Date: 6/7/25 9:45 am From: Kenneth V. Rosenberg <kvr2...> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: Volunteering for Shorebird Habitat
Hi everyone (re-sending this without attached flier),
I want to put in a second plug for helping with the invasive water chestnut control at Montezuma NWR. Shorebirding has been nothing short of spectacular this spring, and this is due in part to the active management of impoundments at Montezuma Refuge and elsewhere in the Wetlands Complex – especially the draw-down of the Main Pool to coincide with the peak of spring shorebird migration.
As I learned in my conversations with Linda Ziemba at Montezuma last summer, such draw-downs of impoundments, and other management activities to create shallow water habitat needed by shorebirds, is highly dependent on effective control of invasive species such as water chestnut, which will swiftly take over and choke out impoundments once water levels are lowered. Control of water chestnut needs to be done manually (wading in the muck and pulling individual plants), and with federal cuts to US Fish and Wildlife Service staff and funding, the Refuge is even more dependent on volunteers than ever to implement this work.
Our birding community has expressed frustration in recent years when shallow water habitat at Montezuma has not been maintained during shorebird migration seasons – volunteering to pull water chestnut is a tangible and critically important way that we can all help the refuge staff to implement their management objectives and help provide stopover habitat for steeply declining shorebird species. Please sign up and volunteer for one of the sessions listed below.
Thanks!
Ken
Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist, Retired
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
<Kvr2...><mailto:<Kvr2...> Cell: 607-342-4594
From: <bounce-128806829-3493957...> <bounce-128806829-3493957...> on behalf of Dave Nutter <nutter.dave...>
Date: Friday, June 6, 2025 at 9:58 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <CAYUGABIRDS-L...>
Cc: Linda Ziemba b <linda_ziemba...>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: Volunteering for Shorebird Habitat
Hi All,
It takes work to maintain habitat for the birds we love - marsh birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl. You can volunteer.
Here’s a chance to help the Montezuma Wetlands Complex by being in the marshes among the birds while removing invasive Water Chestnut.
Work is 9am to 1pm, currently scheduled in the Refuge on
Wed 6/11, Sat 6/14, Wed 6/18, Wed 6/25, Sat 6/28, Wed 7/02, Wed 7/09, Sat 7/12,
Wed 8/06 & Sat 809
and at the MAC/DEC on Wed 7/16, Sat 7/19, & Wed 7/23.
To sign up, visit
audubon.org/montezuma
and click on Events
This program is the Montezuma Alliance for the Restoration of Species and Habitats:
MARSH!
- - Dave Nutter
- - Dave Nutter
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Ziemba, Linda" <linda_ziemba...>
Date: June 5, 2025 at 8:34:11 AM EDT
To: Dave Nutter <nutter.dave...>
Cc: Cassidy Attanasio <cassidy.attanasio...>
Subject: Volunteering for Shorebird Habitat
Hi Dave,
Last August on Discord, you asked "How many birders would volunteer how many hours in June to be in a canoe in Knox-Marsellus closer to marsh birds (or maybe only disturbing them) while filling the canoe with Water Chestnut?" I'm assuming this is not a rhetorical question and am asking you to help recruit people, including birders, to help pull water chestnut in our marshes so we can continue to provide high quality habitat. Our MARSH! schedule for water chestnut pulling is attached, but I'd be happy to add additional volunteer days if none of those dates work for people.
Thanks for your help with birder-volunteer recruitment.
Yours in conservation,
Linda Ziemba
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Chorba Ziemba
Wildlife Biologist
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
3395 US Route 20 East
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
315-406-0052
<linda_ziemba...>
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the U.S. for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Please expect potentially longer response times due to reductions in force to increase workforce efficiency. Your patience is appreciated as we work more efficiently.
