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The Prairie-Hills Audubon (PHAS) is a chapter of the National Audubon Society. PHAS works to conserve the rich natural resources and wildlife heritage of the prairies and hills of western South Dakota and the surrounding region. PHAS is a volunteer grassroot organization. Assistance, support, and donations are greatly appreciated. Get involved. Click the link below for more information on Audubon's Activism Network. |
Welcome to our newly designed web page. We hope you find it informative and useful. If you have questions or suggestions please contact the webmaster. News South Dakota Wild Grassland Campaign - Wilderness Action Alert! On January 16, Senator Tim Johnson announced his intention to introduce legislation to create America's first national grassland wilderness in Buffalo Gap National Grassland! Now it's important to flood Senator Johnson's office with phone calls and emails thanking him for his bold vision. Senator Thune and Representative Herseth Sandlin must also continue to hear words of encouragement. Your message is simple: just tell them you're thrilled Senator Johnson is finally moving forward with grassland wilderness legislation for the areas in Buffalo Gap National Grassland and you'd like them to do the same. The more supportive messages they hear the more likely they'll be to co-sponsor legislation. There is also a great need for letters to the editor (LTEs). Rapid City Journal LTEs are limited to 200 words and can be submitted online at http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/app/submit_a_letter/ Most of you are accomplished LTE writers, but we're happy to provide you with a draft, should you need it. If you submit an LTE please let Heather Morijah know via phone (593-6072) or email. More information can be found at the SD Wild Grassland Coalition's website. Contact Heather with questions or concerns. Thank you so much for your ongoing support!Cracker Barrel Dates. For a list of Cracker Barrel dates in the Black Hills area click here. The Pennington County information is: Rapid City at the New Classroom Building of the SD School of Mines & Technology at 9-11am. Jan. 23rd, Jan 30th, Feb. 13th, Feb 27th. For info, - RC Chamber is 343-1744. The PHAS website maintains a list of contact information of federal and state politicians. Norbeck Timber Sale DEIS. Comments are due on Norbeck Timber Sale DEIS on 1/11/2010. One of the BHNF most recent projects is a proposal to log in the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and conduct extensive prescribed burning in the Black Elk Wilderness Area. The Norbeck Project targets some of the last intact old growth in the forest and it will be promoted as wildlife habitat improvement project as that is the only legal way the Forest Service can conduct logging activities in the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve. Contact Kelly Honors (khonors@fs.fed.us; 605 673-4853) or visit the FS web page for copy of the DEIS http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/projects/nepa/public_docs/Norbeck_Wildlife/index.shtml. Send e-mail comments to "comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills-hell-canyon@fs.fed.us." or post to Hell Canyon Ranger District Office, 330 Mt Rushmore Rd, Custer, SD 57730, (or fax # 605-673-5461). Also"Friends of the Norbeck" is posting group/individual comments on their web site http://friends-of-norbeck.ning.com/ Unveiling of Wildlife Photo Contest. Deadwood- Open House - January 7th. The Historic Deadwood Lead Arts Council (HDLAC), along with the Prairie Hill Audubon Society, will be sponsoring a wildlife photography contest with a $100 cash prize for best professional photograph, $100 best amateur photograph; and prizes for 2nd and 3rd place in each category. Entry deadline was December 15, 2009. Judges will consist of one photographer, one wildlife expert and one visual artist. All entries in the contest must be photographs of animals/mammals taken in the wild. No photographs were to be entered taken of contained animals in sanctuaries, zoos, animal farms, etc. An exhibit will be held in the HDLAC gallery, displaying the photographs entered. We will have an open house/unveiling of the entries on Thursday, January 7th from 5 to 7 at the Historic Deadwood Lead Arts Council gallery located at 309 W. Main in Lead (upstairs at the Historic Homestake Opera House). The winners will be announced and hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served. The exhibit will run from January 4th to the end of February. HDLAC is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 to 3 p.m. For more info. on the contest and exhibit, contact the Historic Deadwood Lead Arts Council at 584-1461. Online Bird Course. The next five-week session for the new online course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology begins January 6, 2010. The goal of "Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry in Birds" is to help people learn how to observe and interpret behavior and communication among birds. A basic principle of bird behavior is explored each week using multimedia and interactive activities, guided by an instructor. - http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fwww.birds.cornell.edu%2f&srcid=15099&srctid=1&erid=1654828 Nautilus Timber Sale. An open house to gather comments from local individuals and groups will be held on December 2, 2009 at 5:30 PM MST at the Community Hall in Nemo, SD. Comments will be used to develop a practical project and conduct meaningful analysis. Comments can be submitted by mail, phone, fax, or email. Faxed comments should be sent to (605) 642-4156. Be sure to indicate “Nautilus Project” on the cover page of any faxed materials. Electronic comments should be sent to: comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills-northern-hills@fs.fed.us. Please indicate “Nautilus Project” in the subject line of your email. Written comments should be addressed to: Northern Hills Ranger District, Attn: Chris Stores, Nautilus Project Leader 2014 North Main St. Spearfish, SD 57783 Comments Needed By December 21, 2009 Quotable quotes. Dick Artley has compiled an impressive collection of quotes regarding protection of natural resources. The quotes can be found in the PHAS documents page. Christmas Bird Counts. Its that time of the year again. Here is the contact info for bird counts in the region. You can also get more information at the South Dakota Ornithological Union website and the Audubon Society website, or click here to see a list of regional contacts, dates, and locations.
The 40th annual Rivers and Wildlife Celebration will be held March 18-21, 2010, in Kearney, Nebraska. Events include guided field trips, workshops, a family fun room, and daily visits to river blinds operated by Audubon for up-close views of cranes roosting on the Platte River.Local and national speakers will present information on a variety of wildlife and conservation topics. More than twenty local environmental organizations will have information booths and hands-on activities on Saturday. The celebration is open to the general public. Registration materials can be found beginning in mid-December at www.nebraska.audubon.org. For more information click here and/or contact Audubon Nebraska to be put on the mailing list: Nebraska@audubon.org; 402/797-2301. Rowe Sanctuary has information about viewing the sandhill crane migration, 308/468-5282; www.rowesanctuary.org. Organized by Audubon Nebraska and the Nebraska Bird Partnership, OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: Draft EIS for Rattlesnake Forest Management Project, which proposes to implement a multiple resource management action, Bearlodge Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest, Crook County, WY. This project may affect a relatively wild area of the Black Hills National Forest which has lots of old big pines and deciduous trees. The comment period ended 11/23/2009. Click here to view PHAS comments. For more information contact Elizabeth Krueger 307- 283-1361. You may send comments to:comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills-bearlodge@fs.fed.us or ekrueger@fs.fed.us. For more information go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/projects/nepa/public_docs/rattlesnake_project/index.shtml or go to our Projects page. You may also get more information at the Friends of the Norbeck website. Mount Rushmore Trail Project. The deadline for comments has been extended to December 2, 2009. A copy of the project can be viewed at the Rapid City Library or online. Wildlife Photography Contest and Exhibition. The Historic Deadwood and Lead Arts Council and the Prairie Hills Audubon Society is sponsoring a wildlife photography contest and exhibit. Click here for more information. American Dipper Petition. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected a petition to list the Black Hills population of American dipper has endangered or threatened. Read the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance press release regarding the FWS determination. Meade County is in process of making major revisions to its Comprehensive Plan. Revisions will be considered at the Meade County Planning Board meeting in Nov (3rd Monday) and then likely at the Meade County Commission meeting December 3. All of this effort is preliminary to applying zoning to some of the areas experiencing development pressure in Meade County-- including the I-90 strip and Box Elder. For a complete schedule and more inforation click here. For a copy of Nancy Hilding's November 28 letter regarding the comprehensive plan, Bear Butte liquor license, and related issues click here. For a map of the Ballard liquor license location click here. You can also get more information from the Meade County website. OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: The Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands (NNFG) Draft Environmental Impact Statement for designation of a motorized travel access system is available for review at the NNFG website www.fs.fed.us/r2/nebraska/. The document and associated maps can be found by clicking on the Ongoing Motorized Travel Management Planning link under Special Notices. For additional information or to request a CD with the complete document please contact Nebraska Travel Management project leader Mark Reichert by email (mreichert@fs.fed.us) or by phone (530-841-4422). The opportunity to comment has been extended to December 24. Written comments may be submitted to:
or by FAX (530) 841-4463. Electronic comments, in acceptable [plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf) or Word (.doc)] formats, may be submitted to: comments-rocky-mountain-nebraska@fs.fed.us. Electronic comments should have the words, NNFG Travel Management DEIS Comments, in the subject line.
It's go time! Please contact your South Dakota congressional delegation and tell them you support wilderness designation in three areas of Buffalo Gap National Grassland: Indian Creek, Red Shirt and Chalk Hills. This effort would conserve 50,000 acres of South Dakota's rich and unique natural resources and would benefit all South Dakotans. For more information such as maps, fact sheets, and economic values of wilderness, go to the South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition site and learn about the National Grassland Heritage Proposal. Click here to download The Amended Petition to the Environmental Quality Council for Designation of an Area Known as Sand Creek as Very Rare or Uncommon (note - its a very large file). The petition was submitted to the Wyoming EQC on August 12, 2009 by the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. The Prairie-Hills Chapter of the Audubon Society is an endorser on the petition. Click here to see Nancy Hilding's letter regarding protection of the area. The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory plans to establish a Branch Office in the Black Hills. Nancy Drilling of RMBO is currently looking for office space, preferably a co-location with an existing conservation organization. This initiative by RMBO is the result of some past and ongoing successful partnerships with organizations in South Dakota. The Norbeck Society has several more outings planned for the fall including trips to the Cathedral Spires and the Pactola area. For kids! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed an interactive website to help kids explore the outdoors (yes, we see the irony!). Kids (and I suppose adults) who earn all five patches can receive a free tree from the Arbor Day Foundation! Click here to go to the Let's Go Outside web site. |
A registered chapter of the National Audubon Society
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