In general the concerns in places like this are very pragmatic -- liability if someone gets hurt, obstruction of dump activities by parked cars or clueless pedestrians, and inconvenience if people get stuck in the mud. Address those concerns with the dump management and a deal might be reached.
Birders en masse don't always behave admirably, and owners of dumps and WTPs often know this.
Bill Pulliam Hohenwald TN On Dec 13, 2012, at 9:01 AM, Terry Witt wrote:
Hi Daniel I see what you mean from the maps. I am going to continue my research.I am still not convinced that Middlepoint can control any activity on the road, and parking to the side out of everyone's way is the intelligent place to look at the gulls. The irony of all this is that the landfill gets loads of bad pr from the many large trucks and the smells that are present - they need all the friends they can find. They built the athletic fields to try and recover some community support, and one of my friends flies his RC model plane there, their club has access to the lower fields. If all else fails, I will be happy to meet with the manager and try and assure them we will stay out of their hair. I don't see the difference between parking out of the way, and walking to the same spot. This is more of an issue in the winter when it is frequently cold and/or windy, and the other day when I was there, it was pouring rain.Terry From: Daniel B. Estabrooks <dbe2g@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: Terry Witt <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thu, December 13, 2012 8:15:02 AMSubject: RE: [TN-Bird] Re: Middlepoint Landfill (Landfill Rd. is private)I got my information from this site: http://maps.rutherfordcountytn.gov/Rutherford/If you look at the roads throughout the county, you'll see that most of them have an outlined public right-of-way on either side. If you click the road for property information (with the "Identify Parcel" tool), it comes up with something that just says "null".On the other hand, there's no outlined right-of-way along Landfill Rd. It just serves as the border between two parcels owned by BFI. If you click on the road to get parcel information, it will take you to one of those two parcels (depending on exactly where on the road you clicked).Now one thing I inadvertently neglected to mention in my post to the group is that the construction guy told me the landfill operators' main concern was parked vehicles along the side of the road. He said that they probably wouldn't mind if people parked at the base of the road and walked up.Daniel From: Terry Witt [terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:59 AM To: Daniel B. EstabrooksSubject: Re: [TN-Bird] Re: Middlepoint Landfill (Landfill Rd. is private)Hi DanielI went to the website and Landfill Road seems to be listed like every other road??The interior roads on the property are marked differently on the map.I do not see how the county could not at least have a right of way if not own the road since the county landfill is at the end and open to all?? Terry From: Daniel B. Estabrooks <dbe2g@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wed, December 12, 2012 8:22:09 PM Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Middlepoint Landfill (Landfill Rd. is private)Correction: My conversation with the construction guy was Monday, not yesterday.DanielFrom: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] on behalf of Daniel B. Estabrooks [dbe2g@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 8:20 PM To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Middlepoint Landfill (Landfill Rd. is private)I had a conversation with one of the construction guys at the landfill yesterday. He mentioned that the landfill owners didn't really want people birding from the road, and I said, "Well, I'm assuming the road itself is public right-of-way?" He said that he didn't know but that the landfill people would try to kick us out regardless. So I did some further investigation on the county GIS website and found that Landfill Rd. is NOT county right-of-way. That means the road itself is Middle Point property and they're within their legal rights to throw out whoever they want. I would say it's best to only go up there on weekends (if at all). The last thing we want is for the landfill operators to decide it's worth investing their resources in keeping us out.DanielFrom: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] on behalf of Scott Somershoe [Scott.Somershoe@xxxxxx]Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 8:34 AM To: TN-Birds Subject: [TN-Bird] Middlepoint Landfill birding caution All,For those that may visit the Middlepoint Landfill in Murfreesboro, please heed caution when birding in the area. A couple other birders were told that they were not welcome in some areas along Landfill Rd due to construction, etc. Hopefully some arrangement can be made to do some birding that is in agreement with management, but in the meantime please be very courteous and respectful if birding in the area. I would recommend limiting your time in the area.If you bird along Landfill Rd and decide to park, be sure to turn around near the manned gate where trucks are crossing and then pull as far off the road as possible. There is little traffic on the road right now, but stay off the road as much as possible and limit your time there.Thanks, Scott Somershoe State Ornithologist Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency P.O. Box 40747 Nashville, TN 37204 615-781-6653 (office) 615-781-6654 (fax)
