Join Redwood Region Audubon Society for a free guided field trip at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Meet leader Cindy Moyer at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata. Bring your binoculars and have a great morning birding. Please visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines. Let us know you plan to attend by text/messaging Ralph Bucher at 707-499-1247, or email thebook@reninet.com with the walk date and name, email and phone number for each participant.

Join Redwood Region Audubon Society online for two presentations on local and regional fire management. We welcome Margo Robbins who will present “Traditional Fire Practices in a Contemporary Context” and Lenya Quinn-Davidson who will discuss “Bringing Prescribed Fire Back to the People”.

Margo Robbins is Executive Director of the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC), a 501 (c)(3) organization located on the upper Yurok Reservation in far Northern California, and co-founder and co-lead of the Indigenous People's Burn Network (IPBN), will discuss how these two entities are helping tribes revive their traditional burn practices.

The IPBN is a support network led by Native American people who are revitalizing their traditional fire cultures in a contemporary context.   The long-term goal of the IPBN is to assist indigenous nations across the U.S. and abroad to reclaim their traditional fire regimes.  Cultural practitioners of the Yurok, Hoopa, and Karuk tribes, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy piloted this project which culminated in the creation of the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk Healthy Country Plan which outlines a pathway for the three tribes to reclaim their traditional burn practices.  The CFMC is in the process of implementing the strategies outlined in the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk Healthy Country Plan which include 1) Establish a family-led burn program, 2) Build local capacity, 3) Initiate Collaborative burning and learning opportunities, 4) Strengthen state and federal support of cultural burning.

The mission of the Cultural Fire Management Council is “to facilitate the practice of cultural burning on the Yurok Reservation and Ancestral lands, which will lead to a healthier ecosystem for all plants and animals, long term fire protection for residents, and provide a platform that will in turn support the traditional hunting and gathering activities of Yurok." Their long-term goal is to fully reclaim our sovereign right to use fire as a tool to restore Yurok ancestral territory to a healthy, viable ecosystem that supports the cultural lifeways of Yurok people

The CFMC has several strategies for achieving these goals. These include ongoing implementation of a cultural burn fire program, strengthening state and federal support of cultural burning, building local capacity, public outreach about good fire, and intergenerational transfer of knowledge. 

Margo graduated from Humboldt State University in 1987. Margo comes from the traditional Yurok village of Morek and is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe. She gathers and prepares traditional food and medicine and is a basket weaver and regalia maker. She is also the Indian Education Director for the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School district, a mom, and a grandma.

Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Area Fire Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension, will discuss recent efforts to bring prescribed fire back into the hands of landowners, community members, and cultural practitioners throughout California. Prescribed fire is used to increase biodiversity, reduce fire risk, and increase landscape and community resiliency, and recent catastrophic wildfire seasons have piqued national interest in increasing its use. Lenya will share her community-based work in Humboldt County, as well as statewide policy and community organizing activities that are changing the face of prescribed fire throughout the West. Lenya’s primary focus is on the human connection with fire, and increasing the use of prescribed fire for habitat restoration, invasive species control, and ecosystem and community resiliency. Lenya works on prescribed fire issues at various scales, including locally in Humboldt County, where she works with private landowners to bring fire back as a land management tool; at the state level, where she collaborates on policy and research related to prescribed fire; and nationally, through her work and leadership on prescribed fire training exchanges (TREX). Lenya received a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley and a Master of Arts in Social Science from Humboldt State University. She is passionate about using prescribed fire to inspire and empower people, from rural ranchers to agency leaders to young women pursuing careers in fire management, and everyone in between.

Visit www.rras.org for the link to join these presentations.

Join Redwood Region Audubon Society for a free guided field trip at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Meet leader Carol Wilson at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata. Bring your binoculars and have a great morning birding. Please visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines. Let us know you plan to attend by text/messaging Ralph Bucher at 707-499-1247, or email thebook@reninet.com with the walk date and name, email and phone number for each participant.

Redwood Region Audubon Society will offer a free guided birding tour at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with leader Ralph Bucher. This is a wonderful, two- to three- hour trip for people wanting to learn the birds of the Humboldt Bay area. It takes a leisurely pace with an emphasis on enjoying the birds! Beginners are more than welcome. Please visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines. Let us know you plan to attend by text/messaging Ralph Bucher at 707-499-1247, or email thebook@reninet.com with the walk date and name, email and phone number for each participant.

Redwood Region Audubon Society will host a “Catio Tour” from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Arcata and McKinleyville.

A catio, or cat patio, is an enclosure that allows cats to access a fun outdoor space that is protected from dangers such as cars, disease, and injury from other cats and, at the same time, protects birds and other wildlife. This in-person, self-guided tour showcases seven catios in Arcata and McKinleyville. It features backyard enclosures from frugal to fabulous. Visit these private yards and get inspired to make your yard and neighborhood more bird and wildlife friendly.

Come to the tour and talk with our catio enthusiasts about their varied and interesting outdoor spaces for cats. Participants will receive a map of the yards when they purchase a $10 ticket. Purchase in advance and start the tour at any catio location. Visit catios in any order from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Advance tickets are available online at www.rras.org or mail your check to: RRAS, Re: Catio Tour, P.O. Box 1054, Eureka, CA 95502. Monday, September 13 is the advance purchase deadline. Please buy online or postmark your envelope by the 13th so we can send you the catio map before the tour date.

Tickets may also be purchased and picked up on Saturday, September 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (cash or check only) at the Bella Vista Plaza parking lot at 1225 Central Avenue in McKinleyville.

Funds raised will support Redwood Region Audubon Society’s ongoing educational programs and habitat conservation efforts.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for set-up and take-down, ticket selling, and greeting visitors at the catio yards. All volunteers will receive a free catio tour ticket.  For more information, please contact Harriet Hill at harrieth6@gmail.com (please include ‘catio’ in the subject line).

Join Redwood Region Audubon Society for a free guided field trip at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. Meet leader Michael Morris at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata. Bring your binoculars and have a great morning birding. Please visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines. Let us know you plan to attend by text/messaging Ralph Bucher at 707-499-1247, or email thebook@reninet.com with the walk date and name, email and phone number for each participant.

Join Redwood Region Audubon Society for a Wigi Wetlands Volunteer Workday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Help create bird-friendly native habitat and restore a section of the bay trail. The trail section is located behind the Bayshore Mall and volunteers will meet in the parking lot directly behind Walmart. We will provide tools and packaged snacks. Please bring your own water, gloves, and face mask. Please contact Jeremy Cashen at jeremy.cashen@yahoo.com or (214) 605-7368.