TAKE ACTION
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BP Oil Spill! Help rehab birds impacted by the BP oil spill, make a donation to Audubon‘s Gulf recovery effort. And sign the petition to save wildlife from future spills. To follow what is going on and learn other ways you can get involved, read Audobon’s Blog covering the oil spill.
A CALL TO ACTION
The loss of what many believe were the last of the Ivory-billed woodpeckers in Louisiana’s Singer Tract in the 1940′s was painfully preventable. Yet this failure became an important environmental wake-up call that inspired the conservation movement in America. The impact of this movement has not only resulted in the preservation of bird species, but has contributed to the salvation of countless other threatened and critically endangered flora and fauna.
The Nature Conservancy was co-founded by Richard Pough after he witnessed the Singer Tract’s lone remaining Ivory-bill calling into the void above its clear-cut forest. The recovery plan to save the Singer Tract Ivory-bills, the first ever of its kind, was written by Aldo Leopold. Also author of the landmark environmental book “A Sand County Almanac“, Leopold’s Ivory-bill Recovery Plan later influenced the drafting of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
GET INVOLVED
To help prevent other species from suffering the same fate as Ivory-billed woodpeckers, think globally and act locally by contributing your time, money and sweat to the following organizations and action opportunities.
Sign the Endangered Species Act Legacy Pledge
The Endangered Species Act, and the protections it provides for our nation’s endangered fish, plants, and wildlife, has come under constant assault from both Congress and the Bush administration over the past few years.
A number of conservation organizations, along with Representative Dingell, an endangered species champion who helped write the original Endangered Species Act in 1973, have created an Endangered Species Act Legacy Pledge. Tens of thousands of concerned citizens have already pledged their support for a strong Endangered Species Act.
When various threats arise to the Endangered Species Act, in the form of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate or negative administrative actions, the conservation community will be able to take the list of pledge supporters to Members of Congress and let them know that their constituents support strong protections for our nation’s endangered fish, plants and wildlife.
Stop the Clock on Species Extinction
Every 20 minutes, one species is pushed to extinction as more than 1,200 acres of forest are destroyed. At the same time, over 180,000 tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Protecting and restoring forests is a key solution to climate change and is vital to the survival of all life on Earth. Indeed, 2,000 species are at risk of disappearing forever each month.
Sign the petition to stop the clock on extinction and tell government leaders to incorporate forest protection into their national policies on climate change, for the good of our species, our climate, and our planet. Sign the petition today!
BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme
The natural rate of bird extinction is one bird per century. In the last thirty years alone, 21 bird species have become extinct. The BirdLife International Partnership is a global network of independent nature conservation organisations operating in more than 100 countries, are able to operate across borders and beyond politics. Support their work with a donation.
Protect An Acre
Help Conservation International prevent the loss of tropical forests that are critical habitat for birds and other species. Protected tropical forests also reduce extinctions caused by climate change by absorbing greenhouse gasses and avoiding generating more from unsustainable slash and burn agricultural expansion. It is simple, protect an acre.
Boreal Forest Campaign
Canada’s Boreal Forest, one of the largest intact forests left on Earth, is under threat. Logging, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and hydro-electric development are rapidly increasing in the Boreal Forest of Canada. Because of this development, forested land in some Boreal areas is being lost at rates similar to those in tropical rainforests.
The United States, in large part, is driving the destruction of the Boreal. 80% of Canada’s forest products exports – including catalogues, junk mail, and tissue paper – are consumed by the U.S. In addition, the U.S. buys more oil and gas from Canada than from any other nation.
The Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI) is dedicated to outreach and education about the importance of the Boreal Forest region to North America’s birds and is the key organization in Canada with the sole purpose of protecting the Boreal. Support the Initiative.
Greenpeace is also working on this issue. Watch their video.
WHAT KILLS 100 MILLION BIRDS A YEAR?
In addition to habitat destruction, an escalating cause of avian mortality is collisions with buildings, often during migration. In North America alone over 100 MILLION birds are killed each year, many upon impact, others after becoming stunned and falling prey to innumerable urban dangers. The bright lights of city high-rises also cause needless losses by disorienting migrating birds, imperiling their navigational instincts, and contributing to their fatigue during their journeys to and from critical breeding grounds.
One organization working on reducing collisions is FLAP, based in Toronto, Canada, which was the first North American city to adopt policies governing bird friendly building design and development guidelines. “Lights Out Toronto” is another inspiring campaign by the city in its effort educate and reduce bird mortality along the Atlantic Flyway.
Get involved in your city’s effort to prevent collision mortalities, or consider starting a FLAP Initiative of your own.
MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Drink Shade Grown Coffee
The proliferation of conventional coffee plantations severely reduce critical habitat for Neotropical migrants. They also expose all species and watersheds to toxic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Buying coffee from certified shadegrown roasters protects more than the health of bird habitat.
Resources: Starbucks (they have a shadegrown coffee policy in partnership with Conservation International, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Rainforest Alliance, Seattle Audubon Society (Seattle/Tacoma residents consume more coffee per capita than any other city in the country), Fair Trade Federation.
Enjoy Shade Grown Chocolate
For the same reasons to consume shade grown coffee, go wild eating Endangered Species Chocolate, Equal Exchange Chocolate Bars, and TCHO, truly stellar, locally sourced chocolate.
Bell Your Cat
Every year domestic cats in the US kill approximately 100 million birds, the same number killed by hunters. Put a bell on your feline and give birds a sporting chance.
Use Sustainably Harvested Lumber
Using uncertified lumber may be cheaper but it also contributes to poor logging practices domestically and abroad such as the devastation of bird and wildlife habitat from clear-cutting. Ask your contractor to use sustainably harvested lumber which is produced following a standard that promotes sustainable forest management, including protecting wildlife species at risk.
Resources: Sustainable Forest Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council, National National Association of Home Builders - Green Home Building Guidelines, the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – LEED.
SUPPORT THESE ORGANIZATIONS:
A portion of collision related fatalities recovered by FLAP during the 2002 fall migration season. Mark Thiessen, National Geographic
International Crane Foundation
(To suggest an organization contact info@ghostbirdmovie.com
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BIRDER’S CONSERVATION HANDBOOK BY Jeff Wells, P.H.D.
A truly remarkable resource for deepening your understanding of bird conservation, the unique threats to specific species, and what you can do to help. Nothing comes close to it. Jeff Wells has compiled a phenomenal amount of information in an accessible format. As former Conservation Director for National Audubon, and currently a senior scientist at the Boreal Songbird Initiative (listed above), Jeff knows this subject inside and out. Interestingly, Jeff was also an original team member of Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s search for Ivory-bills in Arkansas in 2004. He periodically gives talks about the Ivorybill search and bird conservation issues. See his lecture schedule for upcoming dates.
BIODIVERSITY BENEFIT TOUR
Ghost Bird is identifying strategic partners in a joint effort that unites the power of cinema and the activism of non-profits. Partnering organizations and members bring their combined knowledge and involvement in conservation and preventing species extinction. Ghost Bird provides a focal point for raising awareness of these issues on and off screen and in furthering partner’s existing conservation efforts and fostering new ones in viewer’s communities.
The Biodiversity Benefit Tour is currently scheduling benefit screenings, developing innovative collaborations between non-profits and applied new technology and designing community screening kits and discussion materials. To find out more or become a partner go to 2010 BBT or contact info@ghostbirdmovie.com.
