Cutright, Quad 30 Campaign a success 

Dr. Noel Cutright, senior terrestrial ecologist-Environmental, fulfilled a dream that many colleagues told him was impossible. This past June, Cutright completed his Quad 30 Campaign, a celebration of his more than 30-year involvement in running North American Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS).

To celebrate, Cutright conducted 33 BBS routes in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin from May 30 - July 1, and raised nearly $37,000 for bird conservation. The money raised will be used for the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative's Important Bird Areas program to protect essential habitats for bird breeding, feeding, wintering or migration.

"I wanted to do this to raise awareness of the value of long-term bird monitoring projects, like the BBS, and the critical need to do more for bird conservation," Cutright said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine completing all 33 routes consecutively, with all the potential pitfalls that are out there -- rain, wind, impassable roads, car problems, oversleeping and others."

The BBS roadside routes conducted by Cutright are part of a federal program started in 1966 to monitor the status and trends of North American bird populations. The survey relies on participants skilled in bird identification to complete the 24.5-mile routes. Every half-mile, birders stop for three minutes to record every bird seen or heard within a quarter-mile radius. Surveys start 30 minutes before sunrise, must be done under suitable weather conditions and take nearly five hours to complete. Learn more about the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

mbm