Photo courtesy Michelle Fontaine.

Mr. Sams, as I’ve corresponded in the past, I’ve mentioned I am your biggest fan, so naturally was thrilled to purchase your latest. After I read it, I knew I must not keep it and pass it along to my mother. Her grandkids call her “gram” and she is a lifelong bird lover.

I always love showing your latest books to her (she’s a quadriplegic), and as I showed her this one, with excitement I told her it would be the perfect gift to give her young granddaughters for Christmas. She was thrilled, and especially thrilled over the turkey photos since she doted on a flock that lived in her backyard at a previous residence. (Mom is also a lifelong vegetarian and has never eaten turkey.)

Well, on Christmas Eve, we didn’t read the standard “Night Before Christmas.” Instead, Mom had them open their gift and the girls piled in her bed as the rest of us gathered around and I read “Tea” aloud. When we came to the turkey page, Mom exclaimed something like, “Look, girls!” At which point, seven-year-old Lauren shouted, “YUM!!!”

We all burst into laughter as Mom pretended to cry, wailing “Oh, Laurrrren!” My brother chimed in: “Lauren loves her animals. Especially in sandwiches!”

Just thought you’d enjoy this anecdote. My nieces really do love animals and would spend every day at the zoo if they could. Every time we get together we look at your books and watch the related videos. They may eventually grow out of them, but I never will!

Michelle Fontaine
“Aunt Michelle”

Thank you Michelle for your very nice note! Nice to hear that your mother and her granddaughters enjoy our books and movies.
The entire crew at Carl R. Sams II, Photography Inc.

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Dakota the owl.

I wondered how Dakota the great horned owl, missing recently after being stolen from the Wildlife in Need Center in Wisconsin, was faring after being rescued. Happily, Dakota is doing well.

All the fan mail from his young supporters is very nice to see! View some of Dakota’s get well cards.

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Photo courtesy Northwoods Land Trust.

A land donation of 3,200 acres, nearly five square miles, is saving a wilderness refuge in Wisconsin from being developed. This is the largest conservation easement donation ever to a Wisconsin land trust.

According to the story “Libertyville couple donates $4.5 million of land in Wisconsin“, Ken Aldridge has loved the Northwoods of Wisconsin ever since he was a child. When he learned that one of his favorite wilderness refuges near Minocqua could be sold by a logging company for development, he and his wife stepped in.

In June 2010, Aldridge and his wife, Carolyn, purchased nearly 3,200 acres of land near the Minocqua Winter Park, for $4.5 million. The couple placed a conservation easement on the land with the Northwoods Land Trust, a non-profit land conservancy based in Eagle River, Wisconsin, to permanently protect the land.

“If we didn’t buy it, it was going to be developed, and we wanted to preserve the way it is forever,” Ken Aldridge said in the article. Aldridge is the owner and chief executive officer of Aldridge Electric.

Home to Bald Eagles and Wolves
The 3,200 acres will be called the Winter Park Pines Nature Preserve. The land is also natural habitat to bald eagles, timber wolves and deer.

About Conservation Easements
Land protected with a conservation easement is still private land, the owners pay taxes, and the land can be sold per the terms in the conservation easement or given to heirs. The conservation easement is a legal agreement that runs with the land, so future landowners need to abide by it.

Takeaways
1. Never assume that private land, including forest land owned by logging companies, will stay as wilderness. I see this all too often when people purchase land and assume the surrounding natural land will stay that way. Many timber companies are subdividing and selling large tracts of land for real estate development. 
2. If you own land you want to preserve, you have many choices, such as placing a conservation easement on your land, donating land, placing a conservation easement on your land and donating it in a will, or other choices. Learn more in “Why Conserve Your Land? ” from the Land Trust Alliance.

Many people talk about land conservation. I commend the Albridges for actually doing something to make this wonderful gift happen.

More Good News
In some separate land conservation news, comedian Jeff Foxworthy donated 1,000 acres according to the article, ”Comedian Jeff Foxworthy puts 1,000 Harris County acres in conservation plan“.

Do you know someone who may be interested in preserving their land? Please share this article with them by clicking the “Share/Save” button below.

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Stranger in the Woods Chinese edition.

Are you looking for a Chinese children’s picture book? Our Stranger in the Woods Chinese edition is available! This children’s picture book is the perfect gift to connect children with nature.

This Chinese edition of our famous photographic fantasy tells how the furry and feathered friends of the forest respond to a mysterious visitor. Stranger in the Woods has warmed the hearts of children ages 1 to 100.

If you are looking for Chinese books for children, be sure to check out our Stranger in the Woods Chinese edition.

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Jane Goodall photo courtesy the Jane Goodall Institute.

Jane Goodall will deliver a speech, “Making a Difference Everyday with Jane Goodall,” at Central Michigan University on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 8pm. Learn more in the article, “Jane Goodall to speak on campus in March for more than $60,000“.

Dr. Goodall will be giving a keynote speech about her experiences with the Gombe chimpanzees. She will also be talking about the Jane Goodall Institute and its continued research into chimpanzees and efforts to protect and preserve their habitats. 

Tickets
The event is free but tickets are needed and seating is reserved. Please call 989-774-3000 or 888-268-0111 (Mon – Fri 8am-5pm), stop by the Box Office, or visit Central Michigan University’s Box Office Ticket Central (scroll down once on page) to order your tickets.

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Saving Girl Scout camps in Northeastern Ohio will keep current and future generations of children, like the awesome 4th generation Girl Scout shown in the video below, connected with nature. Seven camps are at risk of being sold.

Watch the wonderful video below to learn more-if you love nature and children, it’s a must see! I think it’s a pileated woodpecker you can hear in the background near the start of the video.

YouTube Video Description
“This video is about a beloved Girl Scout Camp in Northeastern Ohio, which along with seven others, is now up for sale due to the misguided vision of our corporate staff and board. Please help us (the actual Girl Scout membership) in our legal battle against our board.. (oh the irony.) :{ To learn more about how you can help save our Girl Scout camps of Northeastern Ohio, please visit http://www.trefoilintegrity.org/”

Video Link
“It Belongs to You and Me”

I think camps for kids are very important to help kids enjoy nature. Camps ensure future generations of conservationists who will stand up to protect our environment.

Our best-selling children’s books and movies teach children gentle lessons of nature, and we know that getting children out in nature is one of the best ways for them to fall in love with it.

Please visit http://www.trefoilintegrity.org/ to learn how you can help save these seven camps.

And finally, my good friend Dan Poole answers the myth that “Kids aren’t interested in scout camp anymore” in the short video below. He even tells the story of one child leaving the electronics at home!

Video Link
Myth: Kids aren’t interested in scout camp anymore

Are Camps Important for Kids?
Please comment and let us know your thoughts. Please click the “Share/Save” button below to share this article to help save these precious camps.

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Snowy owl photo by Carl R. Sams II.

Snowy owls are flocking to Michigan! I have not seen one yet on my hikes on local state lands, but according to this article, “Snowy owls flock to Michigan in unusual numbers“, in the Detroit Free Press, they are flying further south for food. Their home is the Arctic tundra. The full article is here.

According to the article, by early December, there were 60 sightings in 10 lower Michigan counties and 34 in the Upper Peninsula, according to bird experts who track sightings. Snowy owls eat voles, mice and rabbits, and are often seen on the ground or perched on poles resting or scanning the ground for food.

People should keep their distance from the birds and be careful not to disturb them, said Karen Cleveland, a bird biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. If you spook them, they will use up energy which will weaken these magnificent birds. Snowy owls are federally protected.

Enjoy them if you are lucky enough to see a snowy owl, but please keep your distance and leave them alone.

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Large Burmese pythons are now regularly encountered and occupy a wide variety of habitats in the park, including uplands, freshwater wetlands and the saline coastal fringe. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Burmese pythons are overpopulating the Florida Everglades, and local wildlife is paying the price. If you’ve been listening to the news, you know by now that these huge snakes probably originated from the pet trade, then grew too large and were released in Everglades National Park.

The Burmese pythons are an exotic species, meaning they are not naturally part of Everglades National Park and should not be in southern Florida.

Learn more in the BBC News article, “Pythons linked to Florida Everglades mammal decline“. According to the article, researchers found a strong link between the spread of pythons and drops in recorded sightings of raccoons, rabbits, bobcats and other species.

Do you know if they pose a danger to people visiting and exploring Everglades National Park?

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Photo of Rocky Mountain National Park courtesy National Park Service Digital Image Archives.

A new survey shows that many living in the Western United States, support the protection of our national parks and environment, according to “Survey of Western Attitudes Shows Strong Support for National Parks, Clean Environment“.

I’m happy to hear that people in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Montana are supportive of our national parks and environment. I’ve always wrongly assumed that some people living so near these beautiful places may take them for granted.

There were two key findings from the survey:

* 74 percent of those surveyed in 2009 said land protection and conservation can go hand-in-hand with a strong economy-by 2012 that percent had risen to 78 percent.

* 24 percent of those surveyed in 2009 voiced the opinion that conservation of public lands sometimes is in conflict with strong economies-by 2012 that percentage had dropped to 19 percent.

View the “Conservation in the West Poll“.

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When kids read to dogs, their reading improves, according to the article, ”Man’s best friend a great reading companion for kids“. Imagine how much more fun reading would be as a child if you could read to a dog!

The Eugene Public Library has teamed up with the non-profit PAAWS (People and Animals Who Serve). Could there be a more adorable dog than Tucker, the 8-year-old Labrador featured in the short video below?

Video Link
Man’s best friend a great reading companion for kids

Tucker seems to be having a ball reading with the kids! Reading to a dog seems to be a very effective and easy way to improve your child’s reading skills.

Have your children ever read to a dog, and did it improve their reading?

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