PROGRAMS

Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month, September-April, at the Phoenix Zoo Auditorium.  Meetings start at 7:30, and feature a speaker, book sales, refreshments, and a chance to socialize with fellow MAS members.  Non-members welcome!

Join us for a pre-meeting dinner at Pete's 19th Tee, 1405 N Mill Avenue, Tempe (at the Rolling Hills Golf Course) starting at 6:00 p.m.  Except for the September meeting which will be our annual potluck starting at 6:30.  Each attendee is invited to bring a platter of his or her favorite h'ors de oeuvres, sufficiently large enough to serve at least six people.  We'll provide the eating utensils, the plates, and the drinks, bring a friend and enjoy swapping birding stories.  The regular meeting will begin at 7:30

"A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled surfaces.  We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it.  We need a refuge even though we may never need to go there."   -   Edward Abbey

Continuing urban sprawl, inadequate groundwater laws, restrictive state trust grazing leases, state park closures, seemingly interminable attempts to raid the Heritage Fund.  These are a few of the issues that effect the state of conservation in Arizona.  But you shrug your shoulders thinking, "What can I do?"  Well, you can start by participating in elections.  As a non-profit 501C-3 organization, we cannot endorse candidates, but we can encourage you to get involved.  Register to vote if you haven't already (deadline August 12th).  You can download forms from the secretary of State's website ( www.sosaz.com  ). Get to know the candidates in your district, contribute $5 to their clean elections campaign (deadline August 22nd).  Vote in the primary Sept. 10th (early voting begins August 8th) and the general election Nov. 5th (early voting begins Oct. 3rd).  You can request an early ballot from the county recorder http://recorder.maricopa.gov/absentee.htm 602.506-3535 and vote from home.  Vote in the primary Sept. 10th and the general election Nov 5th.  Several useful sites include the non-partisan Arizona League of Conservation Voters http://www.azlcv.org/scorecard/score1.htm for the 2002 Arizona Legislative Scorecard.  Also, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club has a comprehensive guide to the 2002 legislative session and scorecard on your representatives http://arizona.sierraclub.org/political_action 

On the ballot is a legislative sponsored initiative involving land exchanges of state trust lands.  The legislature has tried to amend  the constitution through ballot measures to allow state land swaps four times since 1990 and four times the public saw the inadequacy of those measures and rejected them.  Amending the constitution requires a proposition that limits three-way land swaps which usually favor developers, that allows for greater public review and a complete environmental impact analysis.  MAS opposes this initiative.

Another way to get involved, from the comfort of your home, is by subscribing to the Audubon Activist Alert.  You will receive late breaking alerts requesting that you contact your representatives concerning environmental legislation.  Call Shawn Baur at 602.828.3607 or email shawnbaur@hotmail.com.  Thank you, Shawn, for your diligence on the many important local as well as national issues that effect our environment.

I look forward to serving you as President of Maricopa Audubon Society.  Have a good summer and I hope to see you at the September potluck.  Please feel free to contact me or anyone on the board with suggestions. comments, articles fro the newsletter, program ideas or volunteering opportunities.

COMMITTEES/SUPPORT

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE 

Bequests are an important source of support for the Maricopa Audubon Society.  Your chapter has dedicated itself to the protection of natural world through public education and advocacy for the wiser use and preservation of our land, water, air and other irreplaceable natural resources.

You can invest in the future of our natural world by making a bequest in your will to the Maricopa Audubon Society .  Talk to your attorney for more information on how this can be accomplished.

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Education Chair:  It is with regret that we say goodbye to our two term education chair, Sirena Brownlee, who is moving out of state.  We wish her success and great birding wherever she goes!  We are very pleased to announce our new education chair, Mike Foley.  Many of your are familiar with Mike who is a zoo Program Manager (overseeing all paid programs like Nightcamp, Offsites, Camp zoo, Workshops, Critter Care, Horse hands, etc.) and facilities our membership meetings.  He also thrills our group with occasional introductions of exotic birds that are being prepared for exhibition.  Mike plans to focus his efforts on young adult conservation groups when he replaces Sirena in August.  If you have ideas or are willing to assist Mike's contact info is on the back page of this issue

Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch -  suffered much damage in the April fire that swept through the ranch.  There is both an immediate and a long-term need for volunteers to assist with a wide-range of tasks as the Research Ranch implements a recovery and restoration plan.  If you are interested in helping please call Sam Campana at 602 468-6470 for information.  Please do not just show up without calling. 

The Birdseye Guide to 101 Birding Sites, Phoenix -A new guide published by Rupp Aerial Photography.  The maps are excellent, it is all in color and is $23.95  For more information check www.ruppaerialphoto.com.  

West Coast Seabirds:  ABA's Institute for Field Ornithology (IFO)–Another workshop to be held August 3-8 with Debi Shearwater and Peter Pyle.  For information contact IFO Coordinator Kimberly Lynn at 800-850-2473x235 orifo@aba.org . You can also visit the IFO pages on the ABA site, www.americanbirding.org 

Southwest Wings Birding Festival–August 7-11 in Bisbee.  See Field Trips for information

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - September 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Gammage Auditorium-"our Environmental Destiny" by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  The lecture is free but tickets are required.  To obtain tickets contact Denise Endow at 480-965-1441 or denise.endow@asu.edu or Lindy Stanford at 480-727-6186 or lindy.standford@asu.edu.  Also check out the web at http://clasdean.la.asu.edu/
afc/Marshall/. 

The 5th Annual Central Coast Birding Rally  -  takes place October 4-6.  The event showcases Santa Barbara County, CA, sites on the Central Coast Birding Trail.  For information, write to LPAS, PO Box 2045, Lompoc, CA 93438 or check their website:  http://lpas.westhost.com/rally .

ABA Regional Conference  -  January 12-16, 2003, at the Salton Sea, California.  For more information call the ABA at 800-850-2473 or check out their website www.americanbirding.org.

ABA Annual Convention  -  June 2-8, 2003, in Eugene, Oregon.  Call the ABA or check their website for more information.

More birding and nature festivals.  www.americanbirding.org 

Audubon Adventures:  Give the gift of discovery and share your love of the environment.  The program is designated for students in grades 4-6.  Introduce an entire classroom (up to 32 students) to the wonders of nature for just $35 (plus shipping charges).  You can select your favorite school or let Audubon do it for you.  For orders:  call 800/813-5037.

Maricopa Audubon T-Shirts are available for sale at member meetings or by mail. They feature a Barn Owl primary flight feather overshadowing the common and Latin names of birds found in Maricopa County. Long-sleeved shirts are available in Charcoal, Med, Large or XL, for $20.00. Add $4.00 shipping and handling for the first shirt, $1.50 for each additional shirt. Please allow 3 weeks for delivery. Make checks out to: Maricopa Audubon Society, 1128 E Geneva Dr., Tempe, AZ 85282. For info, contact Laurie Nessel at (480) 968-5614 or laurienessel@hotmail.com

Shade Grown Coffee - ABA is having a sale on Thanksgiving shade grown coffee for ABA members.  Call them at 800-634-7736 or go to the web at abasales@abasales.com 

Do you have an interesting story to tell about birding?  Please forward your submissions to the Editor—Deva Burns.  Check the back page for address/e-mail.  Actually, attaching an article to an e-mail is the absolute easiest way to submit an article.  If you have pictures or slides, you do need to send those to me directly.  Remember, all articles may not be published the first month after receipt.

Who could blame this heron for ignoring the signs along the Scottsdale Greenbelt?  As I sit here at my computer on July 1, it is 109 degrees as the sun goes down the western sky in a red ball.  It seems the whole state is on fire.  Charles Babbits' article in our last issue looks now to have been a self fulfilling prophecy.  Last month I said that all bureaucrats should be required to read it.  In this issue we have reprinted his article from the June 30 Arizona Republic.  Let's hope they have all read this one.

On Saturday last month I spent a marvelous 3 hour breakfast whit Sam Campana our new Sate Director for Audubon Arizona.  I found her extremely enthusiastic and sincere in her plans to advocate for our state's birds and their habitat.  She suggested that I use Les Core's announcement of your appointment as her introduction to MAS.

In her first address to us, our new President, Laurie Nessel, has challenged us to become more environmentally aware and politically involved, echoing things which Sam and I discussed over breakfast.  It seems fitting, then, that you read the conclusion to Buck Parker's "Earth justice" in this issue.  In addition to our regular features, Steve Ganley recounts his trip this spring to Point Pelee where his most unexpected migrant was...Pete Moulton!  Richard Kaiser highlights his MAS field trip to Patagonia-Sonoita Creek which is now closed due to extreme fire danger, and Herb Fibel details his Bit Sit!  Be sure to check with all trip leaders for a final decision on whether trips will go or not.  Now, I plan to go find a waterhole where I can cool off!