The Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation is raising funds for an Adirondack Loon Center in the Tri-Lakes Area.  Dr. Nina Schoch, Coordinator of BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, believes a physical Loon Center will strengthen and expand her organization’s capacity to conduct its scientific research, education, and outreach. Schoch expects the Adirondack Loon Center will be a year-round educational and economic presence.

Plans for the Center include office space for staff; an education and outreach area for visitors, with interactive displays about loon natural history, behavior, and conservation; a conference room for educational and training programs; and a gift shop selling loon-related items to support local artisans and the Loon Center itself.

Supporters are invited to become founding donors of the Adirondack Loon Center by making a contribution at www.adirondackgives.org before the campaign ends January 19. To date, the Adirondack Gives campaign has reached nearly a third of its initial $5,000 goal.

“We’re making excellent headway in our plans to revitalize a storefront in Saranac Lake,” said Schoch. “We will be partnering with Adirondack Lodging and Trails to share space in the Madden’s building on Main Street. It is anticipated that a minimum of $130,000 will need to be raised for renovations, rent, and to purchase equipment and furniture. Thus, we are reaching out to the community to help make this exciting vision a reality.”

All supporters of the Adirondack Loon Center prior to its opening will be recognized on the Founding Donor Recognition Wall at the Center, with the option to remain anonymous. In addition, donors of $100 or more will receive a beautiful 8×10” loon photograph; $500 or more will receive a copy of Kip Taylor’s out-of-print book, Loon; $1,000 or more will be invited on a personal outing with one of the Center’s staff to observe one of our study loons on an Adirondack lake; $10,000 or more will be recognized with an individual plaque on the Founding Donor Recognition Wall; and $25,000 or more will have the opportunity to name a room at the Loon Center in their honor or in honor of a loved one.

The mission of Biodiversity Research Institute is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance environmental awareness and inform decision makers.

For more information contact adkloon@briloon.org or (888) 739-5600 x145, visit www.briloon.org/adkloon, or like BRI‘s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation at www.facebook.com/adkloon to stay updated about BRI’s Adirondack loon research and outreach efforts.

Photo of a loon turning an egg on a nest provided.