[CT Birds] Two alerts, protect raptors and protect Long Island Sound habitats

[COMINS, Patrick]

Dear Birders:
     Below are two action alerts, one for the state legislature to help protect key habitats on Long Island Sound and the other federal related to enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  Please consider taking time to contact your federal legislators and to write a note in favor of the Long Island Sound Stewardship legislation.  Thanks!

Patrick Comins, Meriden

Here is some information on two important issues of interest to Audubon members and birders:
(1) At the State Capitol, the Environment Committee is holding a hearing on Long Island Sound Stewardship legislation Monday that would authorize $5M in state funding.
(2) In Congress, your support is needed: Help Stop the Killing of Protected Raptors
Please take a moment to read this message and respond!
Thanks,
Sandy Breslin
Director of Governmental Affairs
Audubon Connecticut
185 East Flat Hill Road
Southbury, CT 06488
(203) 264-5098 x307 phone
(203) 804-0488 cell
(203) 264-6332 fax
sbreslin at audubon.org
(1) LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP
On Monday, March 3, the Environment Committee will be hearing Raised Bill 511 - - AN ACT AUTHORIZING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP SITES.
Bill text: <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/TOB/S/2008SB-00511-R00-SB.htm>
This legislation would appropriate $5 million dollars for the improvement, protection and acquisition of Long Island Sound Stewardship sites located along the Connecticut coastline. This state funding would help provide the 40% match required for federal dollars now available through the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006. Our coastal bird habitats are among the most threatened in the state. They are also among the most expensive to protect. The Stewardship Program will help us identify, acquire and manage key ecological, open space and recreational sites along the coast, and help ensure public access to the shoreline and waters of Long Island Sound.
Background information on the Stewardship Act is pasted below.
If you would like to testify in support of this legislation, please contact me by Sunday evening so I can sign you up Monday morning. My cell number is: (203) 804-0488.
If you cannot attend the hearing, but would like to comment, please email your testimony to me by noon Monday. I will make the 50 copies and deliver them to the Environment Committee for you. Thanks!
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(2) HELP STOP THE KILLING OF PROTECTED RAPTORS!
Last spring, citizens across the country were appalled to learn that thousands of protected raptors such as Cooper's Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, and Red-tailed Hawks had been killed in Oregon, California and Texas.
The raptors were killed by hobbyists who breed pigeons to carry a genetic trait that causes them to stop flying and tumble in the air before righting themselves and carrying on. These "roller pigeons" are flown in competitions and scored by judges who rate the birds on the quality of the "roll" and other factors. Of course, the pigeon rolling through the air looks like crippled and vulnerable prey to a hawk, falcon, or other bird of prey. Many of these pigeon enthusiasts have been routinely killing raptors in an attempt to protect their roller pigeons.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that as many as 2,000 to 3,000 raptors were being killed on the West Coast each year using methods including poisoning, beating birds to death with clubs, and suffocation in plastic bags. Even more troubling is the fact that the 13 men charged with these crimes received little more than a slap on the wrist after pleading guilty. Currently, killing a protected bird is a Class B Misdemeanor under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which puts suffocating a Peregrine Falcon in the same category as unauthorized use of the image of Smokey Bear.
Please ask your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor HR 4093, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Penalty and Enforcement Act of 2007 <http://audubonaction.org/campaign/hr4093/na2w3wwb7?> to ensure raptors and other migratory birds are given adequate protection.
Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon has introduced legislation that would amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 so that the intentional killing of protected bird species would be considered a felony, rather than the current Class B Misdemeanor. HR 4093 would send a strong message to prosecutors and courts that Congress takes these crimes seriously. It would pave the way for significant fines (up to $50,000) and jail sentences (up to 1 year) for the most serious bird-related crimes.
We need your help to ensure passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Penalty and Enforcement Act of 2007. Tell your House member that you support stronger penalties for the intentional killing of protected raptors!
Do you know someone else who cares about protecting birds? Help us to spread the word: Tell-a-friend! Please use Tell-a-Friend <http://audubonaction.org/campaign/hr4093/forward/na2w3wwb7?> instead of forwarding the message. The links in this message have been personalized for you. Trouble with the "Take Action" links in the message? Try pasting this link into your web browser: http://audubonaction.org/campaign/hr4093
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LIS STEWARDSHIP INFO:
Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006
The Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 (LISSA) was signed into law on October 16, 2006 as Public Law 109-359 to identify, protect, and enhance upland sites within the Long Island Sound ecosystem with significant ecological, educational, open space, public access, or recreational value through a bi-State network of sites best exemplifying these values. LISSA:
- Recognizes that Long Island Sound is a resource of national and regional significance with 10% of the United States population living within 50 miles of its shores and contributing more than an estimated $8.25 billion annually to the regional economy. Furthermore, it recognizes that less than 20% of the Sound's shoreline is accessible to the public and that approximately 1/3 of the Sound's tidal marshes have been ditched or impounded, greatly reducing their ecological value.
- Establishes a Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative (LISSI), to identify, protect, and enhance sites within the Long Island Sound ecosystem.
- Establishes a LIS Stewardship Initiative region whose boundary encompasses the immediate coastal upland areas in the states of Connecticut and New York, as well as the Peconic Bay Estuary.
- Authorizes up to $25 million annually for each of the Fiscal Years 2007 to 2011 to help fund restoration and protection efforts. Requires at least a 40% local match for eligible projects.
- Creates a Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee and lays out a process to identify stewardship sites based on their open space, recreational, and ecological significance. Public access is a key goal of the Initiative.
- Provides consistent criteria for selecting both recreational and ecological sites.
- Protects private property, and creates neither liability nor the requirement for public access.
No property owner can be required to participate in the Initiative unless they choose to do so voluntarily. Land may be purchased only from willing sellers.
To achieve these goals, the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006:
- Establishes a Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Advisory Committee under the leadership of the U.S. EPA Administrator.
- Requires the Administrator to publish a report every other year
Link to list of LIS Stewardship Inaugural Sites: <http://www.longislandsoundstudy.net/stewardship/stewardship_sites.htm>
Link to list of Audubon Important Bird Areas in CT: <http://iba.audubon.org/iba/stateIndex.do?state=US-CT>
For additional information on the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative, visit the EPA Long Island Sound Study's website at: <http://www.longislandsoundstudy.net/stewardship/index.htm>.

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