[TN-Bird] The fate of Merritt Island NWR -- where we DO like to bird

For those of you who are interested in the possible fate of the Merritt  
Island (Florida) National Wildlife Refuge, I am sending this item that was  
posted 
on Florida Birds by Wes Biggs, a superior birder and long time  friend.  
Please forgive him for any inappropriate language or incorrect  spellings..  
That 
is just Wes, and I am sending it just exactly as he  wrote it.  Realize what 
he is telling us and ignore his  language.  He IS passionate about OUR birds 
and has been since he was a  youngster when I first met him in the late '60's 
or 
early '70's.. 
 
To keep this "legal" for Tennessee, I've had a deck full of  white-throateds, 
juncos and my ever present song sparrow here in Charlotte Park  during the 
SIX off and on snows and melt downs we've had today -- so far!. At  the moment, 
the deck has a slight coat of snow, and the birds are here  scratching around 
for FOOD!
 
Blessings to birders.
Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==
 
 
 
 
 
Hello All,
Monday Feb. 25, 2008 I attended two meetings at Titusville  City Hall. 
These meetings were set up by NASA to gather public comments  (scoping) & 
to inform & involve the public regarding a proposed  commercial vertical 
launch complex. The meetings were scheduled for 1:00 PM  & 6:00 PM & were 
attended by about 300 people. Almost every person  who spoke expressed 
their support of the overall space program &  expressed their displeasure 
with both of the alternative sites that have  been identified to date. 
Site 2 almost always being described as worse than  site 1. A number of 
present & former space program employees spoke as  well.

A common theme presented by a large number of speakers, including  the 
space program employees, was that there are a number of areas located on  
the Kennedy Space Center or at Canaveral Air Force Station to the south  
where old launch pads exist and are not being used, or will soon be out  
of use. In these areas there would be little or no environmental  
concerns regarding wildlife habitat. About 15 listed species of animals  
are found in the proposed areas, including the largest Florida Scrub Jay  
population in the world.

NASA owned properties include KSC as well as  Merritt Island National 
Wildlife Refuge & Canaveral National Seashore.  The refuge property is 
administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service  & the National Park 
Service administers the National Seashore. So, if  NASA wants to build 
something in the refuge, they own the land.

In  2007 NASA commissioned the "KSC Vertical Launch Site Evaluation 
Study" to  evaluate potential Commercial Vertical Launch Complex (CVLC) 
site locations  on NASA owned property. Based on this study, NASA 
selected two potential  sites for further evaluation. Alternative 1 is 
located along the Atlantic  coast south of Shuttle launch complex 39A and 
north of the Atlas launch  complex 41. This is in the area that the 
public knows as KSC & is closed  to the public. Alternative 2 is located 
in MINWR east of SR 3, north of SR  406 and south of the Scrub Ridge 
Trail. Charles Lee Director of Advocacy for  Audubon of Florida stated at 
the 6:00 PM meeting that both of these two  sites are unacceptable, & 
that locating the facility at site 1 would  actually cause more 
ecological damage than locating it at site 2. Site 1 has  a large 
population of Florida Scrub Jays, Florida Gopher Tortoises, Florida  
Beach Mice & Indigo Snakes. Locating the facility in the refuge could  
result in as yet undetermined permanent & temporary closings in a number  
of areas in the refuge. Location of the facility at this location could  
cause untold harm to people in the guiding business, hunters & a  
reduction of local business across the board.

As a second step in  determining where this commercial facility should be 
located NASA is now  preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant 
to the National  Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the impacts 
that the  implementation of the proposal at these two sites might have on 
the  environment. Under (NEPA) the "environment" includes the physical 
(air,  water, land) and biological (plants, animals) environments, and 
human  relationships to the environment (i.e archaeological, cultural, 
health,  safety. jobs, housing, schools, aesthetics). NEPA does not 
require that an  EA include the "scoping" meetings that were held on 
Monday & the two  that are scheduled for 10:00 AM & 5:00 PM tomorrow, 
Thursday Feb. 28,  2008 at the New Smyrna Beach Public Library. So, we 
appreciate that NASA has  concluded that gathering such information is 
in the best interest of the  public and the mission. Following these 
scoping meetings a Draft EA will be  prepared which will be available for 
public review and written comment. That  input will be considered in the 
preparation of the final EA. The draft EA is  scheduled for release in 
late Spring or early Summer 2008. The final EA  should be out in the fall.

As I understand it, during the 2007 study  about 14 possible sites on 
NASA property were investigated & the result  was the two aforementioned 
sites & a third alternative termed No Action,  which is the alternative 
of not implementing the proposal. The rational used  in eliminating any 
areas on NASA property that are already disturbed &  already have at 
least some infrastructure was not clear to me & I know  that Charles had 
serious concerns regarding that process, or at least on  their 
conclusions that led to the three alternatives that were chosen. As I  
recall those reasons were given in only the most general of terms, &  
people who will be attending the meetings tomorrow might want to press  
the presenters from NASA on a more detailed explanation of that  question.

NASA did not consider any sites on the Air Force Base because  they have 
no jurisdiction over Air Force owned land. This is true, but in my  
opinion, a comprehensive study should be done to determine the most  
appropriate site for the facility on federally owned land at the cape,  
regardless of which federal entity currently has jurisdiction. If it  
should be determined that property located on the Canaveral Air Force  
Station is indeed the most appropriate, it should be used. If the  
facility must be on NASA land (which I believe it is, & should be) then  
a portion of that base should be annexed to the existing KSC property. I  
know that this process of jurisdictional transfer under normal  
circumstances can take years. As an example it took several years to  
transfer the Coast Guard Station on Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas  
from the US Dept. of Commerce to the US Dept. of the Interior. But, with  
the Shuttle Program coming to an end in the next two years NASA  
understandably wants to get THE site selected, & get work under way in  
an shorter time frame than that! In my opinion these are not normal  
circumstances, & if the feds want it to happen fast they can make it  
happen fast!

So, what the situation boils down to is this: Is it  worth NASA's time to 
deal with the Air Force to potentially save 200 acres  of valuable 
irreplaceable habitat
inhabited by a host of listed species?  Even an ass like me knows that 
the answer is YES!!! After all, the  Department of Defense and NASA are 
both agencies within the same government!  Another question is: Should 
NASA have even started this process without  considering Air force sites? 
In my opinion the answer is NO. Would it have  been that crazy for NASA 
to have talked to the Air Force before starting  this whole process?

Way back a half a century ago when NASA worked out  the administration of 
the now MINWR & CNS areas of the KSC the powers  that be probably thought 
that NASA owns the property so there shouldn't be  that big a deal if we 
want to expand in the future into those areas. Maybe  if an expansion had 
been proposed in 1963 there would have been little  outcry, but that was 
before the last 50 years of habitat destruction &  the extinction of the 
Dusky Seaside Sparrow on Merritt Island, & before  Bo Sauselein & Scott 
Maness died fighting a fire there. Now, we the  people who own the 
property must have a say!

I am under the  impression that in the past NASA has been a good steward 
of the lands that  they own & administer. I think that they want to do 
the RIGHT thing.  They just may not at present know what the RIGHT RIGHT 
thing is. We need to  make it crystal clear that THE right thing is to 
preserve in tact the area  with the greatest biodiversity in North 
America. And, that the environmental  community in Central Florida, the 
country & the world will unite to  protect a place that we love so much, 
that we can't describe it without  tears welling up in our eyes. MY old 
friend mentor & hero Alan  Cruickshank was in large part instrumental in 
the establishment of MINWR  & the CNS. The thought that the wildlife 
trail named in his honor could  be lost forever to the public is so 
hateful to me that I am unable to fully  express the true depths of my 
anger, & disgust and my resolve that this  will happen over my dead body!

Please write, call & email all the  people who have been mentioned in 
previous posts.

On behalf of  birders everywhere I would like to express my heartfelt 
thanks to Barbara  Passmore of Floridabirds & John Puschock of 
FlaBirding for allowing this  information to go out on their lists.

Wes Biggs
Orlando

H  407-384-9766
C  407-376-6967







**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)


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