CALENDAR

Oct. 1, Gen. Mtg., 7:00 pm

Oct. 12, Bd. Mtg., 7:00 pm

Oct. 15, deadline for Nov. PNP

Oct. 23, Field Trip, Lake De Smet, Buffalo area & wherever the birds lead.  Meet 7:30 am eastside Safeway parking lot.  Chris

    Michelson-leader.

Nov. 25 Thanksgiving BC

Dec. 18, Christmas BC

Feb. 5, 2005 Annual Murie Banquet

May 20, 2005-Cheyenne Big Day

Click HERE to return to Index page

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Click on title to go directly to article.  Click on Sage-Grouse at end of each article to come back HERE)

BURROWING OWLS

Sarah Lantz, a Masters degree student at the UW with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will talk to us about Burrowing Owl Ecology in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands on Friday, Oct. 1st at 7 pm at our general meeting.

Lantz is an Arizona native, with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from the University of Arizona.  Her previous research endeavors have been primarily in the field of avian ecology, and have taken her from Alaska to Mexico.  Lantz is currently working on a M.S. in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming. Her professional interests include how wildlife responds to changes in land use, as well as the cooperative management of natural resources.

Lantz will discuss a  project that is a long-term study of demographic consequences of habitat use for Burrowing Owls in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands in northeast Wyoming.  There are two major objectives within the scope of this research: 1) quantify demographic parameters and monitor population trends for Burrowing Owls in Wyoming.  Patterns observed for Burrowing Owls in Wyoming will be compared with those patterns observed for other populations throughout the species' range.  2) Determine patterns of nest-site selection by Burrowing Owls within plague-affected colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs.  They are developing two models: a visual model of the changes in spatial distribution of Burrowing Owls in response to black-tailed prairie dog decline, and a predictive model of nest-site selection based on habitat parameters such as vegetation, landscape features, and prairie dog activity.  This project is a collaborative effort with the Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Arizona.  The project is currently in its 4th year and will continue.

Join us at the 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.

Bruce Walgren - Program Chair

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

It doesn't seem as if summer really ever came-kind of a long spring with just a few hot days-and now fall is just around the corner.  I spent much of the summer on the road between here and Brush, CO seeing my mother with stops in Cheyenne, especially after our granddaughter was born on July 18th.  What a sweetie!

This is my first message to you as the new president.  Many thanks to Bruce, Donna, and Jan for getting the Aug-Sept. PNP out to the membership.

Our 50th celebration was a huge success.  Some pictures will be in this snail-mailed version but many more will be on the website.  Many thanks to Bruce, Donna, & Peg for all the work they did to celebrate our 50 years.  Bruce & Donna put together wonderful displays of our history and Bruce talked about that history while showing more pictures during the Power Point presentation he put together.  More than 40 people attended enjoying the displays, the anniversary cake, refreshments and hashing over “old times”! 

One thing that became glaringly obvious to me during the afternoon is that we need a place to display all those memories and a water-tight, varmint-tight storage place for all the boxes of still more memories and files from down through the 50 years that are in members' attics and basements.  We need a “Murie Museum”!

Rose-Mary King-President

CONSERVATION NOTES

Wilderness Act Turns 40!! - On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, the intent of which was to protect and preserve unique and diverse federally-owned lands from road-building, timber harvesting, and motorized recreation.  On that historic occasion, he stated, “If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than  the miracles of technology.  We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning.”  The National Wilderness Preservation System reflects our frontier history and the role that wild lands played in the development of our national character. 

What is wilderness?  Writers and philosophers have struggled with this question for years.  The Wilderness Act describes wilderness as a place where nature prevails, where we can experience things like natural quiet and solitude, scenic beauty, habitat for wildlife, clean water and clean air.  We all have our own idea of what wilderness is.  It is a place that exists in the mind as much as it is a tangible place on the map.  This anniversary year offers us a chance to reflect on our connection to wild places.  Wilderness illustrates our nation's values, character, and experience, and it contributes to the development of a shared national identity that unites an increasingly diverse population.  And in this rapidly changing world with increasing development, it is important that we remain connected to the earth and its community of life.  (from the National Park Service website)

Roadless Rule Suspension - The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted to protect 58.5 million acres of pristine national forest from most logging and road building.  In July 2004, the Bush Administration proposed exempting Alaska's Tongass and Chugach National Forests from the Roadless rule and allowing state governors to opt out of the rule for national forests in their state.  More than half our national forest land is already open to logging and road building activity; and certain exemptions already exist:  Access to non-federal land inholdings; Access needed for public safety; Access needed for environmental clean-up; and Federal Highway Projects.  With the Administration's proposal, the last wild forest areas will be at risk.  The comment period for the proposal was originally scheduled to close in September, but because of the many comments in opposition and petitions for extension of the comment period, the US Forest Service has agreed to extend the period to November 15, 2004.  Send your comments now to the USFS.  A quick and easy way is to go to the Audubon website and click on the Roadless Rule headline AUDUBON).   (from Audubon Advisory)

-- from The Conservation Fund's newsletter, Common Ground

Help for Chesapeake Bay - Nitrogen from sewage treatment plants is a primary contributor to the Bay's huge dead zone, where low dissolved oxygen levels kill fish and destroy habitat.  To upgrade the state's sewage treatment facilities and septic systems, the Maryland legislature has created a fund that is estimated will generate $1 billion over 10 years by charging $2.50 a month on sewer bills and a $30 yearly fee on septic systems.  Nicknamed the flush tax, the measure is the most important pollution-reducing initiative in Maryland in 20 years.  The fund will also provide money to farmers to plant cover crops to filter polluted runoff.  It is hoped that the Bay Restoration effort will regenerate fish, crab, and oyster populations by 2010.

 A National Ocean Council? - In the first major review of ocean policy in 35 years, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy recommended that Congress and the Bush Administration create a new national ocean policy founded on ecosystem-based management that balances use with sustainability.  Since the last report was issued, 37 million people and 19 million homes have been added to coastal areas.  Consequently, the Commission recommended determining measurable water pollution reduction goals, particularly for nonpoint sources, and the establishment of a National Ocean Council in the Executive Office of the President.  The report comes on the heels of a United Nations Environmental report that found 150 oxygen-starved dead zones in the world's oceans caused by fertilizer runoff and phytoplankton blooms.  However, there is some good news:  An agreement among European countries has cut nitrogen discharges entering the North Sea by 37%. 

International Paper Co. Gives Conservation Grant - Two Colorado educators received International Paper's Environmental Education Award for a training program called “On the Rivers,” in which teachers get direct experience learning about the Colorado, Green and Yampa rivers.  Melanie Phelps of Colorado Springs and Joyce Webb of Monument split the $10,000 grant.  The two women created similar programs within the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek watersheds for students in the Harrison School District, where they teach.

-- from the Billings Gazette

T. rex Fossil Discovered Near Ekalaka - One of the top five Tyrannosaurus rex specimens in terms of completeness and preservation is being unearthed in Montana east of the South Dakota border by a crew from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.  Leading the project is Luis Chiappe, chairman of the Vertebrate Paleontology Department of the museum.  (Many of us were fortunate to enjoy Dr. Chiappe's presentation at Murie's annual Banquet last year - February, 2003.)

Murie Conservation Committee

Raven Predation of Eared Grebes

In North America, common raven (Corvus corax )food habits are well documented (Bent 1964, Boarman and Heinrich 1999, Heinrich 1989,McEneaney 1995, Nelson 1934).However, much less is known about how ravens capture prey (Bent 1964, Boarman and Heinrich 1999, McEneaney 1995).  Even less is known about common raven predation at high elevations such as Yellowstone National Park (McEneaney 1995).After spending nearly two decades studying birds in the park, the author witnessed the following impressive act of avian predation.

On May 1, 2001, hundreds of eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis )were migrating through Yellowstone. This was a highly unusual number of grebes anytime in the park.  Eared grebes typically avoid this high mountain environment in the spring due to the unpredictable weather, and migrate through the valleys instead. The park was still covered in a blanket of winter snow.  Although technically spring, it was still somewhat like winter in the park, and Yellowstone Lake, which typically thaws out mid-to late May, was still frozen. The sky was partly cloudy, with winds in a northwesterly direction.  As the grebes maneuvered through the snow squalls, some began to land in the cloud shadows on the ice covering the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, confusing the frozen lake for open water. One by one, the grebes landed on the ice, spreading over an area of approximately 520 hectares. The grebes were unable to take off because the ice was too slippery for their lobed feet, and take-off requires that their feet make contact with open water.

From 11:10 am to 2:10 pm ,141 eared grebes were observed stranded on the ice.  At 11:20 AM, one common raven flew out to one of the stranded grebes and pulverized the bird with its long beak until it was dead. The raven left the dead grebe, moved to a live one close by, pecked it in the head until it was dead, then moved to another grebe.  At 11:40 am, three other ravens joined in. Two adult bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus )appeared at 11:30 am and began consuming raven-killed grebes. The eagles did not attack live grebes, but acted more as scavengers.  The four ravens killed 92 of the 141 stranded eared grebes within a three-hour period in this manner. After killing the 92nd grebe, the ravens began to dismantle their prey, caching the grebe remains in the snow along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. At the end of the day, all 141 eared grebes had been killed.

Literature Cited: 

Terry McEneaney is the staff ornithologist for Yellowstone National Park, and author of three books, "Birds of Yellowstone, Uncommon Loon, and Birding Montana". He is a member of both the Montana and Wyoming bird records committees.

 12(3) - Summer 2004 "Yellowstone Science"

 Article contributed by Herb Waterman.

BIRD NOTES

Probably the most frequently seen fall migrant in the last few weeks is the Wilson's Warbler - these little guys are everywhere!!  Dr. Scott notes in A Birder's Guide to Wyoming, “In the last week of August and the first two weeks of September, Wilson's is our commonest warbler.”  And that has certainly held true this year.  One even had a brief stay at the Casper College Greenhouse.  A student stopped in at the greenhouse to tell me that she found “a small greenish bird” on the sidewalk in front of the Life Science building; she wasn't sure if it was alive or dead.  We went down to look at it - it was a male Wilson's Warbler, still alive, but very limp.  I took him up to the greenhouse and put him in a small clay flowerpot and covered it with a towel.  The bird did not look like he would be up and around very soon, so I planned to finish some chores and take him home.  Five minutes later, he had pushed his way out from under the towel and was flying around.  He spent the next few days in the greenhouse, flitting among the plants, gleaning insects - we have lots of scale, mealy bugs and fungus gnats for him to work on.  Bruce and I were finally able to get him back outside and on his way south by opening the louvers on the greenhouse roof in the Desert Room.  (A few days later, Dr. Brown received our order of mealy bug destroyers, relatives of ladybugs that feed on scale and mealy bugs; so they can continue the work our warbler friend started.)

Wyoming Yard Birds - For August, Wayne and I received 165 yard bird selections from 17 states, the Yukon, and Australia.  The top pick was (you guessed it) Wilson's Warbler - tied with Common Nighthawk.  In second place was Cedar Waxwing, with Western Wood-Pewee in third place.

Thanks to all who helped with the Yard Bird Project in August!!  To take part, pick the species you most enjoyed seeing in, over, or from your yard during the month of September, and send your choice to Donna Walgren (ph. 234-7455), 4311 S. Center St., Casper  82601, or email to bwalgrenATcoffeyDOTcom.

Donna Walgren

MEMORY LANE

September, 1967 Plains & Peaks- President - John Albanese; Vice-President - Florence Spring; Treasurer - Joe Yant; Recording Secretary - Pauline Ward; Corresponding Secretary - Lois Layton.

Program - For our first meeting of the season, we are privileged to have as speaker the well-known author and naturalist, Mrs. Margaret E. Murie.  Mrs. Murie has spent much of  her life in the remote regions of Alaska and in the Jackson Hole Country with her late husband, Dr. Olaus Murie, and has written some very interesting accounts of their experiences.  Her latest book, which she co-authored with her husband, is Wapiti Wilderness.  She also wrote a wonderful story of their life in Alaska, Two in the Far North.

This promises to be an outstanding program so everyone bring a friend.  We meet September 22, at 8:00 PM, in the Little Auditorium at Casper College.

AUDUBON ADVENTURES

As of September 16, forty-nine teachers have enrolled their classrooms for Audubon Adventures for the school year 2004-2005. Twenty-five of those teachers renewed last spring. Of those fifty-nine classrooms, twenty-eight have been sponsored. Thanks to those of you have continued to be faithful sponsors.

Those who sponsored more than one class are: Grace Jenkins, Jacque Warburton, Judi VanRensselaer, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Narotzky, Liz Rea, Chris Michelson, and Audrey and Jim Bailey.

Those who have sponsored one class are:  Outdoor Women of Wyoming,  Muriel and Frank McNeely, Marilyn Robinder, Carolyn Logan and Dinah Utah, Bob Yonts, Ron Beamer, Whitney Bradley, Cominick and Bonnie, Lombardo, Betty Young, Phyllis McDaniel, Jan & Herb Waterman.

Once again, thanks for supporting this very important program.

Ann Hines

FROM THE HIGH COUNTRY NEWS

Interior Secretary Gale Norton must have been nonplussed recently when she met pop star Jessica Simpson. According to the Atlantic Monthly, when Simpson was introduced to the Secretary of the Interior, she complimented Norton, saying, "You've done a nice job decorating the White House." 

Bruce Walgren

CHPAS SCHEDULE  

Sept. 26 - Cheyenne Field Trip - Meet at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens parking lot by the greenhouse at 8 a.m. for a tour of Lions Park and the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, the two local Important Bird Areas, to enjoy fall migration. Spend a little bit of the time helping conduct point count monitoring. No experience necessary. Art Anderson, 638-1286. 

October 7 - CBOE Insect Collecting - 1:15 p.m. Meet science teacher Eleanor Grinell and her Career-Based Occupational Education high school students at Kiwanis Lake, parking lot northwest of the corner of Central and Kennedy, across from the Airport Golf Course clubhouse. Eleanor, 771-2348 (school).

Oct. 9 - Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Laramie Plains Lakes - Both CHPAS and Laramie Audubon have field trips planned. Meet at 8 a.m. at the Cheyenne Botanic Garden greenhouse in Lions Park in Cheyenne or at the Coal Creek Coffee Company in Laramie, 110 E. Grand Ave. We'll focus on migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. Art Anderson, 638-1286, or in Laramie, Rhett Good at rgoodATwest-incDOTcom or (307) 742-4522.

Oct. 19 - Chuck Seniawski, Travels with Chuck - Chuck, long-time chapter member, will be sharing a variety of birding experiences with us, including a unique experience--available only to a very few people--on Johnston Atoll, a speck of land about 700 miles southwest of Hawaii. 7 p.m. Exhibition Room, Laramie County Library, 2800 Central Ave., Cheyenne. Mark Gorges, 634-0463, Mark_GorgesATBLMDOTgov.

MURIE'S 50TH CELEBRATION PHOTO GALLERY

Click HERE for Photo Gallery of the People

Click HERE for Photo Gallery of the Displays

WHAT WE HAVE DONE OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS

As a relative newcomer to Murie, I found all the displays and the power point presentation along with Bruce's narrative very interesting.  Following are the notes I took during Bruce's talk.  I may have written something down wrongly or Bruce may not have had the whole story.  If so, we would both like to hear from you to set the record straight.

As you can see we have done much over the past 50 years and this summary is really just the tip of the iceberg.  Bruce's displays told much more.  I shall get on my soap box now and say “We really do need a place to “strut our accomplishments” and safe guard our memorabilia!

EDNESS KIMBALL WILKINS STATE PARK IBA!

On Saturday, June 5, 2004, during its first ever Birding Festival, Audubon Wyoming held a dedication ceremony for Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park as a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area (IBA).

Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park spans approximately one mile adjacent to the North Platte River just east of Casper, Wyoming.  Originally, the site was part of a ranch, which was donated to the State of Wyoming. As a result, there has been little change to the area since it was settled, in contrast with much of the remaining land along the North Platte River that has undergone urban development.  The Park is used extensively during spring and fall migration and supports a large number of common nesting birds.

Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park has been designated an Important Bird Area because of the extensive habitat for nesting and migrating birds. Species of importance at the Park include: the American White Pelican, the Bald Eagle, the Merlin, many warblers, flycatchers, sparrows, wood ducks, woodpeckers, and raptors.

The IBA Program began as an initiative of BirdLife International.  In 1989, Important Bird Areas in Europe was published, cataloguing over 2,000 sites in 32 countries. In the U.S., the IBA Program began as a partnership of National Audubon Society and Birdlife International.  Audubon has focused on establishing state IBA Programs; the first was launched in Pennsylvania in 1995. Audubon Wyoming initiated its state IBA Program in 1999 and there are currently forty-three designated IBAs in the state. The program aims to create grassroots support for conservation initiatives by involving birders and other volunteers in the process of identifying IBAs.

Contact Alison Holloran for more information about IBA's (see AW for contact info.).

NATURE AS HEALER?

Medications and doctor visits seem to be an ever-increasing part of our lives, particularly as we get older. Maybe a walk in the woods or just spending some time in a lush garden with blooming native wildflowers is the prescription many of us need. Can immersion in nature really contribute to our physical and mental well-being?

The eminent Harvard Scientist E. O. Wilson writes of a concept he calls “biophilia” in which he discusses humans' natural affinity for the world's plants, animals, and natural landscapes. He says people feel an innate preference for the environment that cradled us, just as all other living things thrive in their own particular habitats.

In the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, environmental psychologist Dr. Howard Frumkin looks at the scientific basis for our relationship with nature and that it is a likely component of good health. Consider what several recent scientific studies showed:

1) In testing the impact of animals on human stress and pain, prior to oral surgery the most relaxed people were those that watched fish in an aquarium, in contrast to a variety of other passive activities like sitting quietly or observing a waterfall.

2) 95% of people living in retirement homes said that windows facing green, landscaped grounds were important or essential.

3) Patients recovering from surgery in rooms overlooking trees in foliage had shorter hospitalizations and less need for pain medications as compared with patients with brick wall views. In a dental waiting room a large mural of an open natural scene was wall hung on some days and removed on others. When visible, patients had lower blood pressures than on days when the mural was taken down.

4) In a sampling of over 700 people who participated in a wilderness excursion, 90 % reported the experience helped break an addiction, defined broadly from nicotine to chocolate.

Henry David Thoreau and John Muir discussed the spiritual benefits that can accrue from spending time in the deep woods or in the mountains. Rachel Carson said, “You will never be tired, bored, or alone if you have an interest in nature”, and Zeno, “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature”. The Wilderness Act of 1964 was inspired by recognition of the relaxing, healing and deeply restorative power of forests murmurs, mountain retreats, and fields of flowers. And in our day, Pope John Paul wrote, “our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power”.

Next time you're not feeling up to par, take a walk and look more carefully at the plant and animal life you see. Rediscover just how awesome nature can be. As Dr. Frumkin concludes, “taking seriously our affiliation with the natural world may be an effective way to enhance health, not to mention cheaper and freer side effects than medications”.

This Newsletter may be excerpted, reproduced or circulated without limitation.

Donald R. Dann, Vol. 8 No. 4 September 2004, CONSERVATION ALERT

NEW AUDUBON WYOMING

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SOUGHT

Position Summary

Audubon seeks a dynamic, creative Executive Director to lead the implementation of its Wyoming State Program strategic vision, which focuses on conservation education and on protection of habitat for birds and other wildlife.  The Executive Director is the chief executive officer for Audubon in Wyoming and supervises all its facilities and programs.  The Executive Director reports to the Vice President of State Programs, and is jointly supervised by the Audubon Wyoming state board of directors.  The Executive Director and all employees of Audubon Wyoming are employees of National Audubon Society.  The Executive Director participates as a member of a team of executive directors to help achieve Audubon goals.

The Executive Director will be responsible for an effective Development Program to fund programs and staff needs, the expanding utilization of Audubon Center at Garden Creek, the establishment of additional education centers, and the continued growth of an Important Bird Area (IBA) Program that yields significant conservation results. The Executive Director will also provide guidance for our newest initiative, the Gillette Project, which will evaluate the needs, community interest and funding opportunities to determine the feasibility of developing an Audubon Center in the Gillette Area.

Audubon Wyoming offers a competitive salary and benefits package.    Please submit a cover letter, including salary requirements, and a resume to SeniorpositionsATaudubonDOTorg

Email applications are strongly preferred.

BARBED-WIRE WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME

Saturday am, Sept. 11th, Merlyn Herold received a call about an owl injured by a barbed-wire fence.  I met him at Sutherlands to see the long-eared owl and then we took it to Dr. Lori Maness' office for medical help.  The wire had poked several holes in the thin skin of the wing during the owl's struggles and had torn exposing the bone and a nerve.  Dr. Maness cleaned away the feathers trying to determine which side of the wing they belonged on because some had worked their way through the holes to the wrong side.

Finally the area was clean and Dr. Maness could see what needed to be done.  She sutured the skin over the bone and nerve but did not close the holes knowing they would scab over.  Stitching the holes together might have made more holes due to the suturing tearing the skin and would make the skin less elastic inhibiting wing movement.  She dressed the wing, wrapped it, and administered an antibiotic along with instructions to Merlyn on how to care for the owl over the next few days.  Merlyn took the owl back to SCWR, prepared a recovery box for it but when he went to take the owl out of the carrier, his heart sank.  Sometime in the last 30 minutes (from the Dr.'s office to SCWR and cage prep. time) the owl had died.

When he called me, my heart sank, also.  I now have an inkling of the passion and drive of rehabbers.  What a beautiful creature the owl was!  I will never look at barbed-wire the same again!

Rose-Mary - Editor

RECYCLE PRINTER INK CARTRIDGES

Don't forget to bring your used printer cartridges to the next General Meeting on October 1st to recycle. Or you can call or email Rose-Mary (307-577-0568, rking7453 AT bresnan DOT net) and I will pick them up from you. We recycled $32.75 worth of printer ink cartridges earlier this summer. 

WYOMING OUTDOORS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

The Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming has formed the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame. On September 10, 2004, the first six of Wyoming's great conservationists were inducted into the Hall of Fame at a dinner and celebration at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds Arena in Casper, Wyo.  Two of these inductees near and dear to Murie Audubon Society are Olaus & Mardy Murie (for whom our chapter is named) and Frank and Lois Layton.

PHOTO GALLERY

AW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RETIRES

PHOTO GALLERY

EDUCATION IN ACTION

Donna Walgren teaches mountain ecology to St Anthony students at the Lion's Camp on Casper Mountain.  

Photo Gallery

DON'S SNAKES

Don Tipton, herpetologist, was the guest speaker at Murie's General Meeting on September 3, 2004.  See his snakes in the Photo Gallery

UPDATE SUBSCRIPTIONS

Its that time again!  If you have not renewed your subscription to "Friends of Murie" within the last six months, please do so.  Even though you are receiving your newsletter on the Internet, your $10 will help support the costs of the website and domain name.  Click HERE for the "Friends of Murie" form where you can also donate monies to support Murie's other projects.  Thank you!

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