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SPRING INTO NATURE 2010

In a few short months it will be spring again and that means Spring Into Nature 2010. The event will be on Saturday, April 24 from 9 am – 4 pm.

If you were involved last year you know how much time and effort goes into this event to make it a success. Our planning committee met for the first time in December to decide on activities to offer and exhibitors to invite. Continuing with our goal to keep things fresh there will be some familiar faces and activities from last year, as well as some new and hopefully exciting things planned this year. The committee will include: Dorothy Gerhart, Sarah Lang, Tom Poczciwinski, Jan Kramer, and Diane Krenning. Dawn Washington will also sit in on the committee
meetings.

We rely heavily on volunteers for this event so expect to get a call from a committee member asking how you want to contribute. If you are not on our volunteer list and would like to help out please let us know. There will be opportunities to help staff an activity table, help with set up, staff the Flyway Nature Store, parking control, or staff the visitor contact station to greet people. These are just a few possibilities.

Once again, are our official sponsors will be the Friends of Iroquois NWR, in partnership with the Buffalo Audubon Society, the Iroquois Job Corps Center and the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Bird watchers coast to coast are invited to take part in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2010. Participants in the free event will join tens of thousands of volunteers counting birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.

Help "Project FeederWatch" Track Backyard Birds

Bird watchers needed to help scientists discover changes in bird populations

Project Feeder Watch begins on November 14 and runs through early April. Taking part is easy. Anyone can count the numbers and kinds of birds at their feeders and enter their information on the Feeder Watch website.

Participants submitted nearly 117,000 checklists last season. Since 1987, more than 40,000 people from the United States and Canada have taken part in the project.

The Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Inc. (FINWR) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and to helping the community understand its mission and goals.

FINWR has secured funding from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Centennial Legacy Fund, the Wild Birds Unlimited Pathways to Nature Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Iroquois Job Corp, as well as help from our members. More funding is needed. FINWR is able to raise funds to be allocated for specific, much-needed projects on the refuge.

Reasons for supporting Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Inc

• Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (INWR) is the ONLY National Wildlife Refuge in Western New York
• INWR is visited by an estimated 40,000 people each year. These visitors include hikers, photographers, bird watchers, hunters, fishermen, and students of conservation and wildlife.
• Donations to FINWR may qualify for matching funds.
• Donations are tax deductable. FINWR is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Check with your tax advisor.

FINWR has also provided financial support to INWR for other projects, which include:

• Special Events such as The Youth Fishing Derby & the Spring Into Nature Open House
• Provided camera equipment for live views of the eagle and kestrel nests
• Swallow Hollow Nature Trail was completed and dedicated.
• Benches for trails (sit and observe the wildlife!)
• Support for outreach and educational programs such as the Canisius Ambassadors in Conservation program
• Water control structure was purchased and installed
• Support for Iroquois Observations program (information is also available at http://www.buffaloaudubon.com/iroquoisobservations.htm) Download a copy of the schedule here
• And More!!!