From TraceTCA@aol.com Thu May 18 11:23:56 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by lists.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA20980; Thu, 18 May 95 11:23:56 -0700 Received: from mail06.mail.aol.com by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA12595; Thu, 18 May 95 11:23:54 -0700 Received: by mail06.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA086111432; Thu, 18 May 1995 14:23:52 -0400 Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 14:23:52 -0400 From: TraceTCA@aol.com Message-Id: <950518142351_123393467@aol.com> To: consbio@u.washington.edu Subject: Farewell NBS? The threatened loss of the Breeding Bird Survey and the Bird Banding Laboratory should be of concern to anyone interested in conservation. I encourage each person to pass on this information to 10 others who might be interested in bird conservation, particularly to those who may not have access to e-mail or fax machines. Down-sizing government is one thing. Wrecklessly dismantling long-term scientific programs, however, is inexcusable. If the powers that be determine that these programs belong in the private sector, then they should at least allow some time for the transfer. I fear much worse, however, is on their agenda. They do not want the American people to know what is happening to birds, because that might incriminate those (timber, cattle, oil, mining, pesticide, development, utility, farming, and other big-business industries) who fill their pockets. Forwarded by: Dale K. Thurber d-thurber@cecer.army.mil Forwarded message follows >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 09:41:28 -0400 From: Bob Pettit Subject: Bird Science In Trouble ---> R.C. Pettit Please forward to important individuals From: Bob Pettit Monroe County Community College 1555 So. Raisinville Road Monroe, MI 48161 313-242-7300 Ext. 256 313-242-9711 fax 23393 Meadows Ave. Flat Rock, MI 48134 313-379-4558 UserBobPet@aol.com Save Bird Science Day Save Bird Science Day Let's Remind Congress On May 24 That Birders Vote!!! What? The attached alert details the legislative struggles of the National Biological Service (NBS) and invites you to participate in "Save Bird Science Day." Please contact Congress on May 24 and tell your elected representatives to support the NBS and its avian research and monitoring programs. Who? This alert will be sent to Audubon's regional offices, chapter newsletter editors, state Breeding Bird Survey compilers, Christmas Bird Count compilers, Birds in the Balance activists, and Audubon activists in targeted states (AK, FL, MS, NM, OR, WA, UT and selected districts in AZ and PA). We are inviting other ornithological and wildlife groups to participate in this effort to generate calls for birds. When? May 24, 1995 How? Call Congress. Please contact me for additional alerts and for more information about NBS activities in your state and region. Thank You!! Susan Murray, National Audubon Society SAVE AMERICA'S BIRD SCIENCE AVIAN ACTION ALERT May 1995 Congress Threatens to End Bird Monitoring and Research Programs The leadership of the U.S. Congress proposes to pay for the Contract for America by eliminating the National Biological Service (NBS) and most of our country's government avian research, inventorying, and monitoring. At risk are NBS programs such as the Breeding Bird Survey and the Bird Banding Laboratory. In response to the impending threat to our country's bird science, and in honor of the professional and volunteer work of scientists and citizens like you, National Audubon Society is sponsoring a National Bird Science Day on May 24, 1995. Volunteer field ornithologists and bird enthusiasts from across the country will contact Congress and explain that the loss of the avian research and large-scale monitoring projects conducted by the NBS would cripple bird conservation in North America. Please call your House member and two Senators on May 24 to keep NBS fully funded and intact. The NBS: What it Does The National Biological Service was created in 1993 to collect information about nation's biological resources, to monitor wildlife populations, and to make the data available to government agencies, universities, industries, and private landowners to assist them in making land and resource management decisions. By unifying previously scattered government functions into one agency, the NBS is among the most cost-effective federal agencies. Examples of NBS activities range from assisting ranchers with potentially devastating livestock diseases to studying the ability of Pacific salmon to return to the Columbia and Snake rivers to developing alternatives for hydrologic restoration of the Florida Everglades. While critics claim that the NBS will increase federal environmental regulations on business, in fact the NBS was established to conduct scientific research, independent of regulating agencies. High Stakes The law requires that the federal government monitor all bird populations. The following are NBS programs that monitor and protect birds: Bird Banding Laboratory - Maintains a database of over 31 million bands recording information about age, sex, location and date of banded birds. These data are used to establish the distribution, annual survival rates and mortalities of birds, and to determine where neotropical migrants nest and winter. The data are also used to establish hunting seasons and bag limits. Breeding Bird Survey - The only continent-wide bird population monitoring program, collecting data on over 500 species. Over 4,000 skilled volunteer field ornithologists participate in the annual survey. Electronic Data Processing - Provides data storage, retrieval capabilities and analyzes population data from the Bird Banding Lab, the Breeding Bird Survey and Audubon's Christmas Bird Count. Other NBS Bird Research - The NBS also conducts or funds a wide range of other critical bird research and monitoring activities, such as conducting hawk migration counts, research on neotropical migrants, and seabirds and shorebirds in Alaska. On the Chopping Block The House will decide the fate of the NBS by June 1st and the Senate will determine the NBS funding level by August 1st. Members of Congress are threatening to cut the agency altogether from the upcoming 1996 federal budget, which begins October 1995. Scientists Speak Out In an open letter sent to Congress in March, 400 eminent biologists, ecologists and scientists, including Roger Tory Peterson, E.O. Wilson and Tom Eisner, warned that the loss of the National Biological Service would "be a short-sighted mistake with long-term consequences." What You Can Do Call your House member and two Senators on May 24, 1995 Ask your elected officials to preserve current and future National Biological Service funding. The NBS is a lean agency with a 1995 budget of $166.9 million. The bird conservation programs within the NBS are severely underfunded (less than $5 million for nongame species) and should receive more funding, not less. Tell your Member of Congress that cutting back on science now will cost more in the long run. Provide examples of NBS programs in your region (Contact Susan Murray National Audubon Society at 202 547 9009 or by e-mail smurray@audubon.org). Spread the word about Save Bird Science Day. Tell your friends, fellow chapter members, and scientists about May 24 and urge them to participate. Chapters with phone trees and other ways to get the word out should alert everyone to the threats to the NBS. Let's light up the congressional switchboard with phone calls supporting bird science on May 24! Congressional offices should hear nothing on that day other than, "Keep the National Biological Service intact and fully funded." You can make it happen by making a brief phone call. To contact your Representative write U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 or call the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 and to reach your Senators write U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510 or call 202-224-3121. The following Members are key to protecting NBS appropriations. If You Don't See Your Members Listed Below, Please Call The Appropriations Committee Chair, Bob Livingston, 202-225-2771. Key House Targets Bunn (R-OR-5th), 202-225-5711 Neathercutt (R-WA-5th), 202-225-2006 Dicks (D-WA-6th), 202-225-5916 McDade (R-PA-10th), 202-225-3731 Kolbe (R-AZ-5th), 202-225-2542 Key Senate Targets Gorton (R-WA), 202-224-3441 Murray (D-WA), 202-224-2621 Stevens (R-AK), 202-224-3004 Bennett (R-UT), 202-224-5444 Mack (R-FL), 202-224-5274 Cochran (R-MS), 202-224-5054 Domenici (NM), 202-224-6621 Hatfield (OR), 202-224-3753 Thank You, Susan Murray phone: 202-547-9009 National Audubon Society fax: 202-547-9022 666 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. e-mail: smurray@audubon.org Washington, D.C. 20003 ------------------------------ .