I'm wondering who they are taking as a guide. Alaska (and ANWR) is pretty
big if you don't know what you're doing, or maybe even what you're looking
for!



Randy Hill

Othello



From: Ric Zarwell [mailto:ric.zarwell at mchsi.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:53 AM
To: Ric Zarwell
Subject: Kenn Kaufman's wisdom..... Birding trip to Alaska... via BIRDCHAT



The following message by Kenn to BIRDCHAT is important, and I posted it, as
per his suggestion, to the Iowa birdlist.

You may wish to post it on another listserv, our use it in an E-newsletter,
paper newsletter, or in any number of ways.

Especially note the link Kenn provides to more detail and perspective on his
website.





Ric



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Ric Zarwell

BirdLorian LLC

P.O. Box 299

210 North 3rd Street

Lansing, Iowa 52151-0299

Email:
<blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blo
cked::blocked::mailto:Ric.Zarwell at mchsi.com> Ric.Zarwell at mchsi.com

Home/Office Phone: 563-538-4991



SHOW UP.... SPEAK UP.... ANTE UP....

for Birds, forNatural Habitats, for All Biodiversity



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<




----- Original Message ----- From: "Kenn Kaufman"
<kenn.kaufman at WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
To: <BIRDCHAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:09 PM
Subject: [BIRDCHAT] Birding trip to Alaska






This weekend, a delegation from the US Congress will be making a brief trip
to Alaska, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The team is led
by Ohio's Rep. John Boehner and includes ten other members of the US House
of Representatives from a total of nine states.

Birders who hear about this trip are likely to respond with envy when we
think about all the amazing species that the lawmakers will see, the
abundance of nesting sandpipers, plovers, phalaropes, jaegers, Arctic Terns,
Snowy Owls, Long-tailed Ducks, Steller's Eiders, Spectacled Eiders, and so
many other beautiful birds. We might quibble about the timing of the trip
-- after all, many of the Arctic-breeding shorebirds have already started to
migrate south, with Pectoral Sandpipers and others already appearing in my
area of Ohio on their way to South America. But still, most of us would
jump at the chance to go along. I've been to the North Slope about a dozen
times as a leader of birding tours, and it was always an amazing experience.

Unfortunately, the congresspersons may not get the full benefit of the
birding experience, because they seem to be going with a negative mindset.
In a July 15 press conference, Rep. Boehner said, "We're going to look at
this barren, Arctic desert where I'm hoping to see some wildlife. But I
understand there's none there. But I'm still going to look for it. If I
find any, I'll let you know." Another member of the group, Ohio Rep. Bob
Latta, was quoted by the Toledo Blade as saying that he believes the refuge
is not as "picturesque" as some may envision -- that it's "not what they see
on the news. We're talking about tundra." Of course, picturesque or not,
coastal tundra is among the richest wildlife habitats imaginable during the
brief Arctic summer. But at least some members of the congressional
delegation seem to be going with the intention of proving that the wildlife
refuge is not worth protecting.

WIthout going into the pros and cons of drilling for oil in the Arctic
Refuge -- the Department of Energy estimates that it could save us as much
as four cents per gallon on gas (i.e. 1%) , starting as early as 2018 -- I
want to focus on the misconception that there's anything "barren" about
Arctic tundra. The truth is that the Arctic Refuge supports huge numbers of
migratory birds, including many of the birds that we enjoy elsewhere in the
US and Canada and throughout the western hemisphere. I've put together some
perspectives on this issue at <http://www.kknature.com/CurrentTopics.html>
http://www.kknature.com/CurrentTopics.html

Feel free to pass this link along to anyone whom you think might benefit
from it.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html
Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html