March 2014 Newsletter is Online
Go to www.northcascadesaudubon.org to download the PDF.
March Field Trips are Online
Visit our website to see what's coming up this month.
General Membership Meeting with Julia Parrish - It's not Rocket Science, it's Citizen Science: the Power of Real People
This month's exciting membership meeting! See below for date, time, and NEW location.
In spring 2005, hundreds of marine birds washed up on Pacific Northwest outer coast beaches. In fall 2007, almost fifty murres floated in to usually empty Puget Sound beaches. In summer 2009, thousands of wayward sea ducks washed ashore along the Olympic Peninsula. What provoked these die-offs? Are they connected? How do we even know about them? The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) is a citizen science program bringing together over 600 real people with marine scientists from the University of Washington. Since 1999, COASST has collected data on over 30,000 beached birds (144 species!) from more than 320 coastal locations throughout the North Pacific. These real data from real people form the definitive baseline against which the impacts of oil spills, fishery bycatch, harmful algal blooms, and global warming can be assessed. Julia K. Parrish is the Lowell A. and Frankie L. Wakefield Professor of Ocean Fishery Sciences, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Diversity in the College of the Environment at the University of Washington. An expert on the natural history, ecology and conservation of marine birds, and author of many scientific articles and books, Julia has spent the last 20 years roaming the seabird colonies and beaches of the North Pacific working to understand the forces affecting coastal marine ecosystem health.
Always on the 4th Tuesday of the month: March 25, 7pm at the Whatcom Museum,** free & open to the public!
**in the Rotunda Room of the Old City Hall building
NCAS Program Chair Wanted Our chapter’s meeting programs are a central part of our educational efforts. Choosing pertinent topics, finding qualified presenters, arranging for the venue and seeing to all the necessary details required to facilitate a successful meeting is no small task. Nevertheless, the chapter has been functioning without a Program Chair for over four years and these tasks are being performed by other board members. Finding an energetic volunteer to fill this role would greatly enhance the functioning of our board and allow NCAS to better serve our community. Currently NCAS presents educational programs at eight monthly meetings annually, September through May. Those meetings, plus the Holiday Potluck in December, are the extent of our programming efforts and the responsibilities of the Program Chair. This is the status quo and not a limitation if someone out there wants to do more. Your board members are enjoying themselves doing Audubon work. There is always more that could be done. If you are interested in joining the NCAS team as Program Chair or in another capacity please contact Pam Borso at: president@northcascadesaudubon.org