MARIPOSA — Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation organization founded in 1947, has a singular mission: “…the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.”
Dedicated solely to wildlife and habitat conservation and to safeguarding North America’s biodiversity, Defenders holds a vision of diverse wildlife populations that are “…secure and thriving, sustained by a network of healthy lands and waters.”
Mariposa native Pamela Flick, now Defenders of Wildlife’s California representative based in Sacramento, will return to her roots Thursday, Dec. 10, to present an illustrated overview of Defenders at the monthly program of the Yosemite Area Audubon Society (YAAS). The presentation will be held at the Mariposa Methodist Church at 6th and Bullion streets in downtown Mariposa beginning at 7 p.m.
Pam’s slide talk will provide Defenders’ perspectives and positions on both national and state issues, then zero in on issues of likely interest and concern to residents of the greater Yosemite area. Her presentation will highlight national forest management issues, Pacific fisher/Great Gray Owl roadkill incidents, limestone salamander protection, and the proposed enlargement of Lake McClure and potential rollback of the Merced River Wild & Scenic River designation, among others.
With more than 1.1 million members and supporters nationally, Defenders of Wildlife promotes protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.
“We protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and promoting innovative solutions – and this approach makes a lasting difference for wildlife and habitats,” says Pam. “Defenders employs science, public education, media, legislative advocacy, litigation and proactive on-the-ground solutions in order to prevent the extinction of species, loss of biological diversity, and habitat alteration and destruction.”
Pam works on a wide variety of issues for Defenders’ California program, including federal land management with an emphasis on Sierra Nevada national forests, and advancing conservation of carnivores, birds and amphibians, including the Pacific fisher, San Joaquin kit fox, gray wolf, California Condor, Burrowing Owl, Yosemite toad, and Sierra yellow-legged frog.
Pam participates in the Dinkey Landscape Restoration Project on the Sierra National Forest – one of the initial 10 projects launched under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program – and co-leads the fire policy and communications/outreach work groups for the collaborative. She is a member of the Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher Working Group and co-chairs its Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Subcommittee, also known as the Sierra Yosemite Road Ecology Team.
Pam currently serves on the advisory board of Sierra Forest Legacy and the steering committee of the Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council. She is a member of Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders Alumni Advisory Group, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wolf Stakeholder Working Group and the Western Section of The Wildlife Society.
Pam formerly served on the board of directors for the Sierra Nevada Alliance, advisory board of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument campaign, executive committee for Tahoe Council for Wild Bears and the Ocean Communicators Alliance steering committee, including co-chair of the media working group for the California Public Ocean Awareness Campaign launched in 2006.
Prior to joining Defenders in 2005, Pam worked to protect the Golden State’s public lands and rivers as communications coordinator and administrative director for the California Wild Heritage Campaign and administrative director for the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign. She began her career in environmental conservation in 1997 with positions in Friends of the River’s volunteer rafting program and membership department.
Pam graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Sacramento with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biological Sciences. She also holds associate degrees in Biology and Liberal Studies from Sierra College.
Like all YAAS programs, Pam’s presentation is open and free to the public, although donations to defray program costs and to support the chapter’s local activities are appreciated.
Call (209) 742-5579 for more information about the program.
YAAS also invites area residents to participate in the 116th annual National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count during the holiday season. Begun in 1900, this birding tradition now takes place between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 in more than 1,500 locations throughout the Americas. Dates for local counts are Friday, Dec. 18, for the Oakhurst CBC; Saturday, Dec. 19, for the Mariposa CBC; Sunday, Dec. 20, for the Yosemite CBC; and Wednesday, Dec. 30, for the Merced National Wildlife Refuge CBC.
Visit www.yosemiteaudubon.org for additional information, including the contact person and meeting location for each count and a listing of other nearby CBCs.
Similarly to Defenders of Wildlife, the mission of the National Audubon Society, the namesake of noted 19th-century naturalist and bird painter John James Audubon; its state affiliate, Audubon California; and local chapters such as the Yosemite Area Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
