Bird Lovers Thanks to Linda Schwegman for taking time to research this activity and providing the article. According to that, the 140th St Marsh will be destroyed at some time. "[the company]...plans to remove a 9.35-acre "ecologically significant" wetland area to complete the expansion." and "City officials will likely conduct a wetland mitigation study in the area to determine the best location for a new, man-made wetland area that may be constructed to replace the original habitat." One question is why the bulldozers are pushing on the marsh before a EAW is completed...
Under federal Clean Water Act and MN Wetland Conservation Act this would be "legal" if "replacement" provisions are met, after "avoidance" and "minimization" is not possible Mitigation can include "restoration" or "creation". These laws, under certain conditions, allow wetlands to be filled, drained, and otherwise destroyed. The marsh has probably been there for 100's of years (or more if it dates from glaciation like many potholes on what used to be prairie in the upper Midwest.) Constructing a new wetland may attract wetland birds, but it would take many years to replicate the diversity present in the filled-in marsh. Red-winged Blackbirds and Mallards may still find a home there, but probably not many other species until a distant future. Regarding the Loggerhead Shrike which was fairly common in Dakota Co. 20-30 years ago, they are listed under State law as "Threatened". But MN "endangered species law" does not protect bird habitat, as long as the birds are not seasonally present. This is a weakness in MN law. One example is the Unimin mining of Jordan Sandstone (frac sand mining) underneath virgin prairie in LeSueur Co. within the last 10 years. In addition to shrikes, Henslow's Sparrows and Upland Sandpipers were also present on these pasture lands. HESP is a State Endangered Species and UPSA is a Species of Special Concern. But they are not federally listed. That would have protected this land from mining and the loss of 145 acres of bird habitat, regardless of time of year. The habitat of migratory birds can be destroyed as long as the birds are not present when the damage is done (winter time). That is what happened in this case. Because plants are not migratory, they can prevent habitat destruction. There were two endangered plant species present which might have saved the area, but an agreement with the new land owner allowed some plants to be moved to a neighboring SNA. As I noted at the time, "the MN listed species laws provides no protection for the habitat of migratory birds, but it is good for sedentary vertebrates and plants." >From a MNDNR document July 2012, "With 230 acres of native prairie and several >hundred acres of additional pasture grasslands, the Kasota Prairie terrace >contains one of southeastern Minnesota's largest remaining concentrations of >native prairie in a matrix of pastured, uncultivated grasslands. These >prairies and grasslands support an extraordinary concentration of rare plant >and animal species that require native prairie grassland habitats." (The >mining co. owned 145 of these acres.) Short story, the bulldozing of top soil >and sandstone mining happened after fall migration. Those grassland-dependent >birds are gone from the mined area. A more familiar example of shortcomings of laws in protecting birds, is the US Bank stadium, which was constructed with about $500M of city and county money. Many of you advocated for the use of "bird-safe" glass on the walls, but the owners and MSFA were not persuaded. As predicted, and after four years (eight migrations), a big study concluded that the stadium was among the three worst buildings in Mpls for bird collisions. The USFWS chose not to apply the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act language to prevent these unnecessary deaths of birds in migration. But laws are changed all the time to make them more effective in achieving their purpose. It is citizens and advocacy groups and organizations who make the effort to apply existing guidelines, rules, and statutes to mitigate loss of bird habitat and outright killing of birds. There may be an opportunity for readers and writers of MN Birding FB and MOU-net to get involved in trying to save this marsh for the birds and for the future. Making new laws or revision of existing law is usually more difficult and requires organizing numbers of interested parties to lobby legislators or Congress members with letters, petitions, phone calls, and meetings. Because of the big work involved, it is often undertaken by conservation or bird organizations. It is energy- and time- consuming and not as fun as looking for birds. But if successful, it can ensure a few more birds to find and see when you get outside. GAndersson /St Paul -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sue Keator Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2020 3:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [mou-net] Dakota Co 140th St Marsh I would use this as a commercial and good reason to join the MN Birding FB page. We all knew what was going on several days ago.No reason to all City Hall, the police or anyone else. It is all settled and being handled legally. One great thing about the page is that it provides info in real time. Sue K On Sat, Apr 25, 2020 at 12:32 PM linda whyte < [email protected]> wrote: > Thank you, to all of you providing some answers. I was mistaken > regarding ownership of the property and responsibility for the > project. I see that there were/are intentions of mitigating the damage the > project will cause. > While such efforts may help, some damage will no doubt be irreparable. > (It makes a person think even harder about what and how much we're > putting in our trash.) Perhaps some future generations of bird species > will happen on the "restored" area and have the resilience to populate it. > Belated Happy Earth Day > Linda Whyte > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
