National Audubon Society

Trivia time! True or false? The Mountain Plover is a federally Endangered Species.
_{(Find the answer at the bottom of this email.)}

Newsletter | October 2023

A bright yellow bird sings from a branch with maroon foliage.

QUIZ: What Bird Conservation Opportunity is Right For You?

There are many ways to help protect birds with Audubon Rockies but which is the best fit for you? Our new quiz can help you find out! Answer just six easy questions to get a list of opportunities that best match your interests and availability!Take the quiz

Yellow Warbler. Photo: Simon d’Entremont/Audubon Photography Awards

Three stout, brown birds stand in a grassland at sunrise.

Proposed Rule Change Would Bring BLM Oil and Gas Leasing into the Modern Era

The last time the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing policy was updated, Gerald Ford was in the White House, the Bee Gees were on the radio, and a gallon of gas cost an average of 59 cents. But newly proposed updates to the policy would prioritize habitat, sacred lands, and other considerations when granting oil and gas leases. Learn how the changes would benefit birds and people.

Read more

Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: Evan Barrientos/Audubon Rockies

Four lanky grey and white birds with red crowns in flight.

New BIG WIRES Act Would Help Achieve a Clean Energy Future for Birds and People

Last month, Senator John Hickenlooper (CO) and Representative Scott Peters (CA) introduced the Building Integrated Grids with Interregional Energy Supply Act, known as the BIG WIRES Act. The new legislation would help accelerate the building up of United States’ clean energy transmission infrastructure in a way that protects consumers, businesses, and wildlife habitat. Such a buildout is critical to stabilizing the climate for birds and people.

Learn why

Sandhill Crane. Photo: Photo: Jack Eichner/Audubon Photography Awards

Two black, white, and rust-colored shorebirds in short, dry vegetation.

Gillmor Sanctuary Workdays

There’s still time to join us for Gillmor Sanctuary Workdays this month! On October 13, 14, and 21, we’ll be working to improve critical bird habitat at Great Salt Lake. Join us to lend a helping hand and enjoy some birdwatching along the way! Space is limited on October 21, but we still need up to half a dozen volunteers on October 13 and up to a dozen on October 14. Can you help?

Register here

American Avocet. Photo: Melissa Groo/Audubon Photography Awards

A drab gray, tan, and white bird in flight.

Conservation Ranching Highlights

More than 60 percent of native grasslands in the United States have been lost to conversion and tree encroachment. Audubon Rockies’ Conservation Ranching team is working hard to conserve what remains. This year, they monitored 13 bird-friendly ranches across Colorado and Wyoming. On those ranches, more than 6,600 individual birds from 127 different species were recorded, including Burrowing Owls, Mountain Plovers, Pinyon Jays, and Loggerhead Shrikes!

Learn more about Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Initiative

Mountain Plover. Photo: Julio Mulero/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Trivia answer: False. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected a proposal to list the Mountain Plover as a Federally Endangered Species in 2003. Mountain Plovers have disappeared from much of their former breeding range and are on the IUCN Red Watch List as of 2020.

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320 E. Vine Dr., Suite 312, Ft. Collins, CO 80524 USA
(970) 416 6931 | www.audubon.org/rockies

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