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About LCBAS

In May 1965, local birders formed the Tri-Cities Bird Club and completed a census in an area that had been originally surveyed in 1908. In June, the group voted to apply for chapter status with the National Audubon Society. The next January (1966), they participated in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, using a count circle that we still survey today. About a year later (February 1967)  we received our National Audubon Society charter and became an NAS chapter.

Connect with LCBAS and other local birders:

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Birding on Bateman Island
Join us to watch, enjoy, and learn about birds!

  • First Saturday monthly bird walks on Bateman Island (September - June). This walk is perfect for birders of all ages and abilities. We have binoculars for you to borrow, if you don't have your own.

  • Fourth Tuesday Monthly meetings (September - June, excluding December). Everyone is welcome, members and non-members alike!

  • July Birding Challenge - a friendly competition between birders in Benton and Franklin Counties to see how many birds we can find during the month of July.

  • Christmas Bird Count (around Christmas time each year) - we count all the birds we can find in the Tri-Cities over a 24-hour period.

Birding on Bateman Island

Conservation & restoration accomplishments

  • Saved Leslie Groves Park from development (1986)

  • Restored shrub-steppe habitat (ongoing since 2006) along Harris Avenue in Leslie Groves Park North in collaboration with the Columbia Basin Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society.

  • Prevented dams on the Columbia River (Ben Franklin Dam, June 1968) and the Palouse River (Little Palouse Falls, 1987)

  • Instrumental in efforts to preserve the Hanford Reach as a Wild and Scenic River (1987) and as a National Monument (2000).

  • Spawned multiple local conservation groups: Tapteal Greenway (1992-94), Friends of the Mid-Columbia Wildlife Refuges (1997), Friends of Badger Mountain (2005, in conjunction with the Intermountain Alpine Club).

Columbia River view to north to White Bluffs

Columbia River - Hanford Reach

Rattlesnake Mountain by Heidi Newsome
Advocacy accomplishments

  • Active member of the Washington State Audubon Conservation Committee (WSACC) which advocates for sound environmental policies across the state

  • Obtained recognition for the first Important Bird Area (IBA) in Washington, the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (1999). We have also obtained recognition for two other IBAs in our area: the Hanford Reach IBA and the Yakima River Delta IBA.

  • Currently advocating for land along the Columbia River to remain under Army Corps of Engineers control rather than being developed by local governments (ongoing).

Rattlesnake Mountain

Education accomplishments

  • Publish and regularly update the Birds of the Tri-Cities checklist and Annotated checklist of the Birds of the Tri-Cities

  • LCBAS member Howard Ennor wrote 337 articles for the "Bird Lore" column in the Tri-City Herald (debuted in 1980)

  • Sponsored Junior Audubon clubs at local elementary schools

  • Organized birding trips throughout the US and international destinations, including Costa Rica, Peru, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Australia.

  • Shared our knowledge and love of birds with people at elementary schools, scouting groups, and community events

LCBAS Bateman Island bird walk with boy scouts

Birding on Bateman Island

Sagebrush Sparrow - LUmthun
Science accomplishments

Sagebrush Sparrow - Larry Umthun

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