www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091008 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 5/1/2009
Last Visited: 10/8/2009
According to John Alexander, the State of the Birds report is an effort to take conservation beyond mere counts - to an understanding that the health of birds is also about our own health.
"The health of our bird populations are indicators of our future well-being," says Alexander, founder and director of KBO and a contributor to report.
...
Cutting straight to the core of the argument, Alexander says he wants more weight placed on bird populations than on the gross national product as a measure of the nation's true health.
If we do that, we'll find some parts of the country need doctoring, he says.
...
Birds are resilient, as are our ecosystems," says John Alexander, director of the Klamath Bird Observatory.
...
Land managers need to consider the health of the birds when assessing their efficacy, says Alexander.
...
"Citizen-science rocks," says Alexander, repeating what may become a mantra for environmental experts.
Other ways to participate include the breeding-bird survey and the Christmas bird count, national events with local sites, he says.
...
A measure of the unanimity of scientific opinion on "The State of the Birds" is that the report, begun in the last year of the Bush administration, was expedited by President Obama's secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and published in less than two years, says Alexander.
...
"We can turn this around," says Alexander.
79 online sources [ view sources ]
Profile is not claimed [ claim profile ]
