Libertarian Librarian

Yesterday's Journal Sentinel had a good-sized story about how the demolition of an abandoned grain elevator had been halted by the discovery of a red-tailed hawk's nest within the building. It seems, at first blush, like a feel good tale of man pausing to acknowledge his feathered friends, and I'm all for accomodating nature when and where possible. Certainly many beautiful things have been lost in man's rush to build, build, build (or in this case, tear down in order to build something else).

The problem with this case is that the grain elevator is no longer stable-- workers did not notice the nest when demolition first began, and now the thing may have had it's structural integrity weakened enough that local officials fear strong winds (not at all uncommon in Wisconsin in the spring) could topple it. Right onto a busy road. Or a house or two.

Keep in mind the following-- the red-tailed hawk is not an endangered species, and the DNR agrees that if the building is taken down, the hawks will simply build a new nest somewhere else. The only problem is that there might be eggs or chicks in the nest. They would obviously not be okay if the building is knocked down.

Well, okay, that would be unfortunate-- but do we really want to risk human property and even life and limb for eggs or chicks that might not even exist? Personally, I vote no. Unfortunately, it's not up for a vote, or even a common sense executive decision.

As a migratory bird, the red-tailed hawk is protected by federal law. The village literally can't tear the building down until they get the OK from the feds-- even though a healthy storm front might bring the building crashing down. Which, I suspect, would also be bad for the eggs/chicks that may or may not be there (the village has video that appears to show that the nest is empty-- but the feds can't take their word for it. They have to see the video themselves. Ye gods).

So. To sum up-- the Village of West Milwaukee has already spent many hours and lots of money on these eggs (which don't actually appear to be there). The safety and welfare of the people driving on Miller Park Way and living nearby have been put at risk. All for the eggs or chicks of a pair of birds that isn't endangered and which the DNR agress will be able to build a new nest somewhere else without any difficulty.

Crazy.

One final question: Why is it that a bird's egg-- which will eventually become a baby bird-- is protected by federal law to the point of endangering other people with no regard to the cost, but a fetus-- which will eventually become a baby-- is almost completely unprotected by the law and subject to the decision of a single individual?

Labels: Politics