Thomas Patrick, WindStar Wildlife Institute

WindStar Wildlife Institute.

WindStar Wildlife Institute is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization that works to stem the loss of native plants, wildlife, and wildlife habitat by effectively teaching wildlife-habitat improvement practices through proven methods such as "neighbor helping neighbor" and "education through demonstration." In short, we help people establish or improve the wildlife habitat on their property through environmental education programs and publications.

Founder and President.

Envision, research, create, write, and edit our award-winning "WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly" e-magazine; photograph wildlife (including feeder birds at our 23 feeders, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and butterflies) through my office window and on WindStar's four-acre demonstration wildlife habitat; plan and write the curriculum for our new Master Wildlife Habitat Naturalist e-Learning certification program; create new areas in our four-acre demonstration wildlife habitat; plan new publications in our 37-pamphlet series entitled "Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Habitat"; evaluate and fine-tune our Certified Wildlife Habitat Naturalist e-Learning program; create the next presentation for delivery at an upcoming national conference; and pull my hair out because of computer problems.

47.

The wildlife in our demonstration wildlife habitat. People participating in our environmental education programs. Individuals seeking information, wanting help in attracting more wildlife to their properties and solving habitat problems. People inquiring about our environmental education programs. Magazine, newspaper, and cable editors wanting interviews for features or resource information. Wild-bird store owners wanting information on our certification programs -- especially wanting to find out how they can become Certified Wildlife Habitat Naturalists and tell their customers how they can certify their habitats through WindStar's American Wildlife Habitat Registry Program.

The bureaucracy in all government agencies -- state, federal, and local.

Some individuals in these same government agencies.

I was born in Carroll, Iowa, and grew up on a small farm near Coon Rapids. After getting my BA from Drake University, I worked as a photojournalist and editor at The Des Moines Register, wire services, and other Midwestern publications before moving to the Washington, D.C., area in 1972. I now live with my wife, Georgia, in an earth-sheltered, passive solar home near Myersville, Md., which was once featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics.

Attending the Coverts Program workshop sponsored by Maryland Cooperative Extension and the Ruffed Grouse Society. I learned about forest and wildlife habitat management under the direction of Jonathan Kays, regional natural resource specialist. After participating in this program for a year, I founded WindStar Wildlife Institute.

While working as a photographer for the Associated Press, one of my eyeglass lenses fell out while I was running through a muddy farm field to reach the scene of an airliner crash in Iowa and the lens was run over by a state police car. It was extremely difficult to take photographs with one eye closed, and after a while, everything became blurry.

A pile of volunteer applications that need to be sorted, resource material for the next issue of "WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly" e-magazine, a dozen resource books for planning this spring's projects in our demonstration wildlife habitat, a copy of Birding Business magazine, and plans for constructing an outdoor workshop shelter.

The Bush administration's wholesale rollback of environmental regulations and safeguards that took decades to enact. I spend hours every day scanning and reading magazines, newspapers, wire service reports, websites, email newsletters (such as Daily Grist), and listservs. If people only knew the magnitude of environmental rollbacks and destruction of wildlife habitat being done in the name of "energy" and political payoffs, they would be appalled.

My grandmother, Maud J. Cretsinger, who lived in a log cabin near Coon Rapids, Iowa, was a naturalist before the word was coined. She taught me about the wonderful world of Mother Nature, including gathering hickory nuts and black walnuts in the fall, picking mushrooms in the spring, identifying woodland wildflowers and trees, providing for birds and small animals in the winter. She also taught me to be quiet and observe, and she gave me an appreciation for books and poems dealing with nature.

George Bush/Dick Cheney.

Not recycling because there is no pickup program in my county.

Ford Ranger pickup and John Deere Gater 6x4 (usually with Burt and Rosie, our Norfolk Terriers).

Private Lives of Garden Birds by Calvin Simonds, Adventures With a Texas Naturalist by Roy Bedichek, Living on the Wind by Scott Weidensaul, Animal Talk by Tim Friend, The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum, and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, mixed green salad, chocolate cake, rolls, milk.

Yes. I read three daily papers -- USA Today, Frederick News-Post, and Hagerstown Morning Herald. I scan Environmental News Service, ENN, Daily Grist, Society of Environmental Journalists, and Garden Writers Association daily email newsletters. I receive about a dozen other email newsletters and subscribe to about two dozen magazines. I watch CNN and local Washington network television stations.

I'd rather be with Mother Nature's critters than people.

WindStar Wildlife Institute's four-acre demonstration wildlife habitat.

I would transform all the "lawns" in this country to beautiful natural gardens with ponds and native plants.

Never.

Sometimes.

Anyone who can beat Bush/Cheney. It looks like Kerry has a chance.

Yes, I'm an environmentalist because I care about our natural world and about preserving it. I recently read a definition of environmentalist on an Internet site that appealed to me: "A freethinker and cares about the health of our planet. Usually an intellectual and almost always a nice person. Open-minded and caring about others as well. Often they volunteer to make the world a better place. They believe in protecting our natural beauty for our future generations. Environmentalists are a gift from God!"

Some groups resorting to violence, radical viewpoints, and destruction of property.

The "all or nothing" approach. There are two sides to every environmental situation.

One word -- communication. More than 66 million Americans feed, watch, and photograph wildlife and they spend about $40 billion annually on these activities. We need to reach more of these people and not with radical viewpoints or we will lose them. But we can educate them. And the more they learn about the natural world, the more convinced they will be that it is worth the effort to save and protect it.

Buddy Holly then, George Strait now.

It was West Wing until recently. Now it's CSI.

Both. I use one monitor and keyboard with computer selector switch. But my first love is the Mac.

Send a donation to WindStar Wildlife Institute so we can create a much wanted and needed national e-learning youth program that would educate kids on the need to protect wildlife and establish/enhance wildlife habitat.