Posted on 12/25/2019 10:36:34 PM PST by Farcesensitive
As the state of Virginia prepared for a major bridge and tunnel expansion in the tidewaters of the Chesapeake Bay last year, engineers understood that the nesting grounds of 25,000 gulls, black skimmers, royal terns and other seabirds were about to be plowed under.
To compensate, they considered developing an artificial island as a safe haven. Then in June 2018, the Trump administration stepped in. While the federal government “appreciates” the state’s efforts, new rules in Washington had eliminated criminal penalties for “incidental” migratory bird deaths, administration officials advised. Such conservation measures were now “purely voluntary.”
The state ended its island planning.
The island is one of dozens of bird-preservation efforts that have fallen away in the wake of a policy change in 2017 that was billed merely as a technical clarification to a century-old law protecting migratory birds. Across the country birds have been killed and nests destroyed by oil spills, construction crews and chemical contamination, all with no response from the federal government, according to emails, memos and other documents viewed by The New York Times. Not only has the administration stopped investigating most bird deaths, the documents show, it has discouraged local governments and businesses from taking precautionary measures to protect birds.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
whilst we should take reasonable precautions, I do believe the President and the citizens have had far more important issues on our plates.
Hundreds of birds, including Bald Eagles are killed every year by wind turbines in California and no “environmentalists” say a word.
Animal rights is just repackaged communism as is the Environmental movement.
What about the solar farm they have that fries birds in mid-air. Not a peep.
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-solar-bird-deaths-20160831-snap-story.html
It is always a balancing act between our needs and the needs of this great big machine God built for us to live on.
It is like our cars. At what point do we let it fix itself.
It’s not a federal power even if we decide to have some government involvement.
And nature is far more resilient than the lefties would have us believe, GOD doesn’t do sloppy work.
NOTE WELL THE STATE CANCELLED THE PLANNED TEMEDIATION. NOT TRUMP, VIRGINIA. But try and shoot one of those birds with an AR-15, hoo boy!
Yep. Their only purpose is to hinder progress and anger normal Americans.
Any endangered species here? I don’t see them. If not what the NY Slimes is attempting to do is rule by non-endangered species - a back door attempt at Socialism - which is as I suspect their goal all along.
The real goal should be to make dems an endangered species.
In this case I’d like to see the state do the right thing and make an alternative nesting area if they are going to destroy their natural one. VA is dem run now so we will see if their policies are genuine concern for the environment or meant to control and illicit more money from whomever they can.
No mention of birds chopped up by wind turbines or incinerated by solar arrays in the article. Some birds are more equal than others.
Can’t the birds find new nesting spots? After all, they can fly...
All across the country babies have been killed....
Post of the day.
I thought the governor and both houses of the legislature in Virginia are Democrat?
But, the New York Times blames Trump?
LOL - why aren’t Virginia Democrat voters ripping into the government they elected for not even trying to mitigate the bird damage they are going to cause?
It’s not a federal power even if we decide to have some government involvement.
The President is taking power away from unelected folks who would hold us all hostage to make the animals more comfortable - even though the major “damage’ to them is all mental gyrations by those who are obsessed....part of the same thought process where he’s whittling away at the EPA’s tendency to regulate seasonal puddles in backyards...
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