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Editorial: Independence Day July 2nd, 2006
Editorial: Once Again... June 25th, 2006
Editorial: Home Ownership June 24th, 2006
Editorial: Mosquito Control in Cedar Key May 11th, 2006
Editorial: Will Gas Prices Go Up? April 30th, 2006
Editorial: Tree Ordinance Violations April 26th, 2006
Editorial: Why Worry about Global Warming? April 21st, 2006
Editorial: The Purpose of Government? March 23rd, 2006
Editorial: Air Boat Regatta, Guests or Pests? January 29th, 2006
Editorial: The East-West Management Plan December 21st, 2005
Editorial: Water, Water, Water December 13th, 2005
Editorial: Bad News for Print News, Good for Online November 14th, 2005
Editorial: A Bad Tradition November 10th, 2005
Editorial: For the Birds October 17th, 2005
Editorial: If It Killed the River.... October 4th, 2005
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Editorial: State of the Birds | Editorial: State of the BirdsEditor State of the Birds Message Bird watching is a hobby enjoyed by an estimated one out of every four people, despite the worst intentions of Alfred Hitchcock. Some of those people are casual observers of back yard birds. Some bird watchers are obsessive, traveling great distances to see a rare sight such as a flock of Whooping Cranes. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar has issued a State of the Birds report that has both good news and bad. The status of coastal birds is of particular interest in Cedar Key which draws tourists in pursuit of one of our attractions - the birds. We may take our Brown Pelicans for granted, but thirty years ago they had become rare. Likewise, our Bald Eagles and Ospreys were in danger of extinction prior to the banning of DDT in the United States. Whooping Cranes are of special local interest. Establishment of a Gulf Coast migratory population is well under way, thanks to Herculean efforts by Canadian and U.S. ornithologists who rear and train young Whoopers to fly from Wisconsin to over-wintering sites in Florida. With recognition of conservation success stories like the return of Bald Eagles to Florida, consider shore bird species currently in danger. Red Knots depend on horseshoe crab eggs to fuel their long migration. Over-harvest of horseshoe crabs for pharmaceutical purposes has reduced the breeding success of the Red Knot by 82 percent. (This new value of horseshoe crabs illustrates the formerly unrecognized value of a marine species.) Habitat destruction to build condos on beaches has hurt other shoreline species such as Plovers and Sanderlings. Hurricanes, exotic mosquito borne diseases and rising sea level all afflict shore birds. Yet there is good news in the Department of Interior report. Several species of gulls are thriving. Garbage dumps are their buffet. In the past twenty years, Department of Interior programs have protected or restored 250,000 acres of coastal wetlands. Whooping Cranes, who depend on coastal marshes as over wintering grounds, have rebounded from 15 birds to 266 birds in seventy years. This recovery is proof that, with help, an endangered species can be saved. The next time special interests call for repeal of endangered species legislation please remember that these species can be saved, and the hospitality industry will benefit as well. |
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