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Conservation
Mission
Statement
Committee
Meetings
Conservation
Award
Rancho
Mission Viejo settlment
Coyote
Hills
Salton Sea
Tree
Trimming
Wind
Turbines
E-mail
Activists
Environmental
Volunteer Opportunities
Urban
Sanctuaries Campaign
Least
Tern Project info
2006
Nesting Season
2007
Nesting Season
2008
Nesting Season
Bird
Research
Endangered Habitats League
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Conservation
Awards for 2008
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| Fern
Zimmerman Conservation Award: |
Mark
and Julie Bixby received the Fern Zimmerman Conservation
Award at the chapter's Annual Dinner on March 21, 2008, for
their grassroots efforts to protect the uplands of Bolsa Chica
in Huntington Beach.
Mark and Julie truly exemplify what it means to be grassroots
conservation activists. Mark came to the conservation scene
in 2001 when a Bolsa Chica Land Trust flyer landed on his
doorstep. Julie followed shortly in 2002. Since that time,
they have both become important leaders in the efforts to
save very special habitats for birds, wildlife, and people.
Julie soon become a board member with the Bolsa Chica Land
Trust and a well known leader in the political battles at
the California Coastal Commission and public hearings. Mark
has preferred to operate a little more independently, documenting
wildlife, plants and ecosystems on the uplands at a level
of detail that has surpassed anything done before. His meticulous
work is a shining example to all conservationists. Together
Mark and Julie learned about biology, ecology, hydrology,
wetlands, and uplands from scratch. They applied leadership
and technological skills to quickly become two of the most
indispensable activists in the region. Along with many other
extraordinary people, they helped to establish permanent habitat
on the uplands for raptors that Audubon California considers
to be critically important. |
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| Letters
of Commendation: |
Richard
J. O'Neill
and his late wife, Donna O'Neil, have done so much to help
the environment in California and conservation in Orange County,
it would take the entire newsletter to begin to describe it
all. We are very pleased this year to present Mr. O'Neill
with a Letter of Commendation to extend a token of our appreciation
for the decades of contributions he and his wife made.
Many Orange County residents don't know that Richard O'Neill
had a huge impact on improving water and air quality in California
as one of the state's most beloved chairmen of the Democratic
Party. And, you may not be aware that Richard and Donna have
both been very generous donors to Audubon California Starr
Ranch Sanctuary as well as to other conservation organizations,
including the Nature Conservancy. Most of us do recognize
Mrs. O'Neill as the namesake of the Donna O'Neill Land Conservancy
which Richard still works to protect, Richard and Donna both
were very gracious supporters of biological research and conservation
work done for years in south Orange County by Sea and Sage
Audubon members and friends, including Dave Bontrager, Pete
Bloom and Mike Evans. |
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| Spencer
Porter is a name that very few will recognize, although
you may know something about his contributions to research
and raptor conservation in Southern California. We are presenting
Spence with a Letter of Commendation for his years of generosity
contributing electronic and tracking equipment for raptor
research programs and education and communication equipment
at Starr Ranch Sanctuary. Spence and his company, Communication
Specialists, Inc., have provided radio telemetry and transmitter
equipment for many years to raptor researcher, Pete Bloom,
for tracking and studying raptors, leading to a better understanding
of their ecological and conservation needs. At Starr Ranch,
communication equipment provides researchers and the staff
with the ability to talk almost anywhere on the ranch on two
way radios, making research safer and more efficient. |
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