FEBRUARY 2012 MONTHLY
MEETING:
“LIVING LEGACIES ―
MANAGING MICHIGAN’S DIVERSE NATURAL PLACES”
Amy Clark Eagle, the Biodiversity & Conservation Program Leader for the Forest Resources Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), will present a program about biodiversity planning in Michigan at our second program of 2012. While there is a diversity of biodiversity planning projects in Michigan, in her presentation, Amy will concentrate on a project she’s been working on, Living Legacies. She’ll give us a photo tour of areas in Michigan, while discussing the importance and implementation of this initiative and sharing some lessons she’s learned along the way.
In her own words: “Every generation deserves the chance to know and experience firsthand Michigan’s amazing diversity of native plant and animal communities – all that is unique and special about our state’s natural places. Through Living Legacies, the Department of Natural Resources will conserve that biodiversity on DNR lands and cooperate with others (governments, public and private landowners and managers) who seek that same goal on non-DNR lands.
“The result? A statewide network of Biodiversity Stewardship Areas (BSAs) on state and private lands, with a long-term goal of BSA distribution that ensures variation of each of Michigan’s natural communities across its geographic range, and good probability and confidence of long-term persistence. Identification of potential BSAs has focused on highest quality examples of Michigan’s natural communities, resulting in a vast data collection and a robust list of candidates. While not all proposed areas will become part of the BSA network, these resources have tremendous stand-alone value.”
This
program will be held at People’s Church, 1758
North 10th Street,
Kalamazoo, on Monday, February 27. The program
starts at 7:30 PM and is
preceded by a social time with light
refreshments at 7:00. Guests and the
general public are encouraged to attend.
Handicap parking and access is at the
rear of the building. Please bring your own
coffee cup to save our refreshment
committee from dishpan hands.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON FIELD TRIP
Please note
that our field trips now include the phone number of
the leader. It is our policy that the leader will go
to the meeting point even if the weather is poor.
This does not mean the leader will go to the meeting
point if it is dangerous to do so or if the roads
are so bad, i.e. deep snow, that travel is not
recommended. The phone numbers are provided for
cases where the conditions are questionable, so that
you can call the leader to see if the trip will be
held. Please realize that we still hold our trips
rain, snow, or shine, but we now leave it up to the
leader to decide what is just plain unsuitable
weather. Reminder: We still attempt to start trips
at or very near the appointed time, so please don't
be late. If you have any general questions about the
policy, please call Russ Schipper at 375-7210.
FEBRUARY 2012
FIELD TRIPS
Field trips leave
promptly at the listed times.
Saturday, Febuary 4, 6:00 PM*, Owling in Southeastern Kalamazoo County, Leader: Russ Schipper (375-7210)
Meet
in
the parking lot of the former Perkins Restaurant on
the southwest corner of
the intersection of East Cork Street and Sprinkle
Road. *We
will leave the parking lot at 6:00
PM.
Our searching will be done from roadsides by car caravan, so I will be looking for another driver(s). We will search for all three regularly occurring owl species in this area: Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, and Eastern Screech-Owls. On these trips we at least hope to hear the owls, but some, like the little screech-owls, often come in for a look at us, which offers us a look at them. Then everyone goes home happy or at least knowing what the other looked like. So, bring your binoculars. Please do dress warmer than you think you should, standing around at night in February will be cold. But it will only be uncomfortable IF you’re not properly dressed. As I mentioned for the Short-eared Owl field trip, figure out how much you are going to wear, then add or bring another layer.
Saturday,
February 18, 10:00 AM, The Great Backyard Bird
Count (GBBC) at Wolf Lake Fish
Hatchery, Co-Leaders: Becky Csia, Mary Wyatt, and
Jan Shillito (720-8063)
Wolf
Lake
Fish Hatchery is located
200 yards south of M-43
on Fish Hatchery Road, about one mile west of the
Kalamazoo County line.
The hatchery is a great spot for us to
participate in the GBBC. It
has a few different habitats and, most importantly,
there is open water in
winter. We will try to find all the birds that are
calling the hatchery home
for the winter and count how many of them there are.
Previous counts have
yielded some interesting species, including Wilson’s
Snipe, Trumpeter Swan,
Green-winged Teal, Eastern Bluebird, Northern
Mockingbird, Field Sparrow, and
Fox Sparrow. Perhaps some of these or other
interesting species might show themselves
this year. We will spend about an hour and a half
walking around the dikes and
woods. Be sure to dress for the weather. The dikes are
quite open and it is
usually even colder and windier there than other
places, so dressing
waterproof, windproof, warm, and in layers makes for a
more enjoyable event.
Warm hands, feet, and head are particularly important.
Bring binoculars and
field guides if you have them. Spotting scopes will be
shared.
Upcoming
Field Trip:
Saturday,
evening, March 31 – Courtship Flight of Woodcock
and Snipe
KALAMAZOO DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE
ASK joins The
Stewards of Kleinstuck in sponsoring the
Kalamazoo premiere of “Green Fire:
Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” a
documentary of legendary
environmentalist Aldo Leopold that highlights
Leopold’s extraordinary career,
tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern
environmental movement. The
film will be shown on Saturday, February 25, at
5:00 and 7:00 PM at WMU’s
Little Theatre. Admission is $5 ($3 for
students). ASK will also have a table
in the theatre lobby.