, according to Bill Olson, publisher
and editor of Texas Outdoors Joumal and a re­cent
appointee to the OGT committee, Texas still
has "[one of] the lowest call-in rates of any state
with a similar anti-poaching program. We hope
the new reward schedule will help change that."
Are you looking for new bird­ing
frontiers? The world of bird
banding awaits you! Banding is a
fantastic opportunity to see birds
up close; learn about their plum­ages,
molt sequences, and life hab­its;
and, by participating in
established banding programs,
contribute in a direct way to their
conservation.
Imagine capturing a bird and
knowing that it traveled to Latin
America and returned to the exact
spot at which you banded it the
year before! Holding and then re­leasing
such birds is an experience
that moves some people to tears.
The Institute for Bird Popula­tions
(IBP) coordinates a large­scale,
cooperative program,
Monitoring Avian Productivity
and Survivorship (MAPS), a net­work
of about 400 banding stations
throughout the tJ.S. and Canada.
These stations are operated by
a wide assortment of contributors,
and banded birds provide criti-
Battle Lines Form on Logging Repeal
cally-needed information on pro­ductivity
and survivorship that
can help identify the causes of
long-term population declines.
IBP offers courses at locations
throughout the U.S. during June
and July. The registration fee for a
one-week course i'l $400; ro.om and
board is additional.
Upon completion of the
course, capable students will be
certified as banding assistants. IBP
will help place course graduates as
volunteers or apprentices in band­ing
projects near them to acquire
the additional experience neces­sary
to obtain a banding permit.
Graduates are encouraged to assist
at (or establish) a MAPS station in
their area.
For additional information
and registration materials, please
contact Kenneth Burton, The Insti­tute
for Bird Populations, P.O. Box
1346, Point Reyes Station, CA
94956; phone415-663-2051; fax415-
663-9482.
Logging in the Press
Pres. Clinton's 2/24 call for a legislative fix to the salvage-logging law
is getting mixed reactions from the Northwest's Congressional delegation.
Sen. Patty Murniy (D-WA) has shied away from a call for a full repeal.
Murray spokesman Rex Carney said she would rather replace the law with
longer-term policies to expedite salvage logging while respecting environ­mental
laws and allowing public input on logging decisions.
In the House, more than 100 reps have already backed a bill to
completely repeal the rider, and Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bill
Bradley (D-NJ) are expected to introduce a Senate counterpart. Rep.
Elizabeth Furse (D-OR), one of the House bill's sponsors, "said she is
working with Murray and with the White House, and, despite Clinton's
ambiguous remarks, remains confident the administration will support
her plan." Furse: "I believe they eventually will move to a full repeal."
The Pacific Rivers Council and Pacific Coast
Federation of Flyfisherman's Associations,
backed by a new survey showing hundreds of
landslides following February's flooding, on
Monday urged President Clinton to temporarily
halt all logging and road-building in the North­west
federal forests .... They said that included
old growth logging under a special rider passed
last year by Congress.
If passing a freestanding measure proves difficult, lawmakers could
try to change the law by tacking a rider onto an appropriatim1s bill, the
farm bill or an "emergency supplemental spending" bill to help flooded
parts of the Northwest. And according to an aide, Senate Appropriations
Cmte. Chair Mark Hatfield (R-OR) "may support some type of tweaking
or retooling'' of the salvage law as part of an omnibus appropriations bill.
Call President Clinton, thanking him for admitting the "Logging
Without Laws" rider was a mistake and urge him to push for a nationwide
repeal! White House phone 202-456-1111 (9am-5pm); fax 202-456-2883;
email president@whitehouse.gov, or mail, President Bill Clinton, The
White House, Washington, DC 20500.
Bexar Tracks 9
Glen Spain of PCFFA said Clinton has the
authority to halt the logging under his presiden­tial
emergency-declaration powers ...
'J..gency officials and environmental scien­tists
attribute most of the sediment-causing
landslides to logging roads that washed out [in
February] and to unstable soil in clear-cuts. A
Forest' Service survey of the Clackamas River
drainage, for example, found that 75 percent of
the 254 slides occurred in logged or roaded ar­eas.
Numerous studies also have linked a higher
level of landslides and erosion to logging roads
and clear-cuts.
- Register-Guard
Eugene, OR, February 27
March 1996
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
State Dep't Ordered to Enforce Wildlife Laws
It recently took a law suit, filed by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund,
and an order by the U.S. Court of International Trade to convince the
administration to embargo on all fishery products from Italy-as much as
$1 billion annually-unless the Italian Government shuts down the huge
fishing fleet violating the United Nations ban on large-scale driftnets.
Apparently fearful of offending Italy, the State Department has con­sL<>
tently refused to enforce the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement
Act of 1992, repeatedly ignoring evidence of flagrant violations by the
Italian swordfish fleet which has been operating more than ~00 driftnet
boats in the Mediterranean.
This is just the latest in a long series of lawsuits filed by environmental
groups against the federal government over its failure to enforce U.S.
wildlife-protection laws. But maybe things are about to change. On Feb­ruary
16th Secretary of State Christopher announced his intentto upgrade
environmental issues on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. Christopher has
ordered State Deparhnent divisions to make environmental concerns part
of their daily activities. Could State be listening to recent polls which report
that environment is high on the public's list of concerns?
-Sierra Club Legislative OfficeWashiugtou, DC
If you want to join SC's email list, send email to majordomo(IIJigc.apc.org,
with the following command in the body of your message:
subscribe sc-action.
Be it· Resolved . . .
One of the things that happens at precinct meetings is developing
ideas for the party platform, to be voted on later in the year. Here are some
suggestions for starting points:
Whereas a healthy, biodiverse, sustainable planet is necessary for the
future health and· safety of all Americans, and,
Whereas the unregulated action of one individual has the potential
for great harm to the health and safety of his neighbors and his planet,
Therefore be it resolved that the Democratic/Republican party should
vigorously uphold the strictest measures of the Clean Air Act, the Clean
Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and related legislative initiatives
to -protect the common interests of us all: health, safety, and an environ­ment
that supports a sustainable future for humans and for the plants and
animals with whom we share the earth.
Whereas human population, both in numbers and in ten.;,s of resource
consumption, poses the greatest threat to a sustainable environment on
earth, and
Whereas it has been demonstrated that women, in particular, under­stand
the value of limiting their family size and, as a result of improved
education, economic empowerment, and access to family planning serv­ices,
will choose to do so,
Therefore be it resolved that the Democratic/Republican party should
support initiatives to ensure that the elements of empowerment, as well
as access to safe, affordable family plam1ing, are available for all who desire
them, both in the U.S. and internationally. ·
- Susmt Hughes
If your party can't support such resolutions, are you in the right party?
- Claire Drenowatz
March 1996 10
A Sustainable Future
By the time you read this your Congres­sional
representatives will have returned to the
political battles in Washington. Hopefully many
of you have let them know what you want
regarding the future for this planet.
While the issues are complicated, there is
.one overarching concept that can be described
in one word: Sustainability. Our BAS President
covered the subject quite well in the January
issue of Bexar Tracks. ·
With sustainability as our philosophic
stance and non-negotiable goal, we need to sup­par
a large-scale effort to rethink how govern­ment
at all levels can truly become the trustee
and guarantor of a sustainable future.
Obviously we must discard the current
model of interest-group, money-powered poli­tics
and media manipulation, and make sustain­ability
and environmental justice the basis of
responsible government. As a nation we must
begin to affirm publicly and support by our
actions the philosophy and value system of an
ethic of sustainability.
This is above and beyond the enlightened­self-
interest approach that has been the histori­cal
philosophical basis of the American
conservation movement.
Sustainability recognizes a universal moral­ity:
"We need and value others-both human
and non-human-and others have value and
dignity quite apart from their importance or
unimportance to us."
- Richard Pipes
Conservatiou Chair
If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of
I 00 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the
same, it would look like this:
There would be 57 Asians, 2 I Europeans, 14 from the
Western Hemisphere (North and South) and 8 Africans.
70 would be non-white; 30 white. 70 would be non­Christian;
30 Christian.
50% of the entire world wealth would be in the hands
of only 6 peqple. All6 would be citizens of the United States.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
80 would live in sub-standard housing.
Only I would have a college education.
When one considers our world from such an incredibly
compressed perspective, the need for both tolerance and
understanding becomes glaringly apparent.
The KZPG Population News Network For subscription
info. send email to KZPG-info@iti.com or visit
http:/ /www.iti.com/ iti/ kzpg
Bexar Tracks
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
English Composition I 0 I
A report in the Altoona Mirror (the very
conservative daily in Altoona, Pa.) said just this
week that the National Grange had analyzed the
new Farm Bill and discovered that it was good -
for huge agribusiness co,rporations but not for
small family farms.
It's interesting-! have my freshmen com­position
students working on a project right
now in which they are to write a letter to their
representative or senators about sugar policies. I
put a lot of material on reserve in the library,
including press packets from the American
Sugar Association and from the Alliance to End
Corporate Welfare for Big Sugar (I think I go't
that name right!?).
When we first started discussii1g the topic,
several students had said it wasn't "fair" to the
farmers to change the system. We had just fin­ished
a unit on definition, so I said, "Define
'fanner'."
Of course they described Mom and Pop Wal­ton.
So during the next class I showed the World
of Audubon "Sugar $candal." What an eye­opener
that was. Some of the same kids who
were worried about the "poor farmers" were
amazed to learn about the huge corporations
that grow sugar pollute the Everglades. I hon­estly
think several of my students did not know
there was such a thing as a corporate fann.
After watching "Sugar $candai,"· we had a
wonderful discussion about credibility. Some of
the students got into a heated discussion. about
the old geezer with bad grammar who remem­bered
the Everglades when it was less polluted.
Some thought he had no credibility at all; others
thought he was the only person in the video
with credibility.
Then there was the lawyer who didn't
(gasp!) wear a necktie. According to my stu­dent..
c;, you could tell he was an enviro before he
even opened his mouth.
This is the first time I have used an Audubon
topic in a writing class, and I hope to do it again.
I may even devote a whole semester to a topic
such as clean water.
My students want a· class field trip to the
Everglades. Sounds good to me.
Bexar Tracks
-Paula Ford
Penn State University
]u11iata: Valley AS.
In Their Own Words
" ... environmental policies are driven by a kind of emotional spiritual­ism
that threatens the very foundation of our society, by eroding basic
principles of our Constitution."
-Rep. Hden Chenoweth (R-ID) (Congressional Record, 1/31/96)
, '~nd I -1-vant to touch on cryptosporidium for a minute .. Jhis disease
can sometimes can be very helpful [as a physician], because it helps us
identify those people who in fact are in immune compromise .... "
-Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) speaking at a safe drinking water hearing before
the Health and Envimnment Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee
(1/.11 /96).
Faced with (literally) breathtaking amounts of evidence ·
that smoking kills people, cigarette makers and their slick
lobbyists did more than just ignore the facts . .
They invented a new branch of science: junk science.
TI1ey commissioned "research." They collected "data." They
reached "findings." Obfuscation of the highest order.
Given tobacco's success, no wonder so many anti- .
environmentalists decided to major in junk science. The coal
industry has "data" showing the world's climate won't change
that much. &_..,me Mem~rs ofOmgress showcase scientists
who tell LIS not to worry about that hole in the ozone layer.
And "experts" ofter studies claiming that tew species are
becoming extinct. But be wamed.
Junk, scienc~ keeps us from hearing the conclusions of
. mainstream scientists. Scientists who understand that threats
to the e~vironment are real and require real action.
. For more than 25 years; the
Union of Omcemed Scientists has
brought sound science to the table.
. Today, we are redoubling· om efforts
to smoke out the j unk.science·.
If you'd like to participate, get in
touch. We'll get back to you. With
sound science. Not with junk.
Write us at UCS, 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238-9105
Call.us at 617-54 7-5552. Or find us on the World Wide Web at
HTTP:/ /WWV'I.UCSUSA.ORG
II March 1996
SPRING PLANNING CALENDAR
t Bexar Audubon Event
§ More Information Inside
RECURRING EVENTS
First Saturday at Friedrich Park. guided gen­eral
natural history hike. free. 698-1057 for
reservations.
Second Saturday at Friedrich Park sponsored
by Bexar Audubon. $2 donation requested.
698-1 05 7 for reservations.
Second Saturday: Beginners Bird Walk at
Alamo Heights Nature Trail. Georgina
Schwartz of SA Audubon Society 342-2073.
Fourth Saturday: Birding morning at Mitchell
lake with Ernie Roney. Meet at Ml at 8 am.
733-8306 for more info.
MARCH
14:1: BAS board meeting. 7 pm.
I 5-17 Spring River Conference. Kearney.
NE. as the sandhill cranes fill the
Platte River bottoms on the their
spring migration north. Claire
Drenowatz 599-4168.
16 Warbler Walk at Friedrich Wilder­ness
Park. 8-10 am. Seek out the en­dangered
golden-cheeked warbler.
Free. 698-105 7 reservations.
2 I :j: BAS General Meeting. 7:30pm.
23-24:j:BAS outing to Devil's River State
Natural Area. More inside.
26 Native Plant Society ofTexas. 7-9
pm. lion's Field Clubhouse. 2809
Broadway. Dr. David Bowles.
TPWD conservation scientist. on
plants and animals which live in wet­lands
and how they are being re­stored
and preserved. Free and open
to public.
I I BAS Board meeting. 7 pm.
I 8 BAS General meeting. 7:30pm. Ru­ble
Center.
20§:j: Earth Day activities all over town.
See inside for some details.
2 3 Native Plant Society. Planting for
the Birds. Patty leslie Pasztor.
More info next month's Bexar
Tracks.
JUNE
8-12 AudubotJ' s America. NAS Conven­tion
1996, Washington DC.. More
inside.
Other conservation organizations: please add
Bexar Audubon to your mailing list if we're not
already on it. and we 'II be glad to include your
events in our calendar each month.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers
many nature activities for annual Texas Con­servation
Passport Holders ($50 per year).
Call for event listings: 800-937-9393.
Audubon stands at a crossroads. Twenty-five years of progress in protecting
our environment are now under fire in Congress. Our challenge to protect birds,
wildlife and their habitat is being tested as never before.
The '96 National Convention is a landmark event where we chart our course
for the next century. Join fellow Audubon members in June as we come together
to renew our commitment. Add your voice as we explore what it means to foster a
"culture of conservation" throughout the country as our vision of Audubon's
America.
Help showcase Audubon's grassroots strength and sign up now for the 1996
National Audubon Convention, June 8-12 in Washington, DC, on the campus of
American University.
The only thing necessary for
the triumph of evil is for good
men to do nothing .
. Edmund Burke (attributed)
VOTE!
Printed on acid-free,
50% post-consumer
waste paper.
Bexar Audubon Society. Inc.
P. 0. Box 6084
San Antonio. TX 78209
Address Correction Requested
Marie your calendar now and be a
participant in the very important
1996 Convention program
that will feature political adion,
birds, and slcills training!
AU AMERICA
CHARTING THE FUTURE
FOR HABITAT PROTECTION
National Convention '96
June 8-12
The American University
Washington, D.C.
Learning Labs
June 12-14,15
Chesapeake Bay &
Important Bird Areas in PA
Registration moteriols ovoiloble Jonuory 1996
Audubon Convention Office
4150 Dorley Ave., Suite 5
Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 499-3622 • fox (303) 499-0286
email: convention@audubon.org
Non-profit
Org ooization
U. S. Postage Paid
Soo Antonio, TX
Permit #590
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