I’ve actually been holding on to these photos for about a month, and I guess I started thinking about them as I was contemplating the contents of my latest post.  And I will officially attribute the chosen theme to Pat Bumstead over at Bird Canada who made me laugh with a reply to my recent tweet concerning the final touches being put on the inaugural edition The Burrow Guardian (Burrowing Owl Conservation Network’s newsletter).

@patbumstead   Good thing u have so much free time….-:)

I do appreciate some good humor and great owl supporters!  Thus, with so many things that I need to get done over the Labor Day weekend for burrowing owls, Pat’s comment fresh on my mind, the incredible efforts of Heidi Perryman (and the rest of the crew) over at Worth A Dam to safeguard the urban beavers and garner approval for the installation of some beaver sculptures, and EVERYTHING else that I can’t even begin to name, I thought it most appropriate to share some beaver kit photos.  And they sure were busy that evening gathering willow.

So here’s to all those busy birders, conservationists, and online buddies out there working to make a difference for wildlife.  Happy Labor Day y’all and enjoy the long weekend.

Fellow blogger, science lover and conservationist Allie Wilkinson of Oh, For the Love of Science is making “Tracks for Tigers” and recently participated in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s second annual Run for the Wild.  And it goes further than just a 5K run as she is working to raise funds for tiger conservation efforts.

I could go on, but why not pay a visit to her Wildlife Conservation Society’s fundraising page before time runs out (through the 28th) and learn about this conservation event.

A short video with facts and footage describing the decline and recovery of the Bald Eagle through the help of nationwide conservation efforts.  The Bald Eagle is an amazing story of conservation success as its population declined from an estimated high of 500,000 individuals to only 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states.

I guess I really don’t need an excuse to throw out a favorite passage of mine from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Heck, our Government plainly states a reason to conserve wildlife in peril and recognizes the varied and vital roles these species play in maintaining the health of our Nation’s ecosystems.  But there was and is something conspicuously absent from that 1973 landmark document.

“The Congress finds and declares that various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States have been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation; other species of fish, wildlife, and plants have been so depleted in numbers that they are in danger of or threatened with extinction; these species of fish, wildlife, and plants are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people…”

Prior to becoming an endangered or threatened species, many of those listed under the ESA had a degree of commonality about them.  Perhaps they were species routinely observed or occurred in such vast numbers that who would have guessed such a “common species” could be disappearing from our National landscapes (i.e. Chinook salmon). So what is conspicuously absent from protection…those “common” species we take for granted, those species who currently have healthy populations, and those plants and animals just as vulnerable to overharvesting and habitat loss as the ones who currently populate the list of endangered and threatened species.

“Right now, there are few incentives for public land managers to focus on and maintain ecologically healthy wild animal populations … to keep the lifeblood of wild places flowing. As a result, we often learn that a population or an entire ecosystem is in trouble after the damage is done because we haven’t been monitoring and protecting wildlife.”

Amy Vedder, Executive VP of Conservation for The Wilderness Society

Recognizing that a need exists to ensure today’s common species continue to benefit from healthy populations, a new piece of legislation has been introduced to Congress.  America’s Wildlife Heritage Act is nothing less than a Species Act designed to monitor species, “maintain sustainable populations of native species and desired non-native species, and reintroduce extirpated species when a species population is no longer present.”

According to the America’s Wildlife Heritage Act:

Fish and wildlife are fundamental parts of America’s history and character, and fish and wildlife conservation is a core value shared by all Americans. All future generations deserve the opportunity to benefit from and enjoy a diverse array of fish and wildlife species.

The American landscape is rapidly changing, particularly in the Western United States where the majority of the Federal public lands are found, increasing the importance of sustaining fish and wildlife and their habitats on our public lands.

Federal public lands are critical to the future of fish, plant, and wildlife species in America. Federal public lands help to protect endangered and threatened species from going extinct and help prevent species from becoming endangered in the first place. These lands complement the conservation of fish, plants, and wildlife on private lands by providing comparatively intact tracts of land that serve as refuges from human development and other pressures. Federal public lands also help keep common species common, including species valued for hunting and fishing.

Please contact your congressional representatives (http://house.gov) and encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors of this important bill.

For additional information visit The Wildereness Society: http://wilderness.org/content/wonder-it-all

Every now and then I allude to my first educational go-around and the mental battle that played out during those years.  There was no question it was all about science, but the particular study that I would see through to completion was by no means set in stone at the time.  And if you are familiar with the “About” section of JournOwl, then you know I ultimately sacrificed passion for green; you know the kind that sparks greed.  But before you judge me too harshly definitely read the brief description of how I have begun to turn things around in the last couple of years.

Getting back to the story, my initial scholarly meanderings included a schedule that was Anthropologically-biased.  I loved and to this day am still infatuated with Anthropology, perhaps just shy of my ardor for wildlife biology and conservation.  And yes I do eventually plan to take those last couple of units to sew up a Minor in Anthropology.

The year was 1996 (I believe) and the class was absolutely perfect.  There were no lectures to speak of, no formal class meetings, a few required professor-student interactions, a lengthy term paper, and a whole lot of chimpanzee observations.  At 3 intervals a week for the entire semester, I positioned myself on a wooden bench observing the chimpanzees at the Sacramento Zoo. Each 3 hour visit was an amazing adventure as I diligently noted behaviors, described personality traits, and simply watched chimpanzees interact with themselves, their captive environment, and human visitors.  It was like stepping into the shoes of famed anthropologist/primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall; minus the jungles and rigors of Gombe.  But, I felt a connection to the woman I had come to admire.

The year was 2009 and the Wildlife Conservation Expo was absolutely perfect.  However, this time there was most definitely a lecture to speak of…and with a standing ovation Dr. Goodall set the stage with her ever famous chimp call greeting.  It was not about upcoming projects, nor was it about chimpanzees.  It was a platform to deliver a message of hope to an audience that was not only captivated by her presence but dedicated to wildlife protection.  And as if drawing a sword from its sheath, she pulled a California Condor feather from a cardboard tube and presented it to us all as a symbol of how a species can be rehabilitated from the brink of extinction.  She presented conservationists with a symbol of hope.

“It’s up to us to give them a second chance.”

Dr. Jane Goodall

She couldn’t be more right!

The auditorium’s crowd eventually dispersed, I had the honor of a brief conversation with Dr. Goodall herself, obtained a few autographed books, and retrieved a photo that I will cherish forever.

Perhaps some would call it a mini-vacation, but I tend to think of my recent trip to D.C. as a whirl wind excursion that intertwined monuments, buildings, museums, the constitution, and countless trips up and down the National Mall.  An all day and night walking extravaganza that was perfect for my wife’s first visit. But upon my return I expected a few changes on the Burrowing Owl front; mainly a fence to block traffic access and a little garbage removal that would benefit the resident burrowing owls and neighborhood safety/aesthetics.

Yet, as I walked the land I found the piles of trash still present and a fenceless border.  Disappointed…well yes.

So once again I put fingers to keyboard, left a few messages, and waited for a response.  To my surprise, the rising of the sun was the bearer of good news as all piled debris had been removed by the next evening; the mattress from the street, the jet ski that had been left to surf weeds, the rugs, and the broken mirrors that seemed to have bestowed the bad luck not on the dumpers, but on the owls.  But perhaps their luck was not all bad as we are in the midst of altering a course of development to ensure mitigation. Mitigation yes, protection perhaps.  A sentence which I expect to elaborate on next week that is based on information I came across at the 2009 Burrowing Owl Consortium.

With some help spreading the word from Worth A Dam (Martinez Beavers), Bay Area Wildlife Blog, and some other concerned citizens who have been of great help and guidance, things are leaning in the right direction conservation-wise.  Here are a few points:

• Street closure locations have been approved by the Fire Department.
• According to the developer, the fencing is going to be installed tomorrow (Sept. 25), but I’m taking a wait and see attitude before I get too excited.
• The City of Antioch requested a biological evaluation after hearing (repeatedly) from JournOwl (and friends) about the owls. 
• The Developer has hired a biologist and the staff met on site Sept. 23rd.
• Garbage piles have been completely removed. With the exception of a little graffiti and remaining litter the site looks much better.
• I received a call from the Planning Department concerning the owls and they promised to provide biological survey reports and mitigation information based on upcoming survey.  Something I will definitely need to keep tabs on.
• Development will not commence until spring 2010.
• I have personally began to document owl sightings and burrow locations, which will be used to compare findings by the Developer’s biologist.

According to information I received, there was zero mitigation in place for these owls.  Which explains why after weeks of waiting I could not retrieve these documents from the city.  Apparently owls were not present on the property during the initial Environmental Impact Statement of this land years back.  However, I can neither confirm nor deny if this was actually the case.  So without any intervention the owls would have been quietly buried as the housing project was fully entitled.  All in all this is a classic lesson in wildlife conservation.  Protecting native species is not just a responsibility that is in the domain of government agencies and renowned non-profit organizations, but a duty of individual citizens, communities, and local non-profit groups commonly referred to as ‘WE THE PEOPLE’.

Stay Tuned!

Hot off the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presses…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to protect seven Brazilian bird species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If made final, the measure would extend ESA protection to these species. The decision by the Service was published in today’s Federal Register.

Addition of a foreign species to the federal list of threatened and endangered species places restrictions on the importation of either the animal or its parts.  Listing also serves to heighten awareness of the importance of conserving these species among foreign governments, conservation organizations and the public.

The seven species are all native to the Atlantic Forest and neighboring regions of southeastern Brazil and include the black-hooded antwren, Brazilian merganser, cherry-throated tanager, fringe-backed fire-eye, Kaempfer’s tody-tyrant, Margaretta’s hermit, and southeastern rufous-vented ground-cuckoo.

In July of 2008, the Service published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its petition findings for foreign species and announced that the listing of 30 foreign species, including these seven, is warranted. After studying the best available scientific and commercial information regarding the threats to the species, the Service has concluded that these seven species should be identified under a single proposed rule for three reasons:

      1)  all seven species are found in the Atlantic Forest and southeastern region of
           Brazil.
      2)  the species are subject to similar threats including small population sizes,
           habitat loss due to deforestation, and ongoing landuse practices.

      3)  combining species that face similar threats allows the Service to maximize
           limited resources and increase our ability to complete the listing process for
           warranted-but-precluded species.

Of the remaining 23 foreign species, proposed listing rules have since been published for 10 species and proposed listing rules for the remaining 13 species are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register by the end of December 2009.

Well my wife and I finally made the jump to a digital SLR camera.  It was upon returning from our trip to Hawai’i that we realized our old SLR was just not cutting it in this ever evolving digital world.  The SLR was great and provided years of great service, but getting film developed, having them saved to a disc , or scanning selected photos ourselves just seemed so antiquated.  This was especially the case as we are constantly needing the photos for our work on the web.  Thus our reasoning for the splurge was to cut out the middleman, get excellent resolution, have the ability to exchange lenses (as opposed to our compact digital camera) and learn more about the art of photography without having to wait for the results via traditional film development. And so far we are having a ball with it.

But, the actual reason for mentioning our recent upgrade to a digital SLR is to give a small plug for an organization I support.  The Nature Conservancy is holding a digital photography contest through September 30, 2009 and entering is as simple as uploading images to Flickr.

When all is said and done, your image may grace the 2011 Nature Conservancy calendar and be featured on their website. 

The Nature Conservancy is “looking for your most breathtaking images of nature, including lands, waters, plants, animals or people.  Photographers keep full ownership of their photographs but grant us the right to use their image in support of our mission.”

So happy picture taking and take a look at the great entries received thus far at http://www.flickr.com/groups/thenatureconservancy/

Full contest details and rules are available at:  http://www.nature.org/photo.

Trust me, there’s a connection and it all began with a tweet.  It was as if Twitter reached a completely new social networking level for me by moving from an online world into one that can only be described as being plagued by tangibility.  And that’s a good thing.

A rather heavy work week and perhaps a little procrastination disrupted my email checking routine and before I realized time was fleeting it was later rather than sooner when my account indicated all were read.  Within that two day cluster was an email entitled ‘Burrowing Owls’, and if you are regular to JournOwl.com then you know that’s a great way to capture my attention.

Following an introduction was an extension to help spread the word on the burrowing owls I have been monitoring and as so often the case publicity drives action.  So, when I have all my ducks in a row I just may take them up on their offer for a story on the owls.  But the note was indeed more than correspondence; it was an invitation from the VP of Wildlife for a local non-profit organization known as Worth A Dam.  The event in question was The Beaver Festival 2009, and in the scheme of San Francisco Bay Area living was a fairly short East Bay jaunt to the city of Martinez. And without reply I simply figured my wife and I could check it out and see what else was going on in the world of local wildlife conservation.

And to my surprise the Worth A Dam event was indeed a happening place as we wandered from booth to booth, talking with the likes of the National Parks Service and the Mt. Diablo Audubon Society chapter. But, the Twitter connection that put JournOwl.com on Worth A Dam’s radar was suddenly converted to a face to face meeting with Cheryl.  From our conversation I quickly gathered that Cheryl was more than a conservationist and the VP of a non-profit, but a wildlife advocate completely willing to further a cause beyond that of her local Martinez beaver population. The dialogue was a sharing of ideas and thoughts from someone who has been there to someone, myself, who is just beginning the journey; it was a coming together of mutual values for a common goal.

But the networking did not end there as Cheryl put me in touch with another local group actively protecting a population of American badgers under threat from urbanization. Susan and Kathleen of the Paula Lane Action Network were utterly invaluable in providing recommendations based on their expertise and experience.  What can I say but THANKS!

An out of the blue email effectively brought together a parliment of burrowing owls, a family of beavers, and a cete of badgers; not to mention introduced me to a few people who have made positive strides in wildlife conservation.

Now it’s my turn to jump into the fray, and with a little help from individuals such as these I hope to be just as successful.

So in the meantime, check out Worth A Dam (Martinez Beavers) and the Paula Lane Action Network.

*Worth A Dam is a non-profit organization working to help shoulder responsibility for beaver habitat replacement and community education.

*P.L.A.N. is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to preservation of rural land and open space, wildlife habitat and historic resources.