LCAS Sponsors and Participates in Many Community Projects

At Lane County Audubon Society, we believe in the power of a bird-friendly community that benefits birds (and other wildlife) as well as people. We work to support wildlife and act on their behalf to protect habitat and ecological health. The birds pay us back! Birds help pollinate plants, disperse seeds, control pests, and act as health indicators for the environment. They provide beauty and delight and wonder. Several studies have documented that connecting to nature improves human health and well-being.

Even just the sound of birdsong was shown to have a positive effect on us. An appreciation of nature, in turn, encourages people to help support birds and wildlife. When we connect people to nature, it’s a win-win. Among the goals of our bird-friendly community initiative: support the protection of birds and their habitat, and provide educational resources and opportunities to enjoy nature with a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity.

To include more members of our community, we have partnered with the Eugene Public Library to create Birding Kits that anybody with a library card can borrow. Starting this spring, three kits will be available to check out from the Downtown Library and one kit each at the Bethel Branch and Sheldon Branch. The kits can be checked out at eugene-or.gov/4720/Library-of-Things

Contents of Library Birding Kit

• A backpack for carrying supplies to get out in the field
• A pair of binoculars
• Sibley’s Birds West field guide
• Sibley’s Backyard Birds of the Pacific Northwest (laminated folding ID guide)
• Birds of Lane County (edited by Alan Contreras)
• Birds of Lane County Checklist. (Digital copies available at our website).
• Two double-sided laminated information sheets

– Guide to basic birding with links to suggested resources.

– How we can help birds with links to suggested resources

Links for these information sheets can be found at: laneaudubon.org.

Want to learn more about birding, where to find birds, and how to identify them? Join us for a bird walk. Please check out the announcements on our website and social media about our two bird walks each month.

Want to join us, but don’t have binoculars? No problem; we have a few binoculars that can be borrowed during the field trips. Contact us.

Early opportunities to connect with nature are critical. Our community school garden project brings together multiple generations of people. Lane Audubon and other volunteers are working at two area elementary schools to support gardens for pollinators, birds, and school children. A grant from National Audubon has funded the purchase of native plants from local native plant nurseries. Volunteers have helped to spruce up the gardens and plant native vegetation, which will provide food and shelter for birds and pollinators, as well as educational opportunities for schoolchildren. This spring, we plan to get more native plants into the ground, and we need volunteers.

Join us on the second Sunday of each month at Adams Elementary School. Planting party dates at El Camino del Rio school to be announced. Check out our website and Facebook page for more details.

Supporting Fire Resiliency and Water Security

LCAS has joined a coalition of 30 non-profit supporters of Oregon HB 3464: Enhancing Oregon’s Fire Resiliency and Water Security through Common-Sense Wildlife Management.

Currently, beavers are classified in Oregon as “predatory animals” on private lands, despite the fact that they are biologically not predators. As a result, they can be killed with little to no regulation or monitoring.

HB 3464 is common-sense legislation that would remove the predatory animal designation from beavers in Oregon. It allows ODFW to begin to manage beavers on private land in Oregon, as it does other wildlife species. Doing the same for beavers creates possibilities to improve Oregon’s resilience to wildfire, water security, habitat for wildlife, and overall ecological health.