Tennessee Birders, At the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) meeting in Memphis last weekend, Paul Baicich encouraged birders to purchase the "Duck Stamp" to help support National Wildlife Refuges. Paul reminded us that the Duck Stamp does much more than purchase duck habitat. The distinction between game and nongame wildlife is becoming less evident. Nongame birds and other species are supported right alongside the game species by the Refuge system. We shouldn't leave it all up to the hunters to support this program. Birdwatchers too can proudly hold up their Duck Stamp and say they've helped. The 56,000-acre Cache River National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/cacheriver/ - core "home" of the re-discovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker - was founded relatively recently (16 June 1986). This National Wildlife Refuge has been recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the RAMSAR Convention. Out of its current 56,000 acres, fully 43,816 acres, or over 77% was acquired through funds that have come through the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp. (That cost was $38,057,436.) Similarly, the nearby and much larger - at over 160,000 acres - White River National Wildlife Refuge http://whiteriver.fws.gov/ has had 10,145 acres acquired through $5,254,645 from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, of which the Stamp is a major contributor. Tennessee's National Wildlife Refuges include: Chickasaw NWR, Cross Creeks NWR, Hatchie NWR, Lake Isom NWR, Lower Hatchie NWR, Reelfoot NWR, and Tennessee NWR. More information about these refuges can be found at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/. I would encourage each and every birder in Tennessee to purchase a duck stamp today. I think we've all wished at some point that we could identify more effective ways to help support wildlife habitats. The duck stamp is certainly an effective way to help provide good habitat for birds. Please visit the Duck Stamp website at http://duckstamps.fws.gov/. You can purchase the "Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation" stamp online or at the US Postal Service office down the street. Michael Roedel, State Ornithologist Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency P.O. Box 40747 Nashville, TN 37204 michael.roedel@xxxxxxxxxxx http://www.state.tn.us/twra =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================