[texbirds] Re: Call for Bolivar protection/please sign petition..
- From: MBB22222@xxxxxxx
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2013 19:43:11 -0400 (EDT)
Winnie,
It took me a few days to answer but I was busy this weekend I also I wanted
to check a few things. As you noticed I just posted somebody else
thoughts. This mean I do not have to agree with everything but I do believe
that
this project should be voted against as will lead to changes that are going
to worsen bird welfare there which already is bad. Any new developments on
peninsula only going bring something bad nothing good.
I understand, from your signature, that you own property (house) on Bolivar
Peninsula. This mean that you must have âinsideâ knowledge of situation
there. On the other hand my opinion is biased as well as I take bird welfare
over the people interest there who need development for gaining personal
wealth. It will be hard to argue that a lot of people who own real estate
there would not like to see the peninsula cover with new towns, subdivisions,
motels, resorts, restaurants, super markets, boat ramps, fishing piers
etc. This will bring tourists in, boost economy and drive real estate prices
up. I am sure that there are also people living there who would like to keep
it the way it is now but I think this is a rhetorical question who is in
majority.
Without going into details about situation there (will flats go somewhere
or not) as there is not much solid information available I am taking simple
position. Choosing lesser of two evils. From one source (unnamed) I just
learned that there is 5.8 million dollars allocated to build a fishing piers
and maybe a boat ramp in the pass area. Great, so we already have plan and
money just all what we need is fill the pass, develop the area and wait for
people to start coming there. I have seen that happen in Galveston. Thirty
years ago when I visited the south part there was nothing there (no
houses, no people). I got stuck in the sand trying to access the beach and
spent
several hours trying to dig me out as was nobody there to help. Wildlife
was splendid, not only birds but snakes etc (BTW where all this went?).
I see no true in your statement that the changes (development) will not
impact ANWR and other places around. More tourists (and residents) with boats
will pollute (more) water there, they will harass wildlife (birds nesting
on islands); peninsula available habitat for birds will shrink to zero. Did
not that happen in Galveston? Least Tern nested there in huge number,
right? How many are nesting now? â¦.
Least Tern nesting situation (thanks to developments and Ike) on Bolivar
Peninsula is already tragic. How many nests did you have in past few year (I
did not have time to visit this place for few years)? Looking at available
habitat probably very few compare to the past. But even that right now they
might not nest in great numbers this place is still important stopping
point in their migration route (and to other birds as well). Take this away
and what will left?
Unfortunately I do not have access anymore to perform more soil analyses
but from samples I collected and analyzed in past couple years plus my
observations I can tell you that we are forcing many birds nesting on shore to
utilize land leftovers that are not quite optimal for them, some choices
(really not a choice, nothing else available) can result in disaster.
Closing beaches to motorized vehicles can help a lot. Especially to all
this 4x4 4-wheelers, or whatever they call them; never could understand why
sane person would spend hours riding back and forth without any real purpose.
But you will be shocked if I show you videos and photos showing what
people can do to nests even if only walking on the beach (e.g. I have photos
of
them collecting LETE eggs).
Anyway, I have little hope that good habitats on Bolivar Peninsula can last
much longer but by slowing down the destructive process maybe, maybe, some
solutions become available in the future. And best way to protect LETE
there is to provide them with good and protected habitat to nest - more
habitat, not less. Now they have almost none, soon will be none.
Anyone interested to read what the petition is about can visit here:
http://www.rolloverpasstexas.com/
And make your own decision what is a better choice or lesser of two evils.
Mark B Bartosik
Houston, Texas
http://www.pbase.com/mbb/from_the_field
In a message dated 4/5/2013 4:39:58 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
wbburkett@xxxxxxx writes:
Mark,
The closing of Rollover is quite controversial unfortunately the
information you have gotten about the closing of the pass is not quite
accurate.
First there is "Large amounts of development and "improvements" have been
held up because
Gilcrest and the owners are fighting." I doubt that any development is
being held up because of the fight over Rollover. This affects very little of
the peninsula.
"Once they fill it in, the resting/feeding flats at rollover will be
gone." No the flats will still be there, where would they go.
"Think about how filling it in will change the salinity of that part of
the bay and intercoastal canal." Salinity will change in Rollover Bay but
will not change much past the Intracoastal Waterway. There have been some
pretty fascinating studies done on Galveston Bay salinity and although it
looks like a lot of water goes in and out the pass compared to what goes in
and
out of Bolivar Roads it is very inconsequential and has no affect on the
salinity of the bay as a whole.
"Guess what's directly across the bay from Rollover ? Anahuac NWR!"
Closing the pass will not affect Anahuac NWR.
"I wonder what will happen to the rookery at Smith Oaks ? (When the
salinity changes in that part of the canal and the birds have to fly farther
to
find food.)" The birds that nest in the Rookery mostly feed in the
marshes around High Island. Most of the birds that feed around Rollover nest
on
the islands in Rollover Bay.
"I wonder how much of the beach and bay access will become "private" ?"
Beach access was made public by the Open Beaches Act which is being
contested by a couple of law suits but closing Rollover will not affect it.
Bay
access is already mostly private and closing Rollover will not affect that.
I will not address the comments about insurance and FEMA.
Rollover is a man made pass, unfortunately a lot of sediment comes in the
pass, it has filled Rollover Bay and is also deposited in the ICWW.
Dredging the Rollover section of the ICWW costs more then $1 million a year.
Could the sediment problem be solved some other way? Probably. As I said at
the beginning it is a controversial issue that should be evaluated on facts.
The best way to protect Least Terns on the Bolivar Peninsula would be to
close the beaches to vehicular traffic. Unfortunately that will not happen
anytime soon.
Winnie Burkett
Friendswood & the Bolivar Peninsula
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