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MAR/APR 2015 NEWSLETTER OF GREAT SALT LAKE AUDUBON www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org I N S I D E Board Highlights .................................................page 2 2015 Great Salt Lake Bird Festival.....................page 3 Field Trips........................................................pages 4,5 In Memory of.......................................................page 5 The Great Public Lands Gamble..........................page 6 GSLA March Family Activity:.............................page 6 San Blas, Mexico Photos......................................page 7 Benefits Reminder to National Audubon Society Members: New National Audubon Society (NAS) members will receive The Pelican free as a courtesy, as part of their first year mem- bership. Thereafter, should renewing NAS members wish to continue to receive The Pelican either in paper form or electronically, they will need to join GSLA. All other benefits such as participation in field trips, bird counts, general meet- ings, legislative representation, will continue to be granted to all NAS members. BiRdS ’n BiteS Join us on the third Tuesday of the month at The Education Center in the Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park for an informative hour and refreshments. It is free and open to the public. We welcome all. Doors open at 6:30, the programs begin at 7pm. Enter Liberty Park at 600 E and 900 So. UpcoMiNg pRogRAMS: March 17th - tRogoNS, tURAcoS and tAMANdUAS ,an artistic walk across the earth’s ecosystems Utah nature artist Carel Brest van Kempen will give a slide presentation of his paintings and discuss the stories they tell about how ecosystems around the world function. Brest van Kempen’s paintings have received widespread acclaim and have been exhibited worldwide in venues including The Smithsonian, The American Museum of Natural History, The British Museum, The National Museum of Taiwan and many others. He was named a “Most Honored Artist of Utah” and a “Master Signature Member” of the Society of Animal Artists. April 21st - LiviNg with BeAveR Karri Smith, Great Salt Lake Audubon Reserve Manager for the Jordan River Migratory Bird Reserve, will give a short presentation on avian habitat enhancement as a response to implementing a “Living with Beaver” demonstration project on the reserve. Following Karri’s presentation the popular PBS film “Leave it to Beavers” will be shown. SAve the dAte foR BASiN & RANge 2015 Please add June 13-14 to your calendar for the GSLA Basin & Range weekend seminar. This year the event is being held at Great Basin National Park. We are in the process of identifying field instructors and will have complete information available on the GSLA website by the end of March. For sure we will be offering tours of the popular Lehman Caves and birding sessions. For those of you who have never attended B&R – this year marks the 33rd year that GSLA has hosted this popular outing. GSLA provides the group campsite so folks can camp Friday and Saturday eve- nings. The goal is to bring together students of nature, lay people and professionals for field studies. Attendees go into the field to learn about their natural surroundings. Each attendee can select up to three classes – two on Saturday and one on Sunday. There is a potluck dinner and short program Saturday evening. It is lots of fun mixed with an educational component. For more information contact Jeanne Le Ber or Ray Smith at 801-532-7384. gReAt pUBLic LANdS gAMBLe RALLy Come join us at the Capitol Rotunda on Monday March 2nd, 4:30-6:00 pm to protest our legislators’ attempt to take over 30 million acres of public lands. This rally is being organized by a coalition of many diverse organizations that include conservation, environment, health, hunting & fishing, religions, non-partisan political organizations and school boards. Help us put an end to this disastrous proposal. Go to page 6 for more details. gSLA MARch fAMiLy Activity: BiRdiNg Boot cAMp Sunday March 29 2015, 3-4:30pm, MiLLeR pARk, See page 6 for details.

mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON …x.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/pdf/pel2015marapr.pdfpainter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

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Page 1: mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON …x.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/pdf/pel2015marapr.pdfpainter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBONwww.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org

INSI

DE

Board highlights .................................................page 22015 Great Salt Lake Bird Festival.....................page 3Field Trips........................................................pages 4,5In memory of.......................................................page 5 The Great public Lands Gamble..........................page 6GSLa march Family activity:.............................page 6San Blas, mexico photos......................................page 7

Benefits Reminder to National Audubon Society Members: New National audubon Society (NaS) members will receive The Pelican free as a courtesy, as part of their first year mem-bership. Thereafter, should renewing NaS members wish to continue to receive The Pelican either in paper form or electronically, they will need to join GSLA. All other benefits such as participation in field trips, bird counts, general meet-ings, legislative representation, will continue to be granted to all NaS members.

BiRdS ’n BiteSJoin us on the third Tuesday of the month at The Education Center in the Tracy aviary at Liberty park for an informative hour and refreshments. It is free and open to the public. We welcome all. Doors open at 6:30, the programs begin at 7pm. Enter Liberty park at 600 E and 900 So.

UpcoMiNg pRogRAMS:March 17th - tRogoNS, tURAcoS and tAMANdUAS ,an artistic walk across the earth’s ecosystems

Utah nature artist Carel Brest van Kempen will give a slide presentation of his paintings and discuss the stories they tell about how ecosystems around the world function. Brest van Kempen’s paintings have received widespread acclaim and have been exhibited worldwide in venues including The Smithsonian, The american museum of Natural history, The British museum, The National museum of Taiwan and many others. he was named a “most honored artist of Utah” and a “master Signature member” of the Society of animal artists.

April 21st - LiviNg with BeAveR Karri Smith, Great Salt Lake audubon reserve manager for the Jordan river migratory Bird reserve, will give a short presentation on avian habitat enhancement as a response to implementing a “Living with Beaver” demonstration project on the reserve. Following Karri’s presentation the popular PBS film “Leave it to Beavers” will be shown.

SAve the dAte foR BASiN & RANge 2015 please add June 13-14 to your calendar for the GSLa Basin & range weekend seminar. This year the event is being held at Great Basin National Park. We are in the process of identifying field instructors and will have complete information available on the GSLa website by the end of march. For sure we will be offering tours of the popular Lehman Caves and birding sessions.

For those of you who have never attended B&r – this year marks the 33rd year that GSLa has hosted this popular outing. GSLa provides the group campsite so folks can camp Friday and Saturday eve-nings. The goal is to bring together students of nature, lay people and professionals for field studies. Attendees go into the field to learn about their natural surroundings. Each attendee can select up to three classes – two on Saturday and one on Sunday. There is a potluck dinner and short program Saturday evening. It is lots of fun mixed with an educational component.For more information contact Jeanne Le Ber or ray Smith at 801-532-7384.

gReAt pUBLic LANdS gAMBLe RALLyCome join us at the Capitol rotunda on monday march 2nd, 4:30-6:00 pm to protest our legislators’ attempt to take over 30 million acres of public lands. This rally is being organized by a coalition of many diverse organizations that include conservation, environment, health, hunting & fishing, religions, non-partisan political organizations and school boards. help us put an end to this disastrous proposal. Go to page 6 for more details.

gSLA MARch fAMiLy Activity: BiRdiNg Boot cAMpSunday March 29 2015, 3-4:30pm, MiLLeR pARk, See page 6 for details.

Page 2: mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON …x.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/pdf/pel2015marapr.pdfpainter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

2The pelican

BoARd MeetiNg highLightS JaNUarY/FEBrUarY 2015

Secretary, Jenn Waterhouse

ThE pELICaNNEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON

printed on recycled paper.

Mission Statement: Great Salt Lake Audubon is dedi-cated to protecting and enhancing habitat for wild

birds, animals and plants, and to maintaining healthy and diverse environments for wildlife and people

throughout the state.

gReAt SALt LAke AUdUBoN diRectoRywww.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org

office152 W. Burton, Suite J, SLC, Utah • (385) 313-0608Send correspondence to p. O. Box 520867, SLC, UT 84152-0867

officeRSpresident, heather Dove.......................................801-424-0010 Vice president, ray Smith....................................801-532-7384Secretary, Jenn Waterhouse...................................801-369-3603Treasurer, Kimberly mcDonald............................801-882-4573

BoARd of diRectoRSTerm Ending 2017Karin Kirchhoff................................................... 801-793-0484 Kimberly mcDonald.............................................801-882-4573 anne Terry............................................................361-649-2430Term Ending 2016alex hoppus.........................................................801-688-3571 Nancy Sakahara....................................................801-487-4025 Guy Frost........................................................801-277-5138Term Ending 2015Jenn Waterhouse...................................................801-369-3603

coMMMittee chAiRSFinance, Guy Frost............................................801-277-5138Newsletter Editor, Nancy Sakahara.......................801-487-4025public Outreach, Nancy howard...........................801-487-4925 Education, Jenn Waterhouse...................................801-369-3603Field Trips, paul Lombardi.................... [email protected] Fundraising............................................................OpEN hospitality, Darlea & Bob Stack...........................801-487-3792 JrmBr manager, Karri Smith..............................801-833-9029membership, heather Dove ..................................801-424-0010programs, Karin Kirchhoff....................................801-793-0484 publicity, rollie and martha Westman,,.............1-651-308-2717 Conservation, Janice Gardner................................801-440-5895JrmBr restoration, Karri Smith.........,...............801-833-9029Volunteer hours, Barb Eastman.............................801-671-8932 Website, heather Dove & David Druker................801-424-0010Submission Guidelines: Original articles and photos arewelcomed. The editor reserves the right to choose and edit as needed. Email articles to [email protected]. The Pelican is published 6 times a year. Submission deadline for

The new year has brought exciting news for the GSLa board. We gladly welcome two new board members, Kim-berly mcDonald and anne Terry!

anne is an environmental educator at Tracy aviary and has been serving on GSLa’s education committee for the past six months. Bringing her roles at Tracy aviary and GSLa together, anne coordinated the children’s portion of the Christmas Bird Count for the past two years, and we appreciate the science and teaching expertise she brings to the board.

Kimberly currently works at mantyla & mcreynolds, a large accounting firm in downtown Salt Lake City. With a mS in accounting and previous experience with non-profits as Secretary and hosting community events and fundraising, we are grateful to her for contributing these valuable skills to our organization.

Janet Frost is stepping down from her roll as GSLa Treas-urer and will continue on as a Board member and member of the finance committee. We warmly thank Janet for the incredible contributions she has made to GSLa in her role as treasurer and are glad to continue to have her participa-tion on the board. Kimberly will be stepping into Janet’s role as GSLa Treasurer—thank you to Kimberly for taking on such a vital role to our organization!

additionally, the board would like to welcome Susan Ogil-vie to the GSLa Finance Committee. Susan has contributed years of work to GSLa already, and we look forward to her further contributions.

Christmas Bird Count: pomera Fronce reported that 106 species were seen this year, which is one of the highest numbers. 35-40 people turned out for the potluck and 22 people came to the Jordan river Count. 81 species were counted along the river. Lots of evening grosbeaks were seen. The night before the count, reporter Sean means called and wanted to report on the count. a photographer met them and took photos during the count, and this re-sulted in an article on the count in the Salt Lake Tribune.Thank you paul Lombardi for donating alcohol to the Christmas Bird Count potluck

Thank you to all who attended the January Birds ‘n Bites, which was one of the best attended monthly meetings in recent memory. There were so many people in attendance that the aviary had to locate more chairs! With the exciting line up of presenters for Birds & Bites this spring, we look forward to continuing to see you all there in the future.

Enjoy the unusually warm weather, and happy birding!

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3apr/mar

GSLa thanks the voters of Salt Lake County for their support of the Zoo, Arts & parks program.

help the wildlife and avian species at the Jordan river migratory Bird reserve by providing a one time contribu-tion or on-going support of habitat enhancement efforts!! please contact Karri Smith at (801) 833-9029 to learn more about how you can help.

2015 great Salt Lake Bird festival featuring david Allen SibleyMay 14-18, 2015

The 2015 Great Salt Lake Bird Festival promises another fantastic program of field trips, workshops, and family events. and the icing on the cake for our 17th annual Festival is Keynote Speaker David allen Sibley.Festival attendees will have several incredible opportunities to interact with Sibley, america’s most gifted contemporary painter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds (2nd edition released in 2014). Sibley will of-fer a workshop at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 15, followed by a book signing. He will also co-lead two field trips on Saturday, may 16, and conclude the day as the keynote speaker at the Festival’s Dutch Oven Dinner.

Dinner tickets to hear David allen Sibley are on sale now at www.GreatSaltBirdFest.com; just click the “register Now” button. Be sure to check back again starting at 9 a.m. MST on March 2 for all field trip registration. Many trips fill up fast—so log in early to get your preferred spots.

as always, the Festival offers a full slate of family activities on Friday evening and all day on Saturday. The “Birding Is for Families” theme is carried out in the first workshop on Saturday morning, offered by author and birder Bill Fenimore. Saturday workshops are free and feature many live birds.

another great feature of the Festival is the annual Student art Contest. The contest is open to Utah students in pre-school through 12th grade. In recent years, the festival has received several hundred exceptional entries from students all over the state. all student art is on exhibit at the Festival from 12–7 p.m. on Friday, may 15,and from 10 a.m. –6 p.m. on Saturday, may 16.

The Festival hosts a vendor fair on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Interested vendors—both businesses and non-profit organizations—should fill out the vendor application found online at www.GreatSaltBirdFest.com.We want to thank all of the Festival volunteer members of the planning committee, past and present, for their hard work. The Festival is truly a result of their passion for sharing the unique bird life and habitat around the Great Salt Lake. We are also grateful to Festival sponsors who support advertising, operations, the Student Art Contest, and field trip locations.

Thank you to the birding organizations in Utah who have taken the Festival “under their wings” and supported us in many ways. And many, many thanks to the best field trip guides in Utah, who have offered their expertise and shared their time and efforts to make sure our guests have a great trip. Finally, if you are reading this, it is very likely you fit in one or more of the categories mentioned above: Thank you for your support!

happy birding,Neka roundy, Festival [email protected]

thANk yoU pAtAgoNiAThe Board of Directors of GSLa and Jordan river migra-tory Bird reserve manager, Karri Smith, would like to thank the Salt Lake City patagonia Outlet for their gener-ous grant to help fund projects at the Jordan river migra-tory Bird reserve!! Community support for the work GSLa does for the environment is essential to our success and very much appreciated.

Page 4: mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON …x.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/pdf/pel2015marapr.pdfpainter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

The pelican 4

great Salt Lake Audubon, www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org(385) 313-0608

calendar of events including field trips for Mar/Apr 2015

Beginning birders are especially welcome. We encourage carpooling on our field trips. Contributions towards gas money would be appreciated. Be sure to call the field trip leader to confirm that arrange-ments are still as published.physical difficulty:EaSY - little or no walking, smooth paths.mODEraTE - 1 mile or more, possible rough terrain.DIFFICULT - extensive walking which could include rough terrain and significant changes in altitude.Despite our best efforts, ratings for the field trips are still somewhat subjective. please consult with the leaders. Monday, March 2nd 7am - eASyiNLANd SeA ShoReBiRd ReSeRve (kennecott’s Mitigation wetlands)Leader: Bryant OlsenWe have obtained permission to do a monthly bird survey of the Inland Sea Shorebird reserve from rio Tinto/Kennecott Utah Copper. This is seldom open to the general public and features all of the familiar Great Salt Lake wetland habi-tats and birds that we usually have to travel farther north to find. Who knows what new birds we can document for Salt Lake County out there? We will also explore areas around Lee Kay ponds, the International Center and Saltair/marina, depending on time and where birds are being reported. We meet at Shopko at 7am to carpool. prE-rEGISTraTION IS REQUIRED as there is limited space on these field trips.Contact Bryant Olsen at 801-498-0362 or [email protected] to sign up.

March 2nd, 4:30-6:00 pmcApitoL RotUNdAgReAt pUBLic LANdS gAMBLe RALLy

wednesday, March 4th, 8:30am - ModeRAteMoUNtAiN deLL Rec AReA, pARLey’S cANyoNLeader: John middletonCome and join us for our monthly bird survey. Even in win-ter interesting birds can still be seen. We’ll meet by 8:30am in the parking lot just west of rEI on 33rd South and 3285 East for a morning of birding. Call John ( 801-322-2171) if you plan to attend.

wednesday, March 4th 6am - eASyBeAR RiveR MigRAtoRy BiRd RefUge and coRiNNeLeader: Bryant Olsen

Join us for a field trip looking for spring migrant water-fowl. We will start at Corrine looking for migratory flocks of Snow and ross’s Geese which gather in the farmers fields by the 10’s of thousands during early morning hours. Then we will head out on Bear river mBr looking for 10’s of thousands of Tundra Swans as well as a great vari-ety of ducks and other wetland birds. We meet at Shopko to carpool and leave at 6am. Contact Bryant Olsen at 801-498-0362 or [email protected] to sign up.

tuesday, March 17th, 7pm BiRdS ’n BiteStRogoNS, tURAcoS and tAMANdUAS7pm at the Education Center, Tracy aviary,589 East 1300 South, Enter Liberty park from 9th South and 6th East

wednesday, March 25th – 8:00am - ½ day or longer if you choose - eASyfARMiNgtoN BAy Leader: Bryant OlsenIt is nesting season, but we are allowed to go through the locked gate by Egg Island accessing the west dike to the 4-way. Join us for a ½ day of birding the Bay. This is a great trip for beginning birders as there are usually birds close-by, and we share a spotting scope for good close looks. We may hike part of the boardwalk at the Nature Center, but those not up to the hike can enjoy the great views of the marsh and heron rookery from the Nature Center deck or the parking lot. anyone interested can join Bryant for birding further north in Davis county in the afternoon. meet at 8am in SE corner of ShopKo parking lot in Sugarhouse or 8:30 at the Nature Center on Glover Ln. Contact Bryant if you plan to attend: 801-498-0362 or [email protected].

Sunday March 29 2015, 3-4:30pmMiLLeR pARkgSLA MARch fAMiLy Activity: BiRdiNg Boot cAMpSee page 6 for details

wednesday, April 1st, 8:30am - ModeRAteMoUNtAiN deLL Rec AReA, pARLey’S cANyoNLeaders: John middletonCome and join us for our monthly bird survey. Spring is in the air so it will be interesting to see what’s there. We have been surveying this area for nine years now and our

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5

great Salt Lake Audubon, www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org(385) 313-0608

calendar of events including field trips for Mar/Apr 2015

mar/apr

Join us for a field trip looking for spring migrant water-fowl. We will start at Corrine looking for migratory flocks of Snow and ross’s Geese which gather in the farmers fields by the 10’s of thousands during early morning hours. Then we will head out on Bear river mBr looking for 10’s of thousands of Tundra Swans as well as a great vari-ety of ducks and other wetland birds. We meet at Shopko to carpool and leave at 6am. Contact Bryant Olsen at 801-498-0362 or [email protected] to sign up.

tuesday, March 17th, 7pm BiRdS ’n BiteStRogoNS, tURAcoS and tAMANdUAS7pm at the Education Center, Tracy aviary,589 East 1300 South, Enter Liberty park from 9th South and 6th East

wednesday, March 25th – 8:00am - ½ day or longer if you choose - eASyfARMiNgtoN BAy Leader: Bryant OlsenIt is nesting season, but we are allowed to go through the locked gate by Egg Island accessing the west dike to the 4-way. Join us for a ½ day of birding the Bay. This is a great trip for beginning birders as there are usually birds close-by, and we share a spotting scope for good close looks. We may hike part of the boardwalk at the Nature Center, but those not up to the hike can enjoy the great views of the marsh and heron rookery from the Nature Center deck or the parking lot. anyone interested can join Bryant for birding further north in Davis county in the afternoon. meet at 8am in SE corner of ShopKo parking lot in Sugarhouse or 8:30 at the Nature Center on Glover Ln. Contact Bryant if you plan to attend: 801-498-0362 or [email protected].

Sunday March 29 2015, 3-4:30pmMiLLeR pARkgSLA MARch fAMiLy Activity: BiRdiNg Boot cAMpSee page 6 for details

wednesday, April 1st, 8:30am - ModeRAteMoUNtAiN deLL Rec AReA, pARLey’S cANyoNLeaders: John middletonCome and join us for our monthly bird survey. Spring is in the air so it will be interesting to see what’s there. We have been surveying this area for nine years now and our

total count for the area stands at 131 species! We’ll meet by 8:30am in the parking lot just west of the REI on 33rd South and 3285 East for a morning of birding. Call John (801-322-2171) if you plan to attend.

friday, April 3rd, 5:30am - eASygReAteR SAge-gRoUSe Lek, heNefeRLeader: Sylvia GrayThis is a wonderful opportunity to witness the spectacular pageantry of male Sage-Grouse strutting on their ancestral lek at dawn. You may leave afterwards or join us for break-fast in morgan, and continue birding in the henefer area. meet in the parking lot just west of the rEI on 33rd South and 3285 East by 5:15am to receive handouts giving directions and Lek etiquette information, and to arrange carpools.The drive to henefer takes about an hour. Contact Sylvia at (801-532-3486) if you would like to go.

Monday, April 13th 7am - eASyiNLANd SeA ShoReBiRd ReSeRve (kennecott’s Mitigation wetlands)Leader: Bryant Olsen(see write-up for march 2nd)

Saturday, April 18th, 9amRoBeRt N. hASeNyAgeR gReAt SALt LAke NAtURe ceNteRUtAh AUdUBoN coUNciL MeetiNg

tuesday, April 21st, 7pmBiRdS ’n BiteSLiviNg with BeAveR7pm at the Education Center, Tracy aviary,589 East 1300 South, Enter Liberty park from 9th South and 6th East

wednesday, April 29th – 8:00am - ½ day or longer if you choose - eASyfARMiNgtoN BAy Leader: Bryant OlsenSee write-up for mar 25th trip

wednesday, May 6th, 8am - ModeRAteMoUNtAiN deLL Rec, pARLey’S cANyoNLeaders: John middletonCome and join us for our monthly bird survey. may should be a good month to see a variety of birds as the Spring migrants are beginning to return. We’ll meet by 8am in the

parking lot just west of the rEI on 33rd South and 3285 East for a morning of birding. Call John (801-322-2171) if you plan to attend.

friday, May 8th to Sunday, May 10th - eASyLytLe RANch, wAShiNgtoN coUNty Leader:dave hanscomDeparture at 6:00 on Friday morning, with a couple of stops en route to St. George (Oak Grove and red Cliffs Campground). Cox park, Springs pond, and Tonaquint park are on the agenda for late day. We’ll stay in motels (everyone is responsible for their own accomodations) and drive to the ranch early Saturday morning, checking for desert species along the way, then stop at Gunlock and Ivins reservoirs on the way back to town. Up early on Sunday morning to bird at Washington Fields, Sand hollow, Grandpa’s pond, and other spots before heading home. This trip is limited to 15 people (4-5 cars only). Call Dave at 801-550-1777 or email [email protected] to register and for more information.

LOUISE hOLLaNDErLouise hollander, a long-time member of Great Salt Lake audubon, passed away January 21 at her home in holladay, Utah. Born in pittsburgh, pa on may 15, 1927, Louise embraced Utah and the out-of-doors as a hiker, naturalist and birdwatcher. Louise was an active member and supporter of GSLA. She attended field trips and bird counts sharing her knowledge of birds, flowers, trees and the environment. Louise supported the annual GSLa birdseed sale and enjoyed feeding the birds in her backyard. This past summer, Louise, her husband milton and family members Glen and Deanna, attended the GSLa annual Basin & range seminar that was held at Bear Lake. Ever curious, during this outing Louise birded the Bear Lake National Wildlife refuge and Bear river meadows, and took the geology session. GSLa and the birds will miss Louise; with sympathy, we send our condolences to her family.

IN mEmOrIamGreat Salt Lake audubon would like to honor the fol-lowing individuals in whose memory generous dona-

tions have been made:Steve Swindle

heidi & prentice Bloedel

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The pelican 6

the gReAt pUBLic LANdS gAMBLe

the issueJoin us as we take a stand together against the takeover of Utah’s public land. The Great public Land Gamble or the Transfer of public Lands act threatens to seize 30 million acres of land that have been held in public ownership for gen-erations. This includes designated wilderness areas, national forests, national parks, national monuments, and BLm lands which are a part of Utah’s heritage and tied to our tourism economy. Do not let the State take over these lands for energy exploration and lock us out of these great public areas which we Utahns have enjoyed for generations. Join us at the State Capitol rotunda on monday march 2nd, 4:30-6:00pm to tell Governor herbert we do not want to gamble away Utah’s future!

About the BillIn 2012, the Utah Legislature passed a bill (the Transfer of public Lands act, or TpLa) demanding that the federal gov-ernment turn over almost all public land in the state by the end of 2014. Governor Gary herbert signed the bill, despite the state’s own lawyers warning the Governor that the law will only trigger a costly and ultimately futile legal battle because the premise on which it is based has a “high probability of being declared unconstitutional.” The litigation costs to taxpayers will likely run into the millions of dollars. Ignoring these warnings, in 2013 the state legislature authorized a $450,000 taxpayer-funded study to determine whether taking over public lands would make economic sense. This study was released to the public on December 1st, 2014. Despite efforts to spin the economic report to the contrary, the report in fact revealed several flaws in the plan. You can read the results of the study by going to https://csee.usu.edu/htm/cur-rent-past-projects/an-analysis-of-a-transfer-of-federal-lands-to-the-state-of-utah/

Sign the petitionGo to this link and sign the petition: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50928/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15641

Learn more at: http://greatpubliclandsgamble.org/Go to Great public Lands Gamble rally page on Facebook and spread the word!

gSLA MARch fAMiLy Activity: BiRdiNg Boot cAMp

Location: miller parkmeeting place: Base of the stairs of miller park’s north entrance (1708 E 900 S, Salt Lake City UT 84103)

Date and Time: Sunday march 29 2015, 3-4:30pmrSVp requested but not required to [email protected]

Birding season is ramping up, so it’s time to hone our skills! Join us in the afternoon on Sunday, march 29th for Great Salt Lake Audubon’s Birding Boot Camp, an activity in which families of all ages can fine-tune bird ID and nature obser-

vation skills in a fun and engaging setting with GSLa’s educators.

The activity will begin at 3pm at the base of the stairs of miller park’s north entrance. We will explore the outdoors with a bird field mark search through the park, make craft tube binoculars, and go on a guided nature walk to explore the plants

and animals in the park.

If you and your family plan to attend, an rSVp to [email protected] is requested but not required. We hope to see you there!

gSLA ByLAwS UpdAtedThe Board of Directors has revised and modernized the GSLa Bylaws. The membership is asked to review these up-dated Bylaws (a link to this document is posted at www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org). members are welcome to provide any comments and feedback by april 1st. The Board will take these comments into consideration and will make any changes deemed necessary. Ratification vote of the Bylaws is planned this spring. Send comments to [email protected]

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7mar/apr

kARRi SMith, SAN BLAS, Mexico photoS

Nesting Wood Storks of the San Blas lagoons are colonial in nature. The storks stand 3-4 feet tall and have a wingspan of 5-6 feet. Females lay 3-5 eggs with a survival rate of only 1-2 fledglings.

roseate Spoonbill – a beautiful winter migrant to the mangroves and lagoons of San Blas, mexico. Standing 3 feet tall with a 5-foot wingspan the spoonbill is a wad-ing bird that sifts through mud for crustaceans, aquatic organisms, fish, and frogs.

Blue-footed Boobies of Isla Isabelle nest in colonies on the ground. This booby is comical in nature and very entertaining during courtship. The Blue-footed Booby is closely monitored on the island with a majority banded.

The Brown Booby is a seabird which skims the surface of the ocean for fish or squid. The Brown booby has yellow feet and is one of three booby species occurring on Isla Isabelle, a small island off the coast of San Blas.

Yellow-crowned Night heron – are year round residents of San Blas mangrove swamps and riv-ers. a beautiful, medium sized heron it stalks its prey from a tree branch or bank at the water’s edge.

a mexican endemic, the Bare-throated Tiger heron is a large wad-ing bird (up to 3-feet in height) that waits motion-less for frogs, fish, and other prey in lagoons and mangrove swamps.

Page 8: mar/apr 2015 NEWSLETTEr OF GrEaT SaLT LaKE aUDUBON …x.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/pdf/pel2015marapr.pdfpainter of birds, and the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

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