Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 10, Number 1 • January-February 2002
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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During the past few months GLAHNF has been delighted to add our new
Pennsylvania Hub – Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force. Annette Marshall, OSB, will serve as our Hub Coordinator. LE-AEF, formerly known as Glinodo Center, is an advocacy-based (501(c)(3) organization located in Erie, Pennsylvania with an incredible history of
environmental work. We are fortunate to gain the expertise and energy of this new Hub.
by Susan A. Smith
May 2002 has been designated as Watershed Awareness Month in Pennsylvania, featuring the theme “The Watershed Connection: Land, Water and You!” The importance of watersheds at the grassroots and community levels will be promoted and people will be encouraged to organize and conduct watershed education and awareness activities. Watershed organizations and agencies in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will be participating in Watershed Awareness Month.
Several activities are being planned for Watershed Awareness Month, including a kick-off educational event at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg on May 1, 2002. The event will feature displays, meetings with legislators, special presentations, networking opportunities, a news conference, refreshments, and more!
In addition to the kick-off event, other Watershed Awareness Month events will include the distribution of watershed educational curriculum materials, airing of public service announcements, and coordination of local events by watershed and other organizations.
For more information, please contact the Co-Chairs of the Watershed Awareness Month Planning Committee: Ann Devine, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, (717)-238-0423, adevine@srbc.net; or Ed Wytovich, Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, (570)-674-7993, epcamr@ptd.net.
Article published Dec 5, 2001 – Erie Times-News
by John Bartlett, Staff Writer
The National Audubon Society thinks Presque Isle is not just of state and national significance as a bird area, but of global significance as well.
Presque Isle, in Lake Erie near Erie, PA, is among five sites in the state the National Audubon Society nominated for designation as a globally significant “important bird area,” national Audubon spokeswoman Kara Grobert said.
Elevating Presque Isle’s status from a state important bird area to one with global significance can only increase awareness of and interest in Presque Isle, said Susan A. Smith, a local birder and owner of Feather Quest, a company that offers birding lectures, classes, tours and field trips.
To be designated a globally important bird area, a site is first nominated and then evaluated by a team of ornithologists and other scientists to determine its significance to birds on a worldwide scale. The team bases its decision on scientific standards established by BirdLife International, Grobert said.
Important bird areas are those areas that provide critical habitat, are important migration stopover points, support exceptionally high numbers of birds or threatened or endangered species, and are considered important to the future of bird species.
About 325 different species of birds have been identified on Presque Isle, said Steven Hoffman, director of Bird Conservation for the Pennsylvania Audubon Society.
John Bartlett can be reached at (814)-724-6979. Send e-mail to john.bartlett@timesnews.com.
[Excerpt reprinted with permission of Times Publishing Company, Erie, PA. Copyright 2002]