Upcoming Meetings
October 7th: Chris Skelton will present a talk entitled "From Rocks to Jewels: Georgia's Aquatic Treasures." This talk will be an introduction to the aquatic species found in Georgia including fishes, mussels, snails, and crayfishes. Chris will discuss life history aspects of freshwater mussels and reasons for declines of some of our aquatic fauna. Chris Skelton is an aquatic zoologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Natural Heritage Program and is charged with keeping track of the rare aquatic animals in the state, particularly fishes and mussels. He helps to maintain the Biological Conservation Database at the GNHP, conduct field surveys on state owned lands, and serve on several committees whose aim is to conserve aquatic biodiversity in Georgia and the Southeast. People will come away from this talk with a better understanding of what we have in Georgia in terms of aquatic biodiversity and a greater appreciation of its importance in the overall scheme of life.

November 5th: Joe Myers will present a talk on his research entitled, "Painted Buntings of the Southeastern United States: Can We Reverse Their Population Decline?"

Fall Bird Walks
Oconee Rivers Audubon has planned several field trips to local migration hot-spots that will focus on the identification and natural history of birds. We  encourage nature enthusiasts big and small to join us and share in the excitement. For those beginners out there, the opportunities for seeing exciting new birds are great. Veterans, enjoy the possibilities that the Fall migration brings while sharing your birdwatching secrets with fledgling birders. Bird walks are open to all ages and skill levels and no pre-registration is required. We generally maintain an easy pace and stop frequently. Waterproof footwear and raingear are wise precautions. For more information contact David Galewski, 543-1988.

9 October: Whitehall Forest, 8:00 a.m., intersection of Milledge Ave. and Whitehall Rd., meet at the gate.
23 October: Botanical Garden, 8:00 a.m., Callaway Building.
6 November: Lake Herrick, 8:00 a.m., at the end of the road past the UGA sports fields.

Other Events and Walks:
1-3 October: Georgia Ornithological Society semiannual birding weekend at Jekyll Island.
9 October: Athens Clarke County River Clean Up Day from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. Kickoff is at Dudley Park across from the UGA Chicopee Complex in downtown Athens.
20-21 November: Fourth Annual Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Thomasville, GA. Over 50 well-known artists from across North America will bring the finest in original wildlife paintings, sculpture and photography to the festival. Numerous activities and attractions will be taking place on the grounds including Jim Fowler from Mutual of Omaha=s Wild Kingdom who will entertain audiences with amazing animals, including tigers, boa constrictors and bears. Proceeds benefit the Thomasville Cultural Center. For more information call the cultural center at 912-226-0588 or the Thomasville Welcome Center at 800-704-2350.

Sightings
David Galewski sighted Blue-winged, Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Redstarts at the Botanical Garden on 9/4; six Black Terns on Lake Lanier, and a Baltimore Oriole in his yard. Maggie Nettles saw Chestnut-sided Warblers and Redstarts on the N. Oconee River. Reported at the September meeting— Eugenia Thompson saw 30-50 Night Hawks around Lexington Rd; Sarah Cliett, at her home in July, had an opportunity to watch a Sharp-shinned Hawk up close for five minutes; Chris Canalos saw two juvenile Bald Eagles; Chris Ratliff observed a Kingfisher on the tiny stream behind W. Broad Elementary; Bill Van Eseltine saw Black and White Warblers. On 9/14, just two days ahead of Hurricane Floyd, Maggie Nettles visited Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina where she sighted a Reddish Egret doing its “dance.” Birders at the State Park were excited to see this S. Florida bird so far north. On 9/16, Chris Skelton and David Galewski saw a Veery at the Botanical Garden, and Jonathan Fite had several Goldfinches feeding off the seed heads from his Pink Cone Flowers. Eugenia Thompson and Dennis Rice had a sighting— or “hearing”— of a pair of Great Horned Owls, who called for a long time in the woods behind Eugenia’s home around 6 a.m. on 9/18. Early, both seasonally and time of day.

Audubon Adventures 1999-2000
We have a number of local teachers who are interested in presenting the Audubon Adventures material to their 4th to 6th grade children. We are looking for people to sponsor a classroom for the school year for $35 or whatever portion you can spare. This is a great way to introduce young people to the natural world. Contact Maggie Nettles at 543-8823 if you wish to sponsor a classroom.

ORAS T-Shirts Are Still Available
The new and improved 1999 version of the ORAS T-Shirt are still available for sale. T-Shirts can be purchased at the meetings or by calling Gary Crider at 543-8823.

Breeding Bird Atlas Results are Due
This is a reminder to send in your sightings of breeding bird activity from 1999 or from previous years if available to the Georgia Breeding Bird Survey. If you are not sure where to send the information contact Page Luttrell at luttrell@calc.vet.uga.edu or by phone at 788-2973.

Highlights of the September Meeting:
Dr. Albert Ike discussed progress on the Oconee Rivers Greenway including new land acquisitions along the North Oconee River and development of the first phase of the Greenway. Ecologically fragile areas along the lower portions of the river have been preserved through recent land purchases. Dr. Ike urged people to support the SPLOST 2000 package, which includes monies for the Greenway, at the November 2nd election. Dr. Ike also discussed efforts of the Georgia Division of the Trust for Public Land to preserve the Charlie Williams Pinecrest Lodge land and river frontage through a purchase of the property and development of a public land trust. Such a purchase would save this extensive stretch of the river from development and would allow for habitat preservation and public recreational enjoyment. Dr. Ike addressed the concerns of two landowners who live on the lower stretches of the North Oconee about the impact such a trail would have on their properties, particularly they were concerned that the trail would be paved. Dr. Ike stressed that the only portion of the Greenway that will be paved is the section above College Station Road that runs through campus and downtown to Sandy Creek Nature Center. No portions of the Greenway below College Station Road will be paved and the impact of the footpaths to the natural habitat along this portion of the Greenway will be minimized. Dr. Ike also stressed that the Greenway commission is working closely with the landowners along the river and that nothing will be done that is against the wishes of the private landowners involved.

Land Conservation Bill Action Likely in September
(update on the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 (CARA) or Teaming with Wildlife Initiative from the Audubon Advisory, August 2-13, 1999)
    Legislation to fund land conservation and wildlife protection by reallocating federal money from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil drilling was postponed in both chambers of Congress until after the August recess. Several bills, each with a substantial measure of bipartisan support, have risen to the forefront of the six OCS bills introduced earlier this year. These bills include H.R. 701, introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK), and H.R. 798 from Rep. George Miller (D-CA). On the Senate side, Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S. 25.
    Prior to the August recess, Young pulled his bill from consideration by the House Committee on Resources to work with Miller to develop compromise legislation that could garner a broader base of support. Murkowski also removed S. 25 from the schedule of Energy and Natural Resources Committee to build additional support before a committee mark up. Though a majority already supports the bills, some lawmakers believe that the legislation would provide excessive funding for public land acquisition, and they have the ability to block the bills from being considered by their chamber.
    Central to the three bills is a provision for permanent authorization of money for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which funds federal and state land acquisition for conservation purposes. Although the law that created the LWCF in 1965 authorized up to $900 million in OCS revenue for the fund, Congress typically appropriates less than half that amount. The new OCS bills would remove the LWCF from the annual appropriations process. The Miller and Murkowski/Landrieu bills guarantee full funding to the LWCF; the Young bill would base LWCF funding on a percentage of OCS receipts. Each bill also provides new funding for wildlife conservation; however, the House legislation does not emphasize that money should be spent for non-game wildlife conservation. Currently, species that are hunted and fished receive over 90 percent of all wildlife funding. The three bills diverge on providing assistance to coastal states to mitigate the environmental impacts of oil development. Both the Young and Murkowski/Landrieu bills include this mitigation assistance, which could encourage coastal states to increase their oil development activities. Miller's bill does not provide state impact assistance and instead directs those funds to conservation programs.
    The likely end result will be legislation that originates in the House and blends the Young and Miller bills to provide new funding for land acquisition, wildlife conservation, and some assistance to coastal states. This legislation would need to contain a broad array of benefits for both coastal and land-locked states in order to gain sufficient support to win passage.
** To view the full text of any of these bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and search by the bill number.

Athens-Clarke County River Clean Up Day
From 9 a.m. to noon at Dudley Park— across from the UGA Chicopee Complex in downtown Athens.
The first 500 get a free T-shirt and breakfast will be provided. If you are interested in clean water, this is the event for you. River Clean Up Day offers the opportunity to make an immediate impact on improving the health of our local waters by participation in the cleaning up of Trail Creek and the North Oconee River Park. This is an area identified in the River Rendezvous event of last year as in dire need of attention. Wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and sturdy, non-skid, waterproof shoes, and gloves if you have them. For more information call (706) 613-3729.
 

Oconee Audubon Society

P.O. Box 48132

Athens, Georgia 30604-8132
 

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