Bye bye Birder

April 3, 2009

by Nate

Brand new I and the Bird #97 at one of my favorite bird blogs, Great Auk – or Greatest Auk? This is a fun one, do yourself a favor and check it out.

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I was tipped off on this from John Trapp’s Birds Etcetera; the news that in a move likely to be repeated across the nation, Arkansas’ Fish and Game department has decided not to re-fill a vacant state ornithologist position tasked with working on non-game wildlife, with a focus on neotropic migrants and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which regardles of how you come down on it brought attention to some important conservation issues (whether or not the IBWO was the right means to do that is another matter entirely, and well-trodden ground besides). The Arkansas decision is especially concerning since, according to the linked article, the state passed an $.08 conservation tax in 1996 specifically for such a position and the responsibilities thereof.

I realize I’ve beaten this increasingly decrepit horse ad nauseum around these parts, but the need for a birder-specific stream of funding could not be more urgent and this is precisely the reason. When budget cuts come calling the interests of birders get the shaft first, despite the fact that our raw numbers and potential for growth are higher than those of the hook and bullet set. Arkansas is hardly unusual, I’ve heard of the exact same thing happening in North Carolina too, and I suspect many of you around the US would find similar situations in your state game agencies. We have a voice, we just need a means to express it.

What can any of us do? It’s a lot to ask, and frankly it’s something I’m still working on myself. What I have found is that most states have some means of supporting non-game initiatives, they’re just not very good at advertising them and most, unlike Arkansas’ 8 cent tax, are voluntary. What you can do is peruse your state’s natural resources agency and find something. For instance, I found North Carolina has a license plate program that raises money for non-game wildlife programs. I’ll be on that as soon as my current plate expires. It’s a completely lame plate, but it’s a start. And all we need is a place to start, right?

2 Comments

John permalink

April 3, 2009 1:00 pm

New Jersey’s conservation plates have much better designs. Here’s one:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/plates.htm

There are (or have been) others as well, with goldfinches, red-headed woodpeckers, and other animals. I think there are plates specifically for the Pine Barrens region also. Pennsylvania has an owl on one of their plates.

Maybe North Carolina’s government could be persuaded to offer something better.
Grant McCreary permalink

April 3, 2009 9:28 pm

I believe that Georgia’s non-game DNR is entirely supported by the license plates and an option to contribute while filing your state income taxes.
I don’t know how many contribute from their taxes (I do every year), but the plates seem to do well – I see alot of them. There’s only two right now, but I think more are on the way.