Members of the McHenry County Chapter of Illinois Audubon Society (IAS) collectively donated $1,095 to help oil-slicked birds along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  Members of the local Audubon group made these donations in response to a challenge presented to other IAS clubs and members by the Springfield Chapter of IAS.  Between June 5th and June 20th, twenty-one individuals from McHenry County Audubon made contributions on top of MCA’s original $100 club donation for a total of nearly $1,200!

Contributions were sent through American Birding Association - www.aba.org/donate/gulf - where “95% of the funds donated to the Gulf Coast fund will go directly to Gulf area bird monitoring and recovery efforts.”  The donations are tax deductible but the motivation from MCA’s club members is much more personal.  Several members of McHenry County Audubon have enjoyed birding in the Gulf area over the years.  According to MCA donor Lori Valus of McHenry, “The pictures of the oily birds down there make me cry!  I saw and swam with beautiful green sea turtles in Hawaii in January and the pictures of those dead sea turtles washing up on shore make me sick...”

American Birding Association has been involved in leading strategy sessions designed to bring environmental leaders in Washington D.C. together with environmental organizations of all persuasions.   According to a May 19 ABA press release, “Several National Wildlife Refuges are in the immediate damage zone of the spill...  They are home to sandhill cranes, brown pelicans, more than 30 species of sea birds and shore birds, and over 340 species of birds that rely on the wetland areas, especially during spring and autumn migration.  The entire Gulf Coast NWR Complex is at risk.”

According to David Hartley, Director of Communications for American Birding Association “We have at this point (June 22) received nearly $42,000 and distributed over half of the total to three organizations in Louisiana on the ground doing monitoring work, as well as to cover our Gulf Coast Coordinator's efforts in the region. The three organizations are Barataria Terrebonne Estuary Program, Louisiana State University’s Bird Resource Center and Baton Rouge Audubon Society.”  For details on the organizations’ projects and ABA funds distributed, visit http://www.aba.org/gulf/where.html.  Hartley adds “ABA coordinator, Drew Wheelan, will be moving into Alabama and Mississippi to start working with organizations and efforts in these states.  ABA will make more distributions once the need is fully understood in these states as well as Florida, which is just starting to get hit with oil.”  For the latest on American Birding Association’s efforts in the Gulf visit www.aba.org/gulf.