National Audubon Society

Quarterly Newsletter | April 2018

Message from Jon Hayes, Audubon New Mexico's Executive Director

People are the heart of conservation solutions in New Mexico; it’s your passion for protecting wildlife and wild places that keeps us motivated. For that reason, I have been hitting the road to meet with our chapters, partners and supporters—from Clayton to Deming. If I haven’t been to your town yet, it’s probably on my calendar.

In February, I was invited to Silver City to attend a meeting of the Southwestern New Mexico Audubon Society (SWNMAS). In the many conversations I had with SWNMAS members before and after the meeting, I was struck by the level of sophistication and tenacity with which they approach the challenge of protecting the wild Gila River. It became clear to me that if I was going to keep up with these folks, I’d have to step up my game.
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The Rio Grande near Pilar. Photo: Paul Tashjian

Why Water?

Newest Audubon New Mexico team member, Paul Tashjian talks about his experiences with water.

Rivers and aquatic life have always been important to me. Growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania, my friends and I would collect salamanders, crawfish and fish from local streams and raise these in tanks. I loved the magic of these streams that were teaming with life and always full of surprises. Later, my Dad and I took up fly-fishing and I used this as a way to explore many streams in the northeastern part of the country, from the urban Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia to the wild lakes of northwestern Maine. To this day, I relish being amongst these wild places as I study and explore the rivers and wetlands of New Mexico and the western United States.

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Nancy Ranney

Nancy Ranney: A Conservation Ranching Perspective for Birds and Beef

Land health has been my foremost interest from a childhood on a horse to work in environmental planning to assuming the management of our family ranch in New Mexico in 2002. I was initially intrigued by the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program for its dual potential to inspire Western land managers to adopt healthy grazing management practices and to offer a market-based solution critical to the survival of family ranching operations. The possibility of connecting different communities and interest groups also appealed to me as well as the opportunity to dispel some widely-held misconceptions about ranching in the West, in particular, about the role of livestock in the environment. And, of course, I was interested in expanding our own grassfed beef market; it seemed possible that an Audubon certification might help us in that regard.

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Natali Steinberg

Natali Steinberg - Steward of the Randall Davey Audubon Center

For fifteen years, Natali Steinberg has brightened the Randall Davey Audubon visitor's center with her warmth and intelligence. Born and raised just outside of Chicago, Natali became intrigued by the natural world at age fifteen when she spent time at a ranch camp in Woodland Park, Colorado. She said she felt as though she’d found her place there, and as soon as she graduated from high school, she left to attend college at the University of Colorado. After raising beets, hay, corn and three children on two different farms outside of Boulder with her husband Marty, she earned a degree in rural land use planning. She and Marty resided near Boulder for almost sixty years. “I was a depression era kid,” she states. “We were more concerned about sustaining ourselves than wildlife.” But a rural lifestyle and homesteading brought nature to her front door and opened her eyes to the need to protect the wilder world.

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From left to right - Susan Clair, Ken Sexton, Jackie Blurton, Sara Boyett, Terry Timme, Mayor Ken Ladner. Photo by Rachelle Bergmann

Congratulations!

The Southwestern New Mexico Audubon Society was awarded the National Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds Burke Award to promote bird-friendly communities. The goal of the Burke Grant program is to support network Plants for Birds activities that increase the visibility, reach, and impact of Audubon’s Plants for Birds programming across the country. The Southwestern New Mexico Audubon Society’s dedication to connect people with birds and pollinators was also recognized by the Mayor of Silver, who proclaimed April 21, 2018, "Bird, Butterfly, and Bee Friendly Day in Silver City."

Be sure to join the chapter for Earth Day festivities in Silver City on April 21, and obtain your free native plant to support life for birds, bees and butterflies. https://www.swnmaudubon.org/

Congratulations to this supportive and community-oriented Audubon Chapter. We are proud to partner with this chapter and have them in New Mexico.

Audubon New Mexico’s Birdathon is here!

Audubon’s annual Birdathon is upon us! One of our favorite events of the year, Birdathon, is Audubon’s largest annual fundraiser where teams from all over the country attempt to spot as many bird species as they can in a 24-hour period starting on May 1st. It’s an endurance scavenger hunt challenge, and this year, we’re lucky enough to have 7 incredible teams birding for conservation! Join the excitement today by supporting a team.

Audubon New Mexico’s Birdathon helps raise funds for local conservation and education programs, in addition to raising awareness about the health of different habitats and how they directly impact bird populations.

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Brenda Dominguez, Amy Biehl Community School Teacher with her students.

Education at the Randall Davey Audubon Center & Sanctuary

“In nature, students can connect their math, science, and literacy concepts to cultural beliefs and environmental issues.” Brenda Dominguez

Education at the Randall Davey Audubon Center & Sanctuary (RDAC) is about engaging students with science concepts in real-life settings while awakening their hearts and imagination to the beauty of the natural world. Spring is upon us, and we are excited to share this blooming season by providing hundreds of local elementary students with in in-class science lessons and exploratory field trips led by Audubon educators at RDAC. These educational experiences are made possible with funding from the City of Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission. This funding allows us to target public schools with high populations of English language learners and those benefitting from free and reduced lunch for our elementary programs.

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Upcoming Events

There’s plenty to do around New Mexico. Audubon offers fun and educational events through the Randall Davey Audubon Center and Audubon Chapters.

Find out more

Donate

Audubon New Mexico
PO Box 9314, Santa Fe, NM 87504 USA
(505) 983-4609 nm.audubon.org

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