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Editorial: Endangered Species -- May We Ask Why? May 2nd, 2007
Editorial: Editorial: a Free Press April 21st, 2007
Editorial: Airboat Noise April 7th, 2007
Editorial: Another Delay in Dock Repair March 5th, 2007
Editorial: Are Some Technological Wonders Economically Impractical? February 27th, 2007
Editorial: Editorial: Weakest Tax Link Examined December 22nd, 2006
Editorial: A New Year`s Resolution -- For the Levy County Commission December 10th, 2006
Editorial: Political Tides November 17th, 2006
Editorial: Blue Pencil Needed on Levy County Budget October 30th, 2006
Editorial: Fiscal Incompetence? October 2nd, 2006
Editorial: Paddlers May Get Hit in Pocket September 18th, 2006
Editorial: Time for Another Cedar Key Tea Party? August 30th, 2006
Editorial: Automotive Turning Point August 11th, 2006
Editorial: Are There Limits to Southern Hospitality? July 24th, 2006
Editorial: Armadillos and Anthros July 9th, 2006
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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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