Shark-fin soup may be swimming off the menu at many Chinese restaurants in the months to come. In January a bill was introduced in Congress that would ban shark-finning in all U.S. waters, including in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, where the number of sharks killed for their fins has increased by 2,500 percent since 1991.

The sharks' fins are chopped off, and the shark is thrown back. But a shark without a fin is like a boat without a rudder. "If it's alive when it's thrown back, it won't be for long," says David Wilmot, executive director of Audubon's Living Oceans Program and director of the Ocean Wildlife Campaign, a coalition of several organizations that's led by the program. "Almost all of the fins go to Asia for shark-fin soup," he adds. Finning near Hawaii killed more than 60,000 sharks in 1998. 

Sharks grow slowly, mature late, and have few offspring, making them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. But the U.S. waters of the Pacific remain open to finning because the  Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management  Council (WESPAC) has refused to act on recommendations to prohibit finning there.

The Shark Finning Prohibition Act was introduced by Republican representatives Randy Cunningham and Jim Saxton.  Cunningham says the long-term involvement of groups united by the Ocean Wildlife Campaign has been key in the fight to end shark finning. Last fall Audubon's Living Oceans Program released a report on the exorbitant waste associated with shark finning just as WESPAC was sitting down to discuss shark management in U.S. Pacific waters. Although WESPAC made the decision not to ban shark finning, if the Cunningham-Saxton shark-finning bill passes, the group will no longer have a choice.

To get information about how you can support the Cunningham-Saxton bill to end shark finning, visit the Ocean Wildlife Campaign's web site at www.audubon.org/campaign/lo/ow or call 516-859-5261.

Chapter News
No Regrets for Nine Egrets

Thanks to the Bexar Audubon Society of San Antonio, Texas, nine rehabilitated cattle egrets flew to freedom last November.  The birds, confined since they were rescued as chicks, clearly had high ambitions when the cage doors opened. "They just soared," says Susan Hughes, chapter secretary and an NAS board member.

Only 11 weeks earlier, Hughes and fellow chapter members had surveyed a grimmer scene. In August a San Antonio rookery on private property, which for 20 years had been a nesting ground for thousands of egrets and herons, had been partially bulldozed. Nests had been knocked down, and birds too young to fly had suffered bone fractures and dehydration. From the rubble, chapter members managed to rescue 24 chicks, which were then cared for by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc., a nonprofit organization.

Ten of the 24 chicks survived. And all but one of the survivors (which was still recovering from a leg injury) were released in time for the winter migration. When the egrets return this spring, however, they will have to find a new home: The landowner has leveled the rookery.

IN-BRIEF
Come Together, Right Now

Five years ago members of the Audubon Society of Portland, Oregon, in the words of its executive director, Dave Eshbaugh, "decided that we had to do things differently." The chapter realized it needed to spread its wings in order to protect urban green spaces. "We reached out to affordable-housing advocates, alternative-transportation groups, and representatives of low-income communities and people of color," says Eshbaugh. The decision paid off handsomely: The Coalition for a Livable Future, born in 1995, is now 52 member organizations strong.

Smart growth, quality of life in urban areas, and inner-city outreach work are the main issues addressed by the coalition. Mike Houck, the chapter's urban naturalist, says that "a huge piece of this work involves listening to and learning more about environmental racism. We want to demonstrate, both by word and deed, that social and environmental justice must go hand in hand with the conservation objectives associated with urban sprawl."

Eagle-Cam

Watch two downy balls transform into flying bald eagles. Thanks to the Audubon Society of Florida's Center for Birds of Prey and The Orlando Sentinel, people around the world can witness online the growth of two baby eagles in central Florida. Visit www.orlandosentinel.com/projects/eagle/, or call Audubon's Center for Birds of Prey (407-644-0190), a rehabilitation center for injured raptors, for more information about the Eagle Project. 

Travel
Summer Vacations, Audubon-Style

If baking on a beach isn't your idea of holiday fun, why not wade through a wetland, meet a moose, or raft a river? Each summer Audubon offers camps for explorers of all ages. Prices are per person and include food, lodging, and supplies. For information
about specialized educator-workshops, visit www.audubon.org/educate/cw.

Audubon Camp, Hog Island, Maine (888-325-5261)

Muscongus Bay marks the southernmost outpost of many northern birds and marine mammals. Harbor seals and Atlantic puffins bask in the sun on nearby Machias Seal Island. On Hog Island, a 333-acre sanctuary, mosses, lichens, and mushrooms abound, and a library, laboratory, freshwater and saltwater aquariums, and microscopes are readily available. Led by science educators, campers hike through spruce forests, study the life of tidepools, and learn about seabirds, seals, and other wildlife. The evenings are filled with night hikes, stargazing, special guests, and songfests. 

Youth Camp: Kids aged 10 to 14 spend sessions learning about the local ecology (July 26-August 6 or August 9-19; $975). 

Family Camp: Adult family members with children aged 9 to 13 can explore nature together (August 21-26; $485). 

Adult Camp: Ornithology workshops, birding expeditions, kayaking excursions, natural history classes, and nature drawing and photography are offered. Camp lasts about a week and ranges in price from $400 to $975.
 
 

Hunt Hill Nature Center and Sanctuary, Sarona, Wisconsin (715-635-6543)

In the heart of northwestern Wisconsin, nestled between rolling hills, wildflower prairies, and glacial lakes, this 500-acre Audubon sanctuary provides endless possibilities for a learning adventure. 

Youth Camp: In Youth Ecology Adventure, 9- to 13-year-old campers explore, paddle, and hike. They might board a "lake lab" to study the underwater world of glacial lakes, don a snorkel and mask to view underwater plants and animals face-to-face, or perhaps venture out in search of insect-eating plants (July 23-29; $325). 

A second weeklong session, Teen River Ecology, is for campers aged 13 to 15. The course is geared toward first-time or novice explorers interested in learning the basics of river ecology and low-impact camping during a canoe trip (July 23-29; $355).

Adult Camp: The Wade Into Ecology camp session focuses on wetlands and wildlife. Participants learn about plants and animals unique to the cold, acidic environment. By canoe and snorkel, campers also study fish and water plants up close (July 16-22; $525).
 
 

Audubon Camp, Dubois, Wyoming (888-404-7743)

Spectacular mountain landscapes, evening campfires, and views of bighorn sheep, moose, and eagles are the highlights of this camp, the most remote of the Audubon workshops. The camp is set in a 7,500-foot-high, glaciated valley that's nestled in the shadow of the snowcapped peaks of Wyoming's Wind River Mountains.

Adult Camp: The Rocky Mountain Adventures Workshop leads you on field studies on subjects ranging from animal behavior to glacial geology. Included in the weeklong workshop is a day spent exploring Grand Teton National Park, a visit that's topped off by an evening raft trip–complete with raptors–down the Snake River. The price is $850.
 
 

Audubon Center of the North Woods, Sandstone, Minnesota (888-404-7743)

The center, located on 535 acres on the shores of Grindstone Lake, is the perfect place to explore Minnesota's wildlands. 

Youth Camp: Ropes, Rocks, and Rapids, for girls and boys aged 12 to 14, is a week of adventure on a high ropes course, on a climbing wall, and in a gorge. Campers learn to navigate by compass and to canoe the rapids. In Ecology of North Woods Wildlife, kids 10 to 12 track animals, take a bog walk, learn camping skills, and canoe a wild river (July 8-15, July 22-29; $325). 

Adult Camp: Learn about aquatic animals, birdlife, and river ecology. Or simply relax and listen to the loons at the lake (July 1-8; $695).
 
 

Vermont Audubon Youth Camps, Brandon, Vermont (802) 434-3068

In the middle of a 2,200-acre preserve in west-central 
Vermont, campers team up with naturalists and scientists. Kids aged 10 to 14 learn about the local ecology (June 25-July 5, July 9-19; $800). In Audubon Journeys, campers aged 13 to 15 help restore ecosystems as they travel through the state's wildlands.  One past project mapped the spread of non-native purple loosestrife (August 13-21; $875).