Coastal Strand: Ready, Set...Volunteer!

Having trouble reading this email? Click here to read it online. Audubon Florida: Coastal Strand January 2013 Support Coastal Conservation! Tell Your Friends Send this message to friends and family members.  Stay Connected Bookmark the Audubon of Florida News Blog  Get ready, Get Set...Volunteer! Your expertise is needed for the 2013 Winter Shorebird Survey. Monitoring shorebirds at Fort Matanzas Beach. Do you have the skills to identify Florida’s shorebirds in their winter garb (or “plumages”)? If not, would you like to learn how while supporting the experts? Join the annual statewide2013 Winter Shorebird Survey between Friday, February 1 and Saturday, February 10. Please note that February 1 is the preferred day for surveys in Northeast Florida and the weekend of February 8-10 for the southwest Gulf Coast. The primary objective of the survey is to develop a better understanding of the winter distribution of shorebirds and seabirds across our state and to identify trends and important wintering sites. As a participant you will count birds with a team along a stretch of beach, causeway, or marsh. Ideally, counts are completed at high tide when birds gather on beaches to rest, but survey timing will be set by the team or the regional leader. Teams will try to walk if at all possible to get a closer look at color bands and band codes that provide critical pieces of information about each bird’s travels on migration flyways between nesting and wintering habitats. In some cases it will be necessary to drive to cover long stretches of beach with short stops and walks to identify and count birds. A complete data packet containing full instructions, data sheets, and contact information for Regional Coordinators can be found by clicking here. For additional information or to find out about teams or routes you can join, please contact: Northwest Florida (Escambia through Pasco Counties):  Patty Kelly - patricia_kelly@fws.gov Atlantic Coast of Florida: Monique Borboen - mborboen@audubon.org Southwest Florida (Pinellas County south to Collier County): Marianne Korosy - mkorosy@audubon.org Urge Army Corps to Ensure Huguenot's Baby Birds Receive Protection They Deserve The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is currently accepting public comment on its proposal to renew its lease at Huguenot Memorial Park to the City of Jacksonville. Your voice is needed to help protect one of the last strongholds for beach-dependent birds on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The site currently supports a large colony of Royal Terns and had an important historic population of Gull-billed Terns, Black Skimmers, and American Oystercatchers. Declining Red Knots depend on Huguenot's beach during migration, and the park is part of a designated critical wintering habitat unit for federally Threatened Piping Plovers. Make a difference right now by sending a letter in support of these iconic, rare, and declining species. Looking for Local Advocates for RESTORE Funding in Gulf Coast Counties A Piping and Wilson's Plover. With the passage of the RESTORE Act last year, a process was set in motion to return billions of dollars in penalties from the Deepwater Horizon disaster to Gulf states to reverse ecological and economic damage and restore the Gulf of Mexico. Each of the five Gulf states will handle this funding differently, but Florida has an especially unique process which ensures that much of the decision making will occur at county levels. Because of the distributed way these decisions will be made, it is important to have advocates throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast monitoring the process in their local communities, and advocating for the funding of lasting, sustainable projects that benefit Florida’s Gulf ecology and economy. As you might imagine, funding of this magnitude attracts the interest of advocates for myriad projects, ranging from those that would help habitat and wildlife, to those which would harm our natural resources. If you live in a Gulf Coast county and would be willing to help us track and influence the progress of RESTORE decision making in your area, please send your name, county and contact information toJacqui Sulek, Audubon Chapters Conservation Coordinator - jsulek@audubon.org. Audubon’s RESTORE advocates will receive regular briefings and resources on the RESTORE process to help ensure the promise of restoration is realized for Florida and the Gulf.

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