|
|
 |
OWEN SOWERWINE
VOLUNTEER MONITORING PROGRAM
Flathead Audubon has participated in the
management of the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area since 1996.
An important component of that management is monitoring the Area
in order to know better what birds and other wildlife are
frequenting the Area, find out when walkways or fences need
fixing, look for signs that Natural Area rules are being
violated, watch for parking problems or trail blockages, and
generally keep track of what is happening there.
To accomplish this, we have instituted the Volunteer Monitoring
Program, in which volunteers serve as the eyes and ears of
Flathead Audubon at Owen Sowerwine.
This Program has been active since 2007, and it has turned out
to work very well. Volunteer monitoring reports gives us the
regular feedback we need in order to keep up on maintenance
chores, identify problems that we need to address, get an idea
of visitor numbers and visitor activities, and develop a more
complete list of the plants, birds, and wildlife there.
CAN YOU HELP?
We are looking for Monitoring Volunteers for the months of
March through November.
HERE
IS WHAT A VOLUNTEER DOES.
Take an OSNA Monitoring Checklist and an OSNA map on a visit to
Owen Sowerwine. The Checklist indicates what sorts of things to
look for and where to look. The map shows the areas and trails
referenced on the Checklist. If you wish, you may use a camera
to document your observations.
Use the checklist to record what you see as you walk around Owen
Sowerwine. If you have a chance to talk with other visitors to
Owen Sowerwine, or with Owen Sowerwine neighbors, find out what
they like to do at Owen Sowerwine, how often they visit and what
wildlife they’ve seen, and get their comments and suggestions.
Record this information in the “Comments” portion of the
Monitoring Checklist.
Then send the completed checklist (and any pictures you’ve
taken) to Richard Kuhl, Co-Chair of the Owen Sowerwine Committee
(address is on the Checklist).
The OSNA Monitoring Checklist and OSNA map are available in this
section of our website.
THERE
ARE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN SERVE AS A VOLUNTEER MONITOR.
OPTION
1.
Sign up to cover one of the Volunteer Monitoring Periods.
Each of the nine months from March through November is divided
in half to form a total of 18 Volunteer Monitoring Periods. We
need at least one volunteer to cover each of these Periods.
“Covering” a Monitoring Period simply means making at least one
monitoring visit to Owen Sowerwine during the half-month.
We ask that you make your visit(s) during your Monitoring Period
as thorough as possible – recognizing you may have to curtail
your visit because of such restrictions as heavy snow, high
water, bad weather, or mosquitoes. “Thorough” means take a look
at all the places mentioned on the Checklist and let us know
what you see.
A weekend visit is best, since weekends are busier times at Owen
Sowerwine, but this is not required. A thorough monitoring visit
usually takes about 2 hours.
To volunteer for a Monitoring Period, or to get more
information, please contact one of the Co-Chairs of our Owen
Sowerwine Committee: Richard Kuhl, 257-2359, or Linda Winnie,
lindawin@centurytel.net.
OPTION
2.
Send us feedback whenever you visit Owen Sowerwine.
Whenever you go to Owen Sowerwine – whether for just a short
time to walk on the trails, or for a few hours of birding,
please take a Monitoring Checklist with you. Use the Checklist
to indicate what parts of Owen Sowerwine you visited, and what
you saw there, and then send it off to Richard. Even if you’ve
forgotten to take a Checklist but see something of interest,
please let Richard know about it.
Which
ever way you choose to help,
PLEASE BE SURE TO LET US KNOW ABOUT THE BIRDS YOU SEE
on your visit. Use the “Comments” portion of the Monitoring
Checklist to report your sightings. If you find a species as yet
unreported for Owen Sowerwine and tell us about it, we’ll make
sure that it gets added to the Owen Sowerwine Bird List.
|
|
