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| "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein |
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"One means of sanity is to retain a hold on the
natural world, to remain, in so far as we can, good
animals…We simply need that wild country available
to us, even if we never do more than drive to its
edge and look in. For it can be a means of
reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a
part of the geography of hope." - Wallace Stegner |
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Congress Approves Major Funding Increase for
Long Island Sound Restoration
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As the debate on the federal budget has come to an
end, Congress and the President have agreed to spend
$7 million for protecting and restoring Long Island
Sound, more than double the funding received last
year. This funding will be split between the Long
Island Sound Stewardship and Restoration Acts, and
stimulate efforts to improve water quality and
protect important open spaces around this critical
national treasure.
“Today is a great day for Long Island Sound, and
this increased funding will jumpstart desperately
needed water quality improvements, habitat
protection initiatives, and enhanced public access
opportunities, ensuring future generations will be
able to enjoy a cleaner Long Island Sound.,” Said
Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New
York, the state program of the National Audubon
Society. “We applaud our Congressional champions,
especially Congressman Israel, Congresswoman Lowey,
Congressman Bishop, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand,
and the rest of the Long Island Sound Congressional
Caucus members for fighting hard for this critical
funding.”
To view a copy of the press release,
click here.
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Better Bottle Bill Now In Effect!!! |
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On October 31st, (with a grace period until November
8th for stores to comply selling only bottled water
that complies with the ruling) the Better Bottle
Bill went into effect. All containers of water sold
in New York under a gallon in size will now have a
5-cent refundable deposit. This law expands the
state’s 5-cent deposit on beer and soda containers
to include water bottles.
The new law also requires beverage companies to
transfer 80% of the unclaimed deposits they collect
to the state, and make other changes to improve and
update the program.
Finally, the new law will improve the infrastructure
for collecting and recycling bottles and cans,
making it more convenient for people to return their
empty containers.
This is a major grassroots victory, and one that
will have huge benefits for New York. Together,
these reforms will result in noticeably cleaner
communities, higher recycling rates and new revenue
for the state!
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Audubon New York Releases Strategic Plan
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“Audubon
New York’s new Five-Year Strategic Plan was
approved by the New York State Board of Directors in
October of 2009.
The plan is the result of more than a year of
work by the staff, with input from the State Board
of Directors, local Audubon chapters from across the
state, and partners in state and federal agencies
and other conservation organizations. This plan will
guide our work through 2014.”
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Important Bird Area Field Trips
with Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon This Spring!
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The Important Bird Areas Program (IBA) is a global effort to identify and conserve areas that are vital to birds and other biodiversity. By working with Audubon chapters, landowners, public agencies, community groups, and other non-profits, Audubon endeavors to interest and activate a broad network of supporters to ensure that all Important Bird Areas are properly managed and conserved.
The Important Bird Areas Program recognizes that coupled with global warming, habitat loss and fragmentation are the most serious threats facing populations of birds across America and around the world. By working to identify and implement conservation strategies at Important Bird Areas, we hope to minimize the effects that habitat loss and degradation have on birds and other biodiversity. Please go to http://www.audubon.org/bird/IBA// for more
information.
This spring, almost all of our field trips will be
taking place at IBAs. Please join HOBAS as we
celebrate Important Bird Areas!
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Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon featured in the Oyster Bay
Enterprise Pilot
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"If you haven't received the
November - December issue of Killdeer, the
newsletter of the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society, do try
to get a copy."
"The small newsletter is packed with eye-opening
information and we recommend you sign on and join
this important group."
Click
here to read the article.
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Birdathon 2009 -
Thank you for helping us achieve our goal!
Congratulations to all our winners!
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Thanks to the generous support of our
friends and members, we were able to raise
$4,500 this year. Yes, it is almost half of
what we raised last year, but in these
trying times, and with a glitch occurring at
the printer, we feel we did pretty well!
As always, Birdathon was a fun (and long!)
day. On May 17th we started out at 6:45 AM
at Alley Pond Park and finished the day up
at 8:15pm at Shu Swamp. A portion of the day
was rather cold, rainy and windy but despite
this, our grand total for the day was 113
species. We are proud to say that the girls
outlasted the boys this time around as we
birded until dark! The eight locations
covered were Alley Pond Park, Forest Park,
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Oceanside
Marine Center, Jones Beach, Stillwell Woods,
Upper Francis Pond Preserve and Shu Swamp.
The highlights of the day were the black
necked stilt at Oceanside, a beautiful
perched peregrine falcon at Jones Beach and
19 wood duck flying in for the evening at
Shu Swamp!
Many thanks to the team members and sponsors
of Birdathon 2009! We would like to thank
our generous donors for the sponsorship and
team prizes:
Fiddleheads Restaurant,
The
Mill River Inn Restaurant (each donated a
$150 gift certificate),
Wild Honey
Restaurant (dinner for two gift
certificate), the
Grand Wine Cellar in
Syosset (a gift basket worth $50), Stella
Miller (who added more wine to the basket,
bringing its value up to $75), David Bathie
(who carved a gorgeous wooden shorebird) and
Ginger Mahoney (beautiful handcrafted
pottery, created in her own studio, along
with coffee and scones). Thanks should also
go to Stella, who obtained the restaurant
and wine prizes for our event.
The lucky winners of the raffle were: Debbie
Martin ($500 cash), Marie Treubert (the gift
card to
Fiddleheads Restaurant), Laura Eaton
(the gift card to
Mill River Inn) and
Lucille Mayer (wine gift basket).
The folks sponsoring the team members were
not the only ones who had a chance to win
prizes. Team members competed to see who
could bring in the most donations. Ginger
Mahoney came in third, but very generously
withdrew from winning her own pottery(!)
and so the prize went to Douglas Caracappa.
Second prize was the carving and Bill Reeves
was the winner in that category. He was
knocked out of last year’s first place
standing by Stella Miller, who won dinner
for two at
Wild Honey
Restaurant. Stella and
Bill were in fierce competition, with Bill
nipping at Stella’s heels every step of the
way!
A very special thanks go to Ms. Martin who
will be donating the $500 back to HOBAS’ Youth
Outreach Committee to assist in our youth
outreach program! Thank you Debbie!
Everyone’s efforts were much appreciated and
we look forward to Birdathon 2010
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