A proud and happy day for loon-dom
April 2nd, 2008 | by Andy Published in Wildlife
It was announced yesterday that the Minnesota state bird is receiving a 1.8 million dollar inheritance. Retired schoolteacher Iva Weir vacationed often here. Apparently, often enough to become quite attached to the estimated 12,000 loons that inhabit Minnesota’s waterways. Having lived frugally, she donated all her cash savings to the Minnesota chapter of The Nature Conservancy. $1 million has already gone towards several wilderness areas; the remaining amount is likely to also go towards acquiring lands to be protected.
The donation is the largest donation towards a single species that TNC has received in the state. I hope it only encourages others to more often ‘adopt’ wildlife and wild places. Any takers on helping recover our dwindling moose population?