Don't miss the next QCBC Monthly Meeting on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the Alley Pond Environmental Center, 229-10 Northern Blvd, Douglaston, NY 11362.
Speaker Chris Allieri, Executive Director of the NYC Plover Project will present "The Piping Plovers of the Rockaways, the threats they face and the committed movement to save them"Chris Allieri is Executive Director of the NYC Plover Project, a non-profit organization that he founded in March 2021 to fiercely protect endangered Piping Plovers that nest each year along some of the busiest beaches of our city.In less than three years, the organization has connected with thousands of beachgoers and residents in person and tens of thousands more people on social media. Upon founding the organization, what became immediately clear was that most New Yorkers didn’t know about Piping Plovers or the challenges they face, and that their very existence was at risk of extinction. Most didn’t know that fewer than 8,000 remain in the world and just less than 100 come to Queens, NYC each year.The ultimate underdog, the Piping Plover is a federally-threatened and New York State-endangered species. The threats facing this tiny yet mighty, intrepid shorebird – and other beach-nesting shorebirds like American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, Least Terns and Common Terns are numerous, ranging from human disturbance to predation of many kinds (much of which comes from increased predators at the beach due to trash left by beachgoers), to intense storms, rising seas, and coastal erosion caused by climate change. The organization soon realized that while working to protect Piping Plovers, they were helping other wildlife and helping steward natural areas in our city as well.The mission of the NYC Plover Project (www.nycploverproject.org) is to bring together New Yorkers, from the Rockaway Peninsula and beyond, to protect the endangered Piping Plovers. The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Rockaway works with a number of partners, including the National Park Service and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, along with a dedicated volunteer corps of nearly 250+ volunteers to help protect nesting Piping Plovers. Conservation activities include in-person engagement and education of beachgoers, and helping our partners with nest monitoring, increased signage near nesting habitat, and data collection of nesting outcomes. This year, the organization has kicked off expansive community engagement and public school education initiatives.The organization was awarded Volunteer Group of the Year for the entire National Park Service in 2022, the Keesee Award from the National Audubon Society in 2023 and will be given the Linnaean Society of New York Natural History Service Award in March. The organization is a member of the Endangered Species Coalition, a nationwide network of 400+ organizations dedicated to our nation’s disappearing wildlife and last remaining wild places. Chris will detail the experience of the organization, expound upon the challenges that the Piping Plovers face and outline ways that members can speak up for Plovers and beach-nesting birds in our borough and city. Marcia Abrahams VP/Programs CoordinatorQueens County Bird Clubhttp://www.qcbirdclub.org Email: marciaaabrah...@aol.com -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") NYSbirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/nysbirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) birding_DOT_aba_DOT_org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
