Important Bird Area

I've long been a critic of National Audubon's Important Bird Area, or IBA, program. I was a critic even while serving on the board of Audubon Pennsylvania, that state's state-level project. IBAs, in my view, amount to little more than fund-raising tools and have little to do with real, on-the-ground conservation. Ownership of the land is important, yes. But of greater importance for wild birds, is what kind and quality of habitat exists on the land.I post this photo I took in Plattsburgh, N.Y., as a bit of IBA satire. Nothing more. Think about it for a moment though, and you can't help but wonder just how much of built-America is destined to look like this once the realities of Peak Oil really hit society.