Conservation & Science

For more than a century the National Audubon Society has protected birds and their habitat for the benefit of humanity as well as the earth’s biodiversity. Audubon's legacy is built on science, education, advocacy, and on-the-ground conservation. We bring all of this together through our unparalleled network. This combination of expertise and on-the-ground engagement makes Audubon a truly unique and trusted force for conservation. Click here to for more on National Audubon's Conservation programs. 

Tulsa Audubon has followed this example for local issues impacting birds and the environment here in Tulsa and Oklahoma.  A few of the key issues TAS is or has been involved with include:
  • We are the primary sponsor of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival in Woodward, which bring participants to Oklahoma from around the country and around the world, to spread the word on the need to protect this rapidly disappearing species. 
  • We have been a leader in Tulsa and Oklahoma on encouraging the use of native plants. Our annual  Backyard Habitat Garden Tour began over 25 years ago, and was the first of its kind anywhere in the country.  Along with our extensive list of Native Plant Resources and Monarchs on the Mountain we are leading the way in Tulsa to promote the public improving habitat at their own homes for all wildlife. 
  • We participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Besides being a fun birding experience this is one of the longest running citizen-scientist programs in the world. 
  • We've been working with Bald Eagles for over 40 years. In the 1970s we purchased a property on Keystone Lake to protect a wintering Roost area used by 40-50 Bald Eagles, and since the 1970's have sponsored our annual Eagle Watch and Raptor Rally.
  • Participated in the TogetherGreen program sponsoring volunteer work days to address conservation issues in our area. 
  • TAS played an active role in the protection and monitoring of the endangered Least Tern, which nest on sandbars in the Arkansas River.
  • Our own Gary Siftar has raised awareness around the nation about raptors being killed at methane burners
  • Being heavily involved in "The Channels" proposal that threatened the Arkansas River
  • Opposed various proposals over the years to develop Mohawk Park as an amusement park, soccer complex and other proposals. 
More info on Conservation issues will be moved to this new website soon!

Some Previous TAS Conservation Updates

Cooperative Conservation "Listening Sessions"
The Bush Administration was in Enid, OK on August 30, 2006 for a special “listening session” on “cooperative conservation and environmental partnerships.” This was a rare opportunity for Oklahoma Audubon volunteers to directly make high-level Administration officials aware of the tremendous significance of and public support for Audubon’s highest priorities, like ensuring the Endangered Species Act remains a strong safety net for species on the brink of extinction.
Click here  to read more about this program at and the listening session.
John Kennington attended the meeting on behalf of Audubon members in Oklahoma. Click here for John's report on the meeting.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Administration intends to use these sessions to further its attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other bedrock environmental laws. We need to make our voices heard to make sure they don’t get away with it. The Department of Interior is also accepting written comments on Cooperative Conservation, which can be submitted here.
According to this website, if you transmit your comments via e-mail, use 'Listening Session Comments' in the subject line of the message. Comments may also be mailed or faxed to the address provided. In any case, please let us know of your plans.
Here are some points to consider in your comments:
The Endangered Species Act is a Success
For over thirty years, the Endangered Species Act has been a safety net for wildlife on the brink of extinction. The ESA has prevented extinction for 99% of those listed as endangered or threatened, including the American Bald Eagle, Gray Wolf, and Pacific Salmon. 68% of species listed are stable or improving.
Cooperative conservation, though important, only works because of the ESA’s strong regulatory requirements, which give the public assurance that species will not go extinct. Cooperative efforts are important but are not a substitute for the safety net provided by the Endangered Species Act.
The ESA should be strengthened, not weakened or shortchanged. Full funding for listing, recovery, consultation, and cooperative conservation programs of the ESA would allow a strong and successful law to do more to save the United States’ great natural heritage.
Click here  for more information on ESA. For more information about the sessions themselves, see the Department of Interior’s cooperative conservation web page .
31 charged in wild bird killings 2003-11-04 
By The Associated Press
This Associated Press Article discusses a continuing problem in Oklahoma – The use of pole traps to kill raptors by gamefowl keepers. Note the quote by James Tally, in which he says that some roosters are as valuable as a calf. That is only true if the bird is being raised for cockfighting purposes. - John Kennington
Thirty-one gamecock breeders in Oklahoma were charged Tuesday with trapping and killing predatory hawks and owls that swoop down and snatch roosters. The results of a three-month investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are a black eye for the Oklahoma cockfighting industry as it challenges a year-old ban on the bloodsport.
Federal agents were delivering violation notices to gamecock breeders and confiscating traps in 15 counties Tuesday. The Wildlife Service would not release their names until all 31 people were notified and the cases were turned over to federal prosecutors.
The breeders are accused of using steel-jawed leg traps mounted on poles that catch birds by the talons and turn them upside-down, said Julie Scully, assistant special agent in charge for the Wildlife Service's Southwest division.
"The hawk, eagle or owl is then suspended in mid air to die," Scully said. "It's very lethal."
The investigation, which included about a dozen agents who set up surveillance in rural Oklahoma, netted more violators of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act than any other in recent years, Scully said. In 1989, federal agents charged 175 people in Texas and Oklahoma with killing owls and hawks.
Gamecock breeders say flying predators are a constant threat, hawks in daytime and owls in darkness.
"You can turn a hen loose with baby chickens and a hawk will get every one of them," said James Tally, who has about 350 fowl in Cartwright. "We just hope they're out getting field mice."
Even older roosters, usually tethered by a leg so they can move in 14-foot perimeters, are sometimes attacked. Each rooster has its own house, but spends much of the day unprotected.
Tally, president of the Oklahoma Game Fowl Breeders Association, said he has used a strobe light at night to keep owls away from his birds. Other breeders hang flashing red or orange lights, or put plastic shopping bags in trees.
Breeders also can apply for permits to use non-lethal, padded traps, then call game wardens to remove the predatory birds. Problem is, they often fly right back, Tally said.
Tally said he doesn't use traps and is surprised that 31 breeders were caught with them. Still, he wishes the Wildlife Service would help breeders keep predatory birds away from their fowl instead of going after cockfighters.
"It is a little unfair that you cannot protect your own property," he said. "Some of these roosters are worth as much as calves."
The charges come at a bad time for cockfighters and breeders, who are battling a voter-approved ban on cockfighting a year ago. The 7,000-member breeders association has blocked the law's enforcement with injunctions and temporary restraining orders in about 30 of the state's 77 counties.
The group wants the Oklahoma Supreme Court to withdraw its jurisdiction and let the battle play out in county courthouses.
The breeders charged with illegal trapping live in Rogers, Sequoyah, McIntosh, Choctaw, Atoka, LeFlore, Creek, Pontotoc, Seminole, Coal, Lincoln, Pottawatomie, Murray, Grady and Jackson counties.
They face a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $15,000 fine for each violation, said Jerry Monroe, a special agent based in Edmond.
Monroe said the 31 breeders represent a small percentage of the gamecock owners in Oklahoma.
"But those who persist in illegally trapping hawks and owls are responsible for killing untold numbers of birds," Monroe said.
Richard McDonald, who oversees Wildlife Service law enforcement in the Southwest, said the investigation revealed "a callous disregard of the law and the birds it protects."
Species threatened by the traps include great horned owls, barred owls, barn owls, red-tailed hawks and red-shouldered hawks.
"Those who resort to pole trapping are destroying wild birds that are part of our natural heritage," McDonald said.