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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20250515T000000
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DTSTAMP:20260417T045722
CREATED:20250407T204536Z
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UID:18215-1747267200-1750031940@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Climate Watch Spring Season
DESCRIPTION:Climate Watch Spring Season \nClimate Watch is sponsored by the National Audubon Society (NAS) & takes place during two distinct seasons—winter (January 15-February 15) and summer (May 15-June 15). Below is the alert for any season (winter or summer) . \nLike the Christmas bird count this is a chance to help create “citizen science” for birds. Climate Watch focuses on these target species: Eastern Bluebird\, Mountain Bluebird\, Western Bluebird\, White-breasted Nuthatch\, Red-breasted Nuthatch\, Brown-headed Nuthatch\, Pygmy Nuthatch\, American Goldfinch\, Lesser Goldfinch\, Painted Bunting\, Eastern Towhee\, and Spotted Towhee. \nThese birds are easy to identify\, have an enthusiastic constituency\, and Audubon’s climate models for these species offer strong predictions for range shifts for us to test. In future years\, Climate Watch may include additional target species threatened by climate change. We believe that western bluebird and painted bunting are not normally in SD. All the other birds occur in all or parts of SD. \nVisit this page to see where these birds are in SD\, and which are near you: \nhttps://www.sdakotabirds.com/species_main.htm\nLocation Climate Watch focuses on areas of predicted change for these 12 species at each location across the continent. Audubon provides volunteers with online mapping tools with a grid of 10 km x 10 km squares showing species-specific predictions for each square based on the climate models. A Climate Watch Coordinator can help select your location and survey square. If you are participating on your own\, use the online maps to decide in which square to do your surveys. You will be able to see which squares are already “claimed”. \nHow to count Volunteers should first make sure to read through all of the materials including the full protocol manual. The Climate Watch protocol is different than any other birding program. Then using the planning done with the online maps\, volunteers survey appropriate habitat for the target species within a square and conduct 12 point counts of five minutes each within one morning\, then record the number and species of all birds seen or heard within 100 meters. Participants send the data to the National Audubon Society. \nHow data will be used  Audubon’s 2019 climate change report\, ‘Survival By Degrees\, – https://www.audubon.org/climate/survivalbydegrees – reveals that up to two-thirds of North American birds are vulnerable to extinction due to climate change. For example\, the beautiful Mountain Bluebird is vulnerable because in the vast majority of its summer range\, the climate conditions that this bird needs—temperature\, amount of rainfall\, and other environmental factors—will shift northward and eastward. This bird may be able to move into new areas over time\, or it may struggle to adapt. To test the report’s predictions\, Audubon has developed Climate Watch\, which aims to document species’ responses to climate change and test Audubon’s climate models by having volunteers in the field look for birds where Audubon’s climate models predict they will be in the 2020s. This information helps Audubon target our conservation work to protect birds. See the Climate Watch results page here to see our early reports and results from the data received by Climate Watch volunteers so far! \nLink to the Climate-watch program on the National Audubon Society web page \nhttps://www.audubon.org/conservation/climate-watch \nClimate watch instructions for participants \nhttps://www.audubon.org/news/participant-resources-climate-watch\nClimate watch for beginners webinar\, – this has much of the same info as our November meeting \nhttps://audubon.zoom.us/rec/share/xe9NAZTe6WVOf7fz2kbRAYAQMI66eaa8hCFL_fNZn0k3a8uNjHkvp4-EZzq7vlq_?startTime=1588186808000\n\n\nOur web page on community science efforts: \n https://phas-wsd.org/citizen-science/ \n 
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/climate-watch-spring-season/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20250605T120000
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DTSTAMP:20260417T045722
CREATED:20250203T233923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250603T152415Z
UID:17117-1749124800-1749207600@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:SD Game Fish & Park's June hybrid Commission meeting Aberdeen and Zoom
DESCRIPTION:SD Game\, Fish and Parks June Commission hybrid meeting\, in Aberdeen and Zoom\,  Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. \nThe Dakota Event Center is located at 720 Lamont St. S in Aberdeen. \nThis meeting will be held via Zoom/conference call and livestream. The meeting will begin Thursday\, June 5 beginning at 1 pm CDT the public hearing and open forum will begin at 2 p.m. CDT. . The livestream can be found at https://www.sd.net. \nWhen close to the date visit- the agenda\, public comments and “Commission book” will eventually be up here: https://gfp.sd.gov/commission/information/ \nCommission book Link (you find the agenda\,  proposals\, action plans and public comments in this document): \nhttps://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/nav/Commission_Book_June_2025_.pdf \nAgenda link: \nhttps://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/nav/Commission_Agenda_June_2025_.pdf \nYou can testify in person or remotely by Zoom at 2 pm MT. It is requested  (but not required) that you register in advance for remote testimony w/ Gail Buus \, gail.buus@state.sd.us . Testifiers should provide their full names\, whom they are representing\, city of residence\, and which proposed topic they will be addressing. \nClick on the link below to join the Zoom Webinar. Depending on the application you use\, you may be required to enter the meeting ID and password. \nThe agenda for this meeting can be found here. \nZoom Webinar Link: \nTo join via conference call: \n\ndial 1.669.900.9128\nWebinar ID: 912 6417 6710\nPasscode: 970458\n\nWritten Comments are due  the Sunday before the Thursday\, before midnight MT: \nhttps://gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/ \nTo comment in writing\, do so ideally by  June 1st\, 2025 midnight CT at their public comments web page. Late comments end up in the July Commission book\, so they see them after they make some immediate decisions.\nhttps://gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/\n\nThey will be voting on the beaver  & otter trapping/hunting seasons rewrite. \nBeaver hunting season change proposed to beaver is a BHs moratorium  but no change to seasons for 5 species which are hunted under Nest Predator Bounty Program.\n1. Support the moratorium on beaver hunting/trapping in the Black Hills Fire Protection District.\n2. Ask for 5 month beaver trapping/hunting season in the prairie outside of the Black Hills\, to allow for recovery of beaver state wide and avoid trapping beaver moms when raising children (starts in May)  and incidental take of otter  and especially otter moms when raising pups (starts in April).\nLink to look at season proposal\n https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Beaver-and-NPBP-species-rule.pdf\n\nThe rule change proposed otter hunting/trapping season – propose increase harvest cap from 20 to 30 otters.\nWe suggest you oppose such because\n1.  population monitoring results show contradictory information  and\n2. we need extra otters for west River reintroduction.\nLink to look at season proposal.\nhttps://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Otter.Proposal.-May_2025_Commission_Book_.pdf\n\nMink/weasel/muskrat hunting/trapping season rule change\nThe proposed change is a correction to the description of the Black Hills Fire Protection District\, which was inaccurate\, thus this is a  “clean up” & also a  positive sort of change.  They are not changing season lengths (except to decrease season length in the in south part of BHFPD) or harvest limits\, thus no large  substantive changes are proposed.\n\n========== \nACTION PLANS \nOTTER\nThey will be voting on a Draft Northern River Otter Action Plan. https://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/nav/River_Otter_Action_Plan_2025_2029_Comm.pdf \nWe are asking folks to testify on the  Northern River Otter Action Plan and ask it to plan to reintroduce river otters to western SD and to improve riparian and aquatic habitat along the major tributaries leading from the Missouri River to western SD.  We have river otter in eastern SD\, but if river otter exist in western SD\, they are anecdotal reports on occassional isolated individuals\,  not known to be breeding.  We also need for the corridors along the rivers to be more hospitable to otter by improving the riparian habitat along their edges or creating beaver habitat in side tributaries.   The proposed plan does not provide for these objectives. Please ask for them to be added. Please ask for the Eastern SD population to be managed to be robust enough to send migrating individuals to western SD or support capture of some otters to translocate to western SD. \n2025 River Otter Action Plan\, comment deadline was May 23rd (go to that date on calendar)\, however they will review and approve it at the June 5th-6th Commission meeting\, so you can still comment on it (for Commission vs. Staff reading)\nhttps://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/RiverOtterd.-ActionPlan.April_2025_Commission_Book_FIN_s.pdf\n========== \nBEAVER \nThey may be reviewing or discussing  a draft Beaver Action Plan\, however the official comment deadline is after the June  (July 2nd) Commission meeting so voting on it will be at a later Commission meeting (July 10th-11th) .   https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/beaverActionPLan-May_2025_Commission_Book_-2.pdf \nList of commissioners\nhttps://gfp.sd.gov/commission/members/
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/sd-game-fish-parks-june-hybrid-commission-meeting-aberdeen-and-zoom/
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