In the March 8 Washington Post Metro section, copyright Washington Post:
Security Could Curb Birding at Bay Tunnel
Plan Halts Permits To Favored Sites
By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 8, 2005; Page B01
Security concerns at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel have prompted
officials to propose a ban on bird-watching from most of the 20-mile span
between the Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach, and distraught birders are
waging a phone and fax campaign against it.
Some birders call the area the "Serengeti of the East," because of the large
and unusual mix of birds drawn to the 40-year-old bridge-tunnel, which is
flanked by the Chesapeake Bay on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the
east. Birders have had unusual access to ocean birds because they can park
on four manmade "islands," one at each end of the two, mile-long tunnels
where the span dips beneath the bay.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is popular for its large mix of birds and
four manmade "islands" for viewing. Birding requires permits, however.
(Steve Earley -- The Virginian-pilot)
"It's like you took the rocky sea coast from Maine and put it into the
Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary on the continent," said Ned Brinkley,
40, editor of North American Bird journal and proprietor of a Cape Charles
bed and breakfast where many of the guests are birders on their way to the
bridge.
Lucius J. Kellam III, chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel
Commission and interim executive director of the bridge-tunnel, said the
commission proposed the ban after state transportation officials had advised
it to no longer allow parking or pedestrians on three of the four islands
because of the span's vulnerability to terrorist attack. The islands were
built to anchor the tunnels and house huge ventilation buildings.
The bridge-tunnel connects the heavily populated Hampton Roads area with the
Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland, cutting out nearly 100 miles of
driving through Washington and Baltimore.
"We have people going in and out at will, and we don't know who they are,"
said Kellam, whose father spearheaded the bridge-tunnel project. "It's a
decision we struggled over. We didn't want to do it, but as managers, we
felt it was the prudent thing to do."
People still would be able to stop at the island closest to Virginia Beach
where there are fishing spots and restaurants. But they would no longer be
able to obtain permits for the islands more popular with birders, which they
do now by showing a driver's license. Eight hundred people hold one-year
permits, said Lorraine J. Smith, spokeswoman for the bridge-tunnel district.
Birders with permits used to check in with officials at the toll booths at
both ends of the bridge-tunnel. But three months ago, at the suggestion of
state and federal homeland security officials, officials erected gates at
three islands, and now maintenance workers let in permitted bird-watchers.
The proposed ban would have to be approved by the 11-member commission, and
Kellam said he is open to suggestions of other ways to boost security.
Commissioner Wanda J. Thornton, who is chairwoman of the Accomack County
Board of Supervisors, said she was "not a happy camper" at the prospect of
turning birders away.
"Unless something is wrong that I don't know about, I'm not voting to stop
the birding," she said.
Last summer, an Annandale man was detained for 10 days after authorities
spotted his wife filming the Chesapeake Bay Bridge -- the much shorter span
between Annapolis and Maryland's Eastern Shore. But Smith and Kellam said
there have been no security problems on the bridge-tunnel.
The proposed birding ban gave rise to desperate online conversations on
birding Web sites. Some proposed suing the state, which features birding on
the bridge-tunnel in its tourism literature, while others suggested
groveling to local security officials. Many said the proposal was typical of
an overanxious nation.
Gene Burreson, a professor of aquatic animal health at the Virginia
Institute of Marine Science, said he has been birding in Virginia for 30
years and never had any trouble until this year, when law enforcement
officials stopped him twice in one morning, though not at the bridge.
"I have mixed emotions. I think it's unfortunate that our freedoms are being
impinged upon. Bird-watchers aren't going to do anything," he said.
"But I suppose it could be a strategic thing."
______________________________________________
I talked to Michelle and an AP reporter from Norfolk yesterday. Among many
other topics, they are both interested in how many birders will attend the
meeting tonight. For those who attend, good luck, and please post.
Paul Mocko
McLean, VA
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