PHAS tries to have members meetings in the last week of the month, but we  sometimes change that due to speaker availability or other issues. 

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-Members meetings for rest of summer are not yet set.

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We seek persons who want to run for the Board of Directors, contact any of the Board members if you wish to serve on the Board.

We have not yet set the date of the annual meeting.

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National Audubon Society released grant opportunities for Chapters in February and will be doing so again in early August. Here are links to spring grants: https://nationalaudubon.box.com/s/k2utg4oyr0rfr7wh2pqd81s69nz6tt3t

People with grant ideas contact Nancy, 605-787-6466, nhilshat@rapidnet.com,

At our July Board Meeting, the PHAS Board of Directors endorsed the referendum of Senate Bill 201. We opposed SB 201 during the legislature. This is related to the fight in eastern SD over CO2 pipelines and local control vs. state control over regulations about pipelines as they go through local counties. Some Counties ordinances are more protective. Dakota Rural Action has a web page on the fight over C02 pipelines in SD – https://www.dakotarural.org/our-work/carbon-pipelines/

PAST EVENTS

Go to our recordings web page, for recordings of our past meetings.

The second Wednesday in June and the third Wednesday of July were the last two summer PHAS board meetings. Board meetings are open to PHAS members, held in the evening by Zoom, but the Zoom details are sheltered and you must contact Nancy Hilding (phas.wsd@rapidnet.com) or other board member for an invite.

National Audubon Society’s (NAS) Spring/Summer Climate Watch season is May 15th-June 15th , 2024. Help NAS learn gather data about climate change’s impacts  to some specific birds. For more info on how your birding can help go to:   https://phas-wsd.org/event/climate-watch-spring-summer-season/ 

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We had a Zoom meeting on greater sage grouse and BLM revisions of Resource Management Plans in the west on the eve of Monday  June 10th, 6:30 pm. Erik Molvar of Western Watersheds Project will be the speaker. The deadline to comment on BLMs DEIS on greater sage grouse management is June 13th and we wanted to educate you all about the issues before the comment deadline.

Go to our calendar page for details on the meeting – .  https://phas-wsd.org/event/june-10th-phas-meeting-on-the-blms-proposed-amendments-to-their-rmps-for-greater-sage-grouse/

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 On May 21st, 2024 we had a networking meeting SD’s management of mountain lions. SDGFP is considering rewriting the SD’s Mt. Lion Management Plan to have lower lion population objectives and/or change cougar hunting seasons so they can allow hound hunting of lions in the Black Hills, outside of Custer State Park (it is already allowed in CSP). PHAS working/networking meetings are not so much formal presentations, but more a  group discussion by attendees and they are sheltered meetings (you need an invite) – contact Nancy 787-6466 or phas.wsd@rapidnet.com for an invite to this and/or our other future working meetings.

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May 17th – we co-sponsored Endangered Species Day Celebration  by Zoom at 6:00 pm. 

Link to ESDC announcement on PHAS Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/3527418304178046/

Link to ESDC announcement on PHAS web site’s event’s calendar web page

https://phas-wsd.org/event/endangered-species-day-celebration-2024/

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~Migratory Bird Day was May 11th, 2024 and will repeat at Oct 12th, in the fall of 2024.

~We had a field trip on May 4th, 2024 to La Creek National Wildlife Refuge. 

~We had a members meeting towards the end of February > (Monday 2/26/24 at 6:30 pm) by Zoom. This was National Audubon Society staff talking about their projects in SD, ND & NE. For details visit this link:  https://phas-wsd.org/event/phas-february-members-meeting-national-audubon-society-reports-on-their-activities-in-sd-nd-ne/

~We had a member’s meeting towards the end of March > Tuesday, March  26th, 2024 at 6:30 pm by Zoom on American dippers & osprey in the Black Hills, with SDGFP asking for our help & birding skills to help inventory both species.  Watch the  PHAS events calendar for details.

~We co-sponsored a legislative cracker barrel on Saturday February 17th, at 1:30 – 4 pm MT in Piedmont, SD for Districts 29 and 33. This was at the Piedmont Valley American Legion Post 311 and hybrid, so there is a Zoom option. 

Link to PHAS Facebook announcement of Cracker Barrel

https://fb.me/e/eTamfLTfO

Link to PHAS web site announcement of Cracker Barrel

https://phas-wsd.org/event/piedmont-foothills-area-legislative-cracker-barrel-feb-17th-2024/

Great Backyard Bird Count happened in February.

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Season was from December 14th, 2023 – January 5th, 2024.  Our summary of this year’s regional CBCs can be found at : https://phas-wsd.org/citizen-science/ 

To find details on a Christmas bird count near you on Audubon’s interactive map:

https://audubon.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=ac275eeb01434cedb1c5dcd0fd3fc7b4

PHAS is  had an annual meeting at 6 pm August 31st, Thursday.  Erik Molvar was the  speaker on the greater sage grouse, followed by the business meeting w/ election of board members. This meeting was a hybrid, with Zoom access and face-to-face meeting at the Piedmont American Legion Post 311, Piedmont, SD.  Folks wishing to serve on the Board this next year,  contact any of the current Board members:  Nancy Hilding – President, Jim Petersen – Vice-President, Doris Respects Nothing – Secretary,   Helen McGinnis – Treasurer, Jedediah Beadle – Board members (& field trip chair), Tonia Stands – Board member.  For more details on the Annual meeting visit our calendar page: 

Saturday, October 29, 9:30 – 1:00      Forestry Basics Field Trip – back by popular demand!

~Field trip with retired BHNF Natural Resource Staff Officer, Dave Mertz 

Prairie Hills Audubon Society again worked jointly with The Norbeck Society  and the Sierra Club to sponsor a field trip to learn about Forestry. Terminology and concepts that guide forest management will be illustrated with real life examples on our forest. Think beyond the confines of your own lifetime!   We met at 9:30 am at the gravel parking lot along Hwy 385 immediately south of the admissions gate to Crazy Horse. We caravanned from there and visit approximately 4 or 5 stops. 

———We didn’t have Zoom member’s meeting(s) planned for the last week October, November and we never due Zoom meetings during holiday weekend.

PHAS August Members Meeting August 28. 2022 at 1:00 pm ~Tour the Black Hills Raptor Center.Special Prairie Hills Audubon Monthly Meeting – Sunday August 28,2022 1:00 PM  Private tour of Black Hills Raptor Center for our Chapter – See the birds up close and personal!  Address: 15256 East Highway 44 – 4 miles past Rapid City Regional Airport, north side of highway.,The Black Hills Raptor Center (BHRC) is a five-acre nature preserve, currently involved in a multi-million-dollar campus building program in support of their program to rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured raptors. For over a decade they have done thousands of environmental education presentations in the region using their “raptor ambassadors”, birds that have disabilities that preclude them from being released to the wild. Prairie Hills Audubon is proud to support the work of BHRC in protecting these magnificent birds.  Take this opportunity to get a rare inside look at the inter-workings of this excellent organization, and see if you might like to get involved with the collaboration between our two operations!/PHAS July Members Meeting -Thursday, July 28th, 6:30 pm-9 pmlikely W~Zoom  July meeting on BHNF Forest Plan Revision Assessments will be held from 6:30 pm to 9 pm, with Lou Conroy of the BHNF as speaker. The Norbeck Society and the Black Hills Group of the Sierra Club will co-sponsor the Zoom meeting with PHAS (Prairie Hills Audubon Society)..\  For information on BHNF Forest Plan Revision Assessments – https://phas-wsd.org/event/black-hills-national-forest-seeks-comments-on-forest-plan-revision-draft-assessments-by-aug-1-2022/We use the same Zoom codes every month at our monthly  meetings, which are normally held within the last 7 days of the month. lTopic: PHAS monthly meetingsThe recording of this meeting can be found on the Recordings page under Resources menu item.had Z and