[texbirds] Re: Call for Bolivar protection/please sign petition..
- From: Winnie <wbburkett@xxxxxxx>
- To: MBB22222@xxxxxxx, texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2013 06:29:18 -0400 (EDT)
Mark you have once again touched on a lot of issues and it is difficult if not
impossible to get into all of them here. From my point of view the biggest
problem Least Terns and all other birds have is too many people. More and more
people move to Houston every day and most want to go to the beach. They need
education and we as people who care about birds need to be part of that effort
every day we are in the field.
I started working to protect Bolivar Flats Least Terns in 1992. Posting the
colony worked well and talking to beach goers and fishermen was very
satisfying. Then the raccoons and coyotes figured out what was going on and
reproductive success went down. Least Terns have lots of predator problems not
just mammals. Laughing Gulls and grackles get the eggs and chicks. I have heard
even ghost crabs eat them. Houston Audubon has an intern who will be looking
for nesting Least Terns, protecting nesting locations and educating the
public. You could help with this effort by donating to their Intern Fund.
The years after Ike were actually very good for Least Terns as large areas on
the peninsula were covered with sand (perfect for Least Tern nesting) and
predator numbers were knocked back by the storm surge. Grass has grown and
predator population has increased things keep changing.
As a Bolivar Peninsula property owner and sanctuary manager for Houston Audubon
I have been very involved in hurricane recovery on the peninsula. Yes there is
money for a fishing pier in Gilchrist it comes from FEMA to compensate for
recreational opportunities lost due to Ike and cleanup. It will be a great
place for birding too, but each year that building is delayed the money builds
less.
I am on the board of a Bolivar Peninsula non-profit whose goal is rebuilding
the peninsula economy while protecting its natural resources. You see the
peninsula will rebuild wether we like it or not, that is unless we can find
millions of dollars to buy up the land and protect. Protecting the natural
resources is supported by many Bolivar residents and businesses as they know
that is why people come to the peninsula.
I would be happy to sit down and talk to you about all these issues if you have
the time. It is really too complicated for this forum.
Winnie Burkett
Friendswood & the Bolivar Peninsula
-----Original Message-----
From: MBB22222 <MBB22222@xxxxxxx>
To: texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: wbburkett <wbburkett@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 7:43 pm
Subject: Re: [texbirds] Call for Bolivar protection/please sign petition..
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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