In 2008, at a Board of Directors meeting of the East Cascades Bird Alliance, Tom Crabtree mentioned that it would be nice if someone would create a state-wide online birding guide that could be continually updated and improved. Without any website experience, I meekly stepped forward and accepted the challenge of creating such a guide. It took two years and the help of over 100 people, but the Oregon Birding Site Guide went online in 2012. Revisions occurred sporadically until a complete overhaul in 2022 just in time for the unveiling of the new and improved East Cascades Bird Alliance website.
It’s important that the volunteers who made this guide possible are commended for their contributions to the Oregon birding community. Below are the names of the individuals involved in creating the original site guide. It’s been over a decade and I’m sure some names are missing so please email me if you note any omissions.
Carol Karlen†, Tom Winters, Dennis Vroman, Mike Denny, Merrylynn Denny, Hendrik G. Herlyn, Tom Nelson, Tom Snetsinger, John Notis, Johnny Sasko, Linda Fink, Randy Staffxord, Dave Lauten, Kathy Castelein, Tom Crabtree, Chuck Gates, Jeff Fleischer, Quinton Nice, Romain Cooper, Diane Cavaness, June Whitten, John Fitchen, Barbara Massey, Ron Maertz, Dan Heyerly, Larry Hammond, Don Sutherland, Steve Shunk, Ron Ketchum, Jack Turner, Liz Pusch, Barb Combs, Kimdel Owen†, Don Munson, Julie Van Moorhem, Kevin Spencer, Denise Hughes, Stuart Johnston, David Hewitt, Bob Archer, Scott Carpenter, Tom Mickel, Allen Contreras, Rudi Rudolph, Cindy Ashy, Darrel Faxon, Range Bayer, Joel Geier, Paul Sullivan, Greg Gillson, Dave Trochlell, Steve Dougill, Linda Smith, Matthew Schneider, Ed Mcvicker, David Mandel, Jack Hurt, Ilene Samowitz, Larry Goodhew, Cathy Nowak, Stefan Schlick, Doug Robberson, and Marcia Marvin.
In the fall of 2022, a new team was assembled to edit the site and migrate the data over to the new website. Many of these volunteers spent days or weeks updating the info on each county site. The results are dazzling. The names of the individuals on that team are listed below.
Michael Krall, Glen Lindeman, David Braunschweiger, Tim Shelmerdine, Nagi Aboulenein, Mike King, JoAnne Bernt, Chuck Gates, April Lauman, Melissa McDowell, Sheila Timony, Lora Minty, Sherrie Pierce, Ken Hashagen, Ron Maertz, Linnaea Basden, Darrel Faxon, Christie Galen, Skip Russell, John Kistler, Hilary Dearborn, Romain Cooper, Kay Carter, Bob Archer, Vjera Thompson, Tom Mickel, Susan Kirkbride, Mary Shivell, Shawneen Finnegan, Andy Frank, Bill Tice, Brandon Wagner, Jim Moodie, Ken Chamberlain, Aaron Skirvin, Rebecca Hartman, Jeff Wood, Paul Sullivan, Margaret LaFaive, Adam Light, John Pendleton, and Jill Punches.
Sheila Timony was the leader of the ECBA team, including Miriam Lipsitz, Amanda Accamando, Bob Sizoo, and Sherrie Pierce, who, along with the leadership of the ECBA Board of Directors, assembled the immense amount of information and resources on this new site. The web design team at Astir Agency, led by Timothy Jones, took this data and created a visually stunning website that is as utilitarian as it is beautiful.
To all the individuals mentioned above, on behalf of all of Oregon’s birders, I thank you for your efforts and selfless dedication to this project. To everyone who uses this site, I ask that you seek out some of the names in this document and let them know how much you were helped by its content and how much you enjoy the fruits of their labor. To everyone who helped with this project, you have my undying gratitude and respect. Now, let’s all get out there and find a place to go birding.
Chuck Gates – Creator and Editor of the Oregon Birding Site Guide
cgates326@gmail.com