Program Meetings

In the late fall of 2017, longtime birders Dennis Arendt, Kit Larsen, Roger Robb, and Jim Regali traveled to Queensland, Australia. They are looking forward to sharing their adventures and misadventures with you.

This is what Dave Stone has to say about his February Program meeting presentation:

Enough with the birds, already (for now, that is). In my travels over the years, I’ve noticed other wildlife worth photographing. As Yogi Berra says, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

Hummingbird Highways: Why Landscape Connections Matter to Pollination in the Tropics
Matthew Betts, an OSU Professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems & Society, will tell us why. His research interests have included: the influences of landscape structure on demography of animal populations, animal dispersals, and ecological thresholds. This talk, cosponsored by LCAS and the Eugene Natural History Society, will be held in Room 100, Willamette Hall, UO Campus.

In 2014-15 Clean Water Services (CWS) implemented a massive habitat restoration project within the Fernhill Wetlands in the Portland Metro region. Joe Liebezeit, Avian Conservation Program Manager for Portland Audubon, will detail the restoration that transformed 90 acres of unused sewage ponds into a complex native wetlands habitat designed to treat wastewater. Fernhill Wetlands has historically been an important Portland-area birding location. Designated as an Important Bird Area, it provides ecological connectivity for local wildlife. The Audubon Society of Portland (ASOP) has been working with CWS since spring 2015 to assess bird response to the habitat restoration effort. This community science effort has involved local birders, using formal bird surveys designed and conducted by ASOP, and analysis of historical birder surveys conducted at the site for decades. General predictions were that use of the restored area by bird species dependent on open water would diminish, while use by uncommon/vulnerable marsh species (e.g. rails, bitterns) and other species dependent on native wetland habitats would increase. Joe will tell us how that is working out.

The Art and Science Behind Photographing Immature and Adult Lepidoptera: How and Why? by Jeff Miller, PhD. in Entomology

Monday, December 11, 2017

The BLM has issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) initiating a 45-day public scoping period for RMP amendment(s) with associated NEPA document(s).  The BLM intends to consider the possibility of amending some, all, or none of the BLM land use plans that were amended or revised in 2014 and 2015 regarding Greater Sage-Grouse conservation in the states of California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Montana ("2015 Sage-Grouse Plans"). Visit the BLM website HERE for more information.

Comments may be submitted in writing until November 27, 2017. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local news media, newspapers, and this site.  

Click HERE to go directly to the comment submission form.

A public scoping meeting regarding the Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Revisions and Amendment(s) is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 at the Harney County Community Center, 484 N. Broadway Ave., Burns, OR from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.