From March 1, 2010 through April 30, 2010, while supplies last, the Wisconsin Humane Society’s “WIngs” program will once again be distributing FREE WindowAlerts (8 WindowAlerts per request) with NO CHARGE for shipping and handling, to help you protect birds from collisions with windows at your home or office this spring. For more information about protecting birds from collisions with windows and to find out how to request your free WindowAlerts, visit the WIngs web site at http://www.wihumane.org/wildlife/wings/default.aspx

This offer is made possible by a grant from the Jeff Rusinow Family Foundation.

(Note: For requests for free WindowAlerts received prior to March 1st, and after April 30th, our standard $2.50 shipping and handling charge will apply.)

Washington, DC- The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Refuge Photography Contest, a digital photography contest showcasing the stunning scenery and wildlife of Americas national wildlife refuges.

More than 2,000 images taken by photographers in 44 states and territories were submitted in this fourth annual Refuge Photo Contest, testimony to the allure of wildlife refuges as amazing places to experience wildlife and wild places. Images were submitted by upload through the contest website from May 1st through July 15th, 2009.

"Images of spectacular wildlife and landscapes tell the Refuge System story: that these 550 conservation gems are vital to sustaining Americas diverse wildlife heritage," said Evan Hirsche, President of the NWRA. "These photos will help us illustrate why its so important to protect and conserve our wildlife and habitats for the benefit of future generations."

The top prize was awarded to Ted Steinke, for an explosive image of dueling northern harriers taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, UT. Mr. Steinke will be awarded $5,000 in cash, generously provided by ATP Oil and Gas Corporation. Chairman and CEO of ATP T. Paul Bulmahn stated, "ATP is proud to be a 2009 Premier Sponsor. All of the images submitted showcased the beauty of our national wildlife refuges and national landscape. We congratulate the winners of the photo contest, and applaud NWRA's mission to conserve Americas wildlife heritage for future generations"

After Steinke, the remaining top prize winners are: 2nd place -- Mike McBride of Afton, WY; 3rd place -- Steve Dimock of Beaverton, OR; 4th place -- Jim Burns of Scottsdale, AZ; Judy Lyle of Tallahassee, FL; Les Zigurski of Scales Mound, IL; Jack Rogers of Oviedo, FL; and Timothy Vidrine of Church Point, LA.

Additional prizes awarded to contest finalists and runners-up include two round trip tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines, and offerings from Barbaras Bakery, Wild Bird Centers of America and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The contest was generously hosted by Zenfolio, a premier photo-hosting site, and images and entries can be viewed at: http://nwra.zenfolio.com/2009-winners

A full list of contest winners and honorable mentions can be viewed at: http://www.refugeassociation.org/contest/2009winners.html

For more than a century, America’s hunters, anglers, and explorers of the outdoors have been among the first to warn the nation of threats to the great landscapes and wildlife of our continent.  And since President Teddy Roosevelt – himself an avid hunter – established the world’s first wildlife refuge at Pelican Island in Florida, they also have been the first to respond.

Today, climate change poses a new threat to our nation’s land,fish,wildlife, and water.  And, once again, America’s outdoor enthusiasts are among the first to witness its effects. Hunters are seeing wildlife migration patterns shift because climate change has affected the location and abundance of food supplies; anglers are seeing fish populations dwindle as river and lake temperatures rise; and boaters are seeing rising sea levels overtake wetlands and marshes near coastal communities that are vulnerable to floods and hurricanes.

For too long, the impacts of climate change have been clear to Americans who live and recreate on the land, but nearly invisible in the priorities and policies in Washington D.C.

But now, with a new Administration and a growing sense of urgency among citizens, it is time for our country to rise to the challenge that climate change poses to the places we love.

President Obama and his Administration have gotten off to a fast start in changing our nation’s energy policy, in tackling the pollution that is causing the planet to warm, and in preparing for the effects that a changing climate will have our world.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently announced that the federal department that oversees one-fifth of the nation’s landmass - including the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Park System, and the National System of Public Lands - has developed a first-ever coordinated and comprehensive framework for managing the impacts of climate change on America’s water supplies, wildlife, and landscapes.

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service plays an important and integral role in the Department of the Interior’s coordinated climate change response strategy.

The Service has released a draft Climate Change Strategic Plan focusing on helping fish, wildlife and plants adapt to changing climates. As part of this plan, we will expand efforts to capture and store carbon in the ecosystems we manage, such as in hardwood forests and other natural carbon sinks. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service has already made great progress. For example, in partnership with the Conservation Fund, American Electric Power Company, and Entergy Inc. we have developed an innovative carbon sequestration program in the Lower Mississippi Valley that is also restoring native habitats to bolster populations of wildlife and migratory birds. Together we have added more than 40,000 acres of habitat to the National Wildlife Refuge System and reforested more than 80,000 acres, sequestering 30 million metric tons of carbon over the project’s 70-year lifetime.

The Service will also help create a network of locally-driven, solution-oriented Landscape Conservation Cooperatives that will allow federal, state and local partners to develop shared science capacity to inform conservation actions that help priority species and habitats withstand the impacts of climate change.

To cite an example of the visionary partnerships we plan to replicate, at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, efforts are underway to combat saltwater intrusion from rising sea levels. We’re working with The Nature Conservancy, Duke Energy, and other partners to create a management response that includes building resilience into the land and connecting Refuge lands to other important habitat.

We are also prepared to walk the walk when it comes to reducing heat-trapping pollution by playing a key role in the department’s broader Carbon Footprint Project.

These steps represent an ambitious Department-wide approach that acknowledges climate change is bigger than any agency or organization.  It also needs your support and input.  That’s why we hope you will visit a national wildlife refuge soon and talk to our wildlife professionals about how climate change is affecting our world and what you can do to help.  We also hope you will learn more about our strategic plan for climate change and give us your feedback at http://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/

A crisis, it is said, is an opportunity we can’t afford to waste. Let’s tackle the impacts of climate change with determination.  Let’s build a clean energy economy that creates new jobs.  And let’s build a conservation legacy for America’s future hunters, hikers, anglers, birders, and boaters to enjoy for all time.

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Tom Strickland is Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks , Department of the Interior.

Sam Hamilton is Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Washington, DC- The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) applauds Congress for including a $40 million increase to the National Wildlife Refuge System’s (NWRS) operations and maintenance budgets for next year with the passage of the 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. This builds upon strong increases over the past two years and brings Refuge System funding to an all time high of $503 million, surpassing the amount appropriated during the System’s Centennial in 2003. The bill also doubles the amount of land acquisition funding for refuges through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to $86 million.

“Just a few short years ago the Refuge System was forced to close refuges, curtail popular recreational programs and eliminate 20% of their workforce due to devastating funding shortfalls,” said Evan Hirsche, President of the NWRA. “With this increase, Congress has made conserving our diverse wildlife heritage a priority, while providing outstanding recreational and educational opportunities for the American public.”

Backing Congress’ decision to make refuges and wildlife a priority are 250 local refuge Friends groups, 38,000 refuge volunteers and over 20 national conservation and recreation groups with a combined membership of more than 14 million Americans. Along with the NWRA, these groups and individuals support annual Refuge System funding of at least $808 million. The impacts of global climate change, invasive species, and habitat loss pose serious threats to wildlife - from polar bears, to whooping cranes, to manatees - and funding our national wildlife refuges will help to ensure the survival of these species for future generations while providing ecosystem services such as clean air and water and storm protection.

Congress’ doubling of Refuge System land conservation dollars will also meet critical inholding acquisition and refuge completion needs, simplifying management, and reducing cost. In addition, funds will underwrite creation of new wildlife refuges that will help achieve vital species conservation objectives.

“The Refuge System was started over 100 years ago by President Theodore Roosevelt during turbulent economic times; it is gratifying to see Congress and the American people continue to uphold these same values in our own challenging economic times,” said Hirsche. “We look forward to working with the President and leaders of the House and Senate to fully fund the Refuge System at $808 million by the end of President Obama’s first term, and maximize the System’s capacity to conserve America’s rich diversity of wildlife.”

More details on Refuge System funding in FY10 can be viewed at:

http://refugeassociation.org/New-issues/FY10_Fundingpriorities.html

The new Administration recently named Sam D. Hamilton, as Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Sam is from Mississippi and was the Regional Director in Atlanta, Georgia. Many of you may not know that Sam was also the Field Supervisor for the Austin Ecological Services Office and later was the first State Administrator for Ecological Services in Texas.

During the early 1990’s Sam helped guide the Balcones Conservation Plan. This plan allowed for the protection of endangered species habitat and development of private property in Travis County and Austin. Balcones Canyonlands NWR was established as the Federal government’s contribution to the habitat conservation planning effort to protect nesting habitat for the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo and various cave invertebrates.

Sam is a strong advocate of refuges and supports expansion and addition to refuges as an essential step in maintaining America’s wildlife and habitat diversity and abundance. One of Director Hamilton’s first official acts was to designate Dan Ashe as his Deputy Director for Policy. Dan is a former Assistant Director over the NWR System and was Chief of Refuges in Washington. Dan has a strong background in Refuges and will provide strategic program direction and be responsible for developing policy and guidance to support and promote program development to fulfill the Service mission.

Climate Change

Many FWS staff attended a statewide meeting on climate change in August. Discussion of climate change can be controversial at times. No matter what causes climate change, wildlife biologists are already noticing impact climate change to wildlife and vegetation. You may have noticed some species moving farther north such as the White-winged Dove. We do not know what the impacts will be on the Golden-cheeked Warbler, Black-capped Vireo, or other species in the future.

Some species will be more vulnerable to change; for example, endangered species which are already living at the limits of their survival (Attwater’s Prairie Chicken), plants and animals living within confined geographic ranges with limited abilities to move rapidly and respond to changes (Barton Springs salamander), and species migrating to new areas where they meet increased competition for habitat or food. We do not know if the warbler or vireo will meet increased competition, but a species that depends on one plant, Ashe juniper, for its nesting material could be in trouble if the juniper does not move north as quickly as the warbler does. History tells us that species will either adapt to change, become rare, and some species will disappear.

So what can we do?

The FWS is already working with partners to address climate change effects on wildlife. We are also developing a strategic plan to address how we can manage our refuges. The plan includes identification of knowledge gaps, efforts to fill those gaps, increased efforts to plan and work with our partners like Texas Parks and Wildlife, and to identify habitats most important across the landscape to wildlife. In addition and most important, we can engage the public in our efforts to conserve the nature of America.

A challenge to the Service will be to translate climate change projections into reliable prediction of how wildlife populations and habitat will change in response. We will have to be open to adaptive management as we get more information in the coming years. For now, one of the easiest things we can do is conserve energy and reduce our reliance on oil imports. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle, and become greener at the Refuge to reduce our carbon imprint and most importantly – engage our Friends in this challenge.

The “Duck Stamp” - went on sale Friday, June 26. Raising approximately $25 million annually for conservation of migratory bird habitat, the Duck Stamp is a vital tool for land conservation nationwide. Since the stamp’s creation in 1934, more than $700 million has been raised to help purchase or lease over 5.2 million acres of wetlands and grasslands from California to Connecticut. You might be surprised to learn that some of YOUR refuge was acquired with Duck Stamp dollars.

Read more at the National Wildlife Refuge Association.

Please mark this date on your calendar: 4 November 2009. I'm not sure such a moment has been previously noted for any songbird, but it seems only appropriate to recognize the 150th Anniversary of Osbert Salvin's discovery of the Golden-cheeked Warbler.

On 4 November 1859, Osbert Salvin was riding up and over a high ridge on a mountainous road in the Alta Vera Paz province of Guatemala en route to the village of Tactic where he intended to spend the evening. His attention was drawn to two birds, which he managed to collect. He mentions in his 1876 account of the "Yellow-cheeked Warbler" that he was "too intent upon securing the specimens to observe much of their movements and habits." He and Philip Sclater described the species, new to science, the next year in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.