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Donate Now Next Free Open House September 18, 2010 |
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Protect yourself, your pets, your working animals from
mosquitoes (West Nile Virus) by using what we use to protect our raptors. It's as
good as DEET, but safe.
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![]() The RMRP has stolen thousands of dollars using our license plates as a reward for their members. They have not been reasonable or responsible in their responses, and now we are compelled to take them to federal court to preserve our rights. This has impacted us tremendously! Help us reverse this injustice. |
May 26, 2010- Denver,
Colorado: Today our attorneys filed a
federal law suit against the Rocky Mountain Raptor
Program (RMRP), which has been stealing proceeds from
our license plate program by violating federal
copyright laws and state trademark rights. The RMRP
accomplished this with the help of an unethical, devious,
and cowardly politician, Randy Fischer
(Democrat). For the past 6
months our attorneys have been attempting to get this
politician to reverse his unconstitutional actions, but he
and the raptor organization have done nothing except stall.
They won't even give our attorneys the courtesy of returning
e-mails and phone calls. The Colorado Attorney
General's office told us that Fischer's ego is
preventing any rational solution. See our open letter to Randy Fischer and help us stop this corruption and theft.
Read the
first response from an honest
"public servant".
More
Letters |
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Sign up for the Raptor Education Foundation's Raptor ID Class! In collaboration with the Audubon Society of Greater Denver, the Raptor Education Foundation (REF) is conducting a Raptor ID class at its facility on Tuesday, October 19, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Come see their raptor collection up close, with the chance to view over a dozen Colorado species side-by-side. Meet other bird enthusiasts and learn ID tips from REF’s Curator of Raptors, Anne Price, and her highly-trained docent staff. A tour of the REF facility, or “mews” will conclude the session. Morning refreshments will be served. The class will be held at REF’s Brighton facility. The fee is $40 and includes class materials. Space is limited to twenty participants and is filling up quickly. Please contact Rhonda at the ASGD office at (303) 973-9530, or e-mail info@denveraudubon.org. |
September 1, 2010: This
workshop sold out very quickly in August...see
below. Remember, only
20 people accepted for this new and improved version of our
first course. This course feature's REF's living field
guides. If raptors are your cuppa tea...then join us. Don't wait- use the Audubon link provided. |
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August 30th:Gulf Coast Testing
Laboratories- The great and glorious BHO despite his most
magnificent accomplishments has once again stunned his
Science Czar with this new prototype that promises to
protect citizens from the effects of acid rain and/or AGW
ultraviolet exposure at the same time! WOW!! FLOTUS, however, is skeptical of the claims POTUS posits on his miraculous device. What a country!
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
Shocking! The top educational bureaucrat from the current administration, Arne Duncan, admits the obvious, but cannot add one and one and come up with the logical answer. Yes, the government monopoly school system is dumbing down their clients and their customers. The students are the clients and their parents are the customers. We've addressed the shortcomings and solutions with America's educational process for 3 decades as have other organizations and individuals. Maybe it is finally making an impact? Do you think they will actually take a lesson here? Just click...
Researchers testing blood of some bald eagle nestlings in Michigan have discovered some disconcerting news. The baby eagles are contaminated with pesticides and flame retardants. The Great Lakes have been seeing a slow improvement in their water quality, however, this research points to a disturbing trend. Once again, raptors are acting as "canaries" in our ecosystem. The eagles are obviously magnifying toxins coming into their food supply from the surrounding area. Just click...
After 8 days in the air this little avian
flyer has confounded everyone trying to explain how this is
possible. The bar-tailed godwit stays aloft in its migration from
Alaska to New Zealand all that time without stopping to eat or rest.
Talk about aerobic exercise! Just
click...
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you shop with our exclusive
Raptor Credit Card.
You could be excused from thinking that large elk herds are found only in the Rocky Mountain states. Isn't that what the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is all about? Well, not really. The Elk Foundation has been working with coal mining operations as they reclaim their abandoned mines, and the results are startling to anyone driving through eastern states like Kentucky. Reintroduced elk have adjusted to their new homes with such zeal that their population in one area of Kentucky has reached 10,000 animals. Read about this success story...Just Click...
English authorities tipped to some strange behavior have arrested an ex-military adventurer smuggling peregrine falcon eggs from the UK to Dubai. In Dubai, the eggs would have fetched him a handsome sum, but his reward shall be in England where he will earn a fair stretch. Thanks to Laura for alerting us to this story. Just click...
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August 17th: Brighton, Colorado-Our
second collaborative seminar with the Audubon
Society of Greater Denver (ASGD) was a sell-out. 20 people
participated in our half day seminar featuring 24 species in
our live raptor ID course. This follows our avian
anatomy course of a few months ago.
Next course: October 19th. REF's curator, Anne Price, took course
participants into a detailed examination of raptor
identification buttressed with our living raptor collection.
Anne is pictured with our brand new acquisition, the White
Tailed Hawk. Our living feathered field guides made the printed
field guides that much easier to understand. |
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REF's male Turkey Vulture enjoyed the
close attention by this decidedly biased audience.
Because of space limitations (outdoor classroom) we kept
participation to 20, and ASGD reported a waiting list
developed quickly after our e-mail advertising.
Judging by the very positive response, we are planning
another course in October.
Stay tuned as we announce the date. Thanks to all our participants for making this collaboration a great success. We will incorporate changes to make the course even better as suggestions come in from all the participants. Beginning or advanced birders who
haven't had the chance for REF's raptor experience are
missing an opportunity that can't be readily duplicated.
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Opportunity
Seized The technology available to photographers improves almost daily it seems. New autofocus lenses coupled with great optics improve the chances that your photos will get better. However, exceptional wildlife photography depends on a lot more. Kevin Docholiday illustrates what is really indispensable to capturing superb wildlife images. Kevin was at a baseball gathering in Wray, Colorado, and in between games he was paying attention to the skies around him. These remarkable images between a Western Kingbird and a Great-horned owl were captured begging the question...did avian rodeos actually give birth to the Homo sapiens variety?
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Kingbirds are aggressive open country flycatchers and this one was obviously unimpressed with the vastly larger and more powerful Bubo who made the mistake of flying through the flycatcher's territory. |
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Note: 08/18/2010-As a result of Kevin's continued
submissions of some spectacular raptor photos, we have
received his permission to create a special section of his
raptor images. It will be called Raptor Holidays
by Docholiday celebrating the sense of adventure and
beauty Kevin's pictures convey...almost like taking a little
birding holiday right from your home or office. Stay
tuned as we create
Raptor Holidays.
Aerial landings of this type equate with fighter pilots landing their jets on aircraft carriers in pitching seas.
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This Kingbird seems to be an old hand at Bubo back landing techniques... |
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The Bubo appears resigned to being
landed on. Maybe this is simply an avian taxi service?
Has anyone seen this before? We met Kevin a few years ago at the Plains Conservation Center. He was busy shooting pictures of our birds and indicated he was just a beginning photographer. It's quite obvious from these fantastic images that Kevin is a gifted student and making the most of any opportunity he encounters with his eagle eye, his cameras, and his talents. Visit Kevin at www.docholidayphotography.com KUDOS TO KEVIN!
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The wolf introduction programs across part of the Rocky Mountain States have gone along without much reporting on the pros and cons of bringing back these large predators. A little investigation on our part, after a member alerted us to some serious questions of the official story, has turned up some remarkable but unsurprising manipulations of the science behind the scheme. Both private environmental groups and government agencies are revealed to be in consort. The under-reported increase in wolf numbers across the western states where the program has been initiated is revealing some startling problems. One of the outcomes, if all things continue as data is showing, will be the significant drop of ungulate populations which will cause a dramatic decrease in human hunting opportunities and the related income to state game management departments. Colorado's Division of Wildlife is already seeing revenue declines due to the current economic debacle, and any precipitous drop of its famous elk herds will further damage revenue flows. Let's remember, that human hunters support conservation efforts more than any other group, and increasing wolf populations may kill the goose laying the golden eggs funding these conservation programs. Just click...
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July10, 2010-Vail, Colorado:
At the base of the Eagle Bahn gondola, we began our
summer of Raptor Rendezvous with the visitors coming to
Vail. Our new location provided strong crowds with lots of interest. Front range visitors joined guests from Argentina, Russia, Mexico, and numerous American states to discover the world of raptors up close and in person. Although we experienced a rain delay in getting our display set-up, by the time the fast moving cell cleared the area, over a 100 visitors had gathered to see the first presentation. For those of you who missed us, we will be returning every Saturday until August 14th with shows beginning at 3:00pm until 5:00pm. |
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Their faces, of course, continue to
tell our story better than mere words can ever convey.
Large audiences gathered for each presentation, and as you
see, our Peregrine Falcon's story enraptured many of
the children that were present. Our Golden Eagle, below, was
an overwhelming tour-de-force for everyone.
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REF's 29 year old female golden eagle has been appearing at Vail and Beaver Creek venues for over a decade. Her 6 foot wingspan takes your breath away. |
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July 15th: REF's Vail Nature
Center programs featured up-close free flight segments
with our Harris' Hawk. The
Camp Eco-Fun
participants
got an hour of very special programming and experiential
learning with experiences like these which are not quickly
forgotten...more developing.
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Magic moments are what
Camp Eco-Fun is all about. Our Eastern Screech Owl never
fails to enrapture one and all. |
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And their faces continue to tell our story...every time. |
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July 23rd: Crowds gather as we begin another appearance with a new compliment of raptors. Our newly acquired Northern Caracara mystified most who had never seen this member of the falcon family. Our location at the base of the Eagle Bahn gondola is now a gathering place for raptorphiles every Saturday beginning at 3:00pm. |
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Our newly acquired White-tailed Hawk,
Buteo albicaudatus,
was admired by all who came to see this rare American
raptor. Rare, only because its northern most reaches are on
the southern Texas coastal plain, however, as you will see
from the distribution map (link above), this exquisite Buteo
is found all the way south into Argentina. Many thanks to all of our sponsors including the Vail Recreation District, the Lionshead Merchant Association, and the Vail Nature Center. The latter hosted special flying programs beginning on July 14th for their summer camp visitors...see above.
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card.
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July 10th UPDATE:"I
have some great news! I was up on
the scaffolding this morning and was able to observe all 3
young and I am happy to report that the offending twine
seems to have somehow come off the wing. Yea! It looked
pretty well wrapped but... They all had a good breakfast
and all is well."
reports Peter Harlove. July 4, 2010-Colorado: Photographer, Peter Hartlove, has been watching an osprey nest on an artificial platform for a couple of years. The pair has been very successful with three young this year, however, as is common to this species, parents will often bring many strange things back to the nest. Unfortunately, one of those things has now caused a dangerous dilemma for one of the youngsters. The arrow clearly indicates a length of bailing twine that has become wrapped around the wing. At the time of the photos, the twine was somewhat loosely wrapped, however, that can change suddenly. A variety of very serious conditions can result from this situation, but going in to remedy the problem can cause the youngsters to jump out of the nest, and since they are not yet flighted, the 40 foot fall could cause worse problems. |
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After conferring with
Mr. Hartlove, we advised waiting and watching. We then
followed up to notify the Colorado Division of Wildlife
and apprised them of the situation. They concurred
with our appraisal. The closer the youngsters get to fledging, the less serious will be the consequences if somebody has to deal with an emergency issue related to the twine. The nesting platform was placed by a farmer on his land, and has been producing osprey offspring immediately. The farmer watches his family very carefully and has permitted Mr. Hartlove to record the nesting activities for several years. Kudos to the farmer who had the initiative to get this family nesting on his property, and to Peter Hartlove for being there to record this osprey family. Peter's website has some stunning images for all to see.
Hartlove Photography |
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“Famous Falconer Friends”
REF Curator of Raptors Anne Price was pleased to give a tour of our new facilities to two of Colorado’s most experienced falconers. Pictured with Anne are former NAFA Director at Large , and Colorado Hawking Club Honorary Lifetime Member Ken Mesch, far left. Next to Ken is and falconer, bird bander , and breeder Chris Curts. Chris was Anne’s falconry sponsor many (MANY!) years ago. The falconry licensing system requires that a new apprentice falconer be sponsored under the tutelage of a master falconer (someone who has been licensed for at least 8 years) for his or her first two years.
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June 19 & 20th Denver, CO:
With another successful appearance at Denver's annual
PrideFest, we welcome our new members. Thanks to
everyone who visited our display located in the family
activity area. Cooler weather on both days really helped everyone enjoy all the activities and the fantastic parade on Sunday. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to our ongoing operations with their donations, membership purchases, and volunteer enquiries.
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Many people visited our display, and
many had cameras. However, few of those with cameras
probably captured anything approaching this exquisite
composition
with our male golden eagle and REF's banner featuring the
first bald eagle we ever cared for, Liberty. Professional photographer, Steve Crecelius, spent some time at our display. He gave us a quick peek at what he was capturing, and it's quite obvious, Steve has an eagle eye. Link to Steve's website here. These days, anyone with a digital camera can record images, but only those with a keen and creative eye will capture what Steve did here. Beautiful!! Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
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June 12, 2010 Brighton, CO:
Yesterday and today a series of severe storm cells passed
directly over our facility. On Friday, a massive
amount of hail and rain hit us while tornado sirens pierced
the thunder. Over 18" of pea-sized hail piled up in
places. Some of our gravel base was washed out, but the
worst damage occurred to our newly hung sun shades.
The previous week had seen temperatures approaching 100
degrees (F) and the newly placed silver tarps created
excellent shade pools.
A recent multi-thousand dollar improvement strengthened some weak spots in our new facility's roofing/containment areas. This certainly helped bear and deflect the massive hail loading. Fortunately, no birds were hurt, and Saturday and Sunday (despite continued rain and cold temps) we managed to repair all the tarps and netting. We are assuming that as the first day of summer approaches, the sun will indeed return to the eastern plains of Colorado and dry things out. One of our access roads is closed due to flooding just a few hundred yards west of our main gate. The standing water will now threaten the area with excellent breeding opportunities for West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes. Fortunately, we had just finishing the first round of vaccinations for the coming season...see photo below. |
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NOTE:
callers need to be patient. The heavy rains
have flooded our voice and data lines coming into our
facility and connections are terrible. Send e-mails,
which are still getting through relatively unaffected.
THANK YOU, to Dr. Alison Hazel, DVM, who is shown here vaccinating our 20 year old male bald eagle. Dr. Hazel generously donated her time again this year to vaccinate our 30 raptors, and has quite a bit of experience with raptors and other birds. She also volunteers at area banding stations during the fall and spring. Thanks doc! Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
If you want a comprehensive look at the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, then we highly recommend you spend some time reading the article from Rolling Stone Magazine we have linked to. One of the best dissections of the epic tragedy created by both corporate and governmental incompetence, corruption, and general sleaze to be found anywhere to date."People are being really circumspect, not pointing the finger at Salazar and Obama," says Rep. Raul Grijalva, who oversees the Interior Department as chair of the House subcommittee on public lands. "But the troublesome point is, the administration knew that it had this rot in the middle of the process on offshore drilling – yet it empowered an already discredited, disgraced agency to essentially be in charge." It is as if the entire scenario had been orchestrated by Islamic radicals in the rat holes of Pakistan. If you are deluded about the current occupier of the White House's role in all of this, then don't read on or, Just click...
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
Royalty in the United Kingdom certainly has its privileges. Besides the cash for being in the royal gene pool, you get a ready audience for any stupid fancy you might wish to spout off about. Now the bonnie prince is telling anyone who will listen that the "Islamic" way of life will solve all the world's environmental problems. Did the fanciful prince ever think to ask the various women of the world living under the benevolent blessings of Islam what they think of his royal effluence? How peaceful and eco-friendly is it for the Prophet to marry a six-year old girl and then wait until she was nine to consummate the marriage? Sharia law is to live under the whim and wham and whip of Allah's will. Maybe the royal rube will change his Christianity to the great Islamic rule book? Just click...
| As the gulf coast waters slowly choke and die from the black ooze pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, more and more of the failures of both government and industry are becoming apparent. But few have asked the obvious questions as to why we are drilling at such dangerous and un-manageable depths when much safer locations are readily available. Just click... And click again... Meanwhile, the Beta Male occupier of The White House, is so obviously incapable of organizing a community of engineers or problem solvers to deal with the spewing banner marking the limits of our technological skills, that he resorts to the tried and true tactics of the neighborhood bully...looking to kick some ass. Mother Nature is kicking back and the target is the Ass-In-Chief. | ![]() ![]() Looking For Ass to Kick. |
It should be the duty of every citizen of this great land to focus their thoughts, at least briefly, on how their individual rights and freedoms are ultimately protected from enemies within and without. Being a free society, however, means that the duty I refer to is a voluntary one. And so during this Memorial Day weekend of festivities, we acknowledge the great debt all of us have to those men and women who have volunteered their services in the military, and in some cases given their lives to protect our constitutional rights of life and liberty in the pursuit of what makes us as individuals happy. Those warriors we speak of, who have given that last full measure of devotion to those principles exemplified in our constitution, have earned more than just this day to acknowledge them. Those of us who have benefited from their sacrifices should read again the words of Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC:
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows protesters to burn the flag."
And ultimately, it is the soldier, the law enforcement officer who protects our nation's patrimony. We salute you for your service.
My how times have changed. Magazine archives show us how some clever fellows thought they could get rid of those pesky eagles by constructing nets across the sky! Yep, you are reading this right. But in those days they also advocated shooting bald eagles to get 50 cent bounties on their talons. Take a look a these amazing sky fishing nets....thank goodness some Homo sapiens don't get their way. Just click...
The sad reality of the green movement is that they have no knowledge of physics. If they did, they would hate the math which constantly reminds anyone that regardless of their ideological desires for a grand peaceful green world, the energy required to keep things humming, simply cannot come (in sufficient quantity) from windmills, solar, or other alternative clean forms of energy to turf hydrocarbons anytime soon. Just click...
![]() If you have ever wondered if the plastic great-horned owl decoys that cost from about $20 to $40 have any positive affect on scaring pigeons...here's your answer. We have seen this type of scenario in many different areas. Pigeons aren't stupid, and quickly figure out they decoy is dead! Don't waste your money. |
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Our beautiful new Red-tailed hawk
pins are now available for the serious pin collector or
anyone who loves this Buteo. Buteo jamaicensis,
has been precisely sculpted and cast in fine pewter
(bottom), then gold plated (14ct) or exquisitely
hand-painted by George Harris. Just
click...
Prices range from $8-$26 and includes shipping and handling
to anywhere in the continental U.S.A. Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
The reality of who pays for all the benefits provided to conserving the environment and the creatures inhabiting same, is enumerated precisely in the following article. Again, don't be surprised, it is not the "birder" or "hiker" or "kayaker" or any of the other myriad of folks who benefit that pay for the environment they use. It is only one group that foots the majority of the conservation bill, and that group is declining in numbers. And the reality does not favor those who are "Earth Dayers." Just click...
Despite enormous amounts of hard facts about the confidence hucksters promoting the faulty theory of AGW, the hucksters continue to promote the lie. The American government is leading the charge with its absurd declaration that carbon dioxide is a toxic gas needing regulatory control by the EPA. Carbon dioxide, for those of you with no science comprehension, is the gas that plants utilize as fertilizer while producing oxygen for the rest of us to consume to fire our metabolic furnaces. Oxygen breathers cannot live without carbon dioxide. Full stop! Now, some bureaucratic monoculture directed by watermelonistas, will decide just how how much carbon dioxide is good for the rest of us? If that isn't anthropogenic global tyranny, then nothing is. Just click...
A pair of Alaskan bald eagles going through the amorous and dangerous talon grapple plunge to the earth suffered a crash when their hormones overpowered their altimeter judgment. You cannot defy sexual gravitas. Just click...
Whether you are a professional birder, ornithologist, causal observer, "twitcher", or just somebody who loves our flying dinosaurs, you should be aware of one of the great sites on the internet: E-Bird. Just click...
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card.
I
n May 2008 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) the 2007 Hopi Tribe eagle and hawk collecting reports. In 2007 the Hopi Tribe collected 36 golden eagles and 19 unspecified (red-tailed) hawks in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi’s reported take from 1986 to 2007 is 405 golden eagles, 154 red-tailed and other hawks. (This report will soon be updated for 2008 and 2009).
On February 26, 2008 Acting USFWS Director Kenneth Stansell issued a new permit to the Hopi Tribe for 2008. As in the past, the permits authorized the Hopi to take up to 40 golden eagle eaglets in 2008. The permit continues a limitation first imposed in the 2007 permit that limits the take of eagles by the Hopi to no more than 18 from Navajo lands.
Since 2003, the USFWS HQ in Washington, D.C., issues the Eagle permits. The Regional Office in Albuquerque issued a separate, new permit on March 31, 2008 for the Hopi to take red-tailed hawk nestlings in northeastern Arizona in 2008. The hawk permit limits the numbers of red-tailed hawks that can be taken to no more than 50. Previous permits did not limit the number.
The USFWS reports that the only permits issued in 2008 was to the Hopi Tribe. (In 2006 and 2007, the USFWS issued permits to Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico to capture up to 2 golden eagles in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, administered by the Forest Service; to Taos Pueblo to shoot one mature golden eagle on Taos Pueblo Tribal lands in Taos County, New Mexico and to Isleta Pueblo to take two mature golden eagles on Pueblo lands in Valencia and Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The USFWS reported on May 2, 2008 that Taos and Isleta permitees failed to file their collecting report as required by the 2007 permit).
The permits may not legally be used to take eagles or hawks within any area of the national park system except under 36 CFR 2.1(d) where such take is specifically provided for in law or as a treaty right. The 1999 Hopi attempt to take eagle nestlings from Wupatki National Monument in Arizona resulted in PEER’s scrutiny of the eagle-gathering permits. There is nothing new to report about the rule proposed by the Interior Department in January 2001 that requires that the superintendent of Wupatki National Monument, Arizona allow members of the Hopi Tribe, in possession of a USFWS permit, to take golden eaglets in the park. The rule has not been made final. However, the National Park Service (NPS) last wrote to PEER on March 27, 2003. The NPS stated that “…there continues to be no planned action related to this issue at anytime in either the near or far distant future.” To follow all the reports, just click... Remember, all these birds are being taken to be killed for the purpose of a "religious sacrifice." Welcome to the politically correct 21st century.
Thanks to Frank Buono for his continued efforts to follow this travesty and to keep us informed.
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March 8, 2010: Littleton, CO:
Audubon Society of Greater Denver's Master Birder Class enjoyed a 2
hr presentation by REF's Curator, Anne Price on bird
physiology. The featured birds, of course, were raptors.
And the twenty class participants got to inspect, discuss,
and dissect examples of what makes a bird unique in the
animal world. The dissection was performed on a
non-raptor species, while everything else included raptor
feathers, eggs, and a live Harris' Hawk model who patiently
preened and squawked in front of the admiring Homo
sapiens. The two hour course was a condensed version of the physiology class taught during REF's 16 hour Docent training classes. Topics included bird evolution, and avian anatomy and physiology. Denver Audubon and REF are looking to continue this program later in the year at REF's facility to include a full half day program, followed by some field work at nearby Barr Lake State Park. To see more from this class, just click... |
Despite all of the various revelations of fraud, fabrication, and fantasy by the Agorians in their pursuit of an AGW theocracy, the great and munificent climate prophet, Algore, may peace be upon him, is about to receive an honorary doctorate from his home state's university. Institutionalizing fraud on an international scale by government sponsored academia? Is anyone surprised? Just click...
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Migratory birds have long confounded everyone for their uncanny ability to navigate long distances with unerring accuracy. Scientists have now discovered what they think is the location of their built in magnetometers. Even chickens have the biological version of our GPS units. Swainson's hawks flying from Canada to the Argentine Pampas are a classic raptorial navigation story. Just click... Read this story, and then see if the term "bird brain" doesn't mean something else.
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February 22, 2010: Brighton-
Pack 861 members (left to right) Aaron Weil,
Trevor Beutner, Luke Davis and Michael
Corigliano deliver a pile of valuable gifts to our
offices: shop towels, paper towels, anti-biotic cream and
preparation H (no our birds do not have piles), and
antiseptic wipes. Prep H is used for foot treatment in
our dry climate. The scouts used this opportunity to
earn another badge. After a private VIP tour, the
young men gathered in our front office to pose with our 29
year old golden eagle.
Thanks gentlemen, and thanks to Debra Davis for organizing everything. Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
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New
arrival! February 16, 2010: Brighton- Our new White-tailed Hawk, ( Buteo albicaudatus ), arrived from the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. Locally endangered, this species is found only on the Texas coastal savanna and then further south into Central and South America. This raptor's long pointed wings give it a somewhat "Swainson's" appearance. It hunts small mammals and birds, usually while hovering or kiting high in the air. Currently, he will go into behavioral quarantine with our Curator for a few weeks, and then be introduced to some of our other buteos. Stay tuned as we publish more information on this beauty. Thanks to everyone from U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the CDOW, the Texas State Aquarium, and Continental Airlines for helping us acquire this bird into our collection. Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
Not that it will make any difference to the fraudulent cabal in the White House, but a senior scientist for the IPCC has now confessed to what rational people have known for quite some time, i.e., the AGW theory is a fraud. When you read the depth of the confession, you might wonder why in blazes the stupid politicians in America's government at both state and federal levels, are still pushing billion dollar solutions to a problem which does not exist. You might wonder why the American statist media are also fronting for the scam, while the British press is finally doing their due diligence. Wonder no more, the corrupt media and government collaborators will keep going if they think the public is asleep. Just click...
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card.
The largest falcons in the world, gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) have been found to be nesting in historic nest sites for 2,500 years. Coming back to the same site year after year, and generation after generation, researchers were shocked to find how far back some of these nests were dated. Some of the droppings at these sites are over two meters deep, and provided plenty of material for carbon dating the earliest inhabitants. Just click...
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Patrick Tidwell officially
ascended into the realm of Eagle Scout. Flanked by
his family at his January 30th ceremony, Patrick's eagle
scout project was the first one to benefit REF's new
facility in Brighton. Take a look at this young man's
achievement. If you think you have a scout who
might wish to take on an eagle scout project to benefit
eagles, contact us at 303-680-8500. Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card. |
Not only have researchers confirmed the existence of feathers on some dinosaur species, they have now discovered some of the color palette those dinosaurs displayed. This discovery also reveals something about the origin of feathers and the fact that they were not always associated with the ability to fly. Next time you see one of our raptors up close, you are actually viewing 100 plus million years of applied adaptations. Just click...
All of the world "greenies" should look carefully at the report following this introduction. The economic freedom index is a wonderful general indicator of the ecological health of our planet. Those at the top of the index (no longer the U.S. A. which ranks 8th.) are the countries most able to promote and create a healthy and viable environment. As you follow the list to the bottom of the index, you will find those countries that are the worst of everything. This includes countries whose economic ecology is so dysfunctional that they can barely or not at all even feed themselves. Zimbabwe is a classic lesson, going from riches to rags in a short period of time. None of the monocultural political ecologies is healthy. In fact, they are classic examples of a virulent parasite killing its host. The simple lesson is that nature is a real "free" marketplace, and the best any country can do is emulate the best aspects of this marketplace, while civilizing the wildest parts. The key to freedom is readily accessible amounts of affordable energy. Right now, that does not include wind, PV, or some of the other allegedly green technologies. The best options for the next two decades are still going to be black gold, black coal and demonic nuclear. The latter really holds the most promise, but it requires a scientifically literate cultural medium to grow in. One of the most exciting, yet older nuclear options is Thorium. For the index, just click...
Nine years ago REF President, Peter Reshetniak, had written about a natural solution to the energy challenges all of us face. Although it was not PC, this solution still stands as one of the most creative we have ever seen. We are offering that up again for all of you pushing "green energy" jobs. Just click...
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December 31, 2009: A bad New
Year for this male bald eagle. We received a call about the
bird after he was picked up by USDA agents who work the
airport. The bird was struck (on takeoff) by a
Southwest jet. Although the pilot was not sure if they
had a bird strike, they did call it in. The eagle's
left humerus was described as "exploded" by the folks
at the Birds of Prey Foundation in Broomfield where
he was euthanized. That type of break is impossible to
fix, and even in a facility like REF's one winged birds are
very difficult to manage under the best of circumstances. About a year ago, if you remember, an adult bald eagle was ingested by another jet taking off at DIA, which continues its record as the airport with the highest bird strikes in the country. With the thousands of Canada geese in the area, and lots of raptors hunting the airport's 50 plus square miles of habitat loaded with rabbits, geese, and other game, it is a wonder that DIA has averted a major tragedy. USDA officers are doing what they can to decrease the chances of such an incident by using a variety of mitigation techniques. Share | |
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Raptor Fulbright Report Lauren's story is now available for the rest of us...enjoy! 12/27/09: An avid falconer since age 14, Lauren McGough has always had a love of eagles and the world’s wild places. At 17 she traveled to Mongolia to hunt with the Kazakh eagle falconers. While studying at the University of Glasgow, Lauren began flying golden eagles on the moorlands of Scotland as well as discovering the unique tradition of eagle falconry on the European mainland. Recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma with degrees in Zoology and International Studies, Lauren is back in Mongolia on a ten-month Fulbright scholarship to apprentice under the eagle falconers of Bayan-Olgii. Eagle falconry is only one aspect of humanity's relationship with raptors that goes back approximately 5,000 years. Lauren will be bringing a contemporary look at this ancient tradition as it is practiced in one of the world's most remote and wild places. And as possibly one of the first women accepted into this traditionally all male activity, Lauren will have some unique observations to share with all of us. Lauren is pictured in Scotland after a successful hunt. On the right is Andrew Knowles-Brown. |
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
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December 6, 2009:
Arvada, CO; Shelley Doris (r) is recognized as
the Volunteer of The Year for 2009 during our 22nd
annual Volunteer Banquet. This is Shelley's third
consecutive award in REF's best of the best. We have a
fantastic group of Docents, and Shelley's 458 hours
contributed in multiple service categories set her apart
once again. As a special tribute to Shelly, REF was
pleased to provide her with a $200 gift certificate from our
new technology partner, Best Buy.
Anne Price, REF's Curator, presents the award to Shelley, who also acts as REF's Mews Manager and in conjunction with Anne both ladies are dedicated to insuring our thirty raptors get the best care and training possible. Our thanks are extended to Best
Buy's store 1134 at I70 and Tower Road. Please
stay tuned as more pictures will be published in the coming
days. |
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Raptor Credit Cards: If you are one of the millions of people who use credit cards wisely, then please use one of ours. Just by signing up and getting one of ours, your first purchase will generate $50 for the Raptor Education Foundation. Then, each time you buy something, we will receive percentage of your purchases automatically. What a great way to help REF keep its mission flying. And for those of you who want to design your own card with a special raptor image, just let us know what type of raptor image you want, and we will get that to you. Then you can design one of your own cards that also benefits our mission. We offer the Screech Owl, the Bald Eagle, and the Golden Eagle cards. Take a look at our other birds, and we will provide you a picture of your favorite raptor which you can use to create your own unique Raptor Credit Card. Or just let us know what your favorite raptor is, and we will make sure your favorite raptor is delivered to you to customize your own exclusive card. ContactUs |
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card.
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August 24, 2009: So what would happen if Black Bears decided that they could kill some little old lady that had been feeding them as a ceremonial tribute to their god, Ursus, as their ritual to show their gratitude for the food some kind and stupid Homo sapiens provide? Could the bears invoke their sovereign nation status as immunity for the murder? Could they hide behind the veil of their religious freedom to sacrifice one or two stupid Homo sapiens each year as a tribute to their god, Ursus? Well they could, but Homo sapiens would still kill the responsible bear, and any other bear that happened to be snacking on the remains of the dearly stupid Homo sapiens. How you decide to interpret the actions of the bear will certainly show your bias. Aren't you just a racist or speciesist as some say? Bears having rights to their own religious freedom? Are you insane? So what if America's eagles got together and decided that sacrificing a few Homo sapiens (American Indian babies in this case) each year is a right of their passage from fledgling status to the honorific of Adult Eagle? As eagles, do they not have sovereign nation status as elegantly described by Henry Beston? Does that not allow them to take such actions as they please? What's the death of a few Indian babies anyway? It's not like the eagles are using automatic weapons and killing hundreds of them... there are plenty of Indians around. Hell, those Indians would hit the warpath and certainly kill the offending eagle, and who knows how many more just to send a message. Stupid, right? Well that's what is being invoked by one Indian named Friday for murdering a bald eagle...its a right of his wonderful religious practices as a member of a sovereign nation. We say this is the height of barbaric insanity. And the Interior Department authorities continue to issue permits for this insanity, because they have become invertebrates before the god of "religious freedom." Just click... Follow this story in the pages of our web over the past years. What say you? Where are all the other "erstwhile" environmental or raptor groups/organizations hiding? Peter Reshetniak
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We copyrighted this back in 1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain. Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. |
Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the
way. Read what Bjorn Lomborg has to say in
"Cool It".
BL is the author and economist that Algorian's love to hate! Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. $3 each: Order Here. |
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
Support us every time you shop with our exclusive Raptor Credit Card.
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Patrick Tidwell, Eagle
Scout, finalizes his Eagle Scout project with REF as he
spends some time at a photo shoot with the eagle of his
choice to create an exclusive poster commemorating his
project at REF's new facility in Brighton, Colorado.
See Patrick's project
below.
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Since 1989 the U.S. Government has spent over 79 billion dollars on various aspects of the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Audits of the spending show that the dollars have been hugely wasted with no results that verify the theory. In fact the results are showing that the theory is full of holes. This is another Madhoff Ponzi scheme brought to you by all with vested interests in scamming your money. Just click... If you still persist in drinking the Algorian Cool Aid, then here is another study which provides further evidence that anthropogenic global warming is a hoax, or read what an Australian geologist says about fundamentalist environmentalism.
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
The federal government has completed an extensive court case against a Wyoming utility for the death of hundreds of eagles, hawks, and other raptors. The utility operates electrical transmission lines and had failed to update old fashioned power poles which were shown to be electrocuting a large variety of raptors when the big birds used the poles as perches. Just click...
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
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His Day of Many Proud
Accomplishments Memorial Day
Weekend Eagle Scout candidate, Patrick Tidwell walks along the new fence posts of his Eagle Scout project. It was installed with the help of 30 scouts, friends, and family. This is the first Eagle Scout project to benefit the Raptor Education Foundation at their new Brighton headquarters. Patrick's project was also the largest and most complicated project to benefit REF's operations over the past 29 years. Not only did Patrick and friends install a brand new 400 foot long fence along our frontage road, his organizational skills managed the entire project from starting at 08:00 hrs to cleanup and departure at 15:00hrs. Wow! Let's also not forget, that Patrick's proposal and planning document was the most comprehensive we have ever seen, and they threw in a thorough cleanup of our entire nine acre site just because a few of the scouts ran out of stuff to do. Thanks to Patrick, his immediate family, and his scouting family. All of us at REF are eternally grateful! Are you ready for an eagle scout project?
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30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95The current economic cycle brings a series of lessons which might instruct anyone paying attention to what is going on. One of the basic disconnects with virtually all economic theorists is still not being addressed in any substantive manner. One serious scientists brought his focus on economy and ecology back in 1933 at a time when America was in the midst of the Great Depression. That scientist was Frederick Soddy, the winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry (1921), and his book, Wealth, Virtual Wealth and Debt, is a brilliant look at our economic system. It offers much to anyone interested in such things, and it offers a way out of our current dilemma. This new section will address many of the issues that have come back to haunt all of us again. Just click...
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Carbon Pets
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30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
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With omega 3 fish oil finding its way into all kinds of food stuffs, fish breath is on the rise worldwide. The obvious answer is our brand new Eagle Mints. Our secret peppermint formulae handles the problem. The only mints that benefit eagles and all other raptors. The collector tins also have a multitude of secondary uses. Help spread fish free breath. Order our Eagle Mints today. |
A New Year's resolution could not be any better if it would simply serve to remind Homo sapiens of their own limits. To that end, one of our favorite authors wrote in The Outermost House:
"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."
Working with raptors for the past 29 years, many of us at REF have learned to acknowledge some small part of the quote above, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to remind other humans of this unconventional perspective about their momentary presence in this vast spinning, dancing, waving and pulsing universe. If unfamiliar with Beston, we urge you to make yourself acquainted with his perspectives. You will benefit yourself and all around you. Happy New Year!
And in the same vein about who we as humans are, science is rapidly seeing us in an entirely new light. "If you have gone through life blithely thinking of yourself as a "human being", then 2009 will bring the shocking news that it is time to think again. You are a "human-microbe hybrid" or "super-organism", dependent on a vast number of microbes that live in your body, do vital jobs for you, and both influence and provide unique indicators of your health....Their numbers are staggering: 100 trillion microbes live in the average human." * And only about 10 trillion cells are human, so Beston's quote above takes on another entirely more personal meaning. 2009 will be the year of the hybrid in more ways than Toyota can deliver.
*The Economist Magazine's The World in 2009
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
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We copyrighted this back in 1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain. Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. |
Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the
way. Read what Bjorn Lomborg has to say in
"Cool It".
BL is the author and economist that Algorian's love to hate! Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. $3 each: Order Here. |
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
![]() |
We copyrighted this back in 1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain. Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. |
Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the
way. Read what Bjorn Lomborg has to say in
"Cool It".
BL is the author and economist that Algorian's love to hate! Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. $3 each: Order Here. |
The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming. But Ayatoldyah Algore, the honorable eco-Imam gives us only ten years until the end. Who's inconvenient truth you gonna believe anyway? Sorry Al, please move somewhere else... North Korea would fit your style. Just click...
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
If you need the comfort of the crowd to make a decision, then you should take a look at the 31,000 American scientists who reject the Ayatoldyah Aglore's amazing Algorian climate changing algebra. He will not debate his wonderful theory with anyone, unless he can put them through his movie machine and do a mind-merge-meld, whatever. Just click...
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We copyrighted this back in 1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain. Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. |
Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the
way. Read what Bjorn Lomborg has to say in
"Cool It".
BL is the author and economist that Algorian's love to hate! Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. $3 each: Order Here. |
The despicably reprehensible sacrifices of live golden eagles continue to be permitted by America's federal government. Yep, you are reading it right! Killing beautiful golden eagles for the sake of some religious fairy tale. Our updated report from Frank Buono lays bare the facts of what has happened over the past few years. Your politicians continue to support this barbaric behavior (among others), because they are spineless to deal with what is done under the guise of religious freedom. Everyone, however, came completely unglued when a well known football player got caught killing pit-bulls that wouldn't fight successfully in the culturally justified "sport" of dog fighting. Where's the indignation, uproar, or disgust when another set of Homo sapiens kill golden eagles and other raptors for the sake of some culturally justified "religious ritual" ? We think these Homo sapiens deserve at least the same opprobrium for behavior that is equally barbaric and disgusting. Just click... Our thanks to Mr. Buono for caring enough to continue tracking this federally enabled barbarism, and politically correct brutality. Where do you stand?
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
Who? What? Good science is built on credible data and can begin to predict patterns based on data evaluated by the mind of a perceptive scientist. Well, Mr. K. Abdusamatov, Russian astronomer, has been collecting good data for years and he predicted that 3 years from 2005 the sun would reach one of its peak activity cycles and solar radiation gain on earth would begin to decrease. Basically, the temperature would begin to decline towards a cold period. Canadian scientists along with others are seeing more and more data confirming exactly that trend. We may in fact, be heading for the Maunder Minimum, a period of very cold weather that lasted about a century. Carbon dioxide has no relationship to these cycles, and neither do the hysteric predictions of hucksters like Imam Algore Ayatoldyah. Maybe Algore and his ilk should pay global warming reparations to everyone they have bamboozled over the past years? And here is more evidence of the possibilities of the coming of the new ice age.
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We copyrighted this back in 1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain. Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. |
Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the
way. Read what Bjorn Lomborg has to say in
"Cool It".
BL is the author and economist that Algorian's love to hate! Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. $3 each: Order Here. |
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
Senator, Public Servant James Inhofe of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works established his credentials as a respectable member of Congress by entering into our public record current and factual information concerning allegations of anthropogenic global warming. If you are a knee-jerk acolyte of Algore Ayatoldya, you will not want to read this, but if you suspect Algore and his ilk of running one of the biggest scams in recent history, then Inhofe's 2 hour speech will get your immune system inoculated against the viral hysteria permeating the public psyche. If you have sympathies for the environment, then you must have similar sympathies for the scientific method, and the application of common sense. Spend some time and read this speech. Here you have a public servant doing service for the public good. Just click...
30th Anniversary Savings for our exclusive license plates:$19.95
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We copyrighted this back in
1998, when our instincts knew the reality of anthropogenic global warming
was BS. In 2008, the numerous proofs of global warming, and its causes, confirm
our instincts- just read Unstoppable Global Warming-every 1,500 years
by Singer & Avery if you are still drinking the cool aid that the
Prophet Algore Ayatoldya is pouring into the public drinking fountain.
Otherwise, put this on your car's window and watch people's brains heat up. Rational people are waking up... this helps them on the way. Our self-sticking vinyl (4" x 5") slogan is supported by real evidence from all over the globe. Evidence, not consensus is what real science is all about. Visit our new section devoted to global warming issues ..just click $3 each includes shipping
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The Raptor Education Foundation is pleased to announce its exclusive carbon sequestration program for those individuals and corporations leaving large carbon footprints on the environment. Our program is unique, requires virtually no capital investment, and shows immediate environmental benefits. Just click...
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Crafts Gallery collectibles: Our brand new Crafts Gallery opens with truly unique ways to celebrate the beauty of raptors for any sincere raptorphile. Together with our new Arts Gallery, you will be seeing the finest in raptor art, brought together for you from all over the world. Visit our Raptor Collection and see what we offer. All revenues support our environmental education and research projects. |
Please visit our Raptor Collection Gallery for a rotating show featuring the peerless work of Louis A. Fuertes-arguably the best bird painter to come out of the American wildlife art movement.
| As a free service to interested parties, we post a Lost Bird Alert. This service is designed to get information about any lost bird species onto a public bulletin board so that the bird can be quickly re-united with its owner. REF assumes no liability for incorrect information submitted for posting, nor will REF act to recover, or take charge of any lost bird. Information will be updated daily, or more frequently as information reaches our offices. Posting deadline is 3:00pm MST M-F. | In order to facilitate rapid dissemination of this data to help recover any lost bird, please provide the following information: Your name and contact (phone, e-mail etc.), species lost, date lost and last known location, any hardware attached, i.e., federal or state bands (include numbers), transmitters, jesses, etc. Your name for the lost bird, if any, last known feeding time for the bird, any favorite foods, and any behavioral traits that might help recovery. |
Submit information for posting via e-mail.

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Last revised:
September 03, 2010