RJ Hughes, President

Richard, who everyone knows as RJ, worked for the US Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. He recently finished his dog year (7 seasons) as a forest fire lookout. His career afforded him many opportunities for observing wildlife of all kinds. In 2007, he retired and got serious about birding. He enjoys birding with the local Red Cliffs Audubon and on his own. He led several field trips for Audubon and the St. George festival. He has enjoyed living in the St. George area for 29 years.

Paul Hicks - Vice President

Paul Hicks is an avid and experienced birder who recently retired to St. George with his wife Colleen to be near grandchildren and take in Southern Utah’s excellent birding. He has been birding since age 13 and learned to recognize birds by their vocalizations before his first pair of binoculars. He has birded in 30 states and 15 countries on 4 continents with extensive birding in southern Spain. “I love to teach people to bird-by-ear,” says Hicks. “Becoming attuned to the sounds of nature opens a whole new world of enjoying and appreciating God’s incredible creation.” Before moving to Southern Utah from Olympia, Washington, Paul was a frequent field trip leader for church groups and Black Hills Audubon and instructed several birding-by-ear classes.

Paul Jaussi, Secretary

Paul was introduced to birding in college when he first saw a Western Tanager through a pair of binoculars and was hooked. That event started a passion for birding that has followed him throughout his life. While a native of Utah, he lived in Oregon for 22 years where he helped grow the Friends of the Refuge for the newly founded Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, serving as both as a Board member and Vice President for several years.

He is a Manufacturing Engineer by profession with both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Brigham Young University.

He and his family recently moved to St. George where he quickly discovered the wildlife diversity of the area. His reason for volunteering with the Audubon is to give back a little portion to the birding community of what he has received from so many in the past.

Bill Griffiths - Treasurer

Two important influences affected me growing up in Las Vegas.  At a young age, I was “exposed” to photography since my father was a very good amateur photographer, winning many awards in local contests.  I also made annual summer trips to northern Utah (Brigham City) to spend a week with my Grandparents.  My grandfather would always take my sister and I to visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.  I found out that I loved nature and really loved birds.  A few years later, in pursuit of my Eagle Scout Badge, I earned two Merit Badges – Photography and Bird Study.  And what am I still doing 60+ years later…taking photos of birds!

Valerie Jueschke, Director

As a young girl, it was bird song and calls that first attracted Valerie to birds.  And trees.  Climbing them enabled her to find nests and a loftier view of the world of birds. While living in New Zealand later in life it was the night songs and morning chorus that so fascinated her.  Even the magpie seems to sing a different tune there.  Being the only country with a balance of land, sea, and freshwater birds New Zealand gave her never-ending pleasure with kiwi, tui, bellbird, albatross, blue penguins, and a visit to Tiritiri Matanga Island where unwanted predators have been eradicated and rare native birds such as the kōkako and the takahē (once thought to be extinct) survive and thrive in restored habitats within regenerating native forest.

Having taught school for 25 years to include children and BYU students led Valerie to work with St George City Parks Department in their programs for children to learn about birds.  Each year around 1000 children participate in the field trips at Tonaquint Park.  Valerie volunteers as a board member with Red Cliffs Audubon and enjoy backyard birdwatching along the Virgin River where we live in Washington City.

Cordell Peterson, Director

Cordell began his varied career as a biologist in a less-than-traditional way — the US Navy. Cordell retired from his Chief Warrant Officer post after having experienced a wide range of ecosystems; woodland of the east coast, the deserts of the Kofa and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, the Sierra Nevadas, and a tourist climb of Mt. Fuji, Japan.
Cordell began his interest in biology with a plant course at Utah State University, then more related courses at the University of Utah. A geology course there led him to St. George where he attained an Associate's and Bachelor of Science degree before working for a private contractor doing baseline survey field-work for the Washington County Conservation Plan for Desert Tortoise and the Bear Claw Poppy. He also participated in Mexican Spotted Owl surveys on the Cedar Mountain and Escalante areas of the Dixie National Forest. Cordell aided in the early scoping phase meetings that ensured what is now Red Hills Parkway in St. George met Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan approval. He also monitored Desert Tortoise during Red Cliffs Desert Preserve's power line construction project.
After private work, Cordell was hired by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a technician within the Cedar City Office's non-game section. Work for the Division consisted of Ferruginous Hawk nesting surveys, winter raptor counts, threatened prairie falcon surveys along with trap/relocation projects, bird banding, and bat mist-netting throughout Southern Utah (including the baseline survey for Grand Staircase National Monument).
Cordell's dedication to the fauna of the region continued after leaving the Division, and he's been a volunteer for wildlife ever since. With the help of his partner Sandy, Cordell continues the Filmore (Sevier Desert) winter raptor count surveys for the DWR. Hawkwatch International established a survey route in Enterprise to monitor wintering raptor population fluctuations that Cordell began assisting with in 2014.
More recently, Cordell has led raptor field trips for the Red Cliffs Audubon. He also participated in a recent Short-eared Owl Landscape Survey by Hawkwatch, in partnership with Red Cliffs Audubon and members of the DWR team.

Joseph Platt, Ph.D., Director

Joe Platt is an ecologist based in St. George, UT. He has spent more than thirty years in environmental work in Arctic Canada, Arabia, East Africa and throughout the US. He has extensively studied nesting behavior of protected species and been an active bander of raptors and numerous shorebird and passerine species. Along with over a dozen published peer reviewed scientific articles and three book chapters, he has presented scientific papers in 13 countries.

He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Peregrine Fund and the World Center for Birds of Prey. He also served on

the editing board of the Journal for the Raptor Research Foundation and a member of the California Burrowing Owl Consortium.

Joe is a graduate of Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and received his Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Donalda Day, Director

Donalda Day has always had an interest in nature, curious to know the name of a mountain or insect she was looking at, the type of rock she was holding, or what kind of tree she was standing under. So, in 1979, when a western tanager landed on a branch outside her kitchen window, she rushed out to buy a field guide and has been hooked on birds ever since. Born and raised in Southern California and living in San Dimas where she first saw the tanager, she joined the Pomona Valley Audubon Society where she was membership chair, field trip leader, and served one year as president. Her next stop was the Eastern Sierra area in California and actively birded there. She has traveled to Costa Rica, Colombia, Texas, and Arizona on birding tours and birded Europe, Peru, Galapagos, eastern Australia, the Caribbean, and Alaska while on family vacations. She particularly enjoys watching and studying bird behavior and answering bird questions from family and friends.

Phil Ertel, Director

Phil began his birding life when first seeing a crow in his yard in Kentucky at a young age and marveling at its size. He became a serious birder while living in Dayton, Ohio after visiting and volunteering at the Aullwood Audubon Center. He was also involved with the local Dayton Sierra Club chapter. Phil expanded his birding experiences by moving to Rapid City, S.D. adding Western birds to his life list. After a brief time in Ft. Smith, AR, Phil moved to St. George when his wife, Susan, was offered a teaching position at what was then Dixie College (now Utah Tech University). After retiring as owner of his stained glass business and from teaching philosophy part-time for the university in 2020, he began to regularly attend the weekly birding walks and volunteered for the Planning Committee for the 2023 Bird Fest. He is presently the Chair of the Planning Committee for the 2024 Bird Fest.