Having 'advertised' here for persons in the Richmond County area who might
help in turning back a rezoning proposal for Fones Cliffs, I thought I would
report here also on the outcome of the hearing last Thursday:
The Richmond County Board of Supervisors voted down the rezoning by 3-1,
with one abstention.
I understand that the hearing itself was 'entertaining and dramatic'! Bryan
Watts' testimony was said to have electrified the audience with his eloquence
in putting down the misperception that the Bald Eagle will adapt to
development. So, many thanks to Bryan, who is, as I am sure most of you know,
Director
of the Center for Conservation Biology at William and Mary.
And many thanks to all those who wrote in, spoke to people before the
hearing and/or appeared at the hearing itself! I cannot name everyone, but the
Northern Neck Audubon Society, Bill Portlock and Fred Atwood can't be omitted.
It
all goes to show that a concerted effort can bring results.
Not that we are out of the woods yet, I'm afraid. The original zoning for
Fones Cliffs remains, so the developer can still put some houses there. Whether
this will be done in a manner friendly to the Bald Eagles remains to be seen.
There are two defenses. First, the county's Comprehensive Plan designates
the area as a Conservation District. Let's see how that works out. Second,
there is a federal law that should protect the Bald Eagle, even after it is
de-listed. Whether this will prove useful depends largely on how the FWS
eventually defines what 'disturb' really means. Their initial proposal has
been found
by the conservation community to be severely lacking, and alternative
proposals have been put forward (including by the VSO). Because there is no
agreement as yet, the formal de-listing itself has been postponed from
February 16 to
June 29 'to give scientists more time to conduct a thorough analysis
consistent with the Endangered Species Act'. That must be seen as a positive
step,
but we are not "there" yet! Continued vigilance is needed!
Thanks again to everyone who has helped out on this issue so far.
Stephen Eccles
Chair, VSO Conservation Committee
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