Birds and Brews 21+: Bill Rapai and Noble Stein Brewing Company

Enjoy beer brewed locally by Noble Stein Brewing Company from Indiana, PA and hear author and bird enthusiast Bill Rapai’s presentation The Kirtland’s Warbler: From the brink of extinction to a new model for endangered species conservation.

The Kirtland’s Warbler is an iconic species in Michigan, nesting primarily in the jack pine forests of the northern Lower Peninsula. As recently as 1987 there were fewer than 400 birds in the entire population. Today, there are more than 4,000 birds, and the population continues to grow to a point where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined its population is now at a level to be considered “recovered.” In October 2019, the Kirtland’s Warbler was removed from the Endangered Species List.
That’s a reason to celebrate, but it doesn’t mean we can wash our hands and walk away because conservation of the Kirtland’s Warbler has special challenges. Unlike every other animal that has been removed from the Endangered Species List, the Kirtland’s Warbler will require continued human intervention to ensure its survival.

Bill Rapai is the author of The Kirtland’s Warbler: The story of a bird’s fight for survival and the people who saved it. He is the executive director of the Kirtland’s Warbler Alliance, a nonprofit created to support Kirtland’s Warbler conservation.

Visitors are expected to adhere to the public health guidance and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh procedures in place at the time of their visit.