Chicago Audubon Society Award Winners

On April 14th, the Chicago Audubon Society (CAS) will hold its 29th Environmental Awards Banquet. The CAS Board of Directors considered many excellent nominees for each category. Many people and organizations have done outstanding work to further the protection of birds, their habitats, and the environment. The long list of possible nominees was encouraging in itself. Choosing a few from among so many worthy candidates was, indeed, a difficult task.

The Chicago Audubon Society proudly announces its 2007 Environmental Awards:

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT – EDUCATOR

John Banaszak, Save the Prairie Society

Although John has retired from teaching countless children and youth during his years as a Downers Grove schoolteacher, he continues teaching others about nature and conservation. John works closely with ‘Plants of Concern’ monitors teaching field identification skills, leads youth groups to southern Illinois every year, and teaches ecology and field identification classes in botany and birding. John also places bluebird houses in natural areas to help these beautiful bird populations become stronger, and he spends most of every day helping with management of invasive species, and monitoring bird, plant, and insect communities.

For more than 25 years, John Banaszak has been involved in efforts to preserve and restore Wolf Road Prairie. The Save the Prairie Society relies on his knowledge of native plants and birds to assist in ecosystem restoration and plant identification. Most recently, John identified new species on the Preserve, which have been added to the site’s native plant species list.

During the summer and fall of 2006, John organized work-evenings and was instrumental in bringing new volunteers to Wolf Road Prairie to remove invasive species. He is highly knowledgeable in the propagation of native plants and is recognized for his role as an advocate for the preservation of natural areas. He has served many years on the Save the Prairie Society's board of directors and has been key in protecting that valuable area, as well as Lyman Woods, Belmont Prairie, and many other relict natural areas, from development and political problems.

John Banaszak has devoted over forty years of his life to quietly and effectively serving the environment and teaching others the importance of the protection and preservation of plant and animal species.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - POLICITAL SERVICE

Larry Suffredin, Cook County Commissioner

Larry Suffredin, Cook County Board Commissioner for the 13th District, has been a great friend of the environment. Larry always places his duty to the natural lands that he serves above politics, and he has accomplished many levels of success that affect the everyday workings of the 13th District. Larry annually hosts workdays on National Public Lands and Earth Day, and he and his staff conduct annual picnic-permit-user’s surveys to improve the conditions of the Preserves in an effective and realistic manner. The District now officially endorses and sponsors the Annual New Year’s Day Paddle on the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Larry has also established a Forest Preserve Task Force of local leaders that meet monthly to discuss policy and action on key Forest Preserve issues. Most important, he was a key advisor to (then) President Bobbie Steele in helping write, sponsor, and push for the executive order lifting the moratorium on restoration in the North Branch area forest preserves. As a result, these areas are again being managed properly to remove many problematic non-native plant species.

Commissioner Suffredin has been an important cornerstone and advocate of good Forest Preserve environmental policy.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - SINGLE ACT (INDIVIDUAL) - AVOCATION

Lee Ramsey – Bird Conservation Network/eBird

For more than seven years, Lee Ramsey has provided the essential “glue” that keeps the Bird Conservation Network (BCN) Census successful. As Chair of the BCN Census Committee, he has made and fielded countless phone calls and e-mails, helping bird monitors meet the technological challenge of entering data on the website in order to create connections between stewards and monitors.

A recently retired English professor, Lee communicates with all the BCN monitors, and his levelheaded approach to problem solving has been a great source of strength for the BCN census organizers.

Lee Ramsey was one of the founding members of the Bird Conservation Network and is a monitor himself at Poplar Creek and Watersmeet. His efforts to revive declining grassland bird habitat at Poplar Creek came to fruition this year when the Forest Preserve District accepted a plan to mow the area to rehabilitate habitat for grassland birds – an important and essential step in the right direction.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - SINGLE ACT (INDIVIDUAL) - VOCATION

Eric Secker – Habitat Project – Bird Population Trends

Eric Secker is a college sophomore with an impressive knowledge of the region’s birds, an artistic and generous nature, and a good head for data. He serves as webmaster for the Bird Conservation Network (BCN) website, has helped to design the eBird/BCN site, and has worked on the analysis of the BCN data for the Chicago Wilderness Report Card.

In 1996, the Bird Conservation Network of Chicago, in partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Field Museum of Natural History, began the task of setting up a census program to monitor the status and safety of birds in this unique area. With funding provided by Chicago Wilderness, National Audubon Society, The Field Museum, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the BCN Census began to amass data for an online database. This was later incorporated into Cornell's eBird initiative, and these efforts grew to include other data from local forest preserve districts and other land management agencies. In 2005, enough data had been collected to prompt the BCN to seek out a more in-depth analysis of the database. Audubon Chicago Region teamed up with BCN and Eric was contracted to analyze the database with the help of an advisory committee of ornithological and statistics experts. He also developed websites for the Swainson’s Hawk Project, Illinois Important Bird Areas, and for the BCN Census data analysis (graced by his own excellent bird photography).

Eric Secker has served as a DuPage Birding Club representative for BCN and as a collaborator for many BCN and Audubon projects and initiatives. He has also researched Cowbird parasitism at the Morton Arboretum, banded and monitored birds as part of a West Nile Virus Research Project through UIC, and helped coordinate the Illinois Important Bird Areas program. Eric is also a freelance web designer and volunteers as an artist for IOS's Meadowlark magazine.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - SINGLE ACT (GROUP)

Willowbrook Wildlife Center, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Celebrating their 50th anniversary, Willowbrook Wildlife Center has dedicated half a century to the support of wildlife rehabilitation in the Chicago area. The Willowbrook facility rehabilitates and releases countless numbers of injured raptors, waterfowl, and passerines every year, as well as rearing and releasing many orphaned birds. The Center works cooperatively with conservation groups, and private and public rehabilitators for the protection, understanding and appreciation of bird life. Each year, they respond to thousands of calls from the public asking for assistance with wildlife related concerns and questions.

The Center’s raptor education and nature programs have reached out to thousands of children and adults. Willowbrook also works closely with the Chicago Bird Agenda to help protect area birds from entanglement hazards. The Center’s Urban Wildlife Workshops help educate police departments and municipalities about wildlife issues and concerns, and they also work with local agencies monitoring West Nile Virus and Lyme’s Disease programs.

Along with the Spring Brook Nature Center, Willowbrook participates in a Barn Owl reintroduction effort, which has successfully released ten new birds into the wild each year over the past three years. Last year, Willowbrook’s Barn Owl pair produced two clutches of eggs – an important and welcomed contribution to the success of a project that is helping to revive an endangered species. Willowbrook has also had outstanding success raising and reintroducing the Blanding’s Turtle – another important advancement in the survival of an endangered species.

Over the past four years, Willowbrook has worked closely with the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) as a “partner in a common cause,” supporting the rescue and protection of migratory birds. By assessing, treating, and releasing collision-injured birds transported to the Center by CBCM volunteers, the two organizations have collectively saved many hundreds of lives. Through its rehabilitation and release program and its dedication to purpose, the Willowbrook Wildlife Center has actively promoted awareness of the perils faced by our “feathered jewels” that migrate through this region each year.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - AVOCATION

Jerry Garden – Chicago Audubon Society

When North Park Village Nature Center opened in the late 1970’s, Jerry Garden joined their “Nature Areas Committee,” and soon after he became a Chicago Audubon Society (CAS) Board Member. He has continued to help both the Nature Center and CAS in many ways.

He has held many diverse and interesting workshops over the years – everything from the making and placement of birdhouses to teaching people all about owls and their habits, as well as leading many bird walks through the North Park Village preserves.

Jerry has always served Chicago Audubon well wherever he was needed – as President, Vice-President, board member, pamphlet committee, and, currently, as Treasurer. He has also represented CAS to a number of constituencies throughout the years -- notably the Chicago Park District, with whom he spearheaded the “For the Birds” project, and the City of Chicago, with whom he worked to facilitate the activation of the Lights Out program. He was an advisor for one of Mayor Daley’s committees on conservation-related areas. Jerry has also been instrumental in the on-going efforts to restore the Skokie Lagoons wetlands. Jerry also works part-time as a naturalist at Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie.

For more than 25 years, Jerry Garden’s active participation in preserving the environment, his willingness to serve the Chicago Audubon Society in many capacities, and his devotion to teaching people about birds, habitats, wetlands and woods has been a true inspiration for people of all ages.

PROTECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENT - VOCATION

Dave Willard, Collections Manager, Bird Division. Field Museum of Natural History

With 29 years of service as the Collections Manager of the Bird Division at the Field Museum, Dave Willard’s work involves supervising collection operations, preparing specimens for study and education, exchange of information and specimens with researchers and other institutions, and extensive overseas work in pursuit of furthering our knowledge of birds.

Dave Willard, along with Museum colleagues Mary Hennen, and Doug Stotz, participates in bird collision monitoring efforts at McCormick Place. The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, under a Salvage Permit with the Field Museum, collects thousands of bird-collision fatalities in downtown Chicago each year. Dave coordinates the identification, cataloging and preparation of these specimens, which will then be included in the Museum’s educational and research collection. This work serves to advance the knowledge of many species and their patterns of migration. Dave’s most recent projects include a study of the diets of over 700 Great Grey Owl specimens that were collected during the “invasion” winter of 2004-2005.

Dave Willard generously gives of his time and will cheerfully help anyone identify a bird, while willingly sharing his understanding of the avian world. He has led countless behind-the-scenes tours, introducing both beginning and avid birders from public and educational facilities to the marvels of the Museum’s extensive collection. His enthusiasm is always contagious when he talks about birds of any species – from the rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker to the White-throated Sparrow.

SERVICE TO CHICAGO AREA BIRDERS

Urs Geiser - DuPage Bird Club

Urs Geiser’s website is the home of “Illinois and Chicago Net Birding,” a site that is used by both local and out of town birders as the source to find current information about birds, birding, and birders in our region. The website gives details and contact information about Christmas Bird Counts throughout Illinois, and up-to-date information about the county compilers for the Spring Count anywhere in Illinois. Urs also maintains an extensive set of links on the website that enable a visitor to find just about anything related to birding in our region, from the latest rare bird alerts to site-specific bird lists, including links that extend to our neighboring states in the Midwest. A visitor to Chicago can, for example, find locations for Eurasian Tree Sparrows, or link up to maps of our region's forest preserves. The site truly epitomizes the concept of one-stop shopping for birders in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois.

Urs has also been active in the DuPage Birding Club, serving as their Treasurer and leading many birding field trips. Many Chicago area birders see their first large concentration of Bald Eagles when they join Urs’s DuPage Birding Club field trips to the Mississippi River each February.

Urs Geiser’s willingness to provide information, contacts, and advice, to all visitors is a great “Welcome Mat” for birders everywhere, whether they are in the city for a visit, or they live in any Chicago neighborhood and are picking up binoculars for the first time.

Visit Urs Geiser's website.

CHICAGO AUDUBON “GOOD BUSINESS NEIGHBOR”

Eagle Optics, Dan Hamilton, President

Known for their wide range of excellent equipment and willingness to give expert advice to new and seasoned birders, Eagle Optics (EO) has also sponsored birding events and environmental projects across the country. Through the efforts of EO expert, Ben Lizdas, Eagle Optics financially supported the improvement project for the bird blind at North Park Village Nature Center. The bird blind is an educational collection of bird photographs along one of the Nature Center’s main trails – just one of many projects that EO has supported over the years.

A number of “Eagle Optics Days” have taken place in Chicago in the last few years, and while these sales benefit EO and Chicago Audubon, we consider this an important service to our members who often complain that it is nearly impossible to find a business in Chicago that carries a wide range of binoculars to test or purchase. Former Chicago Audubon Board Member Marci Buettgen says “Over the years, Donald and I have recommended Eagle Optics to lots of Chicago Audubon members and birders we met at our bird walks, and every single one was totally happy with the products and service from EO.”

Eagle Optics has never hesitated to assist the Chicago Audubon Society by generously donating expert advice and lending equipment whenever possible. They are, indeed, more than just a “good business neighbor.” They are a valuable resource of help for every birder – both new and seasoned.

FIRST FRIEND OF CHICAGO AUDUBON

Paul Soderholm and Thrivent for Lutherans

For more than twelve years, Thrivent for Lutherans has been supporting Chicago Audubon Society’s efforts to enhance habitat at the Skokie Lagoons. They have established a once-a-year Teen Workday for teen involvement in the habitat enhancement efforts, while encouraging people of all ages to participate. Thrivent for Lutherans has been most generous with monetary donations for purchasing plants, planting materials, and restoration tools for the Teen Workday and all other workdays that have been established for the same purpose.

Paul Soderholm has been a most magnanimous supporter, donating many hours each year contacting churches and rounding up contingents of volunteers to wade into the “goop” to plant shoreline flora essential to recovering habitat. The volunteers have also planted wildflower plugs and shrubs, cut invasive buckthorn, and spread native plant seeds. These efforts have been essential to the habitat recovery progress at the Skokie Lagoons. Thrivent for Lutherans has not only been a First Friend to the Chicago Audubon Society and the Skokie Lagoons, but a Lasting Friend as well.

PLEASE JOIN US ON APRIL 14 FOR THE CHICAGO AUDUBON ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS BANQUET to honor our Award Recipients.

See the Calendar of Events in this issue for details.

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