If you feel helpless to deal with the threat the Gulf oil spill poses to the common loon, Minnesota’s state bird, you’re not alone.  You’re also not alone if you wonder what you can do about it — besides driving less, and generally using less petroleum.

Minnesota DNR is taking one step.  Working with the feds, DNR will put transmitters on three Minnesota loons next month, part of a larger study that is taking place also in Wisconsin.  This will allow researchers to follow the migratory movements of Midwest loons. The preliminary results will show up next spring — and the loons too, we hope.

The ways Minnesotans in general can help are not directly related to the spill — but by helping monitor and protect the health of loons, we can help indirectly.

Minnesota DNR needs volunteers to survey specific lakes in Aitkin, Crow Wing, Itasca, Kandiyohi, and Lake counties for this year’s annual loon survey (July 2th-12th).  Contact the DNR Regional Nongame Wildlife staff.

Using lead-free sinkers can also help reduce loon mortality.  The DNR has information here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 1:15 pm by Dave Dempsey, Conservation Minnesota and is filed under Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.