Monthly Archives: September 2013

Christmas Island’s Facebook Booby Bust

by J.R. Absher, Editor

The Birding Wire

When the Christmas Island tourism board recently promoted its eco-tourism opportunities on social media by posting photographs and descriptions of its most prolific indigenous bird species, it never expected to experience the wrath of Facebook censors.

All the tourism folks from tiny external territory of Australia were trying to do was to promote the annual Bird ‘n’ Nature Week, in addition to highlighting its population of the Abbott’s Booby, Red-footed Booby and Brown Booby.

But Facebook claimed the posting of a Brown Booby chick along with the text: “Some gorgeous shots here of some juvenile boobies,” breached its decency guidelines, and it promptly removed the horribly offending photograph and copy.

According to Travel Daily News, a subsequent appeal from Christmas Island Tourism Association to Facebook failed to gain traction with the behemoth Internet social-networking site.

“We presumed our original advert was blocked automatically so we appealed to Facebook directly who re-affirmed the campaign was banned due to the sexual language, particularly the use of the word ‘boobies,'” said Linda Cash, the association’s marketing manager.

Fortunately, the Facebook Boobie Bust has made no significant impact to birding-related tourism to the island, and accommodations for the special event were booked solid for weeks, reported Ms. Cash.

The tiny Australian territory located 360 miles south of Java has been called “Australia’s Galapagos” and renowned British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough called footage of him being overrun by red crabs during Christmas Islands annual crab migration in 1990 one of his top 10 most memorable experiences.

Travel Daily News reports that with the closure of the island’s Detention Center, its 1,350 permanent residents have turned to eco-tourism – and particularly to international birders. As a result, one of the key promotions has been the Bird ‘n’ Nature Week every September, attracting bird enthusiasts from around the globe to see the island’s endemic landbirds and 80,000 nesting seabirds — including the endangered Abbott’s Booby.

Sam Collins, founder of London‘s Ethos Travel, the first UK company to offer travel to the island, said Bird ‘n’ Nature Week is one of the best times to visit the island and the economy there is becoming increasingly reliant on holiday travelers from the UK and the rest of Europe.

“Christmas Island tourism is in its infancy, but there are few places in the world where you can find such a magical concentration of rare species of sea and land animals.” He said. “By blocking the tourist board’s campaign, one of the world’s great eco-tourism destinations is being deprived of its lifeline because someone at Facebook cannot comprehend that a Booby is a bird. Dare I say it, but with so many Boobies to see, it is like all your Christmases come at once.”

We’d have to agree, there’s so many Boobies, and so little time.

Feds’ Final Decision for Barred Owl Removal Announced

As part of the comprehensive effort to help recover the threatened northern spotted owl, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has announced its Record of Decision for the experimental removal of barred owls from up to four test areas in the Pacific Northwest.

The Service has identified habitat loss and competition from recently arrived barred owls as the most pressing threats to the northern spotted owl. Barred owls are larger than northern spotted owls, more aggressive and have a broader diet, which makes them more resilient to declines in habitat quality.

In early September, the Service announced its decision to use the Preferred Alternative as described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The experiment will remove barred owls from parts of up to four study areas in the northern spotted owl’s range using lethal and non-lethal methods of removal, and then monitor the effect of such removal on northern spotted owl population trends. The Service plans to begin some barred owl removal this fall.

“We chose this alternative because it would provide for a strong, scientifically credible experiment with a high power to detect the effect of the barred owl removal on spotted owl populations,” said Paul Henson, State Supervisor of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office. “These test areas will provide results applicable across the range of the northern spotted owl in a timely manner.”

The Service will attempt to implement the entire experiment on all four study areas, but may implement the experiment on only a subset if insufficient funds become available to support the full experiment. Any subset would fall within the boundaries of identified study areas.

“We can’t ignore the mounting evidence that competition from barred owls is a major factor in the northern spotted owl’s decline, along with habitat loss,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “We are working with our partners to improve forest health and support sustainable economic opportunities for local communities, and this experimental removal will help us determine whether managing the barred owl population also helps recover the northern spotted owl.”

The experiment would be conducted on four study areas spread across the range of the northern spotted owl, including the Cle Elum in Washington, half the combined Oregon Coast Ranges and Veneta in northernOregon, the Union/Myrtle (Klamath) in southern Oregon, and the Hoopa (Willow Creek) in California. Given the size and number of northern spotted owl sites in the combined study areas, this alternative would require an estimated four years of barred owl removal to detect significant results.

The Service listed the northern spotted owl as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1990. Based on the 2009 demographic analysis, northern spotted owls have been declining at an average annual rate of 2.9 percent rangewide.

Barred owls are native to eastern North America, but only recently arrived in the West. They were first documented in the range of the northern spotted owl in Canada in 1959 and in western Washington in 1973. The range of the barred owl in the western United States now completely overlaps with the range of the northern spotted owl.

If barred owl removal proves to be a feasible and effective method to increase spotted owls, the Service may consider using barred owl removal as part of a larger barred owl management strategy. This management strategy would involve a separate National Environmental Policy Act process. For more information about the barred owl Decision of Record, visit http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/.

The ESA provides a critical safety net for fish, wildlife and plants and has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, as well as promoting the recovery of many others. The Service is actively engaged with conservation partners and the public in the search for improved and innovative ways to conserve and recover imperiled species. To learn more about the Service’s Endangered Species program, visit:http://www.fws.gov/endangered/.

Images of barred owls and northern spotted owls are available atwww.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/sets/.

Council Grove 10th Annual Outdoor Youth Event

Saturday, October 5 – Noon to 4:00 p.m.

Area youth are invited to attend a FREE shotgun, pellet rifle, and archery shooting and safety clinic at CouncilGrove Lake. Registration is required by September 27.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Flint Hills Chapter of Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF), and the Morris County Hunter Education instructors are sponsoring this special event, which will provide participants with an opportunity to enhance firearm and archery shooting and safety skills.

            Participants will be provided safety and shooting instruction by certified firearm and archery skills instructors. All gear and supplies, including shotguns, pellet rifles, shells, bows, arrows, targets, and eye and ear protection will be provided by KDWPT’s “Pass It On” and Hunter Education Programs. Participants need only a desire to learn some valuable techniques and have fun! Teaching methods almost guarantee that students will be breaking shotgun targets by the end of the session.

            Anyone, age 11 through 16 may participate. Participants are required to pre-register for the event. Students are not required to have completed a hunter education course, but prior completion is preferred. The event will begin at 12:00 p.m. at the COE managed area between Marina Cove and Neosho Park, approximately 0.25 miles west of the COE office at the west end of the dam. Check-in and a free lunch provided by QUWF, will be between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. Instruction will then begin at 12:30 p.m. and will end at approximately 4:00 p.m.

Persons interested in registering or learning more about this special event can contact:

Brent Konen – Council Grove Wildlife Area Manager #620/767-5900

Can Political Pressure Derail Feds’ Effort To Cull Hatcheries?

By Etta Pettijohn

The Outdoor Wire

There have been several new developments since we reported on Tuesday, September 3 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plans — being kept well away from public and media scrutiny for fear of political backlash — to shutter most if not all of the agency’s mitigation hatcheries.

For more than a dozen years and under multiple administrations, agency hierarchy has pointed to budget constraints as the reason to shed the Congressionally mandated responsibility for mitigating the loss of native fisheries caused by the federal dams built in the past century.

Although FWS officials would not confirm these plans, insiders apparently contacted some media outlets in South Dakota as they began reporting that the historic D.C. Booth Hatchery, built in 1896 and home to the largest collection of freshwater aquatic research in the U.S., had received orders to close by Oct. 1.

The response to questions from The Outdoor Wire directed to several agency officials, like Laury Parramore, FWS Office of Communications, included statements like: “Leadership within the Service conducted an extensive review of propagation hatcheries within the NFHS to ensure we are best positioned to address the agency’s highest priority aquatic resource needs now and into the future. Outcomes from the review are now guiding a decision-making process toward more strategic, priority-driven investments and operating our hatcheries within available funds.”

FUNDING QUESTIONS

Questions began surfacing about the agency’s reasons for planning to close these facilities, considering the FWS’s “FY 2014 Budget Request and Justification,” included in President Obama’s FY 2014 budget submitted to Congress on February 12, 2013. In this document the agency requested funding these facilities at the same level as in recent years, and no cuts were mentioned.

“The 2014 budget request for the National Fish Hatchery System Operations is $46,528,000 and 355 FTE, a net program change of -$172,000 and -3FTE from the 2012 Enacted,” said Rick Nehrling, a 38-year veteran of the FWS, with 19 years overseeing southeastern U.S. hatcheries, “This statement informs us that all hatcheries – including the mitigation hatcheries – are fully funded.”

Seems someone in FWS has some explaining to do, and if some members of Congress have anything to say about it, it won’t be long.

THE HEAT IS ON

The current climate in Washington D.C. is heated, as both sides of the aisle clash over cutting spending to try to stem the runaway deficits. Both sides agree wasteful spending must be curtailed, but neither will agree throwing out the baby with the bathwater is a prudent idea.

The 70 federal hatcheries support at least 3,500 jobs and have an annual economic impact of more than $325 million. These facilities lead to major economic advantages for the communities that house them, and are a beacon of sound government management. Besides the economic advantages, these provide the means to fulfill President Barak H. Obama’s “2012 Great Outdoors Initiative,” designed to increase and enhance outdoor recreation.

On Sept. 11, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mark Pryor (D-AR), John Boozman (R-AR) – along with House members Rick Crawford, Doug Collins, Tom Cotton, Tim Griffin, Phil Roe and Steve Womack – sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell requesting for a 60-day delay in the implementation of any recommendations for closure of any national fish hatcheries or other plans, so the public could review them.

“It is our understanding that this study is soon to be released, along with decisions about hatchery closures,” Alexander and his colleagues stated in the letter. “We are gravely concerned that Congress has not been consulted on the matter.”

In another development, Sen. Tim Johnson, (D-SD), on Sept. 4 in a letter to Secretary Jewell requesting that the FWS “maintain funding for the D.C. Booth National Fish Hatchery,” and that he be apprised of the any decisions made about the status of the facility. Johnson, like Sen. Alexander, is a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

It appears the FWS’s plans to quietly eliminate these hatcheries from its overall responsibilities have surfaced – catching the attention of some mighty big fish in Congress, those with the ability to get to the bottom of what’s really on the line.

Council Grove 10th Annual Outdoor Youth Event

Council Grove 10th Annual

Outdoor Youth Event

Area youth are invited to attend a FREE shotgun, pellet rifle, and archery shooting and safety clinic at Council Grove Lake. 

Saturday, October 5 – Noon to 4:00 p.m.


Controlled live fire instruction will teach safe, responsible,

and fun shooting techniques.  

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Flint Hills Chapter of Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF), and the Morris County Hunter Education instructors are sponsoring this special event, which will provide participants with an opportunity to enhance firearm and archery shooting and safety skills.

Participants will be provided safety and shooting instruction by certified firearm and archery skills instructors.  All gear and supplies, including shotguns, pellet rifles, shells, bows, arrows, targets, and eye and ear protection will be provided by KDWPT’s “Pass It On” and Hunter Education Programs.  Participants need only a desire to learn some valuable techniques and have fun!  Teaching methods almost guarantee that students will be breaking shotgun targets by the end of the session.

Anyone, age 11 through 16 may participate.  Participants are required to pre-register for the event.  Students are not required to have completed a hunter education course, but prior completion is preferred.  The event will begin at 12:00 p.m. at the COE managed area between Marina Cove and Neosho Park, approximately 0.25 miles west of the COE office at the west end of the dam.  Check-in and a free lunch provided by QUWF, will be between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.  Instruction will then begin at 12:30 p.m. and will end at approximately 4:00 p.m.

Registration is required by September 27.

Persons interested in registering or learning more about this special event can contact:

Brent Konen – Council Grove Wildlife Area Manager

#620/767-5900

Furharvester’s Workshop Sept. 21

Workshop instructors will teach furharvesting laws, ethics and techniques

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) is hosting a furharvester’s workshop Sept. 21, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Marvin Green Building of the Crawford County Fairgrounds in Girard. Topics covered in the workshop include furharvesting laws and ethics, trapping equipment, trap sets for a variety of furbearers, fur handling, and more.

Anyone born on or after July 1, 1966 must complete a certified furharvester education course before trapping on land other than their own. An online furharvester education course is available at www.ksoutdoors.com under Furharvester Education, but students will learn much more in an outdoor classroom with experienced instructors.

“Furharvesting is probably the most intimate outdoor activity you can take part in when it comes to wildlife because you have to know a lot about the habits and habitats of the animals you are trying to catch to be successful,” said Mined Land Wildlife Area manager David Jenkins. “It’s an important part of our American heritage that we should pass on to the next generation.”

To sign-up for the workshop, contact Jenkins at (620) 231-3173. The workshop is free and lunch will be provided. A furharvester education course exam will be given to those who are not certified. For more information on furharvesting regulations, get a copy of the 2013 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Summary. For more information on trapping and furharvesting education, go to www.ksoutdoors.com.

Birding Opportunities Plentiful during Fall Migration

April showers might bring May flowers, but fall brings neotropical migrants

Every year, hundreds of bird species fly south through Kansas during the fall migration, creating many unique birding opportunities throughout the state. Hummingbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and neotropical migrants such as warblers, flycatchers and orioles, are just a few of the birds residents can expect to encounter during this special period.

“Morning is the best time to go out since birds tend to be more active in the cooler parts of the day,” said Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism wildlife education coordinator Mike Rader. “However, sometimes activity will pick up in late afternoon just before birds go to roost, too.”

An avid birder himself, Rader suggests that some of the best birding hotspots can be in your own backyard.

“Neotropical migrants can be sought in any decent woodland habitat across the state, but some of the most reliable spots each year actually include park areas in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, and Johnson County,” said Rader. “Fall migration is also a great time to check out the corners of our state, with many western species found along the western tier of counties from border to border, but especially around the Elkhart/Cimarron Grasslands region of extreme southwest Kansas.”

Rader added the Southeast Kansas Nature Center in extreme southeast Kansas near Galena is also an excellent location to bird watch.

For information on where to bird watch in Kansas, including tools for identifying species, visit the Kansas Ornithological Society’s website at www.ksbirds.org.

Guest lecturers are brought in from all over the U.S. as part of the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management program at KSU

Dr. James C. Kroll, also known as “Dr. Deer,” of Austin, Tex. will share his knowledge of private land deer management on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 at Kansas State University in Manhattan. The lecture will be held at 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Lecture room of the Leadership Studies Building, preceded by refreshments at 2:45 p.m. in the first floor lobby of theThrockmorton Plant Sciences Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

One of nation’s leading wildlife biologists, Kroll will cover a variety of topics in his lecture, including native and supplemental nutrition management; population management; demographics and increasing recruitment; genetics and culling, and more.

Apart from being a scholar and avid hunter, Kroll is also the Henry M. Rockwell Chair in Forest Wildlife, Director of the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research, and Co-director of the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. He has taught courses in wildlife habitat management, wildlife management techniques, wildlife ecology, land management planning, white-tailed deer ecology and management, introduction to forestry, wildlife diseases and research methods.

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early and may be required to obtain a one-day parking permit, which can be purchased for $5.00 at the parking garage located at 17th and Anderson.

For more information on this event, contact Dr. Peg Althoff at (785) 532-1949.

The Single Simplest Thing to Support Wetlands and Conservation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland and grassland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people. The 2013-2014 Stamp shows a lovely male Common Goldeneye painted by Robert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, California. Since the 1930s, Stamps have contributed over $850 million and have helped to protect 5.5 million acres of habitat for wildlife and future generations. Anyone who possesses a valid stamp is allowed free entry to any National Wildlife Refuge that may charge for entry.

Buying the stamp is perhaps the single simplest thing individuals can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds. Almost all the stamp proceeds go to help secure valuable Refuge System habitats. Here are a few reasons to purchase the stamp.

1. $850 million for conservation and counting. The first stamp was issued in 1934. It cost $1 (about $18 in today’s dollars) and sold 635,001 copies. By law, the funds raised go directly to habitat acquisition in the lower 48 states. By now, stamp sales have surpassed $850 million and helped to protect 5.5 million acres of wetland and grassland habitat.

2. A 79-year tradition of beautiful wildlife art. The Migratory Bird Stamp is a beautiful collectible and a great artistic tradition. Since 1949, the design of each year’s duck stamp has been chosen in an open art contest. This year’s stamp, showing a Common Goldeneye, is by Robert Steiner (see a gallery of all stamps back to 1934), who also won the 1998-1999 contest with a Barrow’s Goldeneye-a stamp that sold 1,627,521 copies and raised more than $24 million on its own.

3. A bargain at $15. Ninety-eight cents of each dollar spent on a stamp goes directly to land acquisition (and immediate related expenses) for national wildlife refuges. This $15 purchase is perhaps the single simplest thing you can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds.

4. It’s much more than ducks. Waterfowl hunters have long been the main supporters for the program-the stamps are a requirement for anyone over 16 who want to hunt. But the funds benefit scores of other bird species, including shorebirds, herons, raptors, and songbirds, not to mention reptiles, amphibians, fish, butterflies, native plants, and more.

5. Save wetlands; save grasslands. Since 1958, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used stamp revenues to protect “waterfowl production areas”-to the tune of 3 million acres-within the critical Prairie Pothole Region. The same program also protects declining prairie-nesting birds in the face of increasing loss of grasslands. As a result, refuges are among the best places to find grassland specialties such as Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Clay-colored Sparrows, Sedge Wrens, and others.

6. The benefits are gorgeous. Some of the most diverse and wildlife-rich refuges across the Lower 48 have been acquired with stamp funds.

7. It’s your free pass to refuges. A migratory bird stamp is a free pass for an entire year to all refuges that charge for admission-so your $15 could even save you money.

8. As bird watchers, let’s get in on the secret. Though it’s long been a fixture in hunting circles, the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp is one of the best-kept secrets in all of bird conservation. It’s time to buy and show your stamp!

The Cornell Lab is a strong supporter of the Migratory Bird Stamp, and we’ve often written about its value as a direct aid to conservation-for example, in this 2009 column by Lab director John Fitzpatrick. You can buy the stamp at many U.S. Post Offices, National Wildlife Refuges, and sporting-goods stores. You can also order the stamp online at the USPS store and from the stamp’s printer, Amplex (both stores add a charge for shipping).

Kaw River Float & Rain Garden Maintenance


Friends of the Kaw will host a community float from De Soto to Cedar Creek on Saturday, September 14th from 9:00am – 2:00pm. There will be maintenance work after the float at the Rain Garden at Cedar Creek. Boat rental fees will be waived for clean-up participants ($60 value). Those interested must RSVP at (913)963-3460 and assist with maintenance of the Friends of the Kaw Rain Garden adjacent to the Cedar Creek boat ramp.

The Linwood tire clean-up originally scheduled for this date has been rescheduled until the Spring of 2014. The float and rain garden maintenance provides another great opportunity to volunteer on the river!
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