At 6:04 pm President Barbara Saunders called the meeting of the Society to order. Vice-President Lydia Thomas introduced Maggie Howell, Executive Director of the Wolf Conservation Center, South Salem, New York. Her talk entitled “Saving a Species: Recovering the World’s Most Endangered Wolves” described the work of the Center, which opened in 1999. Currently, the Center has 49 wolves with three “ambassador” wolves that are not afraid of humans and can act to mobilize support for the program. The aims of the Center are to help recovery of the two species of wolf native to North America, the Gray Wolf with its five sub-species, and the Red Wolf, and to educate the public about wolf biology and the importance of wolves to a healthy environment. Maggie pointed out that wolves, which are closely related to the coyote, fox and domestic dog and can interbreed with them, historically were widespread throughout the lower 48 states. However, they were hunted to extinction except for a small pocket of Gray Wolves in northern Minnesota, where a population of about 500 still existed. An even smaller population of Red Wolves lived along the Louisiana-Texas border. Fortunately, the enactment of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, allowed wolves to be protected. The numbers in Minnesota increased. packs spread to Michigan and Wisconsin, and the total population is now about 4,000. In the mid-1990’s, Gray Wolves were brought from British Columbia to establish a pack in Yellowstone National Park. This population has expanded and now has spread to several neighboring states. The story for the Mexican sub-species of the Gray Wolf and the Red Wolf is not so positive however, and the Wolf Center has been actively involved in their recovery. The few wolves remaining in the wild were trapped and placed in breeding programs, such as the Wolf Center, to increase their numbers for release back to the wild. The “Species Survival Plan” involves arranging as much out-breeding as possible to ensure genetic heterogeneity. Animals are released to the wild but are given supplementary food until such time as they can hunt for themselves. Maggie pointed out that the Center keeps its wolves as far from human contact as possible so that they do not become habituated to humans. Food is provided by road-kill deer, which allows the wolves to learn appropriate social life with the alpha male and female feeding first. With the advent of web-cam technology, observations can be made at a safe distance and citizen scientists can participate. Maggie ended her talk by enumerating the benefits of reintroduction of wolves to the wild. As a top predator in Yellowstone, they keep the numbers of elk in balance with the ecosystem. As the elk numbers have stabilized at a level lower than before, riverbank vegetation has revived, beavers, otters and birds have returned, and the health of the elk herd has improved, as weaker members are predated. Left-over carcasses also provide food for scavengers such as bears, ravens and magpies. The outlook for the Red Wolf is not so rosy, as there is a much smaller habitat for release and there is considerable resistance to this happening.
At 7:31 pm President Saunders reconvened the meeting. Recording Secretary Hamish Young read the Minutes of the November 13tth, 2018 meeting. They were approved as read. Vice-President Thomas announced five new candidates for membership: Patrick Markee and Elias Markee-Ratner, sponsored by Gabriel Willow; Alicia Williams and Diane Bresee, sponsored by Richard Lieberman; and Ursula Mitra, sponsored by Ken Chaya. The nominations were approved unanimously. President Saunders regretted to inform members of the deaths of Art Lemoine, long-term member of the Linnaean Society and past Secretary, and of long-term member Richard Bentley. She reminded members that the Society needed to appoint new Field Trips organizers for the 2019-2020 season, that the January 8th meeting will be held, as usual, at the Linder theater, AMNH, that members should pay their dues to Treasurer Ruth Hart and that donations for the Archival Cabinets would be gratefully received. President Saunders also reminded members of the Annual Dinner on March 12th, 2019 at which the Eisenmann medal will be awarded to Peter Pyle.
After the business section of the meeting, President Saunders introduced Bruce Beehler, whose talk entitled “North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring” described his 100-day odyssey up the Central Flyway from the coast of southeastern Texas to the boreal forests of Ontario. After a career involving frequent travel to Papua New Guinea to study Birds of Paradise, Bruce decided in retirement to follow one of the most spectacular events in the avian world, namely the migration of neotropical songbirds from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds in North America. As a boy he had been inspired by Edwin Way Teale’s 1951 book North with the Spring and though the numbers of birds are much reduced since then, the migration is still one of the wonders of the natural world. Bruce followed the migration north, camping out in State parks and rural areas up the Mississippi Valley. Without interference from human noise he could hear the dawn chorus. Throughout his journey, he was encouraged to find many people actively involved in the study and conservation of birds and their habitat so that this magnificent migration can continue for future generations. A poignant reminder of the fragility of the natural world was occasioned by his visit to Tallulah Louisiana, one of the last known breeding locations for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Although there is still a small stand of trees of the appropriate age and size for the woodpecker, the species is extinct. As he travelled north, the dominant tree species changed from the cypress swamps of the south to the mixed deciduous trees of the mid-continent to the boreal forest and bog terrain of Ontario, land of 250,000 lakes. In the boreal zone, the Jack pine stands are not species-rich but the tamarack bogs are home to several breeding warbler species. Bruce pointed out that disturbance by fire is an essential part of the maintenance of an appropriate habitat, as for example with Kirtland’s warbler. His journey ended on Mount Algonquin in the Adirondacks on July 4th, where he recorded Blackpoll warblers and Bicknell’s thrush, despite snow on the peak. Bruce ended his talk by emphasizing the need for conservation efforts to address the whole life cycle, pointing out that the northward and southward migrations often follow different routes.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:41 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Hamish Young, Recording Secretary