Scrub Jay

Jay
Marion County Audubon Society,Inc. Non-Profit Org.
P.O. Box 5616 U.S.Postage
Ocala, FL 34478 Paid
Ocala, FL
Permit No. 255

Marion County Audubon Society Inc. Newsletter

Happy New Year! January 2008

A letter from Robert Stenstream, co-president. . .

CONTENTS
Smoldering Environmental Projects
Enviromental issues sometimes act like a forest fire in a Smoldering
peat bog; bursting forth with an intense energy as the fire burns Page 2
and consumes everything in its path and then a long smoldering,
protracted period of in action while the fire quietly consumes the
Harris Hawk
subsurface materials, leaving a zone devoid of life.
The comparison to the Everglades Restoration Act is all too
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Upcoming events - get involved!

✔ Saturday, Jan. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fundraiser for Owls-
Ocala. Give a hoot, come pick some fruit. Call Kenny at (352)
732- 6844 for information.
✔ Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. Audubon program at Grace
Episcopal Parish Hall on Florida Bobwhite Quail, given by Bill
Guilliano from UF. Guilliano has written a book on Florida
Bobwhite & Ecology.
✔ Tuesday, Jan. 29, Audubon field trip to Chapman’s Pond next to
Kahapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville. Call Carolyn Retey at
(352) 622-2850
similar. The Act is a much-ballyhooed agreement between state and
federal government, private business, landowners and Audubon to New Members
clean up and allow the Everglades to return to its natural flow to Page 4
the Gulf of Mexico. There was much to be proud of in reaching this
agreement. It is a monumental project that dwarfs all the numerous New Members
and damaging projects previously done by the U.S. Army Corps of Page 5
Engineers.
After an initial flurry of photo ops and warm words inter- Give a Hoot
views, our Congressional delegation seems to have retreated to a Page 6
smoldering period of inaction. The Feds have failed to provide any
of the promised dollars. Our own Congressmen haven’t even used
Join Us
the infamous earmarks system (read pork barrel) to keep the Ever-
Page 7
glades restoration going.
The date for completion has been pushed to 2060, give or
take a decade. Meanwhile damage to the Everglades continues to Upcoming
fester, cost estimates are rising and developers keep right on mak- Page 8
ing inroads into the Everglades.
Closer to home we have a similar situation in the Springs
Protection Ordinance, designed to reduce nitrogen levels in Silver
and Rainbow Springs basin areas through the use of newer, more
Continued on page 2
Smoldering Environmental Projects, continued from page 1 Join Audubon in 2008! Date__________
Efficient septic tank systems; tighter zoning in primary basin areas; required hookup to county Marion County Audubon Society, Inc.
sewer system where possible and elimination of private wells after sewer and water Name__________________________
offers a local chapter membership option Address________________________
service is made available. to those who wish to be involved in Marion
This ordinance has been on the drawing board for several years. It has been City________________Zip_________
County’s environmental issues and Phone___________Fax____________
brought before numerous Commission workshops and rewritten several times. The pur- activities.
pose is simple and straightforward: protect our aquifer and protect our springs. E mail_________________________
Local Audubon membership includes $10 membership paid by
While there seems to be common agreement on the need for springs protection, a monthly (during the winter) issue of The
we recently witnessed a fire storm of negativity when the County Commission, pander- ____cash ___check
Scrub Jay, Marion Audubon’s newsletter. ____new ___renewal
ing to developers, voted down the ordinance 4 to 1. The newsletter has information on
It seems strange after all this time and the numerous workshops that the cost of Prior Audubon chapter elsewhere?
meetings, programs, activities, issues for _____yes____no
more efficient septic tanks on homeowners unable to afford it would have been recog- your involvement and guided field trips
nized and addressed. County Commissioners for years have touted springs protection. Are you willing to serve an active role?
to identify native birds, flora and fauna. _____YES ____no
They have directed staff to draft and redraft the springs ordinance and they have re- Dues are only $10 annually
viewed the results at workshops. Three easy ways to join:
Rejecting the springs ordinance at this stage reveals a serious lack of leadership 1. Go online and sign up at: 3. Use the form above, and mail it to:
within out County Commission. This rejection along with recent failure to update impact www.marioncountyaudubon.com Marion County Audubon Society, Inc.
fees and continued approval of large scale housing projects clearly shows a disconnect 2. Print the online form and mail it to us P.O. Box 5616
between their warm fuzzy rhetoric on protecting our spring water and the pro develop- Ocala, Fl 34478
ment votes that they cast.
Springs protection now enters that smoldering period of hibernation, lodged
somewhere in the bowels of the county, waiting, hopefully, a rebirth.

Come Join Us!

We are on the Web at

www.
marioncountyaudubon.com

Go where the birds are . . .

www.floridabirdingtrail.com

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Give a hoot, Pick some fruit
Owls-Ocala Inc. is having a fundraiser on
Saturday, January 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Give a donation and get a bag to pick your own fruit.
Money goes to feed the birds at Owls-Ocala. To get to the
orange grove, take Highway 40 East to Highway
314 A, turn south and go to 27th Place Road. Turn
left and go to the end, watching for fundraiser signs.
Call Kenny at (352) 732-6844 for more
information on this fundraiser or
opportunities for you to donate time or
money to Owls-Ocala Inc.

Officers/Board 2007-2008 Marion County Audubon Society, Inc.

Co-Presidents Website
Robert Stenstream & Guy Marwick Jim Yaich
Secretary Program Chair
Rosalie Coyner Erika Ritter (352) 546-5718
Asst. Sec. & Volunteer Coordinator Field Trips
Deborah Appling Carolyn Retey (352) 622-2850
Treasurer Conservation Dr, Dawn Miller shares a Harris Hawk at MacIntosh Nov. 20th Program.
Larry Sutton Margy Bielling, Judy Greenberg
Communications Chair & Publicity Dolores Sassser
Lucy Tobias (352) 816-1251 Birding Guide
Communications Team Jeannie Konicki
Sandra Fernandez, Teresa Darnell Data Base & Membership Chair
Jane Pope (E-mail distribution) Ron & Vicky Stapp
Earth Day Coordinator Telephone Membership Team
Vince Druding Dot Hull, Jane Eberts
Education Sybil Brennan
Ron Broman & Jim Buckner Hospitality Team
Newsletter & Mailings Dot Hull & Greta Archer
Betty Olson

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Birds of a feather More birds of a feather . . . .
flock together . . . . . Max Selinger
New Audubon members
We’re catching up listing new Audubon
Janet Gabert
members, quite a lot, such a blessing!
James Fishburn REDDICK FT. MCCOY
Welcome to you all. Get involved!
Gerald Seibel Barbara Wells Barbara Cassidy
Maggie Pitzer Vickie Mahoney Ford Bernard Brennan
OCALA
Judy Hoover Georgia O’Keefe
Mathias Mathiason
Scott and Susan Hughes DAYTONA BEACH
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bemis
Yvonne Cruz SALT SPRINGS David South
Tim Petrarca
Shirley Donald Kaye Ussery
Rita Campbell
Christina Christiansen TAMPA
Amy Stetzer
Michael Saxe BELLEVIEW Dr. Robert Norman
Anita Poole
Rebecca Marinelli Beverly Irvine
Marina Wilkerson
Jennifer Meyers
Rebecca Boliek
SUMMERFIELD Thanks to
Joan Ruisi
ANTHONY Janet Sink Ron and Vicki
Doris Morrison
Marion Mathes Delight Wilson Stapp,
James Hall
Linda Pickens Mary Price Data Base and
Thomas Bachmeyer
membership
Bonnie Jones
OCKLAWAHA chairs,
Julia Kessler
Donna Benedict for this list.
George Kattleman
Jack Dunfee
CITRA
Darlene DeLong
Dodie Duys
The Hawkins Family
Calvin and Ellen Peters
DUNNELLON
Linda Albright
Cherie Galloway
Mary Lou Klein A Cruising Down the River
Nikita Pearson You are invited aboard The Anhinga Spirit.
LOWELL
Gary Phelps Experience the Ocklawaha River.
Sharon Jerdeman
Nancy Center The wildest Outstanding Florida Waterway.
Shirley Hendricks Trips are custom designed, educational and fun!
SILVER SPRINGS
Dorothy Eldridge Licensed by USCG
Alfred Crowley
Frank Hynes 352-546-5718 (home) 352-817-7820 (cell)
Carol Enos
Mrs. B. Cunningham captainerikaritter@yahoo.com
Brenda Watson
Douglas Eubank
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