Program Night: AlTo in Indonesia: New Life for the Maleo Bird

We are pleased to welcome as our June speaker, Marcy Summers, Director of the The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation ("AlTo" for short), a new, non-profit international partnership based in the Pacific Northwest.  Marcy has a Master’s in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine and worked for ten years for The Nature Conservancy, most recently as Senior Consultant to TNC in the Asia-Pacific Program.  It was while she was living in Indonesia that she ‘discovered” Tompotika and its wonders.  

Mount Tompotika is situated at the eastern tip of the central arm of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia and is surrounded on three sides by tropical areas.  Half its vertebrate species are found nowhere else on earth.  This area is a refuge for dozens of rare and endangered species, marsupial cuscus, huge hornbills, troops of tailless macaques, and a dwarf buffalo called the anoa.  Tompotika is also home to one of the last communal nesting areas of the endangered maleo bird, a cultural icon of the Sulawesi people and whose population has declined by 90% in recent years.

AlTo is dedicated to conserving the rich and unusual biodiversity of the area around Mount Tompotika, Sulawesi, Indonesia.  At this evening's program, Marcy Summers will present photos and stories of the group's successful collaboration with indigenous people of the area to reverse the decline of the endangered maleo bird.  She will also discuss other unique and endangered wildlife of the native rainforests and coral reefs of the Tompotika area, as well as AlTo’s successful efforts to conserve it using both long-time “tried-and-true” strategies (such as education and ecotourism) as well as innovative new strategies (such as moratoriums and art exchanges).

Please join us Thursday, June 28 for Marcy’s captivating presentation on the rescue of the maleo bird.  Come at 6:30 for the social hour.  Enjoy a brief monthly meeting and refreshments from 7:00 to 7:45, followed by Marcy’s presentation.

The social hour, meeting, and presentation are free and open to the public.  Invite a friend or anyone who wants to know more about the Maleo success story in Indonesia.

Directions: Take I-405 exit 18 (NE 85^th, Kirkland).  Drive west on Central Way to 3^rd St. (stoplight). Turn left (south) on 3^rd St. and follow it as it bears left and changes name to State St.  Turn left on 4^th Ave S.