Upcoming Events:

Letter from Chair: Bob Zeller
Happy New Year to everyone in the Trail of Tears Group.

You may have noticed in the last Ozark Sierran a ballot issue on changing the name of the chapter. It passed, and we are now members of the Missouri Chapter rather than the Ozark Chapter. The change was proposed because it was felt that the new name better reflects the area served by the chapter, since Missouri is more than the Ozarks (and the Ozarks are more than Missouri). In case you were wondering, the Ozark designation reflects a time when Missouri and Arkansas were served by a single chapter.

In addition to the name change, there were elections at both the Group and Chapter levels. Joining the Trail of Tears Executive Committee (ExCom) will be Carol Draper and Adam Gohn, both of Jackson. The new ExCom will comprise myself as Chair (and representative to the Chapter ExCom), Judy Cureton as Vice-Chair, Adam as Secretary, Carol as Treasurer, and Alan Journet as Conservation Chair.

At the Chapter level, new members of the ExCom are Ginger Harris (incumbent), Byron Combs, Nick Knobbe, and Leslie Lihou. Long-serving Chapter Chair Keet Kopecky has resigned, and he will be replaced by Cheryl Hammond. Ken Midkiff will serve as Chair of the Chapter; Becky Denney is the new Chair of the Conservation Committee (ConsCom).

We are always looking for members to join us on Group outings. Check out the schedule and plan on participating. Also, we are open to suggestions about activities you would like to see the Group organize; please feel free to contact Outings Chair Adam Gohn or myself with ideas.

Treasurer’s Report

After a semi-successful calendar season (we ended up with about 10 unsold) our current balance is roughly $1600. Once again we have donated $100 toward the SEMO science fair. Last fall, in a rare burst of largess, we donated $50 to the perennially struggling Ozark Chapter (which has recently renamed itself as the Missouri Chapter, rendering our shirts as instant classics and collectibles.)

Conservation Report: Alan Journet

As public awareness of the evidence concerning Global Climate Change and its potential impact grows, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned that action should be taken to address the problem. Since leadership on the issue has been absent from Washington for so long, a reality underlined by the rejection of President Bush of the Kyoto Treaty on Climate Control early in his first term, many cities and several states have elected to take independent action. Two avenues are open for cities where residents are concerned and prepared to take action:

1) The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement was initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and developed through the U, S, Conference of Mayors. For information visit: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/climate/

2) Administered by ICLEI (The international Council of Local Environmental Initiative http://www.iclei.org/) an alternative is the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (http://www.ci.duluth.mn.us/city/information/ccp/)

The Trail of Tears Group has endorsed and plans to work with a local group operating under the working title “The Southeast Missouri Climate Change Initiative”. We hope to encourage local communities to endorse one of these campaigns and undertake steps locally that will reduce the production of greenhouse gases in the region and – as an added benefit – save citizens money.

The inaugural meeting of the group will be Wednesday March 7^th in the Hirsch Room at the Cape Girardeau Public Library (N. Clark) at 7:00 p.m. (over by 9:00 p.m.) If you are interested in assisting with the campaign, please join us. If you cannot attend, but would like to stay on the list and keep informed, please let me know (addresses below).

Outings: Adam Gohn

Feb. 3 Eagle Days trip to Mingo. A small but intrepid band braved the frigid weather to enjoy a trip that brought us a huge flock of snow geese south of Arab, a World Bird Sanctuary program featuring ‘Liberty’ the Bald eagle and ‘Myrah’ the Golden eagle. We also scored a close-up view of a large Cooper’s Hawk and a distant view of 150 or so coots marooned in a water hole in the ice too small to allow their taking off. At least a dozen eagles during our stop at Monopoly Lake were standing around the coot CAFO and cruising in to pick off prey at will.

Left – ‘Liberty’;

Below ‘Myrah’

Apr. 21-22 Mammoth Cave trip (see below)

June 9 Hike at Giant City State Park: Meet at 8:30 a.m. Cape Public Library.

Aug. 17 ExCom meeting at the Drapers – all members and ideas are welcome; address below.

A Mammoth Outing: Adam Gohn

Join us on an overnight adventure to explore and enjoy the world’s longest cave system. We will be heading for Mammoth Cave National Park Saturday Apr. 21 to enjoy an abundance of beautiful underground scenery, hiking trails and guided tours through this historic national park. There are a multitude of different guided (and self guided) tours through this immense cave system which we plan on attending both Sat. afternoon and Sun (Apr 22) morning. These trips range from short casual walks to more lengthy and thorough tours that explore different areas of the park.

Lodging accommodations are available in the form of camping, in-park hotel rooms, and rustic cottages. The specific prices and availability of these rooms and campsites are available online at the mammoth cave website at www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm or by calling (270)-758-2180. There are several different options to accommodate all preferences and budgets.

There is no set departure time, but to maximize the afternoon activity time we plan on arriving around 1 pm. According to Mapquest’s approximate travel time from the Cape Public Library it will take nearly five hours to arrive at the park. This means you should plan on leaving around 8 am, and with gas prices soaring, carpooling is highly suggested. This should be arranged on an individual basis, but if you need a ride, contact myself, or another member of the ExCom and we’ll try our best to arrange transportation.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me @ 270-0553 (please leave name, #, and short message) or openmindedadam@yahoo.com . Mammoth Cave’s web address is www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm . This site is thorough and easy to navigate, and can give you a more in depth look at what this beautiful park has for us to enjoy. We hope to see you there.

A Bright Start By Kathy Conway

According to the federal government, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star approved compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), the United States would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars. Sound interesting???

You may have heard about the campaign to make the change to CFL bulbs. I heard it on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered (February 8, 2007); even Walmart has joined the campaign with its commitment to selling 100 million CFL bulbs this year.

The NPR report indicates that not all CFLs are created equal. They suggest that: (1) Energy Star qualified CFLs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer (average lifespan of a CFL is five years), (2) CFLs save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb's lifetime, and (3) CFLs generate 70 percent less heat, making them safer to operate. They also provide information about the best places to install CFLs

Brian Huyser, has created a website and is trying to get others to join the cause. He has information about CFLs and a challenge for all of us.

Sound interesting??? Want to know more? Visit the One Billion Bulbs website (http://www.onebillionbulbs.com/) or the NPR website (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7279952) for more information.

"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If You are not a member, please join us….