THE VALUE OF BIRDING
[Letterin Sept. 2010 issue of Birding magazine.]
Over theyears, I have seen several attempted approaches by the
birding community tocreate a notable financial presence. Most often, the model
used for comparison is that of the U.S.federal duck Stamp purchased by hunters
to fund the U.S. National WildlifeRefuge system. I also recall some discussions
concerning creation of a “usertax” on purchased goods that would further
contribute to conservation. Bothapproaches—birders purchasing Duck Stamps and
contributing to a user tax—have merit,but both methods remain somewhat narrow
in focus. A huge amount of birdingtakes place off of national wildlife refuges,
and how many times do mostbirders purchase high-end equipment annually?
One thingalmost all of us have in common is a lifelist. Our
lifelists grow by birdingseashores, school grounds, state parks, national
parks, national forests, cityparks, residential neighborhoods, and so forth.
I propose avery simple “user fee” based on life-listed birds. Every
time a birder adds abird to his or her lifelist, that birder makes a donation
to the location wherethe lifer was found. The birder could set a donation
amount that fits his/herbudget. If one decides on $10 per birds, and that
birder gets five lifers inRamsey Canyon, then a check is written for $50 to The
Nature Conservancy, whichmanages Ramsey Canyon. And here is the key point: The
birder would note WHY. Ithink that’s the most important part of the
transaction—much more so than theamount of the per-bird donation.
Imagine anelementary school in Florida that has Burrowing Owls on
its grounds; andimagine that the school starts to get donations from birders
for seeing theschool’s owls. That would have to draw the attention of the
municipality—whichmay or may not know about some little groundhog of an owl
living near theschool. Or think about Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Let’s
say itprovides 4,000 lifebirds a year to all of us, collectively If we as a
communitydonate one dollar or more every time we get a new bird (maybe ten
dollars,maybe more), then we as a community just added at least $4,000 (and
probably afair bit more) to Santa Ana’s budget. The examples are endless, and
that’s thepoint. The examples are endless, and that’s the point. Every place
that givesone of us a new birds gets a donation—NOTING WHY THAT DONATION WAS
OFFERED.When lifers are located on private property, pay the owner or make a
donationin his or her name. Not all lifebirds will be found in a place that can
takedonations, but many will be.
I honestlythink this method could finally put a neutral economic
value on the birds wesee, regardless of where we find them or how they are seen
or heard. With thatvalue would come the economic presence so needed by our
birding community. Andall we are really doing is just saying “Thanks,” with a
little bit of “We areout there.”
Personally,I’m into a fun run for the 700 club, and I am committing
$70 per birds until Iget there It’s money I can’t wait to spend! Indeed, I just
wrote a check to theColorado National Monument thanks to its Gray Vireos.
--MattFraker
Bloomington, Illinois
* * * *
Posted with permission of the listmaster. What do Cobirders think about this
suggestion?
Hugh Kingery
Franktown, CO
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