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John Hockema's story of two shrikes and birding with his brother moved = me to add my 2 cents to the 'fee for birders' discussion. I don't know the best way to protect essential habitat for all living = things in our state and nation.=20 But I do know it takes an unrelenting effort to keep the opposing forces = of greed and ignorance at bay. This effort includes: EDUCATION: Educating youth through exposing them to nature as children is an = important piece. Otherwise it doesn't matter what we do now to protect a = healthy environment. And educating the public so they realize they are = stakeholders in the environment is vital. Humans could become an = 'endangered species' if we are not good stewards of our environment - = especially our air and water. But many people see environmentalists = simply as impediments to economic progress...laws and rules to protect = our environment are just 'red tape' that requires cutting or finding a = way to get around it. Many people think we just want to save little = spotted owls because they are fun to look at while those people are more = concerned about what is important, like survival. (Ironic, huh?) Have = you seen that "family farm" TV ad lately? POLITICS: Who pays the fiddler, calls the tune. Yes, birders already contribute = through taxes, duck stamps, additional contributions on our MN taxes, = supporting non-profit organizations that buy and protect natural areas, = and park fees etc. But those contributions, though important, are = fragmented. How can we make what we give have more impact with = decision-makers? Look at the influence of Arctic Cat and Polaris vs. = birders. Are there more birders and hikers than off-road ATV riders in = MN? You wouldn't know it. Our often short-sighted government decision-makers are a critical piece = in maintaining natural areas and protecting them. They listen to LARGE = numbers of voters and BIG dollars. Unless we elect more statesmen/women = in politics who make decisions based on the greater good and the welfare = of the 7th generation, we need to be a stronger influence. HOW? Karen Eckman Phone: 651-483-8460 Cell: 651-260-8534 k.eck...@comcast.net ------=_NextPart_000_009E_01C653F8.77E13300 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>John Hockema's story of two shrikes and = birding=20 with his brother moved me to add my 2 cents to the 'fee for birders'=20 discussion.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I don't know the best way to = protect essential=20 habitat for all living things in our state and nation. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>But I do know it takes an unrelenting = effort to=20 keep the opposing forces of greed and ignorance at bay. This effort=20 includes:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>EDUCATION:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Educating youth through exposing them = to nature as=20 children is an important piece. Otherwise it doesn't matter what we = do now=20 to protect a healthy environment. And educating the public so they = realize they=20 are stakeholders in the environment is vital. Humans could become = an=20 'endangered species' if we are not good stewards of our environment - = especially=20 our air and water. But many people see environmentalists simply as = impediments=20 to economic progress...laws and rules to protect our environment are = just 'red=20 tape' that requires cutting or finding a way to get around it. Many = people think we just want to save little spotted owls because they = are fun=20 to look at while those people are more concerned about what is = important, like survival. (Ironic, huh?) Have you seen that "family = farm" TV ad=20 lately?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>POLITICS:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Who pays the fiddler, calls the tune. = Yes, birders=20 already contribute through taxes, duck stamps, additional = contributions=20 on our MN taxes, supporting non-profit organizations that buy = and=20 protect natural areas, and park fees etc. But those=20 contributions, though important, are fragmented. How can = we make=20 what we give have more impact with decision-makers? Look at the = influence of=20 Arctic Cat and Polaris vs. birders. Are there more birders and hikers = than=20 off-road ATV riders in MN? You wouldn't know it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Our often short-sighted government = decision-makers are a critical piece in maintaining natural areas and = protecting=20 them. They listen to LARGE numbers of voters and BIG = dollars. Unless=20 we elect more statesmen/women in politics who make decisions based = on the=20 greater good and the welfare of the 7th generation, we need to be a = stronger=20 influence. HOW?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Karen Eckman<BR>Phone:=20 651-483-8460<BR>Cell: 651-260-8534<BR><A=20 href=3D"mailto:k.eck...@comcast.net">k.eck...@comcast.net</A></FONT></DIV= ></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_009E_01C653F8.77E13300--