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About GOAS > News
GOAS Launches Message Board Forums
The GOAS Board approved the development of an online message board this summer. The web address is http://forums-greaterozarksaudubon.org.
Some members have asked why we need a message board, when our GOAves email list has worked fine since we initiated it about ten years ago.
GOAves worked well when the number of participants was small. That number has grown to 50 or more folks. The primary shortcoming of GOAves is that all
personal email address book lists are not the same, and there is no way to ensure that every person that wants GOAS posts will get them without
a centralized forum. You can go to the forum to see what has been posted, or better, you can register to receive posts on topics of your choice.
You'll find GOAS Chapter announcements, bird sightings and photos, and field trip reports posted by our members. It introduces people to our chapter
activities where they can learn more about us by going to our web site.
Signing up is easy:
- Type or paste the message board internet address to your web browser: http://forums-greaterozarksaudubon.org
- Click on the "register" button
- Fill out the required information for which will include a username, your email address, and password
- Type in the text you see in the "visual verification" box. This is used to protect the message board from spammers
- Read the message board policy statement agreement, and if you agree, check the "I agree" box. Then you're done!
Go to the GOAS message board now, or
contact Drew Albert if you have questions
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Close Park Interpretative Sign Erected
Major Close donated land for Close Park and was involved with Springfield master gardeners and garden clubs for much of the planning and physical work at the park.
One day, he noticed GOAS birders, and asked Dorothy Thurman to make a census of the park's birds. The inventory, adopted as a project by the GOAS board, was conducted over three years, with a total of 102 species
recorded at the park. Mr. Close suggested that GOAS help design a "Birds of the Park" sign. Dorothy worked with several GOAS members on the content of the sign, including the habitat and food
sources actually present for bird species that utilize Close Park. The cost of the sign was split between GOAS and Major Close's park endowment. The City of Springfield will manage and
maintain future refurbishment of the sign, which is now installed. Congratulations to Dorothy and all who helped compile the inventory and research species and habitat requirements
that make the sign accurate and informative. Take a hike along the Close Park trails for a better look at the sign.
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GOAS Volunteers Planting Prairie Patches along Ozark Greenways Trails
From the Springfield News-Leader editorial section
When the first European settlers came to southwest and western Missouri, they saw sights that are
rare to modern residents. Among them: prairies that stretched for miles.
These seas of tall grass are not likely to come back anytime soon. But volunteers from greater Ozarks Audubon Society are doing their part to give us an idea of what we have lost.
Led by Kay Johnson, they are planting small patches along Ozarks Greenways trails in prairie grasses and flowers. Johnson says some of the plants will take a few years to bloom, but in
time walkers and bicyclists will be able to enjoy butterfly milkweed, pale purple coneflower, Missouri evening primrose, aster, and other flowers that once turned the state into a summertime
explosion of color.
But it will be just an inkling. With luck, the small man-made plots will encourage people to make a short drive to see real prairies that have never been touched by
the plow. The closest is at La Petite Gemme Prairie south of Bolivar.
This is part of our natural heritage, just as much as the dramatic hills and hollers that define the Ozarks. Prairies
ought to be treasured, preserved, and recreated. The Audubon Society deserves applause for its efforts.
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