/PRNewswire/ -- A fed bear is a dead bear. Most people who live in bear country have heard this clever saying. Some -- like Kerry Gunther, a bear management biologist for Yellowstone National Park -- know first-hand that this warning is all too true.
"Bears that obtain human food eventually become more aggressive toward humans, and may need to be removed from the population," explained Gunther. "Almost every year for the past few years, it has been necessary for a bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to be euthanized for this reason. It's the toughest part of this job."
Wildlife managers know that access to human food is the greatest risk faced by wild bears. Fortunately, there is a solution. The use of large, bear-proof storage containers, or "bear boxes," is a proven method of preventing bears from becoming conditioned to human food.
The problem is that less than 25 percent of campsites in Yellowstone's roadside campgrounds -- the most likely place for a bear to seek and obtain food -- currently have bear boxes.
To address this problem, the Yellowstone Park Foundation -- the official fundraising partner of Yellowstone National Park -- is offering the public a unique opportunity to Sponsor a Bear Box. For each $1,000 in contributions raised by the Foundation, Yellowstone will purchase and install a bear box in a Park campground.
Yellowstone Park Foundation President Paul Zambernardi says that the goal is to purchase 50 bear boxes to place in top-priority campgrounds. "So far this summer, we've received enough contributions for the Park to install the first ten boxes, but many more are needed to have a significant impact," said Zambernardi.
The first group of sponsored bear boxes was installed last week at Bridge Bay Campground, within prime grizzly habitat along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. The campground's volunteer hosts Diane Browne and Andy Anderson understand the critical need for bear boxes, so much so that they sponsored a box themselves.
"As part of our hosting duties, we need to survey the campground several times each day to make sure that no unsecured food is around to tempt bears and other wildlife," said Diane. "These boxes will make it easier for campers to comply with food storage regulations, keeping them safer as well as the bears."
While donations of any amount are encouraged, groups or individuals who fully sponsor a box will be recognized with a small plaque that is permanently affixed to the box. Learn more at www.ypf.org/bearbox
The nonprofit Yellowstone Park Foundation has been the official fundraising partner of Yellowstone National Park since 1996. It funds projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance Yellowstone. Learn more at www.ypf.org.
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Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Reward Offered In Attack on Martinez, Georgia Family’s Dogs
The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for viciously killing a family's yellow Labrador retriever and severely injuring their other dog, a dachshund-mix. The HSUS reward is offered in addition to a $5,000 reward offered by the Fayetteville-based Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, raising the total reward available to $7,500.
The Case:
News reports give the following account: Bobby Jordan entered his home Dec. 3 to find his 3-year-old yellow Labrador, Tibby, lying dead with a visibly broken back. His family's other dog, a 1-year-old dachshund-mix named Daisy, was found clinging to life with multiple puncture wounds. Based on evidence at the scene, investigators believe the injuries were inflicted by a person. Authorities believe someone entered the family's yard between 7 a.m. and noon on Dec. 3. The family lives on the corner of Blue Ridge Road and Halifax Drive in Martinez, Ga.
Animal Cruelty:
Getting the serious attention of law enforcement, prosecutors and the community in cases involving allegations of cruelty to animals is an essential step in protecting the community. The connection between animal cruelty and human violence is well documented. Studies show a correlation between animal cruelty and all manner of other crimes, from narcotics and firearms violations to battery and sexual assault.
"Those who abuse animals can be dangerous to people," said Cheryl McAuliffe, The HSUS' Georgia state director. "Americans have no tolerance for violence against the creatures who share our world."
The Investigators:
The Columbia County Sheriff's Department is investigating. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 706-541-1044.
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The Case:
News reports give the following account: Bobby Jordan entered his home Dec. 3 to find his 3-year-old yellow Labrador, Tibby, lying dead with a visibly broken back. His family's other dog, a 1-year-old dachshund-mix named Daisy, was found clinging to life with multiple puncture wounds. Based on evidence at the scene, investigators believe the injuries were inflicted by a person. Authorities believe someone entered the family's yard between 7 a.m. and noon on Dec. 3. The family lives on the corner of Blue Ridge Road and Halifax Drive in Martinez, Ga.
Animal Cruelty:
Getting the serious attention of law enforcement, prosecutors and the community in cases involving allegations of cruelty to animals is an essential step in protecting the community. The connection between animal cruelty and human violence is well documented. Studies show a correlation between animal cruelty and all manner of other crimes, from narcotics and firearms violations to battery and sexual assault.
"Those who abuse animals can be dangerous to people," said Cheryl McAuliffe, The HSUS' Georgia state director. "Americans have no tolerance for violence against the creatures who share our world."
The Investigators:
The Columbia County Sheriff's Department is investigating. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 706-541-1044.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Southern Company and NFWF Award New Conservation Grants
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation today announced that four additional grants have been awarded to conservation and natural resource agencies through the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy partnership programs. The Power of Flight program protects birds through habitat and species restoration and environmental education. Longleaf Legacy supports restoration of longleaf pine forests, home to many endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker.
"Southern Company is proud to partner with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the sixth consecutive year to award much needed grants to these leading organizations," said Chris Hobson, Southern Company's senior vice president for research and environmental affairs. "The awards will help further the great work being done to conserve and protect the environment and restore bird populations and habitats throughout the Southeast."
Since 2002, Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have contributed more than $7.8 million through 80 grants to the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs. In addition, grant recipients have contributed more than $41 million in matching funds, resulting in an on-the-ground conservation impact of more than $49 million since the program's inception.
"With each year that passes, our partnership with Southern Company grows stronger, the projects funded under the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs become more meaningful, and the impact of those projects on the ground results in greater benefits to birds and longleaf pine habitats," said Jeff Trandahl, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's executive director. "The people and natural resources of the Southeastern United States are indeed fortunate that Southern Company and their affiliated operating companies are such responsible corporate stewards of our lands and waters, and the fish and wildlife that inhabit them."
Through these two programs, more than 160,000 acres of longleaf pine and other critical habitat on public and private lands will be restored or enhanced to the benefit of bird populations across the Southeast.
Two grants were awarded under the Power of Flight program:
-- Project Orianne - to restore or improve 10,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within the Apalachicola and Conecuh National Forests to create and enhance habitat for declining bird populations, such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and Bachmann's sparrow, and other species of concern, such as the gopher tortoise and indigo snake. This project will build on the existing infrastructure and expertise of the Forest Service by providing additional funding to implement land management practices within large tracts of contiguous forests on federal lands.
-- Quail Unlimited - to continue to address the goals of the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative through improved forest land management of 1,607 acres on both public and private lands. The habitat restoration and enhancement will take place in the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests in Alabama, at J. Strom Thurmond Lake in Georgia, and on private lands in the 15-county target area of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Bobwhite Quail Initiative.
Two grants were awarded under the Longleaf Legacy program:
-- Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - to support conservation of 870 acres of land burned during wildfires in 2007 and plant approximately 170,000 longleaf seedlings over 400 acres. This project will support the expansion of red-cockaded woodpecker clusters on the refuge and is also part of a larger multi-agency effort to establish a half-mile longleaf pine conservation and fire resilient zone around the Okefenokee and Pinhook Swamps in southeast Georgia.
-- Auburn University - to develop a geospatial mapping and decision support tool to guide on-the-ground longleaf conservation efforts across its historical range. The tool will identify where restoration and management activities should be focused to best meet objectives for ecosystem restoration; species conservation (threatened and endangered species, migratory birds); and the need to manage longleaf habitats to maintain their structure, function, and diversity. This project will expand on the tool developed by the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture through a previous grant.
Visit www.southerncompany.com/planetpower to view fact sheets on the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs or to see a complete listing of awards granted.
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"Southern Company is proud to partner with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the sixth consecutive year to award much needed grants to these leading organizations," said Chris Hobson, Southern Company's senior vice president for research and environmental affairs. "The awards will help further the great work being done to conserve and protect the environment and restore bird populations and habitats throughout the Southeast."
Since 2002, Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have contributed more than $7.8 million through 80 grants to the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs. In addition, grant recipients have contributed more than $41 million in matching funds, resulting in an on-the-ground conservation impact of more than $49 million since the program's inception.
"With each year that passes, our partnership with Southern Company grows stronger, the projects funded under the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs become more meaningful, and the impact of those projects on the ground results in greater benefits to birds and longleaf pine habitats," said Jeff Trandahl, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's executive director. "The people and natural resources of the Southeastern United States are indeed fortunate that Southern Company and their affiliated operating companies are such responsible corporate stewards of our lands and waters, and the fish and wildlife that inhabit them."
Through these two programs, more than 160,000 acres of longleaf pine and other critical habitat on public and private lands will be restored or enhanced to the benefit of bird populations across the Southeast.
Two grants were awarded under the Power of Flight program:
-- Project Orianne - to restore or improve 10,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within the Apalachicola and Conecuh National Forests to create and enhance habitat for declining bird populations, such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and Bachmann's sparrow, and other species of concern, such as the gopher tortoise and indigo snake. This project will build on the existing infrastructure and expertise of the Forest Service by providing additional funding to implement land management practices within large tracts of contiguous forests on federal lands.
-- Quail Unlimited - to continue to address the goals of the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative through improved forest land management of 1,607 acres on both public and private lands. The habitat restoration and enhancement will take place in the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests in Alabama, at J. Strom Thurmond Lake in Georgia, and on private lands in the 15-county target area of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Bobwhite Quail Initiative.
Two grants were awarded under the Longleaf Legacy program:
-- Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - to support conservation of 870 acres of land burned during wildfires in 2007 and plant approximately 170,000 longleaf seedlings over 400 acres. This project will support the expansion of red-cockaded woodpecker clusters on the refuge and is also part of a larger multi-agency effort to establish a half-mile longleaf pine conservation and fire resilient zone around the Okefenokee and Pinhook Swamps in southeast Georgia.
-- Auburn University - to develop a geospatial mapping and decision support tool to guide on-the-ground longleaf conservation efforts across its historical range. The tool will identify where restoration and management activities should be focused to best meet objectives for ecosystem restoration; species conservation (threatened and endangered species, migratory birds); and the need to manage longleaf habitats to maintain their structure, function, and diversity. This project will expand on the tool developed by the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture through a previous grant.
Visit www.southerncompany.com/planetpower to view fact sheets on the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs or to see a complete listing of awards granted.
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