[mou] birding meeting

[Jim Williams]

July 31, 2003

Conservation Through Birding Summit Meeting In Green Bay, Wisconsin,
September 11

By Greg Butcher

Did you know that birdwatching is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the
nation? According to a recent survey - the National Survey on Recreation and
the Environment - more than 69 million adults watch birds each year.

With so many birdwatchers around, many environmentalists are hoping that
they will become an increasingly powerful force for conservation. A group
called Conservation Through Birding will meet all day Thursday, September
11, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to discuss how to tap this army of birdwatchers
for conservation action. They will hear from speakers from at least 10
different states.

Group leader Ted Eubanks of Fermata Inc., a nature-trail company, will
present his vision of how birdwatching and conservation should work
hand-in-hand. Following Eubanks, a series of presenters will discuss various
portals to nature: How birdwatchers and conservationists discover the hobby
and the calling. Famous bird-book author and editor Kenn Kaufman will
discuss birding and nature festivals, while backyard-birding authors and
experts Don and Lillian Stokes will talk about birding shows on television.
There will also be presentations on nature trails, print media, and radio.

Three speakers will discuss various ways in which birdwatchers affect
conservation, primarily through economic impacts, local political action,
and the Important Bird Area program.

The summit will feature representatives from four different types of
organizations - birding groups, conservation groups, government agencies,
and for-profit companies - discussing how they interact with birdwatchers
and conservationists.

The summit will close with a look at specific issues of interest to the
Conservation Through Birding movement: Ethnic diversity in birdwatching and
conservation, and ways that birdwatchers can help to fund conservation
activities.

All interested are invited to attend. The summit is being held in
conjunction with the Midwest Birding Symposium, which will begin Thursday
night and continue through Sunday, September 14.

More information about the summit, the Midwest Birding Symposium, and
pre-registration for both events are available by visiting the Birder's
World Web site at www.birdersworld.com.

The Summit is sponsored by Conservation Through Birding and hosted by the
2003 Midwest Birding Symposium and the Wisconsin DNR, with financial support
from Bushnell Sports Optics, Fermata, Inc., the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, Region 3, and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.

Greg Butcher 
Director of Citizen Science
Audubon Science Office
545 Almshouse Road 
Ivyland PA 18974 
Tel.: 215-355-9588, x. 20
Fax: 215-355-2353 
gbutcher@audubon.org

posted by Jim Williams, Wayzata, Minnesota