Klamath Basin Audubon Society
The Grebe
September/October 2005
Bird of the Month
Black-Backed Woodpecker
Picoides articus
In August, I led a KBAS camp out and birding field trip to Manzanita Lake in scenic Lassen Volcanic National Park (see Follow Ups article p.8.), and one morning as we were birding around the lake and seeing a variety of woodland and water birds, we stopped to watch a group of three Red-naped Sapsuckers in a manzanita thicket. A doe with a spotted fawn passed by, and as we watched them, we saw beyond them on a dead snag a Black-backed Woodpecker. We watched it as long as it remained in sight, and we later ranked it along with the Cooper's Hawk and an Osprey as one of the top birds of the trip.
Black-backed Woodpeckers are about 9" long, have a clear, glossy back from the head all the way down to the tail, a fine white eye stripe and a wider white line off the base of the bill, barred flanks, and are lighter beneath. Males have a yellow patch on the crown.
These woodpeckers cling to the bark and trunks of dead and burned snags in coniferous forests and chip away the bark looking for larvae of wood-boring beetles and other insects. They may also eat fruit and nuts.
Their range extends from Alaska through western Canada and south through Washington into Idaho and down the Cascades into Oregon and northern California. They excavate nest cavities in live trees with rotting heartwood 5-12 feet high. Two to six white eggs are laid and take 14 days to hatch. Young are altricial and fledge after about 25 days.
Black -backed Woodpeckers are considered a highly irruptive species, a term ornithologists use for sudden irregular migrations, and these birds of the northern coniferous forests often mysteriously appear in the north eastern states far south of their normal range.
Although they are not uncommon here and in Lassen, we considered seeing one a highlight of a wonderful outing that is beginning to take shape as a possible annual event, not only for the birding, the mountain and meadow scenery, the comradery, the Dutch oven meals, the clean, crisp air, and the crystal clear starry nights, but more for eclectic ambience created by all of the above.
Editors Note - A New Grebe
After long deliberation and the consideration of many different formats, the Newsletter Committee including Woody Morf, Jane Morf, Julie VanMoorhem, Joan Spencer, and Ken Johnston, have chosen a new format for the Grebe, which will appear in the next issue. All of the other Audubon Societies in Oregon use 11X17 paper folded to give a magazine sized format that is easier to handle and read. In this and previous issues, I have used the same format for years that was used by my predecessors, and I am glad to see the change. I hope the readers will also be pleased with the upgrade.
Another change, that is probably long overdue, is Joan Spencer will be taking over as Editor, bringing her experience and expertise in publishing to the new format. I will continue to write the Bird of the Month articles and an occasional President's message or other pieces when asked and will help when needed, but I will now be able to devote more time to just being president.
I would like to thank all of the people on the committee for their suggest-ions and time spent on the future upgrade, and I want to wish Joan Spencer the best of luck in her new role as Klamath Basin Audubon Society Editor.
By Ken Johnston, outgoing Editor.
New Birding Trail Loop
Beckons Nature Lovers to Southwest Washington. The third route of the Great Washington State Birding Trail, the Southwest Loop, recently rolled off the presses - to be followed closely, local civic leaders hope, by flocks of bird-watching tourists. Over the last decade, bird watching has become the fastest growing outdoor recreation in the U.S., with more than 71 million Americans describing themselves as interested in birding.
"Experienced birders, novice bird-watchers, and nature lovers in general are just beginning to discover this marvelous corner of our state," said Nina Carter, executive director of Audubon Washington. "The Southwest Loop features 270 of Washington's 365 bird species."
Birding Trails, now found in more than 20 states, are actually self-guided driving tours with stops at the best places to see birds. Audubon Washington published the first route of the Great Washington State Birding Trail, the Cascade Loop, in 2002, and the second, the Coulee Corridor, in 2003, in partnership with local Audubon chapters and other public and private organizations. To get your free copy of the Southwest Loop of the Washington State Birding Trail, call 1-866-WA-BIRDS or go to wa.audubon.org.
The Expiration Superhighway
Sales of endangered critters rampant on the web
What do deviant porn and endangered elephants have in common? No, not that, you twisted perv! The answer: Both are easy to find in the anonymous wilds of the world wide web. The International Fund for Animal Welfare found that in just one week, nearly 9,000 wildlife products were for sale on English-language websites alone (including eBay), with at least 70 percent involving species protected under international law. IFAW documented live animals on the block including a gorilla for $8,141, a two-year-old giraffe for $15,000, and a young Siberian tiger for $70,000. Other listings included more than 500 turtle and tortoise shells, nearly 250 wild-cat products, 2,630 reptile goods, and over 5,500 elephant products, including an elephant-foot ashtray. IFAW is calling for more international cooperation to curtail what it calls a "cyber black market," but law-enforcement officials say stopping wildlife crime is generally a low priority.
From Grist Magazine, submitted by Leslie Lowe.
Follow Ups
Lassen National Park, Aug. 23-35, 2005
by Julie VanMoorhem
Quick! What's the missing word in the following group of birds? _______-throated Gray Warbler, _____ Phoebe, and _____-backed Woodpecker. If you said Black, you're absolutely on top off your birds....or you were with us!! These are a few of the great birds we found on our trip to Lassen National Park in late August. Ken Johnston led a great trip, and his experience as a ranger at the park for many seasons was quite evident as he led us to various areas. We were there to bird, but we also visited the museum and the Sulphur Works area and various other sites. Ken's knowledge of the area is extensive, and it was definitely a plus to have our own private, ranger-led tour.
We drove down to Lassen on Tuesday making various stops along the way for this and that. We easily found campsites (Bill and I were the only ones in our group who were tent-camping!) and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. We did go out and explore a little while and found the first bird with Black in the name--Charlotte found a Black Phoebe! Wednesday morning Bill headed up Mt. Lassen Peak while the rest of us took a walk around Manzanita Lake. We saw lots of warblers, Red-breasted Sapsuckers and White-headed Woodpeckers, Western Wood Pewees, and Pied-billed Grebe. As we got near the campground on our return I heard a woodpecker and then Ken spotted it in a Ponderosa Pine--a wonderful Black-backed Woodpecker! Needless to say it was the bird du jour! After lunch we went on a tour of the park and just enjoyed being out and taking in the sights. We saw a few more birds, but it wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't seen any--the scenery, the geological features, the company were all wonderful.
Thursday morning we returned for short while to Manzanita Lake to look at the warblers again in the willows. Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Nashville, Wilson's Warblers--it was great. Then we spotted an Osprey--another treat. After a few minutes, I went back to looking for warblers and soon found a Black-throated Gray Warbler and a Cassin's Vireo. Pretty soon it was time to head back and pack up, but we all (Ken Johnston, Charlotte Kisling, Lynn Jansky, Paul and Lainey Borsma and Bill and Julie Van Moohem) had a good time. I'd go back in a New York minute!
The Conservation Column
By Pepper Trail
ODFW Cougar Management Plan - The Wrong Approach
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has released a draft "Oregon Cougar Management Plan," which will be open for public comments through October 31, 2005. I urge RVAS members to review the plan (go to http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ and follow the links to the plan) and to submit comments. Unfortunately, ODFW has chosen to base this proposal on complaints from a small segment of the public rather than on scientific analysis. As a result, the plan more closely resembles political pandering than sound wildlife management. It deserves to be scrapped.
The plan identifies four management objectives.
Each is quoted in full below:
- ODFW will manage for a population that does not decline below approximately 3000 cougars statewide.
- ODFW will manage for cougar-human conflicts (reported to ODFW) not to exceed the 1994 level of 320 human safety and pet-related complaints.
- ODFW will manage for cougar-livestock conflicts not to exceed the 1994 level of 204 livestock damage complaints.
- ODFW will manage cougar populations in a manner that is compatible and consistent with management objectives for other game animals outlined in ODFW management plans.
Objective 1: Approximately 3000 cougars.
ODFW estimates the current cougar population in Oregon at approximately 5100 animals. Thus a reduction to 3000 cougars would represent the extermination of over 40% of the cougars in the state. And what is the justification for this extraordinarily drastic step? Incredibly, no biological justification is given, merely a historic one: "The Fish and Wildlife Commission's direction was to stabilize statewide cougar numbers at the 1994 level, which was estimated at approximately 3000." To put a statewide population of 5100 cougars in perspective, this is considerably fewer cougars across the entire state than there are human beings in Talent; or, put another way, this works out to about 1 cougar per 20 square miles statewide.
Objectives 2 and 3: Hold cougar-human conflicts and cougar-livestock conflicts to 1994 levels.
These two objectives are at the heart of the rationale for the entire management plan: placating a vocal anti-cougar minority, and turning back the clock to 1994, which is when the citizens of Oregon voted to end the use of hounds for hunting cougars. These objectives make no sense whatsoever as biological species management. They are entirely predicated on public complaints, which ODFW itself acknowledges are almost never verified. The message to anti-cougar activists is plain: the more you complain, the more cougars we will kill. Does that sound like scientifically responsible management? Moreover, setting the baseline at 1994 levels would make no sense, even if all complaints reflected actual incidents of conflict. Since 1994 the population of Oregon has increased by more than 16%, according to the Census Bureau.
The number of homes being built in the wildlands-urban interface has unquestionably increased even more than that. There is no justification for freezing the level of "acceptable" complaints at 1994 levels without taking into account population increase and land-use changes.
In the midst of all these unrealistic numbers, there a couple of indisputable facts. First, no verified attack by a cougar on a human being has ever occurred in Oregon. Second, there are indeed "problem cougars" that attack pets and domestic livestock.
The first fact tells us that fear of cougar attack is misplaced, and should not be used as the basis for managing these animals. While there have been a small number of cougar attacks on people in California and elsewhere, the risk is miniscule compared to almost any other threat we can imagine, including being struck by lightning.
The second fact tells us that there is indeed a need for a rational plan to remove cougars that attack pets and livestock. All the authority that is needed to do this is already in place, and ODFW has killed an average of 25 cougars annually since 1995 in response to real or perceived threats to human safety. Hand in hand with removal of these problem predators, however, there is a great need for public education on how to coexist with cougars and other wildlife. If you choose to build a house deep in the forest, is it a reasonable expectation that the state of Oregon will avenge your lapdog who is preyed upon by a cougar? Perhaps living in the wildland-urban interface entails some responsibility and some compromises in order to coexist harmoniously with the nature that surrounds you. The management plan advocates such educational outreach, and that certainly deserves a high priority.
ODFW must perform a difficult balancing act, ensuring public safety and dealing with landowner's complaints, while also managing Oregon's cougars in a scientific, ecological manner. Unfortunately this plan fails completely to reach that balance. It makes no attempt to calculate sustainable cougar numbers on a scientific basis, fails to consider the contributions of cougars to the health of prey populations, and takes tallies of complaints and polls of public attitudes as the basis for wildlife management decisions. Oregon's cougars-and citizens-deserve better.
Our Website Is Back - eaglecon.org
KBAS has its website back on line and it is really useful now. Go to eaglecon.org to find the history of KBAS, current field trips and programs, information links to Klamath Sustainable Communities and Winter Wings Festival, etc. Let us know what changes to this site you want to see. This site is a work in progress. We want our readers to use it often.
We are hoping eventually to cut down on our mailout and printing expenses by encouraging people to get the Grebe on-line. What do you think of this?We might be able to set up part of the site as a "chat room" for birders who are local as well as out of the Klamath Basin to talk about recent sightings, pose questions, share experiences, etc. This might become the new "Rare Bird Alert" as it will instantly update itself. Let us know if this is worth doing.All of this will cost KBAS money. Let us know if you are willing to kick in a few dollars for the initial set up costs or for on-going maintenance. What would these services be worth to YOU?
Contact Leslie Lowe at .
Klamath Sustainable Communities
About 10 years ago, a loose collaboration was formed between Klamath Basin Audubon Society and the League of Women Voters and some other interested citizens of the Klamath Basin. Named "Klamath Sustainable Communities", this group of people have educated folks about ways to live sustainable life styles, issues of recycling/reduction/reuse, political opportunities to affect the laws that govern our lives and the health of our planet, etc. The website for this group can be seen at KlamathSustainableCommunities.org.
This group has brought you: A) Plastic bags to our public meetings to encourage computer cartridge recycling; B) Coloring book on recycling , an annual collaboration with Waste Management to send recycling information home with every first grader in the Klamath Basin. KBAS buys a bicycle as a first prize for the child whose name is drawn; C) May compost bin sale; D) Compost demonstration site project in conjunction with the community garden that is sited at the Klamath County Extension officeon Vandenberg Rd. and is co-sponsored by the Rotary Club and the Master Gardeners. This project is not yet "on the ground" and we can use your help. Contact Dwight Long at 884-9942; E) Annual booth at Earth Day, Bald Eagle Conference/Winter Wings Festival to distribute info to make our planet healthier; F) Quarterly Newsletter by Dwight Long; G) Newspaper articles featuring Ralph Opp and Leslie Lowe that promote recycling; H) Kiosk in the Government Center that provides sustainability info and cartridge recycling bags.
Most recently, this group has worked with some new folks to form the Klamath Basin Coalition for a Liveable Future (KBCLF). Patterned after the Portland group by the same name, its mission is to become a 501c3 whose primary purpose is "to create and promote collaboration to protect, restore, and maintain healthy, equitable communities, both human and natural, for the benefit of present and future residents of the Klamath Basin."
We are now in a position to have monthly gatherings again. Thanks to Jay and Katie Talley, these will be held at Nightfire Natural Foods Store at 919 Klamath Ave from 7-8:30 pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. We hope you will come and participate in the opportunities we create together to live more fulfilling and healthy lives. We will be promoting: a) healthy foods (come and taste them); b) alternative and complementary forms of medicine and health care (Did you know that we now have a naturopathic physician and a holistic dentist in Klamath Falls?); c) opportunities to learn what businesses, especially regarding food production, in the Klamath Basin are operating according to principles of sustainability so that you can choose to support them; d) opportunities to learn how to participate in our democracy to affect the laws that affect you; e) opportunities to find other activities in our Basin that build community and healthy livesfor both human and natural communities.
Want to be a presenter? Want to suggest a topic? Want to get involved with one of our projects? Want to start a new project? Please Contact Leslie Lowe at . or call 882-6509.
Redemption in the Bayou
New York Times Editorial, September 5, 2005
People keep making bets against nature, and in the end nature usually wins. This is as true in the rainforests of Central America, where clear-cutting has led to disastrous floods, as it is in the steep California canyons, where people have no business building houses.
It is no less true of the Mississippi Delta and its biggest city, New Orleans, whose heart-rending tragedy is partly traceable to years of federal efforts to manage the Mississippi River in ways that it did not intend to be managed, keeping it from going where it wanted to go and thus weakening the natural defenses that might have spared the city the worst.
Amends can be made. Before Congress is a $14 billion plan to restore the vanishing wetlands and barrier islands off the Louisiana coast that in times past would have served as a buffer against the storm. The House has approved a modest $1.9 billion down payment on this plan, but it needs a push from President Bush and the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, to ensure Senate approval. The plan would involve some delicate re-engineering of the natural system and is not without risk. Still, it could provide a measure of redemption for years of environmental carelessness for which Congress itself is largely responsible.
The problem, in a nutshell, is this: the Louisiana coast, its protective fringe of barrier islands and coastal marshlands, is disappearing. Over the last 75 years, 1.9 million acres have vanished. Every year, another 25 square miles, an area roughly the size of Manhattan, sinks quietly beneath the waves. In some places, the coastline has receded 15 miles from where it was in the 1920's.
The soil in the delta compacts and sinks naturally. Historically, however, the Mississippi replenished the loss with sediment gathered from its many tributaries and then deposited like clockwork in the delta with the spring floods. Or so it did until 1927, when Congress ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to find ways to control the floods so as to make the river safe for farming, homes and commerce.
As it would later do in the Everglades (with equally disastrous results for the Florida ecosystem), the corps then proceeded to construct a network of dams, levees and canals throughout the river basin. The upstream dams reduced the river's sediment load well below historical levels; the sediment that remained, while considerable, was then routed away from the Louisiana coast by a system of levees and navigation channels. The effect of all these engineering changes was to hurry the river along and, at its mouth, propel its contents deep into the Gulf of Mexico, as if shot from a cannon, bypassing the coastal marshes and barrier islands that most needed its nourishment.
Add to all this the demands of a growing population, plus thousands of miles of pipes and canals dug through the marsh for a booming oil and gas industry, and the result was inevitable: a shrunken, degraded and essentially defenseless landscape.
More is at stake, of course, than the landscape. These may be the hardest-working wetlands in America. They support one of the country's largest fisheries; almost every fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico spends part of its life in the Louisiana marsh. They are the wintering ground or refueling stop for most of the migratory waterfowl that travel the Mississippi flyway. And as everyone who has bought gasoline in the last few days knows by now, they are vital to the production, refining and transportation of much of the nation's oil. Indeed, the oil and gas industry has as much incentive as anyone to protect the marshes from further erosion. Most of its equipment cannot survive in open water.
The conditions are thus ripe for a major effort to restore the Louisiana coast. The program before Congress was hatched by the state's politicians and in its universities and drafted by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is supported by both industry and advocacy groups like the National Audubon Society and Environmental Defense, which helped with its design. It would start small, with three or four carefully calibrated pilot programs to divert water flow to the marshes, then go from there.
What it has always required is the enthusiastic support of Washington's political leaders. It is hard to believe that the events of the last week haven't caught their attention. This New York Times Company article was submitted by the National Audubon Society Advisory.
Hurricane Katrina Update
Audubon Adventures and the mail house that distributes the magazine have arranged for free distribution of Audubon Adventures back issues to children and teachers who have been disrupted or displaced from their schools or homes by Hurricane Katrina. Ken Smith and Mary Smith of Audubon Arkansas came up with this wonderful idea. Audubon Adventures will be directly distributed by staff and volunteers who are in close proximity to evacuees in schools and temporary housing. To date, 3,000 copies have been distributed to our state office in Arkansas and to Audubon Chapters.
We've started in Arkansas, and we will be making materials available to other states that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Louisiana and Mississippi, when they are ready to take advantage of this opportunity.
For more information about participating in this outreach, please contact Elaine O'Sullivan at
