Hi Friends,
We all know by now that tomorrow is the 100 year anniversary of the passing of 'Martha,' an important milestone in American conservation.  Her passing at the Cincinnati Zoo marked the complete extinction of her species, which once numbered in the billions.  While many species had been over-hunted, and others had gone extinct, the Passenger Pigeon was one of the first species in America that we could point to as being directly impacted by human activities.
Rather than simply noting this anniversary as another date in history, reading historical accounts, and listening to lectures about de-extinction which may, or may not, ever happen, let's use this important day as nature's "Ice Bucket Challenge."
I challenge all of you reading this to take at least one of the following actions:
*Donate some money to your favorite conservation organization(s).  We have many great groups advocating for, educating about, and caring for birds, other wildlife, and their habitats in this state who could really use your support.  It doesn't have to be $100.  Even something as small as $5.00 can make a difference for some of these organizations.
*Consider supporting student research and education, while giving recognition to a couple of influential ornithologists from Ohio.You can help by donating to crowd-funding campaigns that will help create conference presentation awards for undergraduate and graduate students at the Ohio Avian Research Conference (http://tuckercasey.wix.com/aacri-birds#!oarc2014/cd8o)--The Osborne Award has been established to recognize Miami University (Ohio) Zoology Professor Emeritus Dr. David R. Osborne. Dr. Osborne’s research included studies on the avifauna of the Bahamas as well as Guyana, with an emphasis on the Wattled Jacana. This award is hosted and managed by the Oxford (Ohio) Community Foundation. You can show your support of Dr. Osborne by contributing in one of three tax-deductible ways:1.Contact the Oxford Community Foundation ((513) 523-0623) and ask how you can contribute to the Osborne Award.2.Contribute via the Oxford Community Foundation website, specify Osborne Award: http://www.oxfordfdn.org/ 3.Contribute via GoFundMe (http://www.gofundme.com/osbornaward) --The Edward H. Burtt, Jr. Award has been created to recognize Dr. Jed Burtt, Jr. of Ohio Wesleyan University’s Department of Biology. Dr. Burtt’s research into the microbiology of feathers led to his discovery of feather-degrading bacteria on wild birds, new insights into the evolution of avian color and maintenance behavior. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the International Ornithological Union, one of 100 Fellows worldwide. In 2013 he received the Margaret Morse Nice Medal from the Wilson Ornithological Society for lifetime contributions to ornithology.
You can contribute to the student award fund, in Dr. Burtt’s honor, via GoFundMe: (http://www.gofundme.com/BurttBirdAward). Contributions to this fund will be considered tax deductible, and the fund will be hosted and managed by the Ohio Biological Survey.
*Commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon by creating a public awareness campaign among your non-birding friends.  On Monday, September 1st I ask that you "Join the Virtual Flock" by changing the banner of your Facebook page to one of two images which can be downloaded from this site: http://tuckercasey.wix.com/aacri-birds#!passengerpigeon/cav7In addition to the Facebook images you'll also find links to other resources and suggested activities that you can do to commemorate this date.  I especially encourage you to check out Project Passenger Pigeon: http://passengerpigeon.org/(*I also recommend this essay: http://tinyurl.com/ovnlmkt)Let's bring awareness about the plight of endangered species today by using the memory of Martha as a call to action, especially in light of recent changes made in the interpretation of the Endangered Species Act:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/opinion/conservation-or-curation.htmlThank you,
Casey Tuckerhttp://tuckercasey.wix.com/aacri-birds
                                          
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