October 26, 2004

Idaho Bird Observatory Director Greg Kaltenecker Receives State Environmental Educator Award

Greg Kaltenecker, director of the Idaho Bird Observatory, releases a Ruby-crowned Kinglet from a mist net at an IBO research site at Lucky Peak east of Boise. click image to see full size Greg Kaltenecker, director of the Idaho Bird Observatory, an education and research unit of Boise State University, has been named an Environmental Educator of the Year by the Idaho Environmental Education Association. Kaltenecker was one of three Idaho educators who received the 2004 award. He was cited for his work at the IBO, a non-profit observatory that conducts long-term monitoring of hawks, owls and migratory songbirds along the Boise Ridge, a major flyway used during migrations. Education is a key component of IBOšs work, as volunteers and school children are introduced to and involved in hawk counts, songbird mist-netting and forest owl research. The IBO was co-founded in 1993 by Kaltenecker, who earned a masteršs degree in raptor biology at Boise State, and by biology professor Marc Bechard after it was discovered that the Boise Ridge supports one of the largest known concentrations of migrating raptors and migrating songbirds. IBOšs main site is located on Lucky Peak east of Boise, where autumn migration studies are now under way. According to Kaltenecker, the IBO is currently developing a year-round environmental education program that will work with local schools and make use of several natural areas. Other 2004 awardees are Renee McNally, a teacher at Lena Whitmore Elementary School in Moscow, and Robert E. Beckwith, a science teacher at Mountain View High School in Meridian. Each winner received a certificate, a scholarship for professional development and a lifetime membership in the IdEAA. The IdEAA is a non-profit organization that promotes and supports education about Idahošs environment. It coordinates a network of model schools, facilitates professional connections among environmental educators, and presents the annual Idaho Environmental Education Summit. -30- Contact: Greg Kaltenecker, Idaho Bird Observatory, gkalten@internetoutlet.net  Donny Roush, Idaho Environmental Education Association, (208) 232-5674, donny@idahoee.org  Media contact: Janelle Brown, communications and marketing, (208) 426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu