PHAS Events

RECENT PROBLEMS WITH WEB PAGE ARE SOLVED.
UPCOMING MEMBERS ACTIVITIES LATE
SUMMER/FALL 2023
PHAS is having an annual meeting at 6 pm August 31st, Thursday. Erik Molvar is anticipated as speaker on the greater sage grouse, followed by the business meeting w/ election of board members. This meeting will be 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:
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Annual forestry basics field trip. For the past 2 years the NGOs of Prairie Hills Audubon Society, The Norbeck Society and the Black Hills Group of the Sierra Club jointly sponsor a “Forestry Basics” field trip in the fall. Dave Mertz a retired forester from the Black Hills National Forest leads a morning field trip in the Custer area to learn about how the National Forest plans and executes timber sales- we visit various sites to see how timber cutting is implemented in various ways. We are doing a head count to see if there is interest again this year – Contact Nancy for details – nhilshat@rapidnet.com or 605-787-6466
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We are supporting the BHNF Northern Hills District’s beaver dam analog construction project on Friday Sept 8th-9th. We ask folks to volunteer with the Forest Service to help build these dams. For more info: https://phas-wsd.org/event/volunteer-to-help-build-beaver-dam-analog-w-bhnf/
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We may plan a car pool to attend the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meeting in Gillette in mid September (either Sept 12 or 13th) : For more info: https://phas-wsd.org/event/wyoming-game-fish-commission-meeting-gillette/
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September members meeting is not yet scheduled, however we will likely have a conservation strategy meeting, sometime in September, likely after September 8th.. Sept Board meeting will likely be in the middle of the month of Sept.
RECENT PAST MEETINGS 2023
The board meeting in August 2023 was held on Tuesday August 15th at 6:00 pm. PHAS members are welcome at Board meetings that are held on Zoom. Nowadays they tend to be mid-month in evening. – Contact Nancy for details – nhilshat@rapidnet.com or 605-787-6466
~PHAS had a Zoom conservation networking/discussion/strategy meeting Wednesday August 2nd, 4 pm – 6 pm MT. Topics will be: Wyoming and South Dakota lion hunting season 2023 proposals and maybe, time permitting, SD Nest Predator Bounty Program and beaver conservation or other topics. Contact Nancy for details – nhilshat@rapidnet.com or 605-787-6466 for details on how to attend. We don’t post on-line Zoom links or the meeting records, when campaign strategy is discussed, as we reserve attendance to PHAS members and other folk with support for conservation & environmental/biodiversity protection.
~We had a board meeting on Wednesday July 13th, 2023,Members are welcome at Board meetings. They are held by Zoom, – ask Nancy Hilding for an invite – 605-787-6466
~ We had a conservation action strategy networking meeting Sunday night June 4th by Zoom, Contact Nancy Hilding to be invited. 605-787-6466. This is where we discuss our conservation campaigns. Go to the events/deadlines calendar for details.
~ We had Zoom members meeting on Monday June 5th – on Mining threat in Black Hills w/ Lilias Jarding as speaker. Go to the events/deadlines calendar for details.
~ We had a Board meeting for Monday,June 12th,, Members are welcome at Board meetings. They are held by Zoom, – ask Nancy Hilding for an invite – 605-787-6466
~We co-sponsored (with other groups) the annual Endangered Species Day Celebration on the evening of May 19th
~We co-sponsored with the Sierra Club a field trip to La Creek National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday May 13th. Go to the events/deadlines calendar for details.
~We had a PHAS Board meeting on May 11th, at 6 pm by Zoom. Members wanting to come should contact Nancy Hilding – 605-787-6466 (LL) or phas.wsd@rapidnet.com.
~We had a “working meeting” in late April on Sunday, April 30th at 6 pm, to discuss actions needed to move our various conservation campaigns forward. This was by Zoom. Go to events calendar page for details.
~Our previous meeting was Tuesday, April 4th by Zoom and will be on Black Hills National Forest Issues. Mary Zimmerman and Dave Mertz will talk on their mid-March trip to DC to lobby on Forest Issues. We normally meet in the last week of the month, but due to speaker availability, we moved forward in time by a week. Go to events page for details & contact Nancy for a link to the recording.
~We had a Zoom meeting at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, February 28th. Meghan Carter from the National Audubon Society office in Fargo, ND talked to us about Audubon’s staff’s activities & programs in the Dakotas. Details was posted to the events page and meeting was recorded and link to recording was posted to recordings page.
~PHAS co-sponsored the Piedmont (Foothills Area) Legislative Cracker Barrel on the afternoon of Saturday 2/18/23 at the Piedmont American Legion Post. See events page for details: https://phas-wsd.org/event/piedmont-foothills-area-cracker-barrel/
RECENT PAST 2022
~PHAS sponsored 2 Christmas Bird Counts in Dec./Jan.. See list of Christmas Bird Counts in Nature Study drop down menu.
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 pm
likely 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/

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.
Call Jim Petersen at (605) 939-4995 for more information.
Chapter members can bring guests!
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 pm
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/
The roc
