3.17.06

Fellow Activists:

Thanks to an incredibly generous donor, RMAD and Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project have received a Boulder home for resale. We are hosting a work party this Sunday at 10 a.m. to get this place tidied up for resale. The location is 4712 Edison Lane, Boulder (http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=4712+Edison+Lane,+Boulder,+CO) and the only catch is that no one over 18 is permitted to help due to liabilities. If you do not meet this requirement, however, feel free to bake vegan goods for the workers. (I like cookies, thanks.) More info in the calendar.

On behalf of RMAD, I’d like to repeat my thank you to everyone who attended the Boulder City Council meeting on March 7th. It was enough to move at least one council member to contact us shortly after the meeting to continue the discussion. He was extremely moved by the outpouring of support and emotion for prairie wildlife. If you weren’t able to attend the meeting, well, let’s just say that our young speakers had much of the crowd in tears with their earnest pleas to honor the rights of Colorado’s native wildlife. Good work, everyone!

Some big news from our good friend Barbara Bear: Hi there all you compassionate people! It's time to collect your spare change and put it to good use. That's right: it's time for the second annual Change for Change Drive! Last year we collected $1000 and aired 70 PSAs promoting vegetarianism on MTV in Boulder and Fort Collins. If you haven't had a chance to see Compassion over Killing's powerful ads, you can check them out at: http://www.cok.net/feat/mtv2006.php. And, as an added extra, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense's name and logo will be added to the end of the PSAs this year for some local exposure for this hard-working group. The VERY EXCITING NEWS is that Scott Plummer has stepped up to offer a $500 matching grant to get this thing rolling! All we have to do is match that $500 and we'll be up to the same amount we raised last year!

More exciting news is that this year we will have raffle prizes. For anyone who donates $25 or more, you will be entered in a raffle to win: a $25 gift certificate for VeganEssentials.com a $25 gift certificate for Tsing Tao Chinese Restaurant a $25 gift certificate for Boulder's Vegetarian Co-op Market Last year, there were 12 people who donated to the cause, so you can see your chances of winning are very good! Even if you don't have $25 in change, please consider donating. Every drop in the bucket helps put an end to animal suffering. Compassion Over Killing says their TryVeg.com website hits go up by double, triple and sometimes even quadruple when these ads are on the air. And people respond with quotes such as: "Holy crap! I just saw your TV commercial about not eating meat and am now trying to become vegan. What an effective commercial! Thank you. I'm going to share this information with all my friends."

So, whether you have a change jar that is about to overflow, or just want to collect your spare change for the next few weeks and donate it to the cause of lessening animals' suffering, it is all much appreciated! I'll be collecting change through the end of March so we can air the PSAs by mid-April. You can take your spare change to the bank, then simply write a check made out to "C.O.K." and send it to me at: Barbara Bear, 2113 Walnut St. #8, Boulder, CO 80302, or you can take your spare change to: Three Little Figs Market, 2793 Iris Ave., Boulder.

With the warmer weather comes a rush of phone calls and heavier flow of emails. The more active bird population and the more visible destruction of prairie wildlife spurns citizens to take action, calling RMAD for help. The past two weeks we’ve answered a handful of inquiries dealing with birds (large and small), nearly two dozen prairie wildlife inquiries, six companion animal inquiries, and a slew of miscellaneous animal-related issues. We answer the phone whenever possible and always return calls so we can empower grassroots activists to take charge.

We have many projects going on, both small and large. Our vegetarian starter kit is being packaged up to go to the printer and soon after we’ll be taking that information and turning it into the electronic version, VegColorado.com. We’ll also be starting work on a Colorado-based youth publication. We’re tentatively planning a collaborative movie showing and panel or two as well, so stay tuned.

Our interns from CU are assisting us in numerous ways, including preparing a mailing for local real estate and property management companies to help them humanely tackle pigeon issues. Our interns are extremely passionate about animal issues and providing a much-needed perspective for us. They’ve helped us establish a position with CU PAW (Partnership for Animal Welfare) titled “Community Liaison,” which will better facilitate communication between PAW and the local animal advocacy community.

Thank you to everyone who has been writing letters, clipping newspaper article, attending protests, and helping in so many other ways. Your time and efforts are truly appreciated.

As always, if you want to get involved in any of our work, let us know!
- Chris