From Our President: Savoring an Autumn Sunset
Posted on Sunday, October 1st, 2017
One corner of our land, on the far northeast slope, is tucked under the overhanging branches of the big firs. It is a peaceful hill where we have buried our pets, and where the previous owner had buried his old dog. My husband has made grave markers for each of them. I have many memories here. In the spring, this corner has the first Red Currant blossoms and a spreading patch of fragrant Lady-slipper Orchids. A patch of Pacific Hounds-tongue blue flowers lights up the area when they bloom. It is the spot where one of our dogs cornered a porcupine against the fence, giving us a chance to see the little animal at close range, before we helped it find an opening to get away. Here we have seen bobcat and coyote scat along a deer trail that continues over the old fence into the woods to the north.
Our LCAS president, Maeve Sowles, and our conservation chair, Debbie Schlenoff, along with Louise Shimmel of Cascades Raptor Center, are soon to be honored for receiving the Rachel Carson Award. This award highlights efforts to reduce and eliminate pesticides in ways that protect community and environmental health. 
The three women worked as a team and partnered with NCAP, publishing an op-ed piece about Rozol and other rodenticides. 
The Florence Christmas Bird Count (CBC) has been an annual December event for 34 years. The data from that count, which averages about 130 species, provides local birders and counters an invigorating early winter challenge away from the preparations for the holidays. The Florence count folds into the greater LCAS CBC.
We are happy to announce that Ramiro Aragon has agreed to be an LCAS Board member. He has attended Board meetings, co-led our Latino Outreach programs, assisted with bird walks for more than two years, and recently graduated from OSU with a Master’s of Natural Resources. He is also a dedicated advocate for birds and wildlife and teaching people to enjoy the experience of the natural world. We appreciate the time and talents he brings to Lane Audubon.
In early June, we visited Summer Lake in Eastern Oregon to explore some areas new to us. We have driven through this high desert basin many times on the way to visit relatives near Lakeview, but never spent time there, and it was not a disappointment. The ODFW Summer Lake Wildlife Area is 18,941 acres in size, “with a goal of supporting wetland dependent wildlife and a diverse array of other wildlife and plant species for use and enjoyment by present and future generations.” 
The weather was rainy and cool on May 13 for Lane County Audubon Society’s International Migratory Bird Day event, staged in Alton Baker Park in collaboration with Nearby Nature and Cascades Raptor Center. Despite the weather, several families stopped by the picnic shelter at Alton Baker Park, where our educational activities were being staged, and then continued on to Nearby Nature’s Learnscape area. IMBD-LCAS volunteers led family-friendly bird walks, Raptor Center staff displayed a live Peregrine Falcon, and Nearby Nature staff conducted more nature-related activities for kids. 
School is out for the summer, but that’s a temporary situation. The Audubon in the Schools program sends teams of volunteer instructors into the elementary schools to teach third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students both science and art using bird specimens, feathers, bones, and nests. No teaching experience or artistic talent is required. All you need is a few hours a month and an interest in teaching children. You can check out the program by sitting in on a class.