We had a little thunderstorm pass through around 9:00 AM, and the rest of the weekend looks very fine, if the forecast holds.
Our redbuds are starting to bud, and the sarvis is showing some white tips. We’ve also seen the first butterflies, Blue Hairslips and several different angle wings that were gone too fast to reliably identify. The birds seemed happy this morning, and I imagine there are some warblers around, although I haven’t had time to sit down and look for them. The birding reports on the GABO list indicate that there are still many migrants passing through our area. If the weather would just cooperate so people could get out there, there probably would be a lot more reports.
The passage of S.47, the Land and Waters Bill, is a huge win for conservation. You can read about it here.
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/bha_celebrates_public_lands_bill_s_passage_into_law
It is a very strange fact that although it was overwhelmingly passed, the bill does not actually require the funds to be spent, and in fact, much of the money that has collected in the fund over the years has not been allocated by Congress. (Less than half of the $40 billion that has been generated by the fund, in fact.) Conservation advocates acknowledge that passing a bill that would require it to be spent would be a longer and harder lift, but that is the next goal to work towards. Oh, the wonderful ways of our wonderful Congress!
Here’s some more background, including an explanation of the allocations.