Birders can help support some of these projects (banding shorebirds) by purchasing Federal Duck Stamps (now called Conservation Stamps I believe) and by subscribing to Connecticut Wildlife magazine. I purchase two federal and two state stamps a year and subscribe to the magazine. Paul Cianfaglione Canton

Thank you Paul, that is one way that the non-hunting public can contribute in a monetary way to conservation. The CT duck stamp ($13) goes directly to wetland conservation. We just finished a 120 acre restoration in Tolland at Charter Marsh using duck stamp monies that were leveraged for Federal dollars to the tune of $50,000. Duck stamp funds, however, are just a small ripple in what is really needed. The annual revenue from the sale of CT duck stamps is around $60K. That doesn't go far. We leverage that money to get Federal dollars from sources such as North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) to do wetland habitat work. What we really need is some sort of consistent money similar to the Pittman-Robertson Act. The PR dollars that flow to CT are ~3 million each year. If we were to have a 10% tax on birdseed, for instance, in CT, based on the estimates of what is sold, that could mean $6 million a year. I know, for instance, that one of the local stores in Mansfield sells 1000 bags of birdseed a month. Even if there were a $1 surcharge on those bags, that is $12,000 from just one store. Think about how many outlets sell bird seed. That is just one example of how we might collectively think about funding of conservation into the future. There are many more, if we choose to go down that route. Why not a surcharge on binoculars or other outdoor equipment? State budgets aren't going to be any better in the near term, not that any of that money goes towards real on the ground conservation anyways, nor are Federal budgets. The North American model of conservation is a user pays system, and it does work. The 2 Audubons in CT are part of a group that is trying to develop a stable source of funding for wildlife in our state. If you are interested, please talk with Patrick or Miley or Sandy. Min Huang Columbia CT --- On Wed, 4/4/12, paul cianfaglione <pgcianfaglione@gmail.com> wrote: > From: paul cianfaglione <pgcianfaglione@gmail.com> > Subject: [CT Birds] Banded Sanderling and how you could help > To: "CT Lists" <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> > Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 9:47 AM > Birders can help support some of > these projects (banding shorebirds) by > purchasing Federal Duck Stamps (now called Conservation > Stamps I believe) > and by subscribing to Connecticut Wildlife magazine. I > purchase two federal > and two state stamps a year and subscribe to the magazine. > > Paul Cianfaglione > Canton > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological > Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in > Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >