Contributed by Len McKenzie

Climate change is affecting the earth’s inhabitants in profound ways--more extreme and prolonged weather events, more catastrophic wildfires, melting of the polar icecaps, a gradual rise in sea level, worsening air quality...the list goes on, and a future for humans under those conditions looks disheartening.  Imagine, though, how bleak it looks for animals whose basic needs for survival are so narrow that they cannot adapt to even seemingly subtle climate changes--and who will likely go extinct if the present trend continues.

In the California of the future, will the cheerful chirping of the pika disappear from the high mountain peaks in Yosemite?  The Chinook salmon no longer run in the San Joaquin River?  The bighorn sheep and the desert tortoise vanish from the Mojave Desert?  Will American robins in Central California grow bigger than cats?

On Thursday, December 8, the Yosemite Area Audubon Society will address this issue at its monthly program at the Mariposa Methodist Church parish hall beginning at 7:00 p.m.  Beth Pratt, California Director for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), will discuss the current and future impacts that climate change poses to the creatures of California in her slide presentation, “Where the Wild Things Were: Climate Change and California Wildlife.”

She’ll also tell a few fun wildlife stories and talk about being a proud Pacific chorus frog mother to the hundreds of tadpoles born each year in her backyard frog pond.

Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for almost 20 years, and in two of the country’s high-profile national parks, Yosemite and Yellowstone.  Before joining the NWF, she worked on sustainability and climate change programs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts in Yellowstone as its Director of Environmental Affairs.  Previously, she served for nine years as the vice president/CFO for the nonprofit Yosemite Association in Yosemite National Park.

A member of the Association of Partners for Public Lands Training Corps, Pratt also serves on the advisory committee of the nonprofit Save the Frogs.  Her work on sustainability in national parks has been featured in Sustainable Industries, Fast Company, Sierra Magazine, Green Lodging News and on the Peter Greenberg Radio Show.  She is also the author of the official Junior Ranger handbook for Yosemite.

Pratt graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with bachelor's degrees in management and biological anthropology and a minor in marketing.  She earned a master's in business administration from Regis University in Denver.  In 2009 she received the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Accredited Professional credential.  Under her leadership, Yellowstone’s environmental programs received environmental achievement awards from the National Park Service from 2009-2011.

Pratt writes about wildlife, climate change, weather and her frog pond on her blogs—http://www.bethpratt.com/ and http://www.greeningyellowstone.org/.  She currently lives in Midpines.

Like all YAAS programs, Pratt’s presentation is open and free to the public, although donations to defray program costs and to support Audubon’s local activities are welcome.  Refreshments will be available.

The YAAS will also host the first annual Mariposa Christmas Bird Count (CBC), recently sanctioned as an official count by the National Audubon Society, on Wednesday, December 14.  Anyone is welcome and encouraged to participate regardless of birding experience.  Count participants will meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Happy Burger for instructions and zone assignments.  The count is an all-day event, but participation for just part of the day is permissible.  All participants must pay a $5.00 fee to help defray the cost of publishing the count results.  See the accompanying sidebar for the dates of other local CBCs.

Call (209) 742-5579 for additional information about either the program or the Christmas bird counts.

The mission of the National Audubon Society, the namesake of noted 19th-century naturalist and bird painter John James Audubon; its state affiliate, Audubon California; and local chapters such as the Yosemite Area Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. 

Yosemite Area Audubon Society Program On Thursday, December 8

Slide presentation, “Where the Wild Things Were: Climate Change and California Wildlife,” by Beth Pratt, California Director for the National Wildlife Federation, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mariposa Methodist Church parish hall at 6th and Bullion streets in downtown Mariposa.  Free, public invited, refreshments.  Call (209) 742-5579 for more information.

Area Christmas Bird Counts Scheduled

The National Audubon Society’s 112th Christmas Bird Count, an annual international bird census, will be held this year between December 14 and January 5, 2012.  The Yosemite Area Audubon Society encourages local residents to participate in any or all of the following area counts:

          Wednesday, December 14 - Mariposa

          Thursday, December 15 - Groveland

          Sunday, December 18 - Yosemite

          Tuesday, January 3 - Oakhurst (unofficial trial count)

Call (209) 966-2547 or (209) 742-5579 or visit http://www.audubon.org/ for more details.