June 4th is a field trip – we will gather at Outdoor Campus West in the morning, but destination is undecided============================================================================================May 20th, 2022, Endangered Species Day CelebrationMay 20th, 2022, by Zoom at 6:00 pm MTWe will have several speakers, at this point
Eileen Dowd Stukel – of SD Game, Fish and Parks – will discuss Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA).
RAWA exists now as House and Senate bills that have made it out of committees and await scheduling for floor votes on bills that would give a great deal of money (almost 1.4 billion /year) to state and tribal entities to work to protect “at risk” wildlife. For more info. on RAWA by the NWF : – https://affiliates.nwf.org/resources/recovering-toolkit/ ,
Melissa Smith, Govt. Relations, Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, Executive Director, Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife, Pat Clark, GLWA, Madison Audubon Chapter & Lewiston Outing Club – will speak about – wolves: “Wolves and Wildflowers”
Most wolves in the USA were delisted by the Trump administration in November 2020. But due to a February2022 court decision, they are currently re-listed under the Endangered Species Act in much of the USA (but not in the northern Rockies). Link to discussion of change: https://www.humanesociety.org/news/breaking-federal-judge-restores-protections-wolves Melissa will give history of listing/delisting actions, review wolf recovery needs & also discuss wolf ecology & lives of wolves.
Bradley Phillips – Wildlife Biologist, Black Hills National Forest, Dr. Riley F. Bernard, Ph.D.,Assistant Professor Depart. of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming – Brad & Riley will speak about northern long eared bat.
The bat is at risk due to a disease – whitenose syndrome. It has been listed as threatened, but the USFWS proposed in March 23rd, 2022 Federal Register to list it as endangered and the USFWS is currently accepting comments on the change to listed status – deadline: 5/23/22. . https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-03/proposal-reclassify-northern-long-eared-bat-endangered We have the bat in SD, but especially in the Black Hills.
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All PHAS Zoom meetings are recorded & a link to the recordings are posted to our web page under Resources and Recordings menu items.
Endangered Species Day is a celebration of our nation’s wildlife and wild places. Started in 2006 by the US Congress, Endangered Species Day is the third Friday of May. We have celebrated ESD in Rapid City w/ a multi-group sponsored event for 15 years, excluding 2020 due to the Pandemic. Co-sponsors of Endangered Species Day Celebration 2022Prairie Hills Audubon Society, The Norbeck Society, Western Watershed Projects, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, SD Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, Rapid City Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, Black Hills Chapter – Dakota Rural Action, Black Hills Group of the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity
vimeo link to recording of meeting –https://vimeo.com/712389823