[va-richmond-general] Dangers to wild birds - comments?

[For those of you inclined to write letters about bird-related issues, please 
do:]



BIRDS AND TALL TOWERS DON'T MIX:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is requesting comments on the 
impact that communications towers, such as those that support TV and radio 
stations and cell phone service, are having on migratory birds. There are more 
than 138,000 towers registered, and so far their presence has proven lethal to 
millions of migrating birds. Many songbirds migrate at night and are killed 
after colliding with these towers, particularly during periods of fog, rain and 
low-cloud ceilings. Tower height, placement, lighting and the presence and 
placement of guy wires seem to influence mortality levels, but a great deal 
still remains unknown about the impact of tower strikes on each bird species. 
Not surprisingly, the communications industry has been largely unconcerned 
about the problem, but as bird mortality rates rise, wildlife advocates are 
asking the FCC to take notice and make changes. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Submit your comments to the FCC, asking officials to take action to protect 
migratory birds, by Wednesday, November 12, 2003. Go online to 
www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs (go to the right hand side of the page and click "submit a 
filing") to send your letters. Please include your name, mailing address, and 
docket # 03-187 in your letters. 
Please request that the FCC: 
. begin a systematic review of communication tower and bird mortality issues; 
. institute a research program, funded by the communications industry, to 
identify tower placement, design and lighting conditions that result in bird 
mortality; 
. undertake environmental reviews of all existing towers to assess their 
placement and design with regard to migratory bird impacts;
. require that all proposed towers be subjected to rigorous environmental 
reviews; 
. and implement immediate protections based on existing knowledge, such as the 
voluntary tower siting and placement guidelines developed by the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. 

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