"Just another Buffalo" attracting some attention in Yellowstone this summer.

“Oh, It’s just another Buffalo,” Anthony said when we finally discovered what was causing the excitement in the cars stopped up ahead.

Really?  It only took 36 hours for Yellowstone to ruin my 9-year-old kid?

I had to laugh, but it brought into focus one incredible wildlife success story, and how grateful I am to my colleagues at the National Wildlife Federation for playing such an important part in bringing this amazing species from the brink of extinction to a relatively common sight during our recent visit to Yellowstone.

Giving Bison Room to Roam

In the early 1800s, an estimated 65 million bison roamed throughout the continent of North America. However, hunting and poaching had a devastating effect on the bison population; and by 1890, fewer than 1,000 remained.

Due to federal protections, there were approximately 1,500 bison in Yellowstone National Park by 1954. By 1997, there were approximately 3,500 bison in Yellowstone National Park.

However conflicts with cattle grazing interests have been a long-standing threat to bison and access to their historic grazing lands.  Federal officials used slaughter and hazing to confine herds to park property and limit their natural migration for food, killing more than 3,800 bison to prevent conflicts with ranching and cattle interests.

Now, thanks to the work of groups like National Wildlife Federation and a new agreement between federal agencies, several American Indian tribes and five states, the bison of Yellowstone National Park will have more room to roam.

According to the recent agreement, bison will no longer be shot or hazed upon leaving Yellowstone Park. Instead they will be allowed to migrate into Gardiner Basin, a 75,000 acre area that lies immediately north of Yellowstone and encompasses the upper Yellowstone River valley.

“The establishment of the Gardiner Basin Bison Conservation Area ends an era where bison were killed or quarantined simply for walking across boundary in search of winter feed,” said NWF’s Tom France. “It is a huge step forward for wildlife conservation in the northern Rockies.”

Paying Ranchers to Turn Land Used for Grazing into Bison Habitat

National Wildlife Federation has successfully fought for decades to change bison management through our Adopt-a-Wildlife-Acre program, which compensates ranchers for retiring their grazing allotments and relocating their livestock.  NWF has successfully phased out livestock grazing in key areas around Yellowstone National Park and raised more than $1 million to provide additional habitat.

The work to create a safe haven for bison is not over. In addition for continued work in the Greater Yellowstone, National Wildlife Federation has created a campaign to restore a wild, free-ranging bison herd in and around the 1.1 million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in north-central Montana.

It’s a lot of work and a difficult task – much like convincing a 9-year-old looking at a herd of hundreds of free-roaming bison that there was once a question of their very existence.  Yet sometimes it’s nice to take a moment to silently enjoy a hard-fought policy victory by realizing the power behind simply giving a kid the opportunity to say “just another Buffalo.”

Find out more about National Wildlife Federation’s work to restore bison to Montana’s Northern Great Plains >>

Adopt a Wildlife Acre – Help retire grazing allotments near Yellowstone National Park to provide room for bison to roam >>

Kids team at the 2011 World Series of Birding

It’s the biggest event you have never heard of.  Hundreds of people from all over the world gather each year in Cape May, New Jersey for a competitive birding event hosted by NWF’s New Jersey affiliate, New Jersey Audubon called “The World Series of Birding.”

Seriously.  No Seriously.  (I spent a lot of time saying that to my friends and co-workers in the weeks leading up to the big day).

Birding for 24 hours straight after spending several days and nights scouting the birds you will eventually count.  As the parent of a long-time competitive birder, I have to admit even I thought this sounded kind of extreme and certainly not much fun.  So of course when my daughter asked if I would go with her this year, I said yes.

A team of four high school kids, two dedicated expert birding coaches and I headed off in cars packed full of spotting scopes, bird books and energy drinks to Cape May for three days of scouting before the “big day.”  Teams come from all over the world to this location during this week in May to witness (and catalogue) one of the largest concentrations of migratory song-birds and shore birds on the East Coast.  So popular is this event each year that it almost becomes un-noteworthy to see a group of binocular-wearing, foreign-accented birders standing around the coffee pot of a rural New Jersey convenience store discussing the sighting of an elusive barn owl at 3:00 in the morning.

The event is teams of kids and adults crisscrossing the state for 24 hours with well-scouted and strategically mapped routes working to locate and identify the highest number of individual bird species.  It kind of reminded me of the movie “Twister” with competitive teams racing around, except with considerably less chance of your car getting sucked into a category 5 funnel cloud.

My job was the driver – and my team of kids were responsible for scouting the birds days in advance, designing a route that took into account previous sightings, sun position, tides, and weather -  and of course finding, identifying and recording each species.

For me, it was an opportunity to learn from the kids – but even more enjoyable, it was an opportunity to witness the blossoming of a deeper appreciation of wildlife and the environment for a group of kids that I have watched grow up.

They would debate birdcalls, discuss most favorable habitats, and talk excitedly at the opportunity to meet fabled ornithologist and author Pete Dunne.

These kids not only love birds, but in the process they have developed a deeper understanding of what is necessary to protect them:  clean air, clean water, protected open space and native food and habitat.

It is also a much-needed opportunity for them to really connect with the natural world, which in today’s technology-saturated environment becomes very challenging.  But sitting in the pre-dawn forest  listening for the calls of a whip-poor-will or great horned owl, scanning a vast wind-swept marsh late in the evening for a low-flying northern harrier, or walking quietly along a stream hoping to hear the sweet call of a Kentucky Warbler – you simply can’t help to feel a connection to the landscape around you.

Today there is a grave threat in our own homes, our schools and our communities that threatens generations of conservation progress and victories – the threat of a generation of children entirely disconnected from nature.   Not only does this have health, academic and behavior consequences, but we are also in danger of producing a generation of Americans with no appreciation for nature and therefore no inclination to protect it.

Jacques Cousteau reminded us that “people only protect what they love” – and for these kids, the experience provided by the “world series” will undoubtedly result in a lifetime of attention to the environment which they came to love.

Atlantic Off-shore wind is already bringing jobs to Maryland

For years advocates and those resisiting the development of Atlantic offshore wind have been having a theoretical debate about jobs that may or may not be created by the establishment of clean-energy-producing offshore wind turbines. 

In a recent Maryland General Assembly hearing on the promotion of off-shore wind in that state, one Delegate wanted to know: “Where is the proof that this technology will really bring jobs to our state?”

Well it looks like that debate has now been settled by a recent news item that announces plans for Maryland’s first wind turbine factory, to be built on Maryland’s job-starved Eastern Shore.

From a recent AP story:

“AC Wind plans to spend upward of $10 million retrofitting a former US Marine boat plant to begin molding fiberglass wind turbine blades, company executives told the Associated Press in an interview Friday.”

Check out the full article here:  

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103080397

If successful, AC Wind would be the state’s first manufacturer of wind turbine parts and could hire more than 200 workers to build the blades.

“We’re not representing research and development, we’re going to be true manufacturing, creating hundreds of jobs, and made in the state of Maryland,” said John Congredo, president of AC Wind.

Working from the state’s end, Gov. Martin O’Malley is pushing a proposal that would mandate state utilities buy the wind energy generated in those zones. If successful, Maryland utilities would lock in to 25-year wind energy contracts.

“In this competitive new economy, the states that win will be those that succeed in leveraging innovation into job creation and economic growth,” O’Malley said at a House hearing on his offshore wind bill last week.

The Salisbury plant would be overhauled to make the fiberglass blades to specifications provided by turbine manufacturers like GE, Congredo said. AC Wind is partnering with Molded Fiber Glass Companies in Ohio, he said.

“We really want to bring this back to the U.S. and specifically to Maryland,” said Rick Gay, AC Wind’s chief operating officer. “We don’t want to see this work going away. We want to do it right here.”

While Santa may have a few more weeks to pull together his list, the U.S. Congress has only a few more days to take bold action to help protect wildlife and wild places before they adjourn for the year.

One big opportunity is to pass the Public Lands, Water & Wildlife Package of bills currently under consideration, including important legislation to help the Chesapeake Bay and the communities that depend on it.

America’s public lands and major water bodies are essential for our livelihoods, recreation and to the countless animal species that depend upon them for survival. These places, from the Long Island Sound to the Chesapeake Bay are also a part of our shared cultural history.

And even if you think Congress should be focusing primarily on the economy, consider:

• With nearly 40 million anglers in the United States, recreational angling alone generated over $45 billion in retail sales, $125 billion in overall economic output, $16.4 billion in state and federal taxes and supported over one million jobs in 2006.
• Hunting and fishing combined accounts for $76 billion in economic output annually.
• National parks are economic engines in their regions supporting $13.3 billion in local, private-sector economic activity and 267,000 private-sector jobs. Similarly, national wildlife refuges generate nearly $1.7 billion annually for local economies and support 27,000 private sector jobs.

Now with time growing short before adjournment, we hope Congress will help protect America’s wildlife with a Public Lands, Water & Wildlife Package to ensure that our nation’s vital natural resources are sustainable for generations to come.

So after you pen that note to Santa, consider adding one to your Congressman and Senator.  Let’s make sure wildlife doesn’t get left off the list!