Advocacy

,

What's the price of losing birds?

,

If you have ever heard that sickening thud of a bird hitting a window, you are not alone. Up to one billion birds die from colliding with windows every single year in the U.S. Not just a few. Up to a billion.

In August 2020, Madison Audubon was proud to support the passage of Madison's new Bird-Safe Glass Ordinance, the first of its kind in Wisconsin but one of dozens nation-wide. The ordinance requires bird-safe glass be used in construction and major renovations of buildings 10,000 square feet or larger. But, now the ordinance is facing a legal challenge by the Wisconsin Institutes for Law and Liberty, representing developer groups that would like to see the ordinance go away.

We must fight back.

Photo by Corliss Karasov

,

March Mudness

,
March Mudness

I needed to check out a trout stream project on Sunday. The site was only 100 yards or so from the bridge and someone had already tracked through the snow almost all the way there. Almost. And I found out why. If Satan wants to make hell more miserable he can simply add postholing to the list of daily activities. As each foot breaks the crusted top layer of snow through the remaining eight inches of snow and is then extricated with a mix of lung and thigh power, the operator of that foot begins to question the sanity of being outside on what seemed such a nice day.

Photo by Katerine Hala FCC

,

Preserving, restoring, protecting, and improving

,

The Wisconsin DNR’s Natural Heritage Conservation program is now taking applications for a number of paid internships that are geared toward engaging traditionally marginalized groups.

The outdoors we love is going to take an abundance and diversity of young people who'll make the outdoors their passion and their profession. Those folks need internships. Please see the information below about a very worthwhile DNR summer internship program and alert any young person who might be interested and has any of the qualifications described in the third paragraph.

Photo courtesy of WDNR

,

WCC Spring Hearing needs to hear from you

,

The WDNR just issued a notice concerning the annual spring hearing of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The hearing will be a three day virtual event beginning on April 12. The virtual format makes expressing your opinion on a variety of conservation issues facing the state convenient.

Photo by Elvis Kennedy

,

In praise of elected officials (really!)

,

Some most excellent land conservation news broke recently. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC) announced the creation of a huge new nature preserve in southwest Dane County!

Two aspects of the Spring Valley Preserve stand out: its size and diversity. At 308 acres, it's huge. Those acres include oak savannas, sand prairies, oak woodlands, oak openings, wetlands, springs, and a small stream. The land features some great native plants, including a personal favorite, the prickly pear cactus. I don't know if DALC and its allies have had the chance to identify all the animals that call this land home at one time or another but, in my blissful, hopeful ignorance, I'm rooting for the ornate box turtle to show up one day.

Photo courtesy of DALC