Date: 3/27/25 6:05 am From: Autumn Hanley <110adh...> Subject: PA Bird Town - Howard Area
Good morning, all-
For those unable to attend last night's meeting... I'm Autumn Hanley; SCBC member, PA Master Naturalist trainee, and Howard Borough Councilor. As part of my work for the Howard Borough, I'm trying to have the Howard area (Howard Borough & Howard Township) registered as a PA Bird Town. Howard is the small town tucked into the "elbow" of the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir. Howard Township covers a huge tract on the other side. From the maps I have examined, the two municipalities cover the majority of the shoreline of the Reservoir. I feel that it is in the best interest of the birds of Bald Eagle State Park and Bald Eagle Creek that these lands and communities are supported using the PA Bird Town programming.
I have a big stumbling block- the municipalities are hesitant to commit without a dedicated Bird Town Committee. I am seeking 2-3 individuals from the Howard area (zip code 16841) to serve as committee members. Since the municipalities don't have a lot of free funds, this committee would be volunteer-based. I am considering a small time commitment to start. Both municipalities already do many of the activities listed as PA Bird Town goals, and our first year would be focused on documenting what is happening and reporting these activities to PA Bird Town administration.
Howard Borough is including my proposal in the April meeting for further discussion. This meeting will be on Monday, April 14th at 7:30pm in the Howard Borough Building. I've reached out to the Howard Township Supervisors to be added to their agenda for their April meeting. I doubt any decisions will be made until May or June, at the earliest.
If you are interested in serving on the Howard Area Bird Town Committee, please reach out to me at my email (<110adh...>).
Thank you, Autumn Hanley Howard Borough Councilor, 2-Year Interim PA Master Naturalist Trainee, Class of 2024-2025 Author of the *The Keystone Naturalist *Blog
