Just to add to Howard's comments:

Starting this fall a series on Bird Watching by Don and Lillian
Stokes will air on PBS. This is a first and would not have happened
if there was no demand and/or interest by a large segment of the
population. However, I do not think there is 76 million true birder,
but an increasing number of concerned people trying to help the
natural environment in their backyard, neighbourhood, city, county,
state and nation. Those are the ones that need our support and
expertise on birds (including behavior, habitat, nesting,
identifying, songs, mnemonics, migrating patterns, locations, etc.).


> Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 09:01:56
-0800
> Reply-to: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> From: Howard Ferguson <FERGUHLF at dfw.wa.gov>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Re: decreasing birders -Reply

> Just some info I saw in the latest Aug issue of WildBird was that birding
> is the fastest growing recreational activity of the past ten years - a rate
> of 155% done by a study at the Univ of Georgia Research Center.
>
> Howard Ferguson
> Spokane, WA
>

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(__)
(oo) John C. Miller
/-------\/-*
/ | || \ Professor
* ||----|| * University of Idaho
\/|(/)(/\/(,,/ Animal Science Dept.
"Cow munching on grass."
email: jmiller at uidaho.edu
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