by Douglas Miller

Full minutes may be found at: http://www.columbia-audubon.org/meeting-minutes-for-august-19-2020/

Nature Areas

• David and Jean Neely, Bill Mees and John Besser have finished repairing the Wild Haven shelter. Roxie Campbell has also joined in helping to clear the trails at Wild Haven and placing additional markers to make the trails easier to follow.
• David Neely, John Besser, Bill Mees, and Jim Gast worked out at Albert Childrens’ Area in the area of the main driveway. The property neighboring our Albert Childrens’ Area is in the process of being sold. Any access agreements we had with the previous owner become null and void, so we will need to work with the new owners to draft a new access agreement. We are investigating possible real estate attorneys to help draft such an agreement.
• Cleo Kottwitz will mow the west side of CANS to prepare for an effective herbicide application in the prairie expansion unit.
• Bill is requesting permission to prepare a grant application to fund interpretive panels at CANS.

Field Trips

• John Besser and Eric Wood have been discussing ways to modify CAS outings to maintain safety during the COVID pandemic. Ideas include splitting larger groups into multiple, smaller sub-groups, or scheduling outings at different times of the day.

Conservation

• Brooke Widmar reported on Lights Out Heartland, a regional offshoot of National Audubon Society’s Lights Out program, which aims to raise awareness of light pollution’s negative impact on bird migrations, and work with businesses and individuals to reduce access light during peak migration periods. Lights Out Heartland encompasses regional efforts in Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas — and includes Columbia Audubon Society as a partner.

CoMoGives

• The CoMoGives committee has set a $10,000 fundraising goal. The campaign starts on December 1, which also happens to be “Giving Tuesday.”