|983 CNF 
     
     CON FERENCE 
     
    
   
   
    
     BIRDS OF A FEATHER . 
     
     by Dan McAskill, Donagh 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     For those of you who were fortunate enough to attend the CNF Conference in Sack- 
     
     ville in August, this phrase will bring back special memories of new friends found. 
     
     The Organizing Committee issued name plates with various birds colored on them 
     
    

    
     and then, during dinner, the birds of a feather flocked together. The idea worked 
     
     very well and the various tableshad peOple from locations scattered from western 
     
     Canada to St. Pierre to the United States. 
     
    

    
     A report that would do credit to the sessions in the brief space allocated 
     
     would be impossible, but I will attempt to provide you with an overview of the 
     
     presentations which I found particularly enjoyable. The opening series of present- 
     
     ations on estuaries was very well integrated and started with Dr. Bob Stephenson 
     
     describing the simple food webs of estuaries. Dr. Donald Gordon then described 
     
     the Fundy'Tidal Projects and their probable environmental impacts on intertidal 
     
     sedimentation, the shad fishery, and water levels in the Gulf of Maine. The impact 
     
     that tidal power in this area could have was driven home byPeter Hicklin's present- 
     
     ation on the feeding behaviour and concentrations of shore birds (especially the 
     
     semi-palmated plover) in the Bay of Fundy, and by Dr. Michael Dadswell's presenta- 
     
     tion on the critical role of the upper bay in the shad and sturgeon feeding behav- 
     
     iour. 
     
    

    
     The Annual Meeting saw the election by acclamation of the nominees for the 
     
     directors. CNF's stance on bilingualism was discussed and some moves toward improVe- 
     
     ment were made. CNF will work in close liason with a Quebec federation of 25 groups 
     
     which has received federal funding for publication of a French language magazine 
     
     similar to Nature Canada. The number of French offerings in the CNF bookstore will 
     
     be increased, and the first presentation of a resolution in French was given. 
     
    

    
     The major resolutions passed at the meeting promoted: 
     
    

    
     a) the establishment of a conservation management area in the Yukon Territory; 
     
    

    
     b) the identification and census of Piping Plover nesting areas and the develop- 
     
     ment and implementation of protection programs for them; 
     
    

    
     c) theimplementation of management plan development work and the protection of 
     
     ecological reserves in New Brunswick; 
     
    

    
     d) the establishment of an active environmental education program in New Brunswick 
     
     schools. 
     
    

    
     For a complete review of the resolutions refer to the next Nature Canada. 
     
    

    
     This first day of the conference, although rainy, came to a close with clearing 
     
     skies, a lobster and steak supper, a field trip on which 10 short-eared owls were 
     
     seen, and then a lively square dance. For those with real stamina, Bert Crossman 
     
     led a sing—song 'til the wee hours of the morning. 
     
    

    
     On the second day, I found the presentations to be especially captivating: 
     
     Tony Lock on coastal seabird population trends, Martin Thomas on the Saint John 
     
     River, Bruce Smith on mussel farming, Scott Kraus on the Right Whale in the Gulf 
     
     of Maine, Ian McLaren on vagrant birds in Nova Scotia, and Freeman Patterson on 
     
     nature photography. A steaming platter of cultured mussels enticed the seafood 
     
     lovers on the afternoon break, thanks to Bruce. 
     
    

    
     The formal presentations of this conference came to a fitting conclusion with 
     
     Freeman Patterson's exquisite slide show, “Namaqualand, Garden of the Gods". 
     
    

    
     The New Brunswick Federation of Naturalists is to be congratulated for organ— 
     
     izing such an excellent conference. We all look forward eagerly to the next CNF 
     
     gathering in British Columbia in July, 1984.