FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] HB435 - not even close...

[Zelig88@xxxxxxx]

Well, I'm sad to say  that HB435 went down to "defeat" late yesterday in the 
Chesapeake subcommittee.  The committee voted unanimously to table the 
measure, effectively killing the bill. Not being all that politically savvy, 
I'm sure 
there is some face saving measure in this action, in that the delegates may 
now say that technically, they did not vote "no" on the measure. The hearing 
room was packed, SRO, and people were hovering in the hall as well.

Personally, I'm not interested in seeing anyone lose their job, and that's 
exactly the case the fishermen made. They would lose their income, people in 
the 
conch packing plants would lose their job, and the delegate from Danville 
said  "If it comes to birds or people, we need to vote for the people." They 
did.

That being said, I will also say I'm saddened by the vote - and I know I'll 
be preaching to the choir here - I would expect our elected leaders to show 
some vision. I believe vision is a  basic leadership value(like I said, I'm not 
that politically savvy). Our resources are finite - without any limits, the 
conch will be fished to the limit - the conch will be gone, the crabs will be 
gone , the birds will be gone...a lose, lose, lose situation. That's what makes 
me sad.

But here is some of the good that has come of this endeavor:

 - Our grassroots effort resulted in THOUSANDS of letters, calls and emails 
to delegates and senators. Our lobbyists told us they have never seen the 
birding/conservation community this organized!  Many of the delegates and 
senators 
didn't know a Red Knot from Knotty Pine. The education has begun. Let's hope 
that some of them actually get to see a Red Knot one day. 

- The Virginia Delegation to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 
looks to be held more accountable by the administration. This is a small group 
of people that has consistently fought against any moratorium on the harvest 
of horseshoe crabs -  (possibly due  to the fact that the lead delegate owns a 
factory that processes the crabs for bait?) 

-   The American Bird Conservancy is working hard to protect the Red Knots. 
As forward thinking states put more restrictions on the harvest of crabs 
(realizing the economic benefits of attracting birders) less crabs will be 
available 
for bait and  there will be a rush to find an artificial bait that fishermen 
can use. Let's hope they find it sooner, rather than later. (Read about the 
ABC efforts on their website at www.abcbirds.org)  

    There are a few people who have put in a Herculean effort on this project 
that I'd like to recognize in this post. Perry Plumart, who is the the 
Conservation Director for ABC, based in DC and Connie Campanella, ABC board 
member 
(and NVBC member) were instrumental in getting this bill introduced. They made 
MANY trips to Richmond to keep the process moving.  House Majority Leader - H. 
Morgan Griffith, who introduced the bill and also spent 1.5 hours in the 
hearing yesterday promoting the bill (I don't know if this is something that 
happens that often) and of course - EVERYONE out there that wrote, called, 
emailed 
and attended the hearing. I can't even begin to name everyone on this list - 
everytime I checked my email, I had a note from someone who had been contacted 
by someone from the listserv. The network is working! I heard from the Sierra 
Club - many of the Audubon Chapters, the League of Conservation Voters. The 
VSO was on board as well and many of the other bird clubs in the state.  It's 
truly amazing and quite encouraging to know that all these great folks are out 
there working hard for our planet....Thank you all again...

Rich Rieger
President, Northern Virginia Bird Club