VA Birders
I know this is going to spark an angry debate but here goes...
I agree that their timing is very wrong; a month or so ago would've been
ideal. However, I also think that it is almost never the wrong time to
remove non-native invasive species that are choking our streams and forests
and their inhabitants right out. My wife and I spend a good deal of our
time removing non-native invasive plants from our local parks, but we also
plan our specific events based on the season to avoid catastrophes like the
one you described.
Do you know the plants that they removed, or what their impact is on the
local environment? In particular: do you know if they provide food and
shelter for animals, or if they are suffocating all of the beneficial native
plants that can no longer grow beneath them? Monocultures are seldom a good
thing.
One way to help avoid (or minimize) further ill-timed events is to actually
volunteer to remove these plants from your local park (we do). That will
give you a little more clout and even some leverage on issues like timing.
(did anyone read the call to arms of this months Birding magazine yet?).
Call your local park and planning commission or local native plant society
and find out what you can do. Volunteering in your neighborhood park is
very rewarding. Areas we have restored in the past have hosted some pretty
spectacular inhabitants following our efforts (sometimes within a few weeks
of our work). Try finding a handful of neighbors who are willing to work a
few hours once a month, then have a picnic and enjoy the park.
One link to get you started is the MD native plant society's page for
volunteer projects: http://www.mdflora.org/volunteers_restorations.html some
information on that page is specific to a park, while others are organized
teams that work in any park.
It seems that people involved in making these decisions aren't heartless,
they may just be uninformed or unaware (like most of the inhabitants of the
planet -but I digress). Their schedule may say 'clear this area this year'
or '... before the summer'. If there were bird-friendly volunteers on their
team or working in that park, this may have been altogether avoided.
We take so much from the environment; please, give back and encourage others
to do the same!
Jordan Wilkerson
Cloverly, MD
Montgomery County
jordan.wilkerson@xxxxxxxxxx
jandk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: KarenNyere@xxxxxxx [mailto:KarenNyere@xxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 4:27 PM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-bird] MONTICELLO PARK IS BEING DESTROYED! (for warblers
et al.)
Dear Alexandria Birders!
Please contact your City Council to protest the destruction of a substantial
portion of the understory along the stream that occurred today in Monticello
Park!
When I arrived on the scene at 3 p.m., I spoke with Paul Kane who had spoken
to contractors who were leaving. They said they were being requested to
remove " exotic invasives" in the park- most of which appears to be the
understory trees!
Could this not wait for three weeks? The timing is disastrous!
They will be coming back for more removal. Many of the felled trees are
lying
right in the stream itself.
It seems that Monticello Park needs better recognition by the city as a
"sacrosanct"
stop and habitat for spectacular migrants for 3 weeks in the spring. What
can
we birders do to help it achieve that status? I figure those who are
Alexandria taxpayers would have more pull in this regard.
Karen Nyere
Alexandria, VA
KarenNyere@xxxxxxx
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