At 06:06 PM 10/9/97 -0700, you wrote:
>Michael:
>
>No flame from me, just solid agreement.
>
>I too find it very frustrating that it is virtually impossible to get
>birders to fight for wildlife species and habitat in our local
>communities....

Please don't tar everyone with the same brush. It may be a matter of
opinion as to which birding groups do or don't fight but we have at least
two organizations here in Vancouver that have mounted successful campaigns
to save habitat.

The Wild Bird Trust was formed by several local birders with the objective
of saving Maplewood Flats and restoring its habitat. It took ten years of
fighting but the end result has been worth it (Grays Harbour folk take heart).

The Vancouver Natural History Society has a section with a core group of 50
birders that have done much to affect plans for habitat in, and around
Vancouver. The VNHS was one of the groups that lobbied hard to get funding
restored for the Creston Valley Wildlfe Area and the birder's group raised
quite a bit of cash to help out.

Unfortunately, there are some BC-based subscribers to Tweeters that don't
want to acknowledge the work of these organizations and that don't belong
to them.

The best advice; don't sit and complain, get out and do something about
something that you care about.

>I would like to know what would motivate birders to get involved on a
>personal level or at least why birders are not a voice in their local
>communities. We seem to have an inordinate amount of time and often
>money to spend pursuing our hobby, but no time to make our voices heard.

Yeah! Wouldn't we all. Please post the magic formula when you find it! The
Wild Bird Trust gets the most success but using a part-time volunteer
co-ordinator who makes sure members are updated on what is going on. That
way we have been able to mount campaigns when needed.



Eric Greenwood
Vancouver, B.C.
egreenw at IntraNet.bc.ca