I think the main premise of the article Hugh posted from Birding was to try to spark a new way to find birders to be more of an economic force. User fees, stamps and the like have generally lost traction. If birders were more of an economic force, agencies, parks, private landowners, etc. would take the birding community seriously by recognizing the value of birders and in turn the value of preserving the birds and the places the birds need to survive.
It's unfortunate that birders haven't really realized the potential force for conservation that the community could be with a third of Americans calling themselves bird watchers. Maybe there are too many groups pulling people in many directions (I think I belong to 4 or 5). Whereas a small hunting advocacy group, Ducks Unlimited, has probably done more for bird habitat in North America with nearly 60 million acres of wetlands conserved. Thankfully we have groups like ABC, RMBO, Audubon and Cornell working for the rest of the avifauna, and they do a great deal with budgets that are very limited. Thanks for the interesting discussion, -- Scott Scott Severs Longmont, CO http://picasaweb.google.com/scottesevers -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
