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Armchair Activist
Letter of the Month Club
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YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
With today's jam-packed lifestyle, folks like you don't have time to
sort out the complexities of environmental issues. We do it for you and
focus our collective efforts on action-directed activities that take as
little as a half hour per month. Thousands of concerned citizens like you,
from all over the country, have joined our army of Armchair Activists and
are truly making a difference. For more information
contact
us
Atlantic Audubon Society
P.O. Box 63, Absecon, N.J. 08201
(609)272-9656
LETTER OF THE MONTH CLUB (LOM)
TELEPHONE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM (TRRT)
LETTER OF THE MONTH
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LETTER OF THE MONTH
CLUB (LOM)
Funny thing, in this world of email, cell phones, faxes and
"instant" communications, letters to our congressman still carry
a lot of weight. You say you're not much of a letter writer, don't have a
computer to email or fax? Join the Letter of the Month club, Atlantic
Audubon Society's participation in the nationwide Armchair Activist
program, and we'll make it simple for you to write a letter to your
congressional representatives. We will send you, while the U.S. and N.J.
congressional sessions are at work, a Letter of the Month describing an
environmental issue that needs action in the form of a letter. You'll
learn about the issue, be told who to write to, and be provided a sample
letter to rewrite in your own words to mail off at a designated time. What
could be easier than that? It's free for members. We do ask a slight $5.00
charge per year to help cover our postage and copy costs for non-members.
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TELEPHONE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM (TRRT)
When an issue of concern is imminent, a phone call, rather than a
letter is necessary, the TRRT is activated. As part of the Atlantic
Audubon Society's TRRT, you will participate in a telephone tree,
receiving one call and making two others, one to the next person on the
tree and one to the targeted official. Participants will make timely calls
to public officials at the local, state, or Washington, DC offices to
state Audubon's position on key legislative issues. Call 272-9656, leave
your name & phone and that you want to join the TRRT. We will call you
back.
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LETTER 0F THE MONTH
ISSUE OF THE MONTH
PROTECT NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRDS! |
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Each spring, millions of birds travel thousands of
miles from Latin America and the caribbean to their breeding grounds as far
north as the Arctic. Months later, as the temperature drops and winter sets
in, these migrants make the long trip back to warmer southern climates. One
of nature's most awe-inspiring phenomena, migration has long fascinated and
inspired its human observers.
Neotropical migratory birds—those that breed in North
America and spend the winter months in the Tropics—are among the most
attractive and interesting to America's 46 million birdwatchers. The
Wilson's Plover, Bobolink, and Western Tanager, are among more than 300
species of Neotropical migratory birds facing an increasingly complex range
of threats—development pressures, invasive species, avian diseases, and a
changing climate.
Fostering International Cooperation
By their very nature, migratory species are a symbol of the need for
international efforts in nature conservation. To safeguard the future for
Neotropical migratory birds, protections must be in place at every stop
along their migratory routes. The United States has supported efforts
throughout the Americas to foster cooperation in the protection of migratory
birds, particularly through efforts of the Neotropical Migratory Bird
Conservation Act. |
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Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act: A
Catalyst for Protection
The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grants Program is an
innovative, cost-effective approach to bird conservation, supporting
projects to benefit bird populations and their habitats, research and
monitoring, law enforcement, and outreach and education throughout
Canada, the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
As a matching grant program, the Neotropical
Migratory Bird Conservation Act serves as a catalyst to leverage funding
from a range of sources beyond the government. Since the program began
in 2002, the US has invested more than $25 million in 262 projects in 44
US states, Canada, and 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries,
leveraging an additional $112 million in partner funds to support these
projects. Its potential reach is even greater: each year, grant requests
from qualified applicants far exceed the program's available funding (in
2008, for example, the US Fish and Wildlife Service received a total of
nearly $14 million in grant requests, but was only able to award $4.4
million).
In April 2008, Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI) and
Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) introduced HR 5756 to authorize further funding
for this successful program. This proposal would authorize $8 million
for fiscal year 2010, gradually ramping up to $20 million in fiscal year
2015. To date, this reauthorization bill has 17 co-sponsors in the House
of Representatives. Please contact your representative to urge her/him
to co-sponsor this important legislation that would expand the reach of
protection efforts for our migratory birds. |
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SAMPLE LETTER
Click here.
Remember to make your phone calls (or two or three or...) as well as sending a letter....
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| ARMCHAIR
NEWS & UPDATES |
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| Thanks for Writing |
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Teshekpuk Lake
Good news! The Bureau of Land Management has decided not to allow
leasing for petroleum drilling in Teshekpuk Lake for the next ten years.This
special area that is so important to birds and wildlife is safe for now.
Audubon will continue to pursue permanent protection for this vast wetlands
wilderness so important to geese, ducks, and other waterfowl.Energy
legislation
Audubon supports more funding for clean energy alternatives and opposes
drilling in ecologically sensitive protected areas. Increased drilling would
do little to help with gas prices (and would do nothing in the short term)
but would continue our current dependence on oil. Promoting clean energy
alternatives would help stop global warming, protect wildlife in
ecologically sensitive areas, and help create new jobs.
REPAIR Act
After passing the House, this important bill to stop invasive plant
species was introduced in the Senate in late July. It is possible that
Congress will take action on this in September, during its last month in
session.
No Child Left Inside Act
The act passed the House Education and Labor Committee with strong
bipartisan support earlier this summer. We hope that the full House of
Representatives will vote on this bill in September. |
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| Is your representative
already a co-sponsor of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act?
Check the list below to find out.
If they are, thank them in your letter for their support! |
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Rep Kind, Ron [WI-31
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25]
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4]
Rep Gilchrest, Wayne T. [MD-11 Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-201 Rep Hinchey,
Maurice D. [NY-22] Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-21 |
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Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10]
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8]
Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-41 Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13]
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] Rep Udall, Mark [C0-2] |
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