The piping plover is a neurotically fragile bird that abandons its low-lying nests on beaches in response to noise, and suffers from being prey for dogs, raccoons, foxes, and skunks, its only defense being relatively ineffective camoflauge. Though the Fish & Wildlife Service under the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations did not believe it necessary to create critical habitats for the thousands of plovers that remain, the Clinton administration eventually settled a lawsuit brought against it by agreeing to establish a critical habitat in 2001. (The efforts may be for naught, since plovers migrate to Canada, and not even Canada provides such dramatic protections for endangered species, much less “threatened” species.) Now, a number of towns up and down the East Coast have been required to cancel their fireworks ceremonies on the grounds that the noise might interfere with the nesting. Jerry Della Femina, the inventor of the “Meow Mix” theme-song used to “torture” Guantanamo prisoners, is especially unhappy that his annual fireworks party has been cancelled, and has been using his advertising wiles to generate publicity on the issue; in response, a local Fish & Wildlife official has threatened him with prison rape, but that hasn’t stopped Della Femina from publishing his recipe for Garlic Piping Plover. (Paul Vitello, “Clash of Beach-Nesting Species: Plover and Human”, NY Times, Jul. 2; Julia C. Mead, “Those Little Birds on the Beach Mean No Fireworks in the Sky”, NY Times, Jun. 23; Kai Ma, “Plovers force cancelation of July 4th fireworks in East Hampton”, Newsday, Jun. 24; Seth Harkness, “Fireworks canceled to keep birds safe”, Portland Press Herald, Jul. 2; Marina McGowan, “Piping Plovers Cancel Fourth of July Fireworks”, Long Island Press, Jul. 3; Kitty Merrill, “Indy Goes Inside: The Great Plover Controversy Of 2005”, The Independent, Jun. 29; Jerry Della Femina, “The Grinch Who Stole The Fourth Of July”, The Independent, Jun. 29). In Stone Harbor, New Jersey, the federal government required dredging to protect the plovers, with a cost to local taxpayers of $3 million. In exchange, nine pairs of plovers were able to establish nests, four of which produced young, and one plover of these young fledged—a three-million dollar bird. (Richard Degener, “Settlement on table in Cape spoils case”, Press of Atlantic City, Mar. 22; DOJ press release, Feb. 12, 2003).
Piping Plovers Cancel Fireworks
The piping plover is a neurotically fragile bird that abandons its low-lying nests on beaches in response to noise, and suffers from being prey for dogs, raccoons, foxes, and skunks, its only defense being relatively ineffective camoflauge. Though the Fish & Wildlife Service under the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations did not believe it necessary […]
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