| MURIE AUDUBON SOCIETY CASPER, WYOMING |
| VOLUME 38 - ISSUE 6 MONTHLY PUBLICATION AUG - SEPT 2004 |
CALENDAR
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50th
ANNIVERSARY
On Saturday, August 28, we’re going to celebrate the many accomplishments of our organization over the past 50 years during an open house (from 2 to 4 pm) at the Izaak Walton Club House (behind Fort Caspar). And we want to invite all the members and friends of Murie Audubon to stop by to reminisce about old times, significant events, programs, important issues, etc. – and just enjoy good company!!
An old friend from the now-defunct National Audubon Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Boulder, CO, Bob Turner, will be there to help us celebrate. We will have posters, photos, newspaper clippings, etc. for you to peruse plus a short power point presentation hitting the highlights of our first 50 years.
After the open house, anyone interested is invited to join Lois and Frank Layton for a dutch-treat dinner at the Goose Egg Inn. Please let Lois or the Walgrens know by Aug. 26 if you want to go to dinner so that reservations can be made. Also, if anyone has pictures, awards, posters, etc. relating to Murie that you would like to share at the open house, call Bruce/Donna Walgren at 234-7455, or email us at bwalgren AT coffey DOT com. We hope to see many of you on August 28th!!
Come to our Open House/50th
Anniversary Celebration for more about
Murie’s history!!!
-- also, don’t forget our first program of the season on Sept. 3rd.
-- and fall migration is starting – stay informed by calling the Birdline: 265-BIRD, or 1-888-265-BIRD (outside of Casper)
IN THE BEGINNING…….
In February, 1954, a group of 29 people with a passion for birds, wildlife, and conservation got together and decided to form a Wyoming chapter of the National Audubon Society. Some of them had already been participating in Christmas Bird Counts for National Audubon. (The first Casper CBC took place in January, 1949.) Thus, the Wyoming Audubon Society came into being.
Charter Members:
Mary Arnold Travis Look
Alice Bennett Mrs. Dean C. Morgan
F. Howard Brady Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Pummill
L. R. Burkhart Mrs. Louis C. Rognstad
Mrs. Pearl Burns Dr. and Mrs. Oliver K. Scott
Mary Dille Helen Sherard
Mrs. L. R. Earnshaw Mildred O. Snyder
Mrs. William Earnshaw Maury M. Travis
E. Sue Gloriod Mrs. Myra B. Waltman
Mrs. Edith Hegwer Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Warkley
Victor Jacquot Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Yant
Elmer E. Johnson Howard Yant
R. B. Lange
As time went by, the group began to refer to themselves as the Casper chapter of the Wyoming Audubon Society; and eventually, they officially changed the name to the Murie Audubon Society.
SODA LAKE AKA Yant’s Puddle – in 1957, Amoco built a pipeline to discharge refinery wastewater north of Casper to what is now known as Soda Lake using the expertise of Amoco engineer Joe Yant. To the surprise of many, this body of water developed into excellent waterfowl and shorebird habitat.
BECOMING MURIE AUDUBON – excerpted from “WYOMING AUDUBON SOCIETY - Proposal to Amend Name to Murie Audubon Society” written by Bart Rea, April 24, 1970
The history of conservation in America contains certain names which stand out in popular knowledge and affection. Included in this list are Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Thompson Seton, Aldo Leopold, and the Murie family: Olaus, Margaret, and Adolph. Why are these names so familiar: There have been many other noted naturalists, prolific writers, accomplished nature artists and photographers, and leaders of conservation organizations. The Muries are all of these, but more importantly, they are philosophers; it is this that puts them in a special class.
Olaus, the elder, and Adolph, the younger brother, were born and raised in Moorhead, Minnesota, a community of Norwegian immigrants across the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota. Their careers have paralleled and complimented each other ever since, even to the extent of marrying sisters, Olaus to Margaret and Adolph to her younger sister, Louise.
Margaret’s book, Two in the Far North, is the fascinating story of their courtship and early married life in the hinterland of Alaska. Since her husband’s death, Margaret has continued his work in the capacity of “Wilderness Consultant” to the Wilderness Society and by publication of Wapiti Wilderness, a book about their experiences in the Teton Park area.
Olaus began his work with expeditions to Hudson Bay and Labrador to collect specimens for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Following action as an aerial observer with the Balloon Service of the Army Air Corps during World One, Olaus joined the US Biological Survey, now the Fish and Wildlife Service. For the next twenty-five years he was engaged in ecological studies throughout western North American and other parts of the world. The culmination of these studies was his book, The Elk of North America. It was in 1927, while conducting the elk study in Yellowstone Park and Jackson Hole, that Olaus and Margaret moved their family to Wyoming.
One of the founders of the Wilderness Society in 1935, Olaus resigned from government service in 1945 to become director of the Society. He led the Wilderness Society as director, president, and council chairman until his death in 1963.
Beyond their unwavering devotion to the cause of preservation of wilderness areas, beyond their leadership in the development, application and popularization of the new science of ecology, the Muries have achieved a special niche in the list of great conservationists by their efforts to open the eyes of their fellow men to the beauties of nature and to open their minds to an understanding of the critical interrelationships of Man and his environment on this earth.
Their philosophy can perhaps be summarized by the quotation over the fireplace at the ranch at Moose:
“The wonder of the world,
The beauty and power, the shapes of things, their colours, lights and shades;
These I saw.
Look ye also while life lasts.”
This remarkable family, which has done so much for conservation, has honored us by adopting Wyoming as their home. We, who are trying to do a little for conservation, can acknowledge that honor by adopting their name for our society. It seems highly appropriate that during this “Earth Week” we amend our name to “The Murie Audubon Society.”
THE EAGLE KILLINGS – excerpted from Brief Chronology by Phoebe Holzinger
-- from Plains and Peaks, August 1971
May 1, 1971 – Bruce Wampler and Gordon Krause made a grisly find of 7 dead eagles, both golden and bald, in Jackson Canyon southwest of Casper, and reported it to Bob Turner, Rocky Mountain Regional Representative of National Audubon, and Murie Audubon Society members.
May 2 – A search party of Audubon members guided by Krause and Wampler found 6 more dead eagles. Charles Callison, Executive Vice-President of National Audubon, requested an investigation by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.
May 5 – Eagle carcasses mailed in dry ice to Patuxent, Maryland, for laboratory analysis.
May 9 – John Turner, Teton Co. legislator, reported 25 eagles piled in a ditch near Rawlins – all shot.
May 20 – Thallium indicated as cause of Jackson Canyon eagle deaths. Thallium is 4 times as toxic as arsenic, 1 gram can kill a 155-lb. man. It has not been used in the federal predator control program since 1967 because it is so dangerous to handle and is non-selective.
May 23 – Gov. Hathaway asked Board of Agriculture to remove thallium sulfate from Wyoming list of registered pesticides. 15 dead eagles found beneath power lines near Worland – electrocuted. State of Wyoming doing an independent analysis of eagle bodies.
May 27 – Two eagles found near Rock Springs showed presence of thallium: 1 found near Hanna and 1 near Rawlins. Of 3 eagles found near Cheyenne, 2 had been shot.
May 28 – Charles Lawrence, Chief of Enforcement for the US Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, has talked with 6 ranchers who bought thallium. Four had used the poison – 3 from Natrona Co. and 1 from Converse Co. It had been shipped to them by freight. American Smelting and Refining Co. is the only firm licensed to sell it in Wyoming.
May 29 – Three thallium-baited traps were found within 11 miles of Jackson Canyon – antelope carcasses baited with an extraordinary amount of thallium, according to Lawrence.
June 2 – State Board of Agriculture removed thallium sulfate from the list of registered pesticides for 6 months pending further study.
June 3 – Mrs. John Dobos, testifying before the Senate Agricultural Appropriations subcommittee, presented a statement from Murie Audubon recommending that only species-specific predator control be allowed. Environmental Protection Agency prohibited the use of thallium sulfate for predator control. This means that the poison will not be shipped in interstate commerce.
June 18 – Four persons charged with a total of 114 game violations stemming from the thallium poisoning of eagles. Charges include hunting without a license, hunting out of season, abandoning a game animal, and using a game animal (antelope) as bait. Charged were: Van Irvine, Lee Irvine, Carlie Wells, Michael Ryan, and a fifth man living in Pennsylvania. Natrona County Attorney John Burk said that carcasses of 7 antelope found on the Diamond Ring ranch were loaded with enough thallium sulfate to kill every animal in the state.
July 13 – Van Irvine pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) to the 29 charges filed against him and was fined the minimum amount on all charges - $675 plus $4 court costs. At his request, charges were dropped against the four other men in the case.
July 17 – Bruce Von Ferrell, president of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, asked for a joint effort of cattlemen, sheepmen, sportsmen, and ecologists “to protect themselves against these predators that are destroying the whole industry as well as the vulnerable game population predators.:
July 18 – Dr. Oliver Scott, president of Murie Audubon, commented that the $679 fine paid by Van Irvine seems very light when compared with the $6800 fines paid a short time ago for the kidnapping of 4 moose in northwestern Wyo. The statement noted that Irvine is a prominent local whose holdings drew a federal wool subsidy of almost $100,000 last year. We were horrified by the fact that following the conviction, County Attorney John Burk rushed to the press to congratulate Irvine by stating that it is “difficult not to respect and admire him for insisting on taking sole responsibility.” This statement was made in spite of the fact that Van Irvine actually took no responsibility and admitted nothing. He pleaded nolo contendere to the game violation charges that had been made against him and he was fined the minimum amount on all 29 charges, Scott said.
July 21 – Three dead eagles found near Casper; total now more than 50.
August 3 – Helicopter pilot James O. Vogan told Senator Gale McGee and the Agricultural and Environmental subcommittee of the deliberate slaughter of 569 eagles on Wyoming ranches. Vogan said the eagles were shot between September 1970 and early April 1971. The bulk of the eagles were shot on Herman Werner’s Bolton Ranch near Rawlins. Also killed were 222 coyotes, 6 elk, 5 bobcats, 1 bear and several deer and antelope. Charles Lawrence testified that there were no permits issued for the taking of eagles in Wyoming during the period covered by Vogan’s testimony.
August 4 – Vogan, today in testimony, estimated that nearly 800 eagles had been killed from the air during the past year. He testified that he knew of two checks totaling $15,000 paid to his employer, Doyle Vaughn, by Casper rancher Herman Werner. Eagles brought $25 a head, while coyotes were $50 each.
August 5 – Decomposed bodies of about 60 eagles were found in a mass grave on the Bolton Ranch.
Material in this summary was taken from newspaper accounts. Coverage has been not only by Wyoming and Colorado papers, but by papers in New York, Florida, Alaska, California, Oklahoma, in the National Observer, in Colorado magazine, on national television and other news media.
THE PIGGERY – In 1972, Murie acquired 4.6 acres along the North Platte River just off of CY Avenue as a bird sanctuary.
GRIZZLY SYMPOSIUMS – In 1984 and 1985, under the leadership of Walt Merschat, Murie hosted seminars on the ecology and conservation of Grizzly Bears with an impressive array of speakers, including Tim Clark and John and Frank Craighead.
BIRD HOSPITAL – For over 30 years, Lois and Frank Layton (with the help of volunteers) have operated Murie’s Bird Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, taking in injured birds, caring for them, then releasing them back into the wild; if they can’t be released, the birds are used as education birds or placed in another education facility or zoo.
For their many years of dedication to wildlife conservation, Lois and Frank have been inducted into the Wildlife Heritage Foundation’s Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame.
“Conservation through Education” – Early on, our organization decided that community outreach was one of our most important activities; and there have been many volunteer hours spent working with elementary school classes, scout groups, etc. and giving presentations to many diverse audiences on various conservation topics. Another aspect of our education outreach has been sponsoring Audubon Adventures, a newsletter of conservation-oriented topics designed for 4th through 6th grades. Also included in our education endeavors are presentations on birds using birds from the Bird Hospital that can not be released back into the wild.
Murie Audubon lost two of its members over the summer. Dorothy Putnam was a registered nurse; she came to Casper in 1959 and was director of nursing at Casper College until 1970. She was a long-time member of Murie. Jim Kennell was a geologist who joined Murie when he retired, where his love of the outdoors could be satisfied by Murie’s field trips and bird classes. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of these two people.
MURIE
AUDUBON SEPTEMBER PROGRAM – SNAKES!!Don Tipton of Casper will talk to us about snakes and their conservation. (He was previously going to speak to our group last April, but due to circumstances was forced to cancel.) He will also discuss his wildlife-based facility, the Rocky Mountain Vivarium. Don works as Urban Forester for the city of Casper, which allows him the unique opportunity to practice his lifelong hobby of herpetoculture. As a professional Herpetoculturist, Don works with all types of reptiles and amphibians, including highly dangerous species.
After attending Casper College and the University of Wyoming, Don began working with Metro Animal Control in 1997 as their “exotics specialist.” He devotes many volunteer hours to Metro training officers and answering calls from Natrona Co. citizens concerning exotic animals. He will identify these animals and remove them for relocation, treatment or adoption.
Through Rocky Mountain Vivarium, Don continues to educate the public through program presentations, Casper College, and a monthly TV segment on KCWY.
Join us on Friday, Sept. 3rd at 7 pm; and remember that we are now meeting at the new Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Building at 2211 King Blvd. As always, the program is free and open to the public, so bring a friend and join us for the first program of the 04-05 season.
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