[BCNnet] Conservation Through Birding Summit

[Terry Schilling]

Here's a news release for a meeting that will be held in conjunction 
with the Midwest Birding Symposium in Green Bay in September. Anyone 
interested in CTB can join the mailing list at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Conservationthroughbirding/?yguid=2619135

Terry Schilling
Chicago
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July 31, 2003
Conservation Through Birding Summit Meeting In Green Bay, Wisconsin, 
September 11
By Greg Butcher

Did you know that birdwatching is one of the fastest growing hobbies in 
the nation? According to a recent survey - the National Survey on 
Recreation and the Environment - more than 69 million adults watch birds 
each year.

With so many birdwatchers around, many environmentalists are hoping that 
they will become an increasingly powerful force for conservation. A 
group called Conservation Through Birding will meet all day Thursday, 
September 11, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to discuss how to tap this army 
of birdwatchers for conservation action. They will hear from speakers 
from at least 10 different states.

Group leader Ted Eubanks of Fermata Inc., a nature-trail company, will 
present his vision of how birdwatching and conservation should work 
hand-in-hand. Following Eubanks, a series of presenters will discuss 
various portals to nature: How birdwatchers and conservationists 
discover the hobby and the calling. Famous bird-book author and editor 
Kenn Kaufman will discuss birding and nature festivals, while 
backyard-birding authors and experts Don and Lillian Stokes will talk 
about birding shows on television. There will also be presentations on 
nature trails, print media, and radio.

Three speakers will discuss various ways in which birdwatchers affect 
conservation, primarily through economic impacts, local political 
action, and the Important Bird Area program.

The summit will feature representatives from four different types of 
organizations - birding groups, conservation groups, government 
agencies, and for-profit companies - discussing how they interact with 
birdwatchers and conservationists.

The summit will close with a look at specific issues of interest to the 
Conservation Through Birding movement: Ethnic diversity in birdwatching 
and conservation, and ways that birdwatchers can help to fund 
conservation activities.

All interested are invited to attend. The summit is being held in 
conjunction with the Midwest Birding Symposium, which will begin 
Thursday night and continue through Sunday, September 14.

More information about the summit, the Midwest Birding Symposium, and 
pre-registration for both events are available by visiting the Birder's 
World Web site at www.birdersworld.com.

The Summit is sponsored by Conservation Through Birding and hosted by 
the 2003 Midwest Birding Symposium and the Wisconsin DNR, with financial 
support from Bushnell Sports Optics, Fermata, Inc., the U.S. Fish & 
Wildlife Service, Region 3, and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.

Greg Butcher
Director of Citizen Science
Audubon Science Office
545 Almshouse Road
Ivyland PA 18974
Tel.: 215-355-9588, x. 20
Fax: 215-355-2353
gbutcher@audubon.org