Fifty years ago Spokane became the smallest city to host the World’s Fair and the first to adopt an “environmental sustainability” theme. That theme was a natural in the ‘70’s with the creation of Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency, and so many new environmental protection laws (Endangered Species, Clean Air, Clean Water acts, etc.). But it was also controversial among some local Expo ’74 planners who wanted to promote the Spokane area for business and avoid focusing on environmental woes. When construction and development for the fair along the Spokane River in downtown Spokane was seen by some as threatening to displace yellow-bellied marmots, one planner scoffed “Who cares about those damn birds, anyway?!”

For hundreds of years, birds have been considered stupid and incapable of advanced thought or learning; this is why the phrase “bird brain” is commonly used to denote persons who are dolts or simpletons. Kim Adelson, a retired college professor and currently president of the Black Hills Audubon Society chapter in Olympia, Washington, says birds don’t deserve this bad reputation and are in fact NOT less intelligent than mammals.

“What’s going on at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge?” presented by Molly Dixon, Turnbull Wildlife Biologist. Before Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge was established in southwest Spokane County in 1937, the land had been altered heavily. Wetlands were drained, forests were logged, and grasslands were heavily grazed.