Lycoming Audubon Society

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The Conservation Award is presented periodically to an individual or organization that has had a positive impact on bird conservation in Pennsylvania.

This year Lycoming Audubon Society (LAS) was selected to receive the 2019 Conservation Award. Since its formation in 1968 LAS has worked for the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment in Lycoming and Clinton counties. LAS has advocated for our natural resources with a clear and unambiguous voice on a number of issues. They lobbied their state senator in favor of requiring the gas industry to capture fugitive methane emissions, worked with the Game Commission to deny the siting of a wind turbine farm on Moosic Mountain, and resisted the commercial development of a parcel of land overlooking Rose Valley Lake. Lycoming Audubon is actively involved with the local community in conserving bird habitats.

They constructed the first Chimney Swift tower in north central PA to serve as a nesting and roosting spot for this declining species. They worked to reestablish approximately 15 acres of bird friendly grasslands in the Lime Bluff Recreation Area. LAS established a mowing schedule to encourage successful breeding of grassland nesting species, and they installed signs around the park explaining these habitat improvements. LAS offers the public guided bird walks at prime birding locations around Lycoming and Clinton Counties.

They offer free conservation oriented programs at the public library. Each school year LAS teaches part of the curriculum for various school districts’ 4th through 7th grade classes. They partner with Lycoming College, the Williamsport Water Authority, along with several local conservation agencies to offer outdoor education classes. LAS is making a difference in the communities it serves. The members are focused and equipped to make a difference for birds in their region of the Commonwealth.

For these reasons and many others they were recognized with the 2019 Conservation Award. Ted Loy, current president, Gary Metzger, and Dan Alters accepted the award on behalf of the members of LAS.