Palouse Audubon Society
The Prairie Owl
Volume 36 Issue 4
EVENT CALENDAR
FEBRUARY
5—Board Meeting, 7:30pm,
1912 Center, Moscow
16—Field Trip; Lewiston-
Clarkston Valley
20—Program; Yellowstone
Grizzly Bears
MARCH
4—Board Meeting, 7:30pm,
1912 Center, Moscow
19—Program; Idaho Wolves
22—Field Trip; Clarkston to
Walla Walla
PALOUSE AUDUBON
President: Terry Gray, (208) 882-
1585, clgtlg@moscow.com
Vice-President: VACANT
Secretary: Diana Jones,
joneses01@myway.com
Treasurer: Henry Willmes (208)
882-2649, hwillmes@verizon.net
Board Members: Laura Bloomfield,
laurabloomfield22@yahoo.com, (206)
388-7938; and Donal Wilkinson
Conservation: VACANT
Education: Donal Wilkinson, (208)
310-3010, donalwilkinson@yahoo
Field Trips: Terry Gray, (208) 882-
1585, clgtlg@moscow.com
Membership: James Storms, (509)
635-1272, nbutte@pullman.com
Newsletter/Program/Website: Tom
Weber, tweber@wsu.edu, (509) 334-
3817
Publicity: Diane Weber, (509) 334-
3817, catbirdz@adelphia.net
Rough-legged Hawk
One of our majestic win-
ter visitors returns in mid-
October: the rough-legged
hawk. In fact, last
year, during my annual
fall camping trip, I had
the pleasure of wit-
nessing their October
return.
My husband, Terry,
and I enjoy camping in
the Great Basin during
the fall. In central and
northern Nevada, I
saw several ferrugi-
nous hawks during the
first week of our 2006
trip. When we arrived
at Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge on our
way home in mid-
October, my first reaction
to the large number of
feather-legged buteos
perched on poles and fence
posts was "more ferrugi-
nous hawks." On closer
observation, I realized that
I was witnessing large ket-
tles of rough-legs returning
to their wintering grounds.
FROM THE PREZ
I hope everyone had a
wonderful holiday! I know
everyone must be getting
tired of shoveling snow. I
am ready for SPRING!
Keith Carlson and I met
with Christi Norman,
Audubon Washington
Birding Trail Director on
December 13th. We dis-
cussed the southeastern
corner of Washington State
February-March 2008
Kim Thorburn, Spokane Audubon Society
I was not surprised. I year of rough-legged hawk
think of the rough-legged abundance. Last spring I,
hawk as moving into the again saw large kettles of
these birds heading
north from their win-
tering grounds in the
channeled scablands,
Waterville Plateau
and Ritzville wheat
fields. Their winter
prevalence, like many
of our northern preda-
tor visitors, is depend-
ent on the lemming
food-source availabil-
ity on their tundra
breeding grounds.
Along with the gyrfal-
con, the rough-legged
hawk is irruptive.
Crashes in vole and
niche that the ferruginous snowshoe hare populations,
inhabits during the sum- winter food sources, drive
mer. Both have feathered these raptors south out of
legs and both perch on their normal wintering
poles and fence posts dur- grounds.
ing their respective sea- Rough-legged hawks
sons. breed in arctic tundra and
Rough-legged hawks sub-arctic mountain sides
migrate in large flocks. and wetlands. Unlike other
The 2006-07 winter was a (cont on page 3)
and suggested some good able at the Palouse Audu-
birding locations for the bon Board Meeting on Fe-
trail. From our meeting, a brary 5th and at the Pa-
DRAFT BIRDING TRAIL louse Audubon’s Monthly
MAP has been developed. Program Meeting at the
Fifteen locations are 1912 building on February
listed—some of which may 20th. If anyone is inter-
overlap with the list sub- ested in viewing it or in
mitted by Blue Mountain joining our small commit-
Audubon. Some changes tee, please let me know.
will obviously be made. I The PAS Board is trying
should have a map avail- s o m e - (cont on page 3)
PAGE 2 V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 4

Programs the facility and in field situations lo-

cated in Alaska, Montana, and Wyo-
February 20—Yellowstone Grizzly ming. Current research at WSU in-
Bears; Jennifer Fortin, PhD Candi- cludes cardiologist Dr. Lynne Nelson
date, School of Biological Sciences, who is studying heart function in four
Washington State University. hand-raised grizzly bears. In Yellow-
Dr. Charles T. Robbins, renowned stone National Park graduate stu-
wildlife nutritionist, established dents Jennifer Fortin and Justin Teis-
berg are looking at how
the decline of important
food resources, such as
cutthroat trout and
Whitebark pine nuts,
are affecting habitat
use, diet selection, and
population dynamics of
both grizzly and black
bears. These are just a
few of the many studies
Washington State University’s Bear currently being conducted through the
Center Research, Education, and WSU’s Bear Center.
Conservation Program in 1986.
Since the center’s beginning, re- March 19—Idaho Wolves; Dr. James
search has been conducted both at Peek, Honored Emeritus Retiree, De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife Re-
sources, University of Idaho.
What's
going on
with the
wolves,
bighorn,
elk, and
mule deer
in the area
w h e r e
wolves
were first transplanted into Idaho 12
years ago? Using the available in-
formation, this program attempts to
interpret the goings-on in terms of
the ecosystem processes that influ-
ence this predator-prey complex.
It's only the beginning of a never-
ending story that will continually
change over time, as this 2.2 million
acre wilderness system is influenced
by fires, winters, droughts, and peo-
ple.

Treasurer’s Report— 1/28/08

Creating a Healthy Yard
Pesticides are designed to kill or
repel perceived pest organisms; they
are intentionally toxic substances. It
is critical to realize, furthermore,
that the vast majority of pesticides
are toxic to organisms beyond the
targeted pests. Whenever we use
insecticides (for insect control), her-
bicides (for weed control), fungicides
(for fungus control), rodenticides (for
rodent control), or other pesticides,
we must recognize that we are po-
tentially exposing birds, beneficial
organisms, pets, and people to risk.
It is estimated that seven mil-
lion birds die each year because
of exposure to lawn pesticides.
Pesticide use is rampant in this
country. Homeowners apply an esti-
mated 78 million pounds of insecti-
cides, herbicides, and fungicides per
year to their homes, lawns, and gar-
dens. Herbicide use is growing at a
particularly rapid rate, with home-
owners using over 50% more than
they did 20 years ago.
As a consequence of such wide-
spread use, pesticides have become
Savings (transfer to CD) $0.00
Certificate of Deposit $5,000.00
pervasive in our environment. A US
Geological Survey analysis of 20 major Checking Balance 11/6/07 $5,708.70
river basins and aquifer systems re- Local Dues and donations $295.00
veals that commonly used lawn and National Audubon $909.25
Norcross Grant $4,900.00
garden pesticides are routinely found Latah Co Community Grant $3,000.00
in surface and ground water through- Idaho Waterfowl Survey $150.00
out the country. Printing (Prairie Owl) ($139.50)
Beginning in your backyard, you Mailing and Stamps ($241.81)
can do your part to reduce the amount Christmas Bird Count, etc. ($220.00)
Insurance, etc. ($334.93)
of toxins that potentially end up in
Norcross Grant ($335.04)
streams, soil, and food chains. Before Additional transfer to CD ($1,704.35)
even contemplating pest control, make
sure you have a pest problem. Learn Checking Balance 1/28/08 $11,987.32
your enemies. Equally important, Liabilities (Grants) ($7,564.96)
learn your natural allies in pest con- Total Assets: $9,422.36
trol and welcome these beneficial or-
Membership Report—12/31/07
ganisms such as dragonflies, parasitic National & Palouse Audubon 185
wasps, and lacewings into your yard. Palouse Audubon (only) 46
Before reaching for the spray, dust, National Audubon (only) 130
or turf builder, consider the many Total Membership 361
available alternatives. Encourage
PAS Membership Year—Sep 1 to Aug 31
your neighbors to do the same since
what they spray on their yard can
drift to yours. If repeated infestations
of your plants have you bugged, con- the lawn or other strictly aesthetic
sider native plants - they're more re- uses, find a non-toxic alternative.
sistant to pests and are adapted to Remember that birds and other wild-
withstand attacks. life that visit your yard will be in
Carefully assess the reason you con- direct contact with whatever is ap-
sider pesticide use at all. If it is for plied to your lawn.
PAGE 3
Rough-legged Hawk (from page 1)
buteos, they nest on the ground. The
eggs hatch a day or two apart, in the
sequence laid. In periods of food
shortage, the older, stronger chicks
will take all of the food and survive
while the younger siblings starve to
death. When food is abun-
dant, the entire clutch will
survive.
Rough-legged hawks
hunt from the air. They
often hover over prey,
flapping rapidly like a
kestrel. This feature helps
to identify these birds.
Like other open field
buteos, rough-legged
hawks have dimorphic
plumage. Light-phase and
dark-phase birds can occur in the
same brood. The rough-legged hawk
is a large, lanky buteo with long
rounded wings. The wing beat is
strong and graceful. As the name im-
plies, feathers on the leg extend to
CORVID LOVE
Have you ever seen the funerary
display of the magpie? My wife Alice
and I did over a two day period this
summer. It occurred in our front
yard one afternoon and finished the
following day in our neighbor’s yard.
It was similar to that described for
elephants—unaffected magpies re-
peatedly trying to get the sick bird to
stand by using their bills. They con-
tinued for an hour or so after the sick
bird appeared to be dead. The only
dead magpies I have seen in the past
were road kill.
John Kramer
Pullman
T HE PR A I R IE OW L V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 4
MEMBERSHIP
the feet. They have small beaks com-
Palouse Audubon Society, PO Box 3606
pared to other hawks. University Station, Moscow ID 83844, is a
The most notable field mark of the chapter of the National Audubon Society.
rough-legged hawk is the dark wrist Our mission is to conserve and restore
seen on the extended under-wings natural ecosystems, focusing on birds,
during flight. Their heads are pale. other wildlife, and their habitats for the
benefit of humanity and the earth’s bio-
Males and females are logical diversity.
distinctive, an unusual
feature for hawks. The General membership meetings are held at
female has a single dark the 1912 Building, 3rd and Adams St,
Moscow ID, at 7:30 p.m. on the third
sub-terminal tail band
Wednesday of each month, September
whereas the male also through May. The board of directors meet
has the thick sub- at the 1912 Center at 7:30 p.m. on the first
terminal band and sev- Tuesday of each month.
eral thin bands. In the
The Prairie Owl is published every other
light morphs, the female month, September through May. Material
has a darker belly and for the Owl should be sent to the editor,
the male a darker Tom Weber, 230 SE South St, Pullman
breast. WA 99163, or email tweber@wsu.edu by
Watch for the stately rough-legged the 20th of the month. Subscription prob-
lems should be addressed to the member-
hawks on the open fields and prairies ship chair, James Storms, PO Box 235,
along the Washington-Idaho border Garfield WA 99130, (509) 635-1272 or
from October to March. Carefully email nbutte@pullman.com. Visit the Pa-
check hawks perched on poles and louse Audubon Society website at
fence posts. http://www.palouseaudubon.org/
Field Trips
February 16—Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Meet at 8:00 a.m. at Swal-
lows Park in Clarkston. This is an all day trip, so bring food and water.
March 22—Clarkston to Walla Walla. Meet at 8:00 a.m. at Swallows
Park in Clarkston. This is an all day trip, so bring food and water.
From the Prez (from page 1)
thing new. We are going to conduct our board meetings at the 1912 Center
each month until summer. Meetings will be in the Senior Center. All inter-
ested Palouse and National Audubon members are welcome to join us for
these meetings. They will be conducted the first Tuesday of each month
through May.
Terry Gray
THINKING ABOUT VISITING MAINE IN MAY?
The Fifth Annual Down East Spring Birding Festival is being held on
May 23-26. Register at: http://www.downeastbirdfest.org.
If you prefer a mailed registration packet, call 207-733-2201 or email
info@cobscookbay.com.
Participants average seeing over 150 species during the festival—our 4-
year total is currently 208 species. How many will you find? Birding Will
Be Great in 2008!
PAGE 4 T HE PR A I R IE OW L V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 4

Wetland Grant (from page 6)

In conjunction with the Palouse
Audubon Society, women enrolled in
Women in Science Leadership course
started the Stateline Wetland Revi-
talization Project in fall 2006 and
have continued to work on making
the site accessible to community
members. Project members have
begun a weed management program,
capped dangerous pipes, worked to
create educational signage for the
wetland, leveled a pile of top soil,
planted native grasses, and shrubs
and trees as part of a hedge row.
Avista Utilities has promised materi-
als for the construction of a path sys-
tem through a portion of the site.
The overall goals of the Stateline
Wetland Revitalization Project are to
improve site conditions by:
1. Developing and implementing a
noxious weed control plan.
2. Creating a walking path with
interpretive signage about the
ecology of the wetland.
3. Planting trees and bushes appro-
priate to the site
and to maximize educational and
community outreach potential by:
1. Organizing volunteer events to
help implement maintenance
and monitoring plans
2. Involving professors, students
and community in restoration
efforts.
3. Developing interpretive signs
and an observation deck.
The deck will be accessible as de-
fined by the Americans with Disabili-
ties Act and built with local, reused,
or recycled materials whenever possi-
ble. It will be site-specific in form and
function, making it aesthetically and
ecologically fitting to the wetland.
The wildlife-viewing deck and fu-
ture path system will be constructed
on the side of the wetland nearest the
road. Trees and shrubs planted at the
site during a Saturday of Service pro-
ject in April 2007 will provide a buffer
from the road, while 75 percent or
more of the wetland area will be left
inaccessible to humans for optimum
wildlife habitat.
Architecture students under the
direction of Dr. Frank Jacobus will
design and build the observation deck
in a University of Idaho Architecture
course. Labor for the design and con-
struction will be provided to the pro-
ject by these students at no cost.
Audubon Society member Terry Gray
will provide insights on design and
placement of the deck, and Women in
Science class members will coordinate
the project.
The creation of a bird and wildlife
observation deck at the Stateline Wet-
lands—scheduled to be completed dur-
ing 2008—will enhance the usefulness
of the site as a public wetland park
and provide community members with
an environmental education experi-
ence within walking or bike-riding
distance of downtown Moscow. This
project is truly community-wide in
scope. Once constructed, the observa-
tion deck will provide a destination
point along the Chipman Trail where
families, students, and other trail-
users can observe wildlife, learn about
local ecosystems, and develop a con-
nection to the broader Palouse land-
scape.
Project members are working with
local NGOs to plant native species
and reduce noxious weeds. Professors
at the University of Idaho are inter-
ested in using the wetland for re-
search and environmental education
opportunities. Idaho Fish and Game
is discussing what their role might be
in long term management of the site
for bird habitat with project members.
There are plans to improve the wet-
land by removing some of the cattails
so that more water birds will use the
site through a Joint Venture with
Idaho Fish and Game. The City of
Moscow is interested in the site as
part of the Knowledge Corridor the
mayor envisions. Building the obser-
vation deck is a central piece to rais-
ing awareness in the community
about the site and the opportunities it
offers.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Y05-7XCH

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY (New only) Palouse Audubon Society

Includes National Audubon Society and Palouse Audu- Financially supports the programs and activities of the
bon Society membership and subscriptions to AUDU- Palouse Audubon Society and includes an annual sub-
BON MAGAZINE and THE PRAIRIE OWL newsletter. scription to THE PRAIRIE OWL newsletter. Send your
Send check payable to National Audubon Society check payable to Palouse Audubon Society

Introductory Membership $20.00 Annual Membership $15.00

Student & Senior Citizen (62+) $15.00 For additional information call: (509) 635-1272

NAME ____________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________

CITY ____________________________________ State ____________________ Zip _________________________

PHONE _________________________________ EMAIL ___________________________________________________

Return this form with your check to: Palouse Audubon Society, PO Box 3606, University Station, Moscow, ID 83844
PAGE 5
Roadless Area Conservation Draft Environmental Impact Statement;
New threat to Idaho’s Roadless Wildlife Habitat—Steve Paulson
Idaho’s wild backcountry is a
natural treasure, owned by all Ameri-
cans. Presently, these pristine, high-
functioning habitats are protected
from development.
The state of Idaho and the Bush
Administration have different plans
for our roadless wildlife habitat. The
state has submitted a petition to the
Bush administration that opens the
door to resource-extraction of these
critical areas. This new, back-door
approach to managing our roadless
wildlife habitat will diminish the
value of over two-thirds of our back-
country heritage. The US Forest Ser-
vice will soon make the decision on
Idaho’s plan. They are accepting writ-
ten comments on the Roadless Area
Conservation Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS).
The specific details of this pro-
posal can be found on
http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.or
g/node/462. This site contains a link
to the comment form, possible text for
your comment, as well as links to
other information.
In a nutshell, the US Forest Ser-
vice is considering the state’s plan for
development of two-thirds of what is
left of our roadless wildlife habitat
(9.3 million acres). This change from
the status quo, which is the protec-
tions provided by the 2001 Morato-
rium on road building, will re-classify
these wild-lands into four new Orwel-
lian doublespeak categories or
“Management Themes”. Arranged in
order of ascending destruction, they
are: (1) Wild Land Recreation, (2)
Primitive, (3) Back Country /Restora-
tion, and (4) General Forest, Range-
land, and Grassland.
1,378, 600 acres would maintain
nearly the same protections that all
roadless areas within Idaho presently
receive, and that all roadless areas in
other states will continue to receive,
and would be called, “Wild Land Rec-
reation”.
The new category of “Primitive”, in
the words of the DEIS “would remain
relatively undisturbed” (italics
added). The Primitive Management
T HE PR A I R IE OW L
Theme would only allow develop-
ment justified under certain excep-
tions by the DEIS. One example of
these exceptions is “to perform haz-
ardous fuel treatment…”. FOC has
seen this justification used to log
millions of board feet of timber on
the Clearwater and Nez Perce Na-
tional Forests, in the last year
alone.
The DEIS Management Theme,
“Back Country /Restoration” will
open the door to convert 5,246,100
acres of wild life habitat into roaded
tree farms, and other types of devel-
opment that can qualify under the
broadly-defined and industry-
friendly exceptions. Even though
“restoration” is used in the title of
this Management Theme, it con-
tains little that most people would
consider restorative for the land.
As another incentive to develop
these Back Country /Restoration
areas, this plan utilizes the fear of
wild fire as an excuse to build roads
and log. This is another justification
that has been used to log millions of
board feet of timber, recently. Al-
though we all agree that the safety
of homes and communities is of
paramount importance, every one of
these backcountry areas are miles
from human communities. We need
to prioritize projects that actually
protect human safety, not open the
backcountry to special interests.
The Roadless Area Conservation
DEIS is not about homes and com-
munities; it’s about the backcountry
and wildlife habitat.
At the far end of the spectrum,
609,500 acres of wild lands would
be highly impacted by this plan,
and would be called “General For-
est, Rangeland, and Grassland”.
The most grievous part of this new
category involves turning large sec-
tions of pristine wildlife habitat in
southern Idaho into Superfund
cleanup sites. "General Forest,
Rangeland, and Grassland" is a
term that this plan uses for open-pit
(and another closely related mining
technique, called Mountain Top Re-
V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 4
moval) phosphate mines, which will
leave these areas denuded and toxic,
forever. Other pristine areas unfortu-
nate enough to be listed as “General
Forest” will receive immediate con-
version to roaded and logged lands.
The Roadless Area Conservation
DEIS does give lip service to main-
taining the present protective status
of these areas, by including the “No
Action” Alternative. This alternative
refers to the present moratorium on
development of our roadless wildlife
habitat. This alternative provides a
better choice than the DEIS’s pro-
posed action (the Idaho Roadless
Plan), but has little chance of being
considered fairly.
A better alternative, and one not
even considered by the DEIS, is the
permanent protection of these impor-
tant wild life habitat areas. The U.S.
House of Representatives is presently
considering H.R. 1975, the Northern
Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.
This bill gives permanent protection
to all remaining pristine roadless
habitat larger than 5000 acres within
the northern Rockies ecosystem, and
provides for the rehabilitation of wild
life habitat that has already been
impacted by the resource extractive
industries.
We cannot allow the federal gov-
ernment and developers to open the
door to spoiling Idaho’s special places.
Let’s keep Idaho’s backcountry areas
as they are; unspoiled, pristine,
peaceful, undeveloped, natural, and
world-class wild life habitat. Besides
providing habitat for fish and wild-
life, these areas provide a supply of
clean drinking water and places to re-
charge and recreate for the rapidly
growing human population. In these
times of rapid change, we need to
think ahead to guard those quiet,
special places where we escape the
crowds of everyday life and where
wildlife thrives.
For more information and to make
c o m m e n t s :
http://www.friendsoftheclear
water.org/node/462
PALOUSE AUDUBON SOCIETY
Palouse Audubon Society
PO Box 3606
University Station
Moscow ID 83844-3606
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
The mission of the National
Audubon Society is to conserve
and restore natural ecosystems
- focusing on birds, other
wildlife, and their habitats -
for the benefit of humanity and
the earth's biological diversity.
We’re on the Web at:
palouseaudubon.org
Stateline Wetland Revitalization Grant Received
Palouse Audubon president, Terry
Gray recently announced receiving a
$3,000 grant from the LATAH COUNTY
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION for the con-
struction of an observation deck for
bird and wildlife viewing at the State-
line Wetland.
PURPOSE OF GRANT
Project members (UI Women in Sci-
ence students working in conjunction
with the Palouse Audubon Society)
aim to enhance the Moscow Wastewa-
ter Treatment Wetlands so that the
area can serve as a community wild-
life viewing area as well as an educa-
tional and research aid for university
faculty, students, and local schoolchil-
dren. Students are working with an
architecture faculty member to design
and build an ADA accessible, sustain-
able (using recycled materials) bird
observation deck at the wetland site
which will allow community members
better access to bird-viewing and the
environmental education opportuni-
ties. The award will provide funding
for the bird observation deck.
Ten years ago in the fall of 1996,
faculty and staff at the UI repre-
sented by the Idaho Water Resource
Research Institute (IWRRI), City of
Moscow employees and the director
of the PCEI signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) to build
and cooperatively manage a waste-
water treatment wetland on UI land
west of the Moscow Wastewater
Treatment Plant. The 8 acre wet-
land site was designed to “naturally
filter the polluted water through
sedimentation, filtration, absorption,
microbial metabolism and plant tis-
sue uptake; thus, removing organic
matter, excess nutrients, sediment,
and trace metals” (PCEI). UI gradu-
ate Elisabeth Brackney designed the
wetland with help from a local envi-
ronmental consulting firm, Terra-
Graphics Environmental Engineer-
ing, Inc. ME Construction of Pot-
latch constructed the wetland cells,
swales and a storm water pond. Lo-
cal community volunteers and UI and
WSU students planted almost 24,000
native herbaceous plants in the wet-
land.
In the ensuing ten years, the vege-
tation at the wetland has flourished
on two levels. In the cells, cattails,
bulrushes, wide-leaved sedges, and
another rush (Juncus balticus) have
thrived. These plants provide habitat
for numerous bird, mammal, and am-
phibian species. Muskrats, coyote,
meadow voles, red winged blackbirds,
yellow-headed blackbirds, marsh
wrens, red-tailed hawks and pheas-
ants are seen in the wetland on a
regular basis. On the higher berms,
teasel, Canada thistle, water hem-
lock, and reed canary grass are the
dominant species. As of fall 2006,
these weeds made most human pas-
sage in the wetland impossible while
allowing bird species to flourish.
Over 60 bird species have been iden-
tified at the site.
(cont on page 4)