TVA is considering changes to its river operations because of pressure from a few groups that stand to benefit greatly. Around these parts, lakeshore property owners and developers would see increased land values, prettier views from their decks, and more time and space for their powerboat toys. The rest of us will get higher electricity rates, increased flood risk, and more air pollution in August. The lakeshore environment will suffer loss of migratory bird habitat, degradation of plant communities, nesting habitat, and winter wildlife forage, and increased shoreline erosion. Independent economic studies failed to show a substantial benefit from delaying drawdown. In fact, TVA claims that the loss of hydropower in the peak demand periods of August will result in an overall negative economic impact. If you care about conservation of bird habitat, then urge TVA not to alter the "base case" schedule in order to placate a small, but highly organized and very aggressive pressure group. Enter comments at http://www.tva-ros.com/ Michael Sledjeski Del Rio TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================