Hi,
I have looked over the OBCI plans. They are professional and well done, the
mission of the OBCI is not about birding areas, but bird conservation and
habitat in general. A good cause, but this is not the issue at hand. In
order to get the birding community behind habitat restoration and invasive
plant replacement issues, efforts must first concentrate on areas used by
birders to find and watch birds. If this is not the concentration, and the
effort is not highly visible to people visiting birding areas, it will go
the way of all previous initiatives. That is: It will fail to gain wide
spread support.
I would hope the OBCI is willing to cooperate with efforts to restore
habitat and replace invasive plants in areas which are important to the
birding community, such as the Mentor Headlands. As far as overall
bird conservation goes, this area has little importance, yet it is one of
the most important and well known birding areas in the state. As a result
it might be very low priority on an overall conservation plan, but is very
high in priority for birders. An inherent conflict which needs to be
resolved for any effort to succeed.
Haans Petruschke
Kirtland
On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 4:22 PM, Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> In reference to the issue of invasive plants in bird habitat, particularly
> at Headlands Preserve, Dan Best posed the question: "Anybody out there
> (individual or group) willing to spearhead: to explore a partnership with
> DNAP and forge a union of supporting organizations?"
>
> On behalf of the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative (OBCI), I would like to
> answer with a resounding, yes! As a partnership of nearly 100 state and
> federal government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations
> supporting the conservation of birds in Ohio, OBCI is perfectly suited to
> coordinate this type of effort. OBCI works to conserve birds and their
> habitats through developing partnerships between organizations, and we are
> very interested in coordinating efforts to remove invasive plants from bird
> habitat and effectively replace them with native species.
>
> I will begin to contact organizations that have been suggested to me as
> potential partners, but if as an individual or on behalf of your
> organization you would like to become involved in this effort, please feel
> free to contact me. As always, OBCI welcomes your thoughts and ideas for
> this or any other bird-related project in Ohio. In addition to my contact
> information below, I will have a table set up at Magee Marsh this Saturday.
> If you will be there, stop by and we can talk about project ideas.
>
> Amanda Conover
> Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative
> Program Coordinator
> 614-432-8489
> obcinet.org
> Find us on Facebook<
> https://www.facebook.com/pages/OhioBirdConservationInitiative>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Dan Best
> Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 9:35 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Headlands cutting- invasive plants and Ohio
> birds
>
> Headland Dunes' thickets, as cover, are a key ingredient to its avian
> allure as a migratory hotspot.
> The cover is non-native, invasive honeysuckle ... and it is spreading
> towards the dunes.
>
> ODNR Div. of Natural Areas & Preserves (DNAP) are faced with the
> statewide onslaught of invasive plants that, like a cancer, threaten the
> ecological integrity of state nature preserves, of our last, best
> reserves of Ohio's natural heritage and biological diversity.
> Bio-diversity folks. It's not ALL about the birds. In this case it's
> the dunes ecosystem and all of its intact components that makes
> Headlands such a unique and ecologically valuable place.
>
> DNAP came dangerously close to getting its plug pulled this past year in
> state budget cuts. I mean gone, abolished. It was the hue and cry of
> the grassroots conservation community that saved it. It's continued
> existence is not to be taken for granted. Though granted a stay of
> execution, DNAP still does not and will not have the personnel or
> budget to tackle the advancing legions of invasive plants anytime soon.
>
> I'm calling on the birding community as a whole to take a broader view
> nature, namely the habitats that support the birds they love. What we
> have here is a prime opportunity to step up to protect the resource: a
> collaborative effort to restore Headlands Dunes. I suggest that prime
> players would include Burroughs Nature Club, Blackbrook Audubon
> Society, The Kirtland Bird Club and along with any other individual or
> organization with a vested interest in birds/birding. If aging
> memberships of our local conservation organizations cannot provide the
> muscle, then how about the money?
>
> Such a restoration project would require a study to identify the most
> ecologically appropriate replacement for the honeysuckle in providing
> not only critical cover, but a better insect food source to fuel
> migrants; labor to remove honeysuckle and prevent its resurgence, and
> planting of replacement native shrubs.
>
> Anybody out there (individual or group) willing to spearhead: to explore
> a partnership with DNAP and forge a union of supporting organizations?
>
> Dan Best
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
> You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
> Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
>
______________________________________________________________________
Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
|
