Board Elections
At our chapter meeting on May 8th, the following candidates were elected to the Board of Directors. Congratulations!
If you would like to learn more about each candidate, you can click here.
Kiki Sonnen President
Debbie Brown Vice President
Neil Carlson Treasurer
Amanda Rice Secretary
Monica Bryand Board Member
Lucas Lin Board Member
Craig Cox Board Member
Owen Stefanich Board Member
Abidas Ash, bird biologist and lead bird bander for the program in Belize, will talk about the current MoSI (Monitoring of Overwintering Survival of Neotropical Migrants) program and how they have been working as a network. She will talk about the current status of each station, providing data on total banded birds, species diversity, and interesting finds so far. In addition, she will talk about the future of the program and bird conservation in Belize.
Abidas Ash is from Belize and grew up learning about sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and conservation from her parents, who have been practicing sustainable farming for 50+ years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Belize. As an undergrad, she learned about bird conservation and bird monitoring techniques. She worked at a field station for 2 ½ years, where she expanded her skills and knowledge in bird banding. She then joined the University of Belize Environmental Research Institute, where she has been leading the MoSI program for the past six years. She is the lead bird bander for the different MoSI stations and has conducted many training sessions and demonstrations with students and community members.
Ogimaagiizhig-Charles Grolla, a member of the Bois Forte band of Ojibwe, will present “Ojibwe Bird Stories and Legends.” His presentation, based on his book Ojibwe Bird Stories, will give an Ojibwe perspective on birds, based on a lifetime of stories and legends he acquired from elder family and Ojibwe family members. Grolla will tell us about Ojibwe names, and cultural uses and functions in traditional Ojibwe society.
Grolla teaches the Ojibwe language and culture at Cass Lake-Bena High School. He was formerly a police and conservation officer at the Red Lake reservation. He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s in differential instruction. He is also a traditional Ojibwe knowledge keeper.
Join us virtually on Zoom – Thursday, Dec 9 @ 7:00 pm.
“The American Kestrel,” featuring Julian Sellers. This presentation May 13th will describe the taxonomy, life history, population trends, and threats facing the American Kestrel. Julian will bring you up to date on the Saint Paul Audubon Society’s nest box project and show some fun videos.
Julian Sellers began birding at age 10 in Rockledge, Florida. He has served the Saint Paul Audubon Society as Field Trips chair, Christmas Bird Count organizer/compiler, and a member of the Conservation Committee. Julian contributed to our “Go Native” booklet, which recommends native plant species for landscaping in central Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, and he coordinates the chapter’s American Kestrel nest box project.
Please join in to watch the first online presentation of the Saint Paul Audubon Society’s 2020-21 Speaker Series. This new monthly series of talks in a virtual format is taking the place of our monthly in-person meetings for now.
Our September speaker is Annie Bracey, a PhD student in the Conservation Sciences program at UMD, who also works at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth. Her dissertation research is on the life-cycle biology and conservation of Lake Superior Common Terns and includes tracking technologies to document movements of adults and juveniles throughout the year. She also works on large-scale monitoring of Great Lakes wetland birds and restoration of the St. Louis River in Duluth.
Annie has provided the following overview of her upcoming presentation: “The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a network of coordinated, automated radio telemetry arrays used to study animal movement at multiple spatial scales. I will provide background information about the Motus Network, describe how our research group at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth has been using Motus, and provide examples of species we are currently studying with this technology, including the Common Tern and Rusty Blackbird. I will also briefly discuss how this network is hoping to expand throughout the Midwest portion of the United States.” She will also talk about the new Motus monitors at Carpenter Nature Center and Sax-Zim Bog.
To watch the presentation, simply go to saintpaulbirdalliance.org/events/, find the meeting link for that date and click on “Join us.” The presentations will also be taped and posted on our website, for additional viewing.
Note: The Zoom presentation is limited to the first 100 people to login.
The Saint Paul Audubon Society Annual Meeting is on May 9 at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of elections of Board Members and Officers. It precedes the evening program.
In accordance with procedures used by most nonprofits, the SPAS Board voted at the February 2019 Board meeting to change the approval process of the annual budget. The proposed Fiscal Year Budget is to be posted for information and comment on the SPAS website starting April 1 of each year for at least 28 days, after which time the Board will approve a final budget.
Comments should be received by Treasurer, Louise Eidsmoe eidsmoel@comcast.net by May 2, 2019.
| Proposed Budget 2019-2020 by Board 2-4-2019 | |||||
| SPAS FY is 6/1 – 5/31 | Dec 31 2018 | Prop Budget | |||
| REVENUE | YTD-5/31/18 | 17/18Bud | 18/19 Bud | 18/19 YTD | 2019-2020 |
| Conservation Committee | |||||
| Field trips and Warbler Weekend | $ 3,160 | $ 3,500 | $3,500 | $ 3,500 | |
| Landscape Revival event | $ 1,270 | $ 500 | |||
| meeting snacks | $ 62 | $ – | |||
| Fund Drive – Endowment | |||||
| Fund Drive – Operating Fund | $ 10,475 | $ 9,000 | $ 9,000 | $ 8,313 | $ 10,000 |
| Donations | $ 300 | $ 300 | $ 450 | ||
| Memorials | |||||
| $ – | |||||
| Dues: from National | $ 7,057 | $ 6,300 | $ 6,300 | $ 270 | $ 7,000 |
| Grants – Endowment | $ 2,023 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,000 | |
| Interest | $ 20 | $ – | $ 5 | $ 12 | |
| Outside Grant | $ 3,100 | $ – | $ – | $ – | |
| Total Revenue | $ 27,147 | $ 21,120 | $ 21,100 | $ 8,588 | $ 23,462 |
| Total | $ 27,147 | $ 21,120 | $ 21,100 | $ 8,588 | $ 23,462 |
| EXPENSES | 17/18 actual | 17/18 Bud | 18/19 Bud | 18/19
YTD Dec |
19/20
Budget |
| Equipment & Display | $ 300 | $ 300 | $ 300 | ||
| Fund drive | |||||
| Insurance | $ 315 | $ 350 | $ 350 | $ 315 | $ 350 |
| Membership Recruitment | $ 100 | $ 164 | $ 200 | ||
| Misc & Contingency | $ 36 | $ 150
|
$ 150 | $ 142 | $ 150 |
| Operating Expenses | $ 291 | $ 600 | $ 600 | $ 188 | $ 600 |
| Conference (Upper Midwest) | $ 300 | ||||
| Web Page | $ 1,815 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,300 | $ 500 | $ 2,000 |
| Web Page Development | $ – | ||||
| operating exp – total | $ 2,457 | $ 3,500 | $ 3,700 | $ 1,309 | $ 3,900 |
| Conservation Committee | $ 2,180 | $ 2,000 | $ 4,000 | $ 1,526 | $ 6,000 |
| Education Committee | $ 500 | $ 500 | $ 1,500 | $ 1,500 | |
| Landscape Revival | $ 939 | $ – | $ 557 | $ 275 | $ 1,500 |
| Birdathon & Butterfly Count | $ 258 | $ 200 | $ 300 | $ 300 | |
| Christmas Bird Count | |||||
| sub- total | $ 3,377 | $ 2,700 | |||
| Field Trips incl Warbler Wkend | $ 4,575 | $ 4,500 | $ 3,500 | $ 228 | $ 4,500 |
| Member Meeting Programs | $ 1,900 | $ 2,700 | $ 3,000 | $ 1,045 | $ 2,100 |
| Ramsey Cty Birding web map | $ 4,000 | $ 5,000 | |||
| Programs subtotal | $ 10,475 | $ 12,200 | $ 11,857 | $ 4,574 | $ 15,900 |
| Art and Misc – Newsletter | $ 100 | $ 100 | $ 100 | ||
| Design – Newsletter | $ 1,000 | $ 1,000 | $ 1,000 | ||
| Labels – Newsletter | $ 150 | $ 32 | $ 150 | ||
| Postage – Newsletter | $ 2,550 | $ 2,700 | $ 600 | $ 2,700 | |
| Printing – Newsletter | $ 8,000 | $ 8,000 | $ 2,005 | $ 8,000 | |
| Newsletter subtotal | $ 9,375 | $ 11,800 | $ 11,800 | $ 2,637 | $ 11,950 |
| MEP membership | $ 150 | $ 200 | $ 200 | $ 150 | |
| Audubon/ other | $ 100 | $ – | |||
| MN Ornithologists Union | $ 75 | $ 75 | $ 75 | $ 75 | $ 75 |
| Grants | $ 1,500 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,000 | $ 4,000 | |
| Audubon of the North Woods | $ 2,000 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,000 | ||
| Support to orgs – total | $ 3,825 | $ 4,275 | $ 4,275 | $ 75 | $ 4,225 |
| Total Expenses | $ 29,509 | $ 34,475 | $ 31,632 | $ 8,595 | $ 35,975 |
| total expenses | $ 29,509 | $ 34,475 | $ 31,632 | $ 8,595 | $ 35,975 |
| Income – expenses | $ (2,362) | $(13,355) | $(10,532) | $ (7) | $(12,513) |
| Notes: | |||||
| Savalajo Grant of $3,100 was received in FY 17/18 but spent in FY 18/19 | |||||
| Landscape Revival had remaining income of $331 received in FY 17/18 but spent in FY 18/19 | |||||
