This was in the latest news brief from Birders United
(www.birdersunited.com) and seems appropriate to VA birding. Check out
the other news items on their web page by clicking on latest news. Some
interesting stuff about the impact of Katrina on wildlife refuges in
Lousiana.
Vast Bird Rookery in Virginia in Danger of Development
On the five-mile-long Crow's Nest peninsula on the Potomac River in
Stafford County, Virginia, is a 4,000-acre heron rookery in old growth
forests that are also home to bald eagles and other birds.
A proposal to build 680 homes on the peninsula has been submitted by
developers who own the land.
Virginia Governor Mark Warner wants to use government money to buy the
land to establish a nature preserve. Some county residents are pressing
the local government to take the land by eminent domain. Reports have
circulated that the developers will sell the land but are asking a price
of about $50 million, double what was discussed two years ago.
Both local and state elections will be held this fall. Four of the seven
seats on the county governing board will be up for election. Candidates
for the board have set up two Web sites to garner support for saving the
peninsula from development: http://www.SaveCrowsNest.org and
http://www.SaveCrowsNest.com.
In the battle to save Crow's Nest on the local level, GOP gubernatorial
candidate Jerry Kilgore, who holds a slight lead in recent polls, might
not be as friendly to environmental concerns as the current governor,
Mark Warner.
--
Susan A. Heath
George Mason University
Environmental Science Department
Fairfax, VA
Secretary, Virginia Avian Records Committee
Keeper, Virginia Comp List at www.virginiabirding.org
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