CDC (Capital District Chapter)
News and Events

2012  Winter Potluck Dinner and Holiday Gathering

On January 21st the CDC held its winter potluck supper at the Bethany Church in Menands, NY.  Our hosts, Ron & Peggy Pedersen, did their usual fine job.  Tables were placed and set and the dishes got cleaned in rapid fashion. Over 40 members and friends attended.  We even had the Darr’s from Rushford, Minnesota.  They were the furthest from home!  The meal was potluck and we lucked out again with all the fixings just magically appearing without any preplanning on what to dish to bring.  It is a good gathering overall and one looked forward to each winter. 

CDC officers were  selected without any conflict. Jim Bulich is Chair, Vice-Chair  is Rich Gibbs, Treasurer is Phil Walton and Secretary is Jim Beil.  It is amazing how we never seem to have a contested officer slate, thanks to the arm twisting of Jim House.

We had a marvelous speaker from the Endangered Species Unit at the Dept. of Environmental Conservation in Albany, Kim Corwin.  She crafted a talk and power point presentation about her 12-month work on the Gulf oil spill cleanup in Louisiana.   She was one of many biologists responsible for protecting the beach, wetlands, plants and animals from damage due to the cleaning efforts.  The cleanup crews were very efficient and sometimes overzealous.  That’s where Kim came on the scene.  All vehicle and foot paths had to be laid out and strictly adhered to.  Kim said the beaches are now cleaner than before the oil rig explosion.  Sometimes the best tact to take was leaving the oil in place in the marshlands and letting time, sunlight and air degrade it.  More damage would have been done to the grasses to have had the stuff raked out and carted away.  Much was learned in this still ongoing effort and will be used on future beach/marsh efforts around the world.  In addition, Kim coauthored the last update of the “NYS Breeding Bird Atlas” compiled every decade.  If you missed this version another will be done in 8 years.  Her general conclusion is most birds benefit from habitat changes due to weather or logging.  Some species are declining over time but this is due to many factors, while others are increasing.  In NYS some shrub birds are declining and the mature forest birds seem to be increasing, again for many different reasons.

Funds for the CDC are raised by an auction run by Phyllis House.  All items are donated by attendees.  Gifts ranged from gardening books, wooden toys, maple syrup, scotch and even a bluebird nesting box (which by the way went to Minnesota).

Our thoughts are with those who couldn’t attend and we all look forward to next year.

January 2012 Chapter Newsletter

October 2011 Chapter Newsletter

July 2011 Chapter Newsletter

April 2011 Chapter Newsletter

January 2011 Chapter Newsletter

October 2010 Chapter Newsletter

Oct 2010 Steering Committee Notes

July 2010 Chapter Newsletter

April 2010 Chapter Newsletter

January 2010 Chapter Newsletter

October 2009 Chapter Newsletter

Upcoming Events: (see most recent newsletter above for details)

2012 CDC Steering Committee Meetings- Colonie Town Library at 6:30 pm- Jan 10th, April 10th, July 10th and Oct 9th. All are welcome!

Chapter Officers