Jefferson Public Radio recently broadcast a lively and informative discussion about the proposed solar panel farm installation at the City of Ashland’s Imperatrice Property—and the potential for the project to negatively impact the Grasshopper Sparrow population that nests there. Local author and ornithologist Pepper Trail, Ashland City Councilor Dennis Slattery, and Jefferson Exchange host Geoffrey Riley explored differing perspectives on the topic.
KBO, in partnership with Southern Oregon Land Conservancy and Rogue Valley Audubon Society, completed Grasshopper Sparrow surveys on the property in 2016 and those results help to inform the discussion. More information about Grasshopper Sparrows and the Imperatrice Property is available at the Rogue Valley Audubon Society website, including a link to KBO’s 2016 survey report.
Dr. John Alexander, Executive Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory, will speak about climate change at two upcoming events. He will be the featured speaker at next Rogue Valley Audubon Society (RVAS) monthly meeting November 28, 2017 and will join other local scientists at Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center’s (KS Wild) “Your Climate Refuge: hotter, drier, and no less wild” event November 29, 2017.
John will share what critical impacts climate change is having on regional and national bird populations, and summarize research that KBO is undertaking in his talk “Climate Change: A Bird’s Eye View”. Recent research suggests that the challenges bird communities already face are exacerbated by climate change. As climate change brings shifts of habitats, birds can be among the first to tell the story of climate trends. Just like the canary in a coal mine they may alert us to what is happening and what the future holds, if we are paying attention. The U.S. Department of Interior’s 2010 State of the Birds Report on Climate Change, to which Klamath Bird Observatory contributed, addressed this critical issue.
Both meetings are open to the public—join us to learn about international, national, and regional efforts to adapt bird conservation and natural resource management strategies to effectively meet the most urgent needs in the face of climate change.
