By Linda Winnie
Everybody knows the quick account of Flathead Audubon’s origins; first came the Bigfork Christmas Bird Count, which spawned the Bigfork Bird Club, which morphed into FAS. This month’s History Corner looks more closely at the first two steps.
In 1974 Ron Lang, minister of the Bigfork Community United Methodist Church, worked with friends to start a new Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Bigfork. Written records and interviews with FAS elders indicate that, in addition to Lang and his wife Linda, the following people were involved. These people who helped start the Bigfork Count would become the first leaders of Flathead Audubon three years later.
- Dan Sullivan, a good friend of Lang’s, ran a Yellow Bay cherry orchard with his father. He’d recently graduated from U of M, where his passion for birds was awakened in a class with well-known ornithologist, Phil Wright. Dan became the first FAS President and organized the first FAS newsletter.
- Karen Sullivan, Dan’s wife, worked with Lang as church secretary. Karen became the first FAS Membership Chair.
- Jean Robocker, a superb birder, operated a dairy farm with her husband near Egan Slough. She worked with the Girl Scouts, and had been on the FVCC Board of Trustees and the State Board of Education. Jean would be the compiler for many Bigfork Bird Counts, and would later take FAS nature education into local schools.
- Elly Jones, was a medical technician who often proclaimed she was “born with bird-itis.” She shared birding experiences with Phil Wright and, under his sponsorship, became a prolific bird bander. Elly was to serve as the second FAS Vice-President.
- Elmer Sprunger, nationally recognized artist known for his paintings of wildlife, was also a popular satirical cartoonist. Elmer served on the first FAS Board and designed our FAS Pileated Woodpecker logo.
- Jack Whitney, was a legendary Swan Valley woodsman, wood craftsman, and naturalist. A close friend of Elmer’s, he made the frames for Elmer’s paintings. Jack served on the early FAS Board.
- Rick Trembath, forestry technician for the Swan Lake Ranger District, had become interested in birds as a Boy Scout. Rick became the second FAS President and organized FAS programs and publicity early on, serving as a driving force in the chapter’s conservation activities.
- Nancy Paul, a Bigfork school teacher and Rick Trembath’s future wife, was the first FAS Treasurer.
At the potluck after the first Bigfork Count, the group formed the Lower Valley Bird Club, popularly known as the Bigfork Bird Club. Ron Lang served as President, and Club members took turns hosting the meetings. For two years (1975 – 1976) they met mostly monthly, heard speakers, shared bird observations, went on field trips together, started a library of bird related books that members could borrow, conducted two more Bigfork Counts, and began compiling information about the bird species of the Lower Flathead Valley. Club activities were publicized in the Bigfork Eagle, inviting others to join. The Club also sponsored an FVCC class on birds taught by Dan Sullivan, which brought in more birdy folks. “And the Club just kind of blossomed,” recalls Sullivan.
The Bird Club was popular and successful. Why then was it replaced by an Audubon chapter? For the answer, see next month’s History Corner, which will look at the establishment of FAS, and the related origins of Montana Audubon.