[BCNnet] IL DNR threat to Rusty Blackbird

[Robbie Hunsinger]

It is ironic to me that one of the birds in Jeff¹s letter to the SunTimes
listed as declining over 97%, the rusty blackbird, is one of the birds that
our IL DNR is listing as a target for "controlling" aka killing without a
permit.

This is part of an addition to our IL DNR's nuisance animal provision
 ad rule Section 525.35            under consideration right now at DNR.
I learned of this late in the game and had hoped to get it out to everyone
and then got sick. It could be worth sending a quick e-mail to the address
below even though we are just out of the official comment period.

quote from proposed provision 525.35 IL
   ³         b)        Any person may remove or destroy, by use of a
shotgun, air gun or traps and only on or over the threatened area, any
red-winged blackbirds, rusty blackbirds, Brewer's blackbirds, cowbirds,
grackles and crows when found committing or about to commit depredations
upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife,
or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health
hazard or other nuisance, without a permit, so long as they have written
permission from the landowner or tenant.²

One hand doing one thing and the other going in the opposite direction
unfortunately.

Please do what you can- sorry I couldn¹t get this out sooner-

Robbie

e-mail can be sent to Barb Frey
Barb Frey <bfrey at dnrmail.state.il.us>

the full addendum is at this website
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/legal/Proposed/525-Proposed.htm



> The following appeared as a letter-to-the-editor/guest editorial in Monday's
> Chicago Sun-Times.
> 
> http://www.suntimes.com/output/letters/cst-edt-vox27a.html
> 
> How you can help save a billion birds
> December 27, 2004
> 
> 
> Four calling birds,
> three French hens,
> two turtle doves,
> and a partridge in a pear tree . . .
> 
> So goes the familiar holiday tune. Unfortunately, this holiday season,
> scientists are heralding bad news for birds. New research indicates that
> one-quarter of all bird species will likely disappear or be critically
> endangered by the end of this century due to habitat loss, global warming
> and invasive species. The National Audubon Society's recent ''State of the
> Birds'' report further confirms that we are not gaining ground but losing
> it.
> 
> Audubon's study highlights America's most rapidly declining birds. Topping
> the list are two species that raise their young in Canadian Boreal forests
> but winter here in the United States. The rusty blackbird, a cousin to the
> abundant red-winged blackbird, has declined by a staggering 97.9 percent
> since 1966. Millions of these birds have just disappeared over the last
> three decades. The lesser yellowleg, a long-legged shorebird that nests far
> to our north, has declined by 97.3 percent.
> 
> These birds and more than 200 other species nest in the 1.4 billion-acre
> Boreal forest that stretches from Alaska to Newfoundland. The forest is one
> of the last great wilderness regions left on Earth. One-third of the birds
> visiting the tens of millions of backyard bird feeders in the United States
> may have been born in Canada's Boreal region.
> 
> Chicago regularly hosts about 25 boreal bird species each winter. Many other
> species pass through during spring and fall migrations.
> 
> Here in Chicago, the red-breasted nuthatches, white-throated sparrows and
> dark-eyed juncos have likely come from the distant Boreal forest. Additional
> Boreal birds in the Chicago area can be found at a new interactive Boreal
> Bird Guide at < www.boreal birds.org  > .
> 
> Since 1975, about 60 million acres of Canadian Boreal forest have been
> logged, and development in the region is rapidly escalating.
> 
> Much of the logging supplies newsprint, catalogs, mail solicitations and
> tissue paper used in the United States. Associated habitat loss could very
> well be contributing to abrupt declines in at least 40 bird species.
> 
> In November, the World Conservation Union formally called for increased
> Boreal conservation. Fortunately, leading conservationists, resource
> companies and First Nations tribal peoples are crafting the Boreal
> Conservation Framework. This initiative envisions protecting half the region
> as vast tracts of wild land while sustainably developing the remainder.
> 
> What can you do closer to home to ensure that Boreal birds keep coming to
> your backyard? Buy recycled paper products. Write letters urging mail-order
> companies and tissue manufacturers to stop using paper made from virgin
> Boreal forest when better options are available.
> 
> You can also participate in the world's longest-running winter bird survey,
> the 105th Audubon Christmas Bird Count, www. audubon .org/bird/cbc , which
> started Dec. 14 and continues to Jan. 5.
> 
> About 55,000 volunteers count birds at nearly 2,000 locations. Their counts
> inform vital efforts to conserve the Boreal forest and the birds that depend
> on it -- not to mention it's a great excuse to spend a day outside in
> nature.
> 
> Whatever way you choose to help, just do it, and tell your kids you are
> helping to save a billion birds.
> 
> Jeff Wells, former director
> of bird conservation,
> National Audubon Society
> 
> {Jeff is currently Senior Scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative -
> pers. comm.}
> 
> Alan B. Anderson
> casresearch at comcast.net
> 
> Des Plaines, Cook Co.
> 
> www.chicagoaudubon.org
> 
> _______________________________________________
> bcnnet mailing list
> bcnnet at ece.iit.edu
> http://www.ece.iit.edu/mailman/listinfo/bcnnet

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20050105/35a12e09/attachment.htm