Redwood Region Audubon Society

Announcements and Happenings for May 2004

Special Children’s Issue
By Tom Leskiw, guest editor:

This past winter, it occurred to me that RRAS isn’t as inclusive of children as it might be. It is they who will inherit the mantle of environmental stewardship; they who will need to find a way to co-exist with the other 6 billion (and counting!) inhabitants of this planet. The month of May is synonymous with rebirth and growth, as the Northern Hemisphere awakens to the sights, sounds, and smells of spring. For these reasons, it seems fitting to dedicate May 2004 as The Sandpiper’s first annual Children’s Issue. We would like to produce the Children’s Issue once each year. Send your feedback to me at tomleskiw@aol.com or 442-5444.  

I’d like to say a few words about the contributors. I met Brianne Yokoyama when she and my wife took a bird class from John Hewston in 1999. Tagging along on their trip to Elk Head, I immediately grasped that here was a future hot birder. She’s now 16, a high school junior. Besides birdwatching, her favorite activities include beachcombing, playing the piano, reading, gardening, and drawing.

Once this issue was a “go,” I contacted some parents for their input. Kerry Ross disclosed that he was “closet” maze-maker and would welcome the chance to contribute. In order to flourish, the birding community requires period infusions of younger birders replacing those of us who don’t get out as often as we once did. Kerry’s skills and enthusiasm ensure that Humboldt’s reputation for nurturing hot birders continues.     

When in need of environmentally themed artwork, locals often turn to Gary Bloomfield. In addition to original prints, his artwork graces posters, T-shirts, etc. He’s a Humboldt mainstay. Who else you gonna call to produce this month’s Children’s Issue banner?

Mail Garden Tour Ticket Orders by June 16

Use the form below to attend the 2^nd Annual Wildlife & Native Plant Garden Tour on Saturday, June 26. $15 buys you entry to nine private and commercial gardens between Eureka and McKinleyville designed to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife or that feature native species.

If you miss the mail order deadline, you can buy tickets through the day of the tour at these locations: Eureka – Pierson’s Garden Shop & Nursery, Strictly for the Birds, Freshwater Farms; Arcata – Northcoast Environmental Center, Garden Gate, Mad River Gardens; McKinleyville – Miller Farms Nursery.

Conservation Report
by Chet Ogan

What’s on the scope?  Wave power. It seems that “location” has been a key element for projects here. Wal-mart had chosen the balloon tract for their site.  If Eureka is to have any chance at using its seaport as a trans-shipping location, it needs a fairly large site to serve as a hub to offload cargo from seagoing containers onto trucks or railroad cars.  The logical site is the balloon tract. 

Now a Minnesota company is looking at areas around Humboldt Bay to build a wave-generated power facility.  This sounds like a relatively clean potential power source, but where are the snags?  Location.  The plan is to use the wave power to pump water from the ocean into a large reservoir or tower on land then use gravity to power turbines to provide electricity.  Fishermen will be concerned that fishing grounds may be taken to site the array of pumps.  A large enough reservoir site will need to be procured to hold the water.  McKinleyville, Table Bluff, and Samoa Peninsula have been suggested as potential reservoir locations. What about Centerville?  Let’s hear out the proposal.

Jim Clark reported at our Conservation Committee meeting about a new system called “pictrometrix” that uses low angle photo images taken over different periods of time to detect changes in land uses.  This system has been used to detect illegal wetland fills. 

At the recent Pacific Coast Joint Venture meeting, it was reported that state bond money has been used to purchase several key properties near Lake Earl. 

Good news-bad news?  According to California Department of Fish and Game, more Aleutian Geese are now found feeding and roosting near Humboldt Bay than are using areas near Crescent City.  These geese are foraging primarily on the Arcata Bottoms and flying to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge to roost at night. This is a concern to dairy farmers in the bottoms. Unfortunately the Aleutian geese are not heavily using Mad River Slough Wildlife Area, but instead use fields adjacent to Samoa Blvd. and Lanphere Road.

In the early 1990’s, RRAS Conservation Committee considered trying to get Humboldt Bay designated as a Ramsar site.  Chad Roberts, Conservation Committee chair at that time, suggested as a first step we should consider becoming a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network  (WHSRN) site.  In 1998 I was instrumental in getting that designation for refuges around Humboldt Bay.  At the Humboldt Bay Symposium last March 15 several people mentioned that it would be good to seek Ramsar designation for Humboldt Bay.  David Hull, Chairman of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Commission, was among those seeing the benefits of such a designation, after all, Bolinas Lagoon and Tomales Bay are already Ramsar sites.  A Ramsar designation suggests “wetlands should be selected for the List on account of their international significance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology or hydrology”.   The Humboldt Bay region certainly qualifies. We are already recognized as an Important Bird Area by both American Birding Association and National Audubon.

The Conservation Committee meets the third Thursday each month at noon at the Golden Harvest Restaurant in Arcata. Members are welcome. The next meetings are scheduled for May 20 and June 17.

Thank You, Godwit Café Donors & Volunteers

RRAS sends its appreciation to Los Bagels for donating the bagels and Brio Breadworks for the bread sold in the Café and to Has-Beans and Strawhouse Coffee for giving us coffee to brew. A huge “chef hats off” to Troy Leopardo and his helper Philip Smyser, who crafted the beef stew and pea soup, and to Philip Smyser and Chet Ogan for putting the whole thing together.

The Café operated 20 hours during the Godwit Days festival, raising $600 for RRAS. This feat required yeoman efforts from the following volunteers: Marji Anderson, Richard & Chris Beresford, Laura & Mike Bradley, Jim Clark, David Fix & Jude Power, Laura Julian, Barbara Kelly, Troy Leopardo, Grace Marton, Rinda & Don McClure, Dick & Ann McWorter, Chet & Barbara Ogan, and CJ Ralph.

First Student Bird Art Contest a Hit
By Sue Leskiw

During Godwit Days April 16-18, drawings from over 100 Humboldt County school children were displayed at the Arcata Community Center. Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) and Redwood Region Audubon Society (RRAS) teamed to sponsor this first annual student bird art contest. Over $200 in prizes were awarded at the festival’s opening reception.

2004 Art Contest Winners. Front row (left to right): Nicholas Thomas, Ryan Thomas, Jenafer Knight. Back row: Emily Uemura, Sam Vaughn, Gregory Arena, Lauren Tompkins, Chelsea Stewart-Fusek. Not shown: Madelin Pitts, Cebre Allen, Jasmine Dorrell, Treena Yampolsky, Alisha Brown.

Some 143 students – from kindergarten through high school senior -- responded to the call for drawings of any of 40 bird species. The results were judged by a panel of local wildlife artists and educators, who selected 13 winners, as follows. There are clickable links to each group's artwork

Grades K-3

• First Place, Nicholas Thomas, Dow’s Prairie School

• Second Place, Ryan Thomas, Dow’s Prairie School

• Third Place (tie), Jenafer Knight, Castlerock Charter School, and Madelin Pitts, Blue Lake School

Grades 4-6

• First Place, Emily Uemura, St Mary’s School

• Second Place, Sam Vaughn, St Mary’s School

• Third Place (tie), Gregory Arena, St Mary’s School, and Lauren Tompkins, home schooled

Grades 7-9

• First Place, Cebre Allen, Fieldbrook School

• Second Place, Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, Fieldbrook School

Grades 10-12

• First Place, Jasmine Dorrell, South Fork High

• Second Place, Treena Yampolsky, South Fork High

• Third Place, Alisha Brown, South Fork High

Entries were received from 18 different schools throughout the county: Bloomfield, Trillium Charter, Salmon Creek, Dow’s Prairie, Mattole Valley Spanish Immersion, Sunset, Whitethorn, Blue Lake, Lafayette, Grant, Castle Rock Charter, Cutten, St Mary’s, Alice Birney, Jacoby Creek, Pacific Union, Fieldbrook, Eureka High, South Fork High, plus one home-schooled child.

Third graders (35%) and first graders (18%) accounted for over half the entries. The most popular birds drawn were Great Blue Heron (14), Bald Eagle (13), Marbled Godwit (12), and Great Egret (10). No one drew the signature birds of the two sponsoring groups: Marsh Wren for FOAM and Marbled Murrelet for RRAS!

Thanks go to the judges – Louise Bacon-Ogden, Gary Bloomfield, Rick Kruse, Linda Parkinson, Sara Starr, and Gwen Thoele – and to Sue Leskiw for coordinating the event.

Redwood Region Audubon Society Local Membership Category

Local membership in R.R.A.S. is available for our supporters who want to receive The Sandpiper, but not be members of National Audubon. The cost of this service is $15. Please make checks payable to R.R.A.S. and send to P.O. Box 1054, Eureka, CA 95502. Write LOCAL MEMBERSHIP on your check.

Redwood Region Audubon Society welcomes the following new members and subscribers: