SAVE International at Hushan Campaign Office-Meilin Village near the Hushan Dam site.
On the evening of 12 June 2007 members of SAVE International met up with representatives of a number of Taiwan NGOs near the Hushan Dam site. SAVE International is an Earth Island Institute project and was founded in 1997 as a volunteer group of professors, students, and staff from the University of California, Berkeley and National Taiwan University with the mission of saving the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor from extinction.
Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)
With SAVE International having successfully worked in Taiwan on the Black-faced Spoonbill issue for the past decade it was felt that SAVE may be able to help with ideas concerning the Fairy Pitta-Hushan Dam issue.
Members of SAVE included local members from National Taiwan University and Dr. Randy Hester and Barbara Butler from UC, Berkeley. Calvin Wen represented Green Party Taiwan and TEAN. Also present were Jacob Chang and Fountain Chiu of TEPU, Chen Ching-Chun of the Wild Bird Society of Yunlin, Mark Wilkie of Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, and some local residents.
Huben
The following morning Randy Hester, Barbara Butler, Calvin Wen, and Fountain Chiu met Mark Wilkie and local bird guide, Chang Ah-kai, for an early morning viewing of the Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha .
The swallow-tailed butterfly (Byasa impediens febanus)
After good views of a pair of Fairy Pitta the group had a short meeting which was followed by a trip around the Huben area and a viewing of the Hushan Dam site. Dr. Randy Hester, Barbara Butler and Calvin Wen then went on to a meeting with Yunlin County Magistrate, Su Shih-feng.
(Article and photos by Mark Wilkie)