Hello all OBOL~~and ~~Tweeters:

Not used to list-wide postings, please forgive me if this message is too long!

The Oregon/Washington Partners in Flight would like to announce a full
working group meeting this July, in Bend, for the Partners in Flight avian
conservation effort.

The program will be a two-day session focusing on avian conservation East
of the Cascades. We welcome your interest in and attendance at any and all
sections of the program. Some of you have already received information
concerning this meeting; please feel free to pass this along to others
interested in Partners in Flight.

For those of you who are new to the PIF program, Partners in Flight began
as an international effort in 1990 through the support of the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation. The primary goals of the program are to assess
and conserve declining populations of neotropical migratory birds
throughout North, Central and South America through monitoring, research
and education. Concerned organizations in Oregon and Washington formed a
coalition-style working group in 1992 to meet these goals of the
international effort at the local level. Here in Oregon and Washington, we
are very encouraged by the statewide responses to PIF. The program is
growing in scope to encompass all migratory landbirds; as a result,
increasing numbers of biologists, educators and land managers are
requesting information on how to get involved with PIF locally.

In brief, the full working group meeting will begin Monday evening, July
15th, at 6:30pm and is intended to include those people who cannot attend
the daytime meeting on Tuesday. We are inviting a large, general audience
including federal and state agency staff, teachers, amateur ornithologists
and bird enthusiasts. Two informal guest speakers will provide an
entertaining evening program (of course centered on birds). The purpose of
this evening program is to ensure familiarity with the Partners in Flight
program and generate enthusiasm for protection of the unique species of
Central and Eastern Oregon and Washington.

Tuesday the 16th will be our meeting for the full "working group." The
purpose will be to focus on the generation and coordination of increased
interest and involvement in issues east of the Cascades. We are hoping that
many east side people will attend, and become more involved with the work
of PIF. Again, all are invited. Members of the OR/WA PIF community will
be on hand to answer questions regarding on-going projects.

The program is free and open to all--there is NO registration fee. We will
meet both days at Mt. Bachelor Village, Bachelor Butte conference room,
located at: 19717 Mt Bachelor Drive, Bend. Lodging is available at Mt.
Bachelor village: tel.# 541-389-5900/1-800-452-9846. When booking,
identify that you are with the Partners in Flight group. Shared housing
for out of town participants is recommended and very reasonably priced.
Single rooms at Mt. Bachelor Village are $65. Single rooms at the federal
per diem rate can be reserved by contacting the Best Western Entrada(19221
Century Drive, one mile west of Mt. Bachelor Village) at: 541-382-4080 or
1-800-528-1234. You must specifically request a per diem room rate. You
can also contact the Bend Chamber of Commerce for additional lodging
suggestions at: 541-382-3221(internet address
http://www.empnet.com/bchamber).

If you would like a general information packet on the OR/WA Partners in
Flight program, contact Kristina Carter, (503)-952-6067, Bureau of Land
Management--Biological Sciences, P.O.Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208.

If you have further questions re Partners in Flight and/or details of the
meeting itself, please do not hesitate to contact me via email. I will be
out of town until the 13th, but will check messages. If we do not connect
in a timely manner, you may also contact Jennifer Devlin, Portland Audubon
Society Education Director, at: 503-292-6855, ext. 118 or
jdevlin at audubon-pdx.org (the phone lines are often busy, so please be
patient).

Thanks, in advance, for your patience with the length of this announcement.
We hope to see you there!




Katherine (Katy) Weil <kaw at teleport.com>
Co-ordinator, Oregon/Washington Partners in Flight
9555 SW Ardenwood St. Portland, OR 97225
503-203-1616/503-294-4946