Natural His‘mD; Sadat); news

MARCH MEETING: The March 4 meeting was held in the meeting room in the basement of the Health Building and proved to be one of the liveliest that members could remember. Rosemary Curley talked about the Owl Prowl she led in Bonshaw and the recent Environmental Network meeting in Hali— fax, where there were eight Islanders in attendance. Two delegates from P.E.I., Roy Johnstone and Gerald MacDonald will attend the Fate of the Earth Conference planned for this June.

Sue Stephenson, who wound up actually going on the train to Van— couver, told members about the Save South Moresby Caravan campaign, and relayed CNFls thanks for the Society's $100 donation.

The meeting took place just after the Fish and Wildlife Division had released excerpts of Anne Gallant's study on the feeding habits of double—crested cormorants on freshwater ponds. Randall Diblee, Water— fowl and Furbearer Biologist from the Division, came to the meeting to clarify his position and field questions. Some members agreed with his stand on allowing limited hunting of cormorants. Others felt there were too many questions left unanswered by the study. Nothing was resolved during the lengthy discussion, but both sides of the issue were dealt with (and will undoubtably be dealt with in the future). "

Although the meeting was running quite late, almost everyone stayed and were treated to Brian Herne's slideshow and talk on Arctic hares in Newfoundland. BrianSs expertise and humour combined into a most enjoyable presentation.

APRIL MEETING: The April meeting fell on April Fool's Day but luckily there were no practical jokes at the Health Building. Rosemary Curley told members about the projects that the Natural History Society is sponsoring through various employment grants. The Society will shelter all its events in 1987 under the Wildlife Centennial, and Dan McAskill, chairperson of the steering committee on P.E.I., asked for suggestions for special events. With the aid of other groups on the Island, Dan said the committee is hoping for one event every week.

Evelyn Meader gave an update on her work with the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain. Although she has been having some problems with the slow- ness of mail from the Coalition (and perhaps a lack of planning on their part), it was agreed that they are doing work on the issue and the NHS is the only group on P.E.I. supporting the national coalition. Members voted to pay the 1986 membership dues of $50.

Dan McAskill also has information on the 5th annual Canadian Nature Federation conferenCe, being held this year at Memorial Univer— sity in St. John‘s, Nfld. The conference will take place July 23—26 and offers a wide variety of events.

The cormorant issue reared its double—crested head again at the April meeting. The executive of the Society held a meeting on the subject and because of concern over a split in the membership, have decided to set up a committee to study the issue. A meeting was scheduled for March 22 for all interested members. 1

Sue Stephenson fielded questions about her journey on the Save South Moresby Caravan (see story on page three) and left everyone with a very positive feeling about the effort. The evening's feature speaker was Judy Kennedy, coordinator for the Breeding Bird Atlas. Her talk and slide show encouraged some members to sign up to cover parts of the Island. For more information on the Atlas, please see Rosemary Curley's article on page 9.