March Program – Winged Predators: Raptors of Yellowstone
Katy Duffy of Yellowstone National Park will present a program on "Winged Predators: Raptors of Yellowstone" at the Sacajawea Audubon Society's meeting Monday, March 12th. From frequently seen red-tailed hawks to rarely encountered boreal owls, numerous diurnal and nocturnal raptors inhabit the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Duffy will discuss raptor ecology and identification tips along with the role of citizen science in the new Yellowstone Raptor Initiative.
Katy Duffy is the current interpretive planner for Yellowstone National Park. She previously worked as Yellowstone's south district interpretive ranger and as a interpretive ranger in Grand Teton National Park. She has studied and banded raptors in Wyoming, Montana, New Jersey, Alaska and Israel. She has an M.S. in ecology from Rutgers University.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips, which are listed here on the chapter's website.
February Program – Dinosaur Eggs & Origins of Avian Reproduction
Paleontologist David Varrichhio will speak on "Dinosaur Eggs and Origins of Avian Reproduction" at the Sacajawea Audubon Society's meeting on February 13th. Dinosaur eggs come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes, and arrangements. They show strange surface textures and unusual internal structures. The richest dinosaur egg deposits are from China but dinosaur eggs are now known from around the world. Unfortunately, most eggs remain unidentified to a specific dinosaur. Nevertheless, by studying eggs in the field and through careful laboratory work, scientists have come to understand nesting behavior in a few dinosaurs. Many reproductive features that distinguish birds among living animals had their evolutionary origins in carnivorous dinosaurs like Troodon. Recent studies suggest an unexpected system of parental care in Troodon and perhaps even the first birds.
David Varricchio is a professor of paleontology at Montana State University. In college he studied both geology and paleontology. Working with Jack Horner, he earned his doctorate at Montana State University. His research combines geologic fieldwork with anatomy to address questions on dinosaur paleobiology. Ongoing work includes reproduction in theropod dinosaurs and its significance for bird evolution, burrowing in small herbivorous dinosaurs, and dinosaur social behavior. He has participated in fieldwork in the Sahara, Argentina, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and throughout the American West.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips, listed on the chapter's website at www.sacajaweaaudubon.org/.
January Program – Bird Conservation & Monitoring in Montana
Steve Hoffman, Executive Director of Montana Audubon, will provide an update on "Bird Conservation and Monitoring Efforts in Montana" at the January 9, 2012 meeting of the Sacajawea Audubon Society. This illustrated program will feature the latest information on priority birds and bird habitat conservation efforts in Montana, including recent research findings. New program initiatives are underway by Montana Audubon and its many partners. Hoffman will discuss grassland, wetland and riparian habitats, and the Important Bird Area Program, as well as provide species-specific updates for the Long-billed Curlew, Greater Sage-Grouse, Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and various waterbirds of special concern.
A specialist in wildlife conservation, Steve Hoffman has been Executive Director of Montana Audubon since 2006. He earned an M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from Utah State University. He began his career as a Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in southern Arizona, and later worked as an Endangered Species Specialist for the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Albuquerque. After 10 years of government service, he launched HawkWatch International, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and conservation of hawks, eagles and other birds of prey. After 12 years with HawkWatch, Steve returned to his birth state to become the Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Pennsylvania. In 2004 Steve moved to Bozeman to serve as Executive Director of Predator Conservation Alliance. Steve has written more than 30 scientific papers on raptor biology, conservation, endangered species management, and coyote ecology. He has given hundreds of presentations on various wildlife conservation and bird identification topics to varied audiences across the U.S. Hoffman is a member of the Sacajawea Audubon Society in Bozeman.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips.
December Program – Conservation in the Gallatin Valley
Penelope Pierce, Executive Director of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT), will present a program on Conservation in the Gallatin Valley at the Sacajawea Audubon Society's meeting on December 12. She will cover conservation accomplishments to date, including recent work performed at the trailhead and in the watershed at Sourdough Canyon, and opportunities for the future. GVLT is enthusiastic about collaborative efforts to maintain or enhance the quality of land, water and wildlife in the region. This program is an opportunity to learn about habitat protection and environmental stewardship for community-based conservation efforts.
Founded in 1990, Gallatin Valley Land Trust has had a role in preserving more than 56 square miles of land in the valley and neighboring communities. Using voluntary conservation easements, GVLT works with landowners and other interested parties to arrange conservation agreements. All efforts are collaborative, and all resulting easements are voluntary. Penelope Pierce became executive director of the GVLT in the fall of 2010. Previously she had been the U.S. Regional Director for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and before that an land-use attorney in Seattle. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Environmental Law Center.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips, listed on the chapter's website at www.sacajaweaaudubon.org/.
November Program – Adopt-a-Lek for the Greater Sage Grouse
Sacajawea Audubon Society features Ben Deeble and his program on Greater Sage Grouse, an iconic species of the West's sagebrush landscapes, at the Audubon meeting November 14th. Established by the National Wildlife Federation as a citizen science program, Adopt-a-Lek has been training volunteers to survey sage-grouse breeding leks and habitat across eleven western states. The program came to Montana in 2000. In 2012 Montana Audubon will assume administration of the program in this state. Volunteers gather data for use by scientists in determining the distribution of the Greater Sage Grouse, changes in sage-grouse populations, and the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
Ben Deeble, formerly the Sage Steppe Coordinator for the Northern Rockies & Prairies Regional Center of the National Wildlife Federation, was based at the NRPRC office in Missoula for over a decade. Now under contract with Montana Audubon, Ben is continuing the Adopt-a-Lek project. He has a Master of Science degree. His specialty is shrub-steppe birds and habitats. Previously, he worked for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, the Idaho Fish and Game Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips.
Peregine was a crowd pleaser — October 10th meeting
Jay Sumner, Executive Director of the Montana Peregrine Institute, brought a peregrine to the October meeting of Sacajawea Audubon.
October Program – Peregrine Falcons in Montana
Jay Sumner, Executive Director of the Montana Peregrine Institute, will speak about Peregrine Falcons in Montana, at the Sacajawea Audubon Society's monthly meeting on Monday October 10th. The Montana Peregrine Institute studies peregrine and other cliff-nesting raptors in Montana, bordering states, and nesting cliffs in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico. Not a single nesting peregrine could be found in Montana in 1980. Reintroduction of the species to the state began in 1981. From 1999 through 2010, naturalists found 121 active peregrine territories. The continuing science behind this recovery is the subject of Sumner's presentation.
Working through the Montana Peregrine Institute and with various organizations, Jay Sumner has been surveying the peregrine population in the state since 1999. He is currently coordinating Montana Peregrine-Watch to determine the percent occupancy of the 121 territories in the state. Based in Arlee, Sumner directs the Montana Peregrine Institute; the website is www.montanaperegrine.org/.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips.
September 12th Program (Note our new meeting place)
Resilient Habitat Campaign Targets Greater Yellowstone Ecoregion
Zack Waterman of the Sierra Club will speak at the Sacajawea Audubon Society about the Sierra Club's Resilient Habitats Campaign for the Greater Yellowstone Ecoregion, at the Sacajawea Audubon Society's monthly meeting on September 12th. The Resilient Habitats program is based around the idea that climate change is going to definitely affect the vitality and future health of the few wild places we have left. Given this reality, its important that we plan for the future and manage our public lands in ways that will help the ecosystem live and survive in the warmer years ahead. For example, climate change has already fueled the die off of the whitebark pine species, which also happens to be a major food source for the grizzly bear. The industrialization of public lands is also a concern. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the last large nearly intact ecosystem in the nation's and the planet's northern temperate zone.
Zack has years of experience working in conservation, most recently in Texas. He also interned in the White House. He studied rhetoric at the University of North Carolina. He enjoys international travel and fly fishing. He moved to Bozeman this spring. Now an organizer for Sierra Club's Resilient Habitats Campaign for the Greater Yellowstone Ecoregion, he works out of Sierra Club's new office at 424 East Main Street, Suite 202B, Bozeman.
The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips.