KRP in the NEWS and Elsewhere

BOOKS    MAGAZINES     NEWSPAPERS    RADIO     TELEVISION    VIDEOS

Summary:

The Kern River Preserve and Kern River Valley continue to receive extensive coverage in many media sources. Efforts of Kern River Preserve staff have resulted in exposure many books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and television. A new chapter in Brad Schram's book A Birder's Guide to Southern California, in Huell Howser's program California Gold, in Brighthouse Network's series  in John Kemper's Birding Northern California book, national exposure on NBC's Today Show and in Audubon magazine, and excellent California coverage in the Los Angeles Times, in the San Francisco Examiner, on San Francisco's KGO Radio, and on Fresno's KMJ Radio.

The hottest topic has been media stories about the popular Hummingbird and Turkey Vulture Festivals.

The second hottest topic was the groundwork laid for the Audubon-California initiated January-June, 2000 Cal-Poly, Pomona planning project "A VISION FOR THE KERN RIVER WATERSHED: An Ecological and Economic Strategy." This project aims to lay out a framework for a leading-edge national model for developing mutually supportive and beneficial environmental/quality of life protection and economic development.

The American Birding Association (ABA) released a video on starting and promoting birding festivals highlighting the Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival.

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Books:

The second edition of Brad Schram's book "A Birder's Guide to Southern California" contains a chapter written by Bob Barnes on birding the Kern River Valley. The Kern River Preserve is finally recognized as one of California's premier birding locations. The chapter on birding eastern Kern County by Keith Axelson was also reprinted. Congratulations to Bob and all of the birder's who benefit from his extensive knowledge of this area's bird diversity.

The Kern River Valley is highlighted on the back cover of John Kemper's Falcon Press Birding Northern California book. "Between these covers you'll find the land of redwoods, Lake Tahoe, and the Sierra Nevada, Monterey, Big Sur, Yosemite, the Kern River Valley, the parks and bays of San Francisco, and lots more. In the text itself, Dr. Kemper writes, "Kern River Valley must be counted as one of the best birding sites in California because of its diversity." Since its release in March/April, 1999, several visitors have come to the Preserve and Valley based on the book's recommendation including three separate couples from the United Kingdom. As reviews of the book, listing on web sites, and wide distribution to bookstores in the U.S. and abroad occurs, it is expected that the number of birders to visit the Kern River Valley in general and the Kern River Preserve in particular will increase dramatically in 2000 and 2001. Staff of the Kern River Preserve served as the local contacts for Dr. Kemper during the research phase of his book preparation.

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Magazines:

In 1999, Audubon published an article on the Kelso Creek Sanctuary of the Kern River Preserve.

Alaska Airlines: We were interviewed by a freelance writer for an article on bird migration. The article appeared in the October, 1998, issue of the airline’s in–flight magazine, Alaska Airlines. 45,000 copies were distributed for multiple readings on all Alaska Airlines flights during the month of October, 1998. Several paragraphs were devoted to Audubon California, the Kern Valley, the Kern River Preserve, and bird migration through the southern Sierra/Kern River watershed area.

In 2004, Birding published an article written by Bob Barnes and Bob Steele on birding the Kern River Watershed. Visitor's from all over the world have traveled here as a result.

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Newspapers:

Kern River Preserve press releases and contacts resulted in articles that appeared in, among others, the Bakersfield Californian, Kern Valley Sun, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Examiner. Articles included those on controlled burns for habitat restoration, the Spring Nature Festival, Turkey Vultures, the Vulture Festival, and  Audubon's watershed planning effort meant to mutually benefit the economy and environment.

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Radio:

In 1999, Kern River Preserve press releases and contacts resulted in interviews including those by  San Francisco's KGO and Fresno's KMJ.

In 1998, Reed Tollefson, Manager of the Kern River Preserve, was interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR) on the subjects of Turkey Vultures and the 4th Annual Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Festival. The program was evidently heard around the U.S. as a spin-off interview on the same subjects was given to a Cincinnati, Ohio, country/western radio station by Bob Barnes, Audubon California’s Director of Outreach for the Kern River Valley.

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Television:

Huell Howser's Special on Audubon California's Kern River Preserve in Autumn 2006. Bob Barnes introduced Huell to this wonderful valley and he immediately fell in love with the place. One of our bird feeders, Chloe Kennedy was interviewed along with an excited Marcela Freerks (our former SCEP employee) photographing her first bobcat.

In 1999, National Audubon Society, Kern River Preserve press releases and contacts resulted in stories on NBC's Today Show (Willard Scott) and television stations in Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo. Mr. Scott promoted the Kern Valley Vulture Festival during a weather segment on Wednesday, September 22nd.

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Videos:

#1. In 1999, the American Birding Association (ABA) and National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) produced a video promoting birding festivals throughout the United  States. The Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival was selected as one of two–four festivals to highlight. Arrangements for the videographer’s April 1998 field visit was coordinated by Audubon California, the Kernville Chamber of Commerce, and U.S. Forest Service.

#2. The Jackson County, OR, School Service District (serving three Oregon counties) came to the 1997 Kern Valley Vulture Festival as part of a video project on Turkey Vultures. The completed twenty minute video’s last five minutes feature the Vulture Festival and Kern Valley Vulture Count. The Kernville Chamber of Commerce is listed in the credits at the end of the video.

#3. In summer 2008, Coneflower Productions filmed Black-chinned and Anna's Hummingbirds for a new series due out in late 2009 or early 2010 for Nature with a working title of "New Discoveries in Hummingbird Science".  They have been filming hummingbirds around the western hemisphere since March 2008, so far they have been to British Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Peru and Dominica. They will continue filming in North Carolina, Chile, Venezuela and Brazil.

#4. In Autumn 2011, Out and About with Roger Martin filmed a segment on Audubon Kern River Preserve's annual Fall Nature and Vulture Festival. Vulture Count co-founder, Sean Rowe, and Outreach Director, Alison Sheehey were interviewed.

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