[BCNnet] One for Ripley....

Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:26:22 -0600

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NEWS FROM THE ORNITHOLOGICAL COUNCIL

Provided by DAVID E. BLOCKSTEIN, Chair, and ELLEN PAUL, Executive Director,
The Ornithological Council, 1725 K St. NW #212, Washington, DC 20006-1401
(202-530-5810; fax 202-628-4311; OC@cnie.org) "Providing Scientific
Information about Birds." The Ornithological Council is supported by
voluntary individual contributions on the OSNA dues notice as well as
memberships from the ornithological societies. 

BIRDS v. BOMBS - In the Northern Marianas, the Center for Biological
Diversity, representing a birder by the name of Ralph Frew, successfully
sued the Dept. of the Navy to stop the Navy's bombing and shelling exercises
on Farallon de Medinilla (near Saipan). He pointed out that the Navy hadn't
secured a take permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Navy didn't even bother to argue that
the federal agencies are exempt from the MBTA - probably because an earlier
decision out of this same court (the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia, which has jurisdiction over federal agencies), held that federal
agencies are required to comply with the MBTA and obtain permits for
activities that will result in the take of birds protected under the MBTA.
..... The Navy adopted a brief filed by the Washington Legal Foundation,
which argued that "plaintiffs have suffered insufficient injury because the
more birds that the defendants kill, the more enjoyment Mr. Frew will get
from seeing the ones that remain because bird watchers get more enjoyment
from spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one.[ITALICS
ADDED]" The Court said, "Suffice it to say, there is absolutely no support
in the law for the view that environmentalists should get enjoyment out of
the destruction of natural resources because that destruction makes the
remaining resources more scarce and therefore more valuable." The Court
hopes that the federal government will refrain from making or adopting such
frivolous arguments in the future." The full opinion can be read at
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/00-3044.pdf

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<p align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><a =
name=3Dnoc><strong><b><font size=3D5
color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:18.0pt'>NEWS FROM THE
ORNITHOLOGICAL COUNCIL</span></font></b></strong></a><o:p></o:p></p>

Provided by DAVID E. BLOCKSTEIN, Chair, and =
ELLEN
PAUL, Executive Director, The Ornithological Council, 1725 K St. NW =
#212,
Washington, DC 20006-1401 (202-530-5810; fax 202-628-4311; <a
href=3D"mailto:OC@cnie.org">OC@cnie.org</a>) &quot;Providing Scientific
Information about Birds.&quot; The Ornithological Council is supported =
by
voluntary individual contributions on the OSNA dues notice as well as
memberships from the ornithological societies. =
<o:p></o:p>

BIRDS
v. BOMBS - In the Northern Marianas, the Center for Biological =
Diversity,
representing a birder by the name of Ralph Frew, successfully sued the =
Dept. of
the Navy to stop the Navy's bombing and shelling exercises on Farallon =
de
Medinilla (near Saipan). He pointed out that the Navy hadn't secured a =
take
permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. The Navy didn't even bother to argue that the federal
agencies are exempt from the MBTA - probably because an earlier decision =
out of
this same court (the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, =
which
has jurisdiction over federal agencies), held that federal agencies are
required to comply with the MBTA and obtain permits for activities that =
will
result in the take of birds protected under the MBTA. &#8230;.... The =
Navy
adopted a brief filed by the Washington Legal Foundation, which argued =
that &quot;plaintiffs have suffered insufficient =
injury
because the more birds that the defendants kill, the more enjoyment Mr. =
Frew
will get from seeing the ones that remain because bird watchers get more
enjoyment from spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common =
one.[ITALICS
ADDED]&quot; The Court said, &quot;Suffice it to say, there =
is
absolutely no support in the law for the view that environmentalists =
should get
enjoyment out of the destruction of natural resources because that =
destruction
makes the remaining resources more scarce and therefore more =
valuable.&quot;
The Court hopes that the federal government will refrain from making or
adopting such frivolous arguments in the future.&quot; The full opinion =
can be
read at <a =
href=3D"http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/00-3044.pdf">http://www.dcd.uscourts.=
gov/00-3044.pdf</a><o:p></o:p>

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