2004 Keynote Speakers

Crossing the Digital Divide
Keynote Presenter: Arthur Morris
Sponsored by Canon USA, Inc.
Internationally noted bird photographer Arthur Morris will present an illustrated lecture featuring more than 300 of his spectacular digital photographs. Artie's work, which has long been noted for both its technical excellence and its artistic design, is seen in countless publications above his most-fitting BIRDS AS ART credit line. After using film with great success for nearly two decades, Artie crossed the digital divide in November 2002 on a trip to his beloved Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico and has never looked back.
Inspired by several of his students, Artie made the switch in a heartbeat and quickly discovered that using digital allowed him to expand his creative vision and to try new techniques that would have simply not have been possible with film. Using slow shutter speeds, often combined with flash, Artie began making images that were new and different and exciting. We will travel with Artie to San Diego, Tanzania, Kenya, Anchorage and Nome Alaska, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in NYC, Chicago, various Florida hotspots, and even to his younger daughter's wedding in Uzbekistan. A selection of books, prints, and photographic accessories will be available for purchase. To learn more about Arthur Morris and BIRDS AS ART, be sure to visit the website at www.birdsasart.com and, if you are at all interested in bird photography, do sign up for the free On-Line Bulletins.
ARTICLE — GALLERY — Festival Photography Workshops
www.cusa.canon.com
Nov 17, 6:00pm-7:30pm: BCC Auditorium; non-registrants - $10.00

Bringing Back the Whooper
Keynote Co-presenters:
Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Brian Johns, Whooping Crane Coordinator, Canadian Wildlife Service
Collectively representing 57 years in whooping crane research, Tom and Brian will describe the tremendous comeback the species has made and why it is considered a symbol of conservation in North America. Although whooping cranes have made remarkable progress, up from a low of 15 birds in 1941, the species still faces many threats.
Tom's talk will focus on the biology of the species, the current recovery program, and specific issues the cranes will have to overcome. A veteran of more than 600 survey flights to monitor the Aransas/Wood Buffalo flock on their wintering grounds in Texas, Tom has also spent time radio-tracking the cranes as they flew from Texas to Saskatchewan, and has migrated with the ultra-light crane project between Idaho and New Mexico.
Brian, who, himself, has logged over 1300 hours of aerial surveys over whooping crane nesting area in Canada's Northwest Territories, will tell us what summer is like for a whooping crane in northwestern Canada. In addition to the aerial surveys, he has been involved in egg collection and the banding of juveniles, and is currently involved in research and monitoring studies of whooping cranes on the breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park and along their migratory flyway. Despite nearly a century of effort to safeguard the species, the whooping Crane's environment is changing rapidly, keeping long-term survival a story with an uncertain ending.
ARTICLE By Jim Lewis - President, Whooping Crane Conservation Association
www.whoopingcrane.com | www.bringbackthecranes.org | www.pwrc.usgs.org | www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca | www.floridaconservation.org
November 18, 6:00pm-7:30pm: BCC Auditorium; non-registrants - $10.00
A special field trip with members of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association will leave at 6:00AM Saturday, Nov 20 to visit Overstreet Ranch and Forever Florida wilderness preserve to look for whooping cranes and other wildlife of Central Florida's prairies.

Florida's Fabulous Specialty Birds
Keynote presenter: Jeff Bouton
Sponsored by Leica Sports Optics
Florida plays host to a wide variety of bird species throughout the year. In spring and fall, thousands of migrant songbirds file through coastal dune scrub, mangroves, and interior woodlands. Shorebirds moving to and from wintering grounds fill marshes and line the shores of coastal lagoons, while migrating hawks, pelicans, wading birds and cranes sail high above. Florida is also an important area for wintering birds that breed all over North America. In the midst of this avian treasure trove are a handful of unique birds whose range in the United States is restricted primarily to Florida. Many of the birds on this list are species that visiting birders will often spend considerable time and effort to see.
While the thrill of the chase is quite exhilarating, birders also need to take extra time to educate themselves on the species they are observing and learn more about each of them, from identification and location tips, to natural history aspects, including breeding behaviors and habitat. In his presentation, Jeff will cover the above, as well as threats to the species, current research, and conservation efforts affecting the birds and their habitats. Enjoy a scenic tour through many of Florida's fabulous habitats as he tracks each of these birds. Regardless of skill level, this presentation is sure to offer something to anyone with an appreciation of nature and being in wild areas.
A resident of southwest Florida and an avid birder, naturalist and conservationist, Jeff is employed by Leica Sports Optics as Product Specialist for Birding/Naturalist Markets.
ARTICLE — Festival Workshops
www.leica-camera.com/sportoptik
November 19, 6:00pm-7:30pm: BCC Auditorium; Free

For the Love of Birds
Keynote presenter: Kevin T. Karlson
The world around us is changing in dramatic fashion, with the sport of birding following suit. This program takes both serious and light-hearted views of our relationship with the world of birds and examines some of the changes, good and bad, that have resulted from these interactions. It also takes a humorous look at changing lifestyles and habits of birders, and how the sport is evolving with modern technology. The program ends after journeying to several popular birding hot-spots, sharing birds, history and scenery that make them memorable. This program is appropriate for birders and non-birders of all skill levels, with a mix of an opening environmental message, humor, serious bird-related history and an assortment of stunning bird photographs.
A partner in the international birding tour company, Jaeger Tours, Kevin has been a wildlife photographer for 24 years and active as a birder for 26 years. In addition to his photography, Kevin authors numerous articles on birds, from advice on good locations to see and photograph them to insights on natural history. He recently signed a contract with Houghton Miflin Publishers to produce a book called The Shorebird Guide, with co-authors Richard Crossley and Michael O'Brien. This comprehensive field guide, due to be released in 2005, will contain almost 700 photos and outline a simpler method of bird identification for beginners and experts alike.
ARTICLE
www.jaegertours.com — Festival Workshops — Festival Seminars
November 20, 6:00pm-7:30pm: BCC Auditorium; non-registrants - $10.00

Tourism With Natural Appeal
Keynote Presenter: Herb Hiller
In the mid-1980's, tourism viewed conservation as the enemy. The prevailing attitude among attraction promoters was that "the tree-huggers" were just looking for a way to shut tourism down.
Earlier this year on the eve of what promised to be the biggest summer season in Florida history, some 25 environmental and growth management leaders attended a workshop in Tallahassee where Visit Florida laid out a new conservation-supportive marketing program. Though still sketchy, the program aims to direct visitors not only to Florida's emerging year-round big city downtowns, but also to rural communities and promote the recreational trails that increasingly connect Florida's downtowns and small towns across conservation lands. Nothing like this has happened before. A Visit Florida vice-president said the new "Downtowns & Small Towns" program was "one of the first times that tourism is really connecting with what's happening in the state." 1000 Friends of Florida Executive Director Charles G. Pattison sees the campaign taking the pressure off threats to lands the state still wants to protect. He said, "We see tourism as a new land-use planning ally."
So, what changed in the last decade?
The Brevard Nature Alliance is pleased to present noted Florida tourism critic and author Herb Hiller. Herb's new book, Highway A1A: Florida At the Edge, closely tracks the new conservation-driven changes in tourism and anticipates what's next. Visit Florida Executive Director Bud Nocera calls the new Downtown & Small Towns campaign a "five-to-10-year program with lots of legs and a lot of entities not traditionally in tourism marketing." You'll call Herb's new book for University Press of Florida (pub date spring of '05) a "must read" for telling the truth. No one who's alive and conscious in the Sunshine State can help but have a love-hate relationship with Florida. Join Herb to find out where you and your organization fit into this new, exciting and hopeful "big picture" of Florida tourism.
ARTICLE
www.floridaattheedge.com
Nov 21, 2:30pm-3:00pm: Ace of Hearts Ranch; Free

Golden Wings
Keynote Presenter: Pete Dunne
Once upon a time, there was a boy who climbed Swede Hill and discovered a bird he thought was dead that burst to life at the touch of a finger - an event that transformed the earth.
But what about heaven?
You are invited to join Master Storyteller Pete Dunne as he recounts and celebrates the life and achievements of his friend and one-time World Series of Birding team-mate, Roger Tory Peterson. Perhaps nobody but Pete Dunne could weave so much fancy and so much insight into so rich a tapestry. Or, as Field Guide and Author Kenn Kaufman said of the story: "These words are golden." Join the "Bard of Birding" (Wall Street Journal) and hear them firsthand.
Pete Dunne is Vice President of Natural History Information for the New Jersey Audubon Society and Director of the Cape May Bird Observatory. He is the founder of the World Series of Birding and author of several books, including Tales of a Low Rent Birder, The Feather Quest, and The Windmasters.
ARTICLE — Festival Workshops
www.njaudobon.org/centers/cmbo
Nov 21, 3:00pm-4:00pm: Ace of Hearts Ranch; Free

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