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Fw: Re: U.S. plans to net Canadian falcons - draft letter




-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Mortimer <mortpm@NBNET.NB.CA>
To: NATURENB@hermes.csd.unb.ca <NATURENB@hermes.csd.unb.ca>
Date: November 9, 1999 10:53 PM
Subject: Re: U.S. plans to net Canadian falcons - draft letter


>David Christie <MarysPt@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote, in part
>
><<Don McAlpine got the address for submitting comments on the proposal to
>net up to 250 Peregrine Falcons for falconers. Comments should be sent to:
>Chief, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
>4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 634, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Since this
>coming Friday is the deadline, fax (703-358-2272) or e-mail to George Allen
><george_allen@fws.gov> would be more timely than regular mail.>>
>
>Here is the draft of my letter. I have tried to be civil and factual.  If
>you like anything I have come up with, feel free to use it in your own
>letters.
>Any comments?
>Is my idea of capturing birds before migration starts, unworkable?
>Any errors of fact, or additional points I could include?
>How many years have the falcons been here?  Jim W., is it 5 years?
>
>
>
>Dear Mr. Allen,
>I am writing to register my extreme displeasure at the recent news that the
>U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given notice of intent that it is
>developing a plan to allow falconers to capture Peregrine Falcons. I read
>that falcons would be netted along the Eastern Seaboard, possibly in
>Maryland, and then sold to people who use the birds for hunting.
>
>I understand that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service intends to try to make
>sure only birds from the Canadian Arctic and Greenland are caught in their
>mist nets, but are you aware that biologists have caught some falcons
>sporting identification bands from the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick
>and P.E.I.) only a short distance from the site of the proposed operation?
>As you know the Peregrine Falcon is still on the list of protected species
>in Canada.  If any of 'our' birds are taken for these recreational
purposes,
>it will have a significant effect on our recovery program, since there are
>only 10 breeding pairs in the Maritimes.
>
>I am a member of a naturalists' club here in New Brunswick, Canada, and our
>club has actively participated in the recovery of the Peregrine Falcon
>population in eastern North America. We have kept a close eye on a pair of
>falcons who have returned year after year to a ledge under a bridge across
>our city's harbor, our members have helped build the nest platform, worked
>with the Canadian Wildlife Service and the New Brunswick Museum, and
>fostered an excellent working relationship with the Harbor Bridge Authority
>to ensure that nearly constant bridge maintenance and repainting are
carried
>out with a minimal effect on the birds and do not disturb their nesting.
The
>falcons have successfully raised broods from this nest just a few feet
below
>a busy roadway, and they (or at least, a pair) return every year.
>
>If the planned capture of birds in migration proceeds, I believe there is a
>high probability that 'our' birds may be caught in 'your' mist nets.
>Professional ornithologists at the Canadian Wildlife Service share this
>opinion, they say, "We will likely see some of our birds taken."  Through
my
>experiences as an amateur naturalist at the mist net, banding birds in
>migration, I have learned that migration is not predictable except through
>weather patterns. You cannot expect the Arctic birds to show up at the same
>time every year unless the weather patterns are the same as they were last
>year, for each leg of their journey.  We both know how unpredictable the
>weather can be.
>
>The only way to be SURE that you do not capture 'Canadian' birds, protected
>by law, is to capture American birds BEFORE migration takes place.
>
>We are glad that your reintroduction program has been such as success that
>you feel you can afford to remove protection from the species. In our
>country, the birds still need protection, and we hope you will understand
>that when 'our' birds fly south for the winter, they are STILL in need of
>protection.
>
>I will not complain (too much) about the absurdity of bringing a species
>back from the brink of extinction or extirpation, to a barely viable
>population size, just to place it in front of the hunters' sights. I
>understand there are political issues, with the sportsmens' groups aiding
in
>the recovery effort, but I hope that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
>realizes, bird watchers outnumber falconers and hunters by a large margin.
>
>In conclusion, I hope the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reconsider
>this ill-advised plan, and allow Peregrine Falcons to achieve much greater
>population density before opening them up to such senseless exploitation,
>and if there is no way to avoid this regrettable course of action, I urge
>you to ensure that your own American hatched birds are taken, before
>migrants start arriving from areas where the population is still under
>protection.
>
>Thank you for your attention,
>Paul Mortimer
>co-editor
>Saint John Naturalists' Club Bulletin
>mortpm@nbnet.nb.ca
>or
>mortimer@unbsj.ca