Beaver friend and science writer Joe Eaton has a powerful article in the Berkeley Daily Planet. In it he highlights the failure of Fish & Game to take regional scarcities into account in deciding that the Burrowing Owl wasn’t “endangered”. Apparently if we have a pile of them on crop lands in Fresno that means that species is doing fine. Kind of like taking the bald eagles off the federal list because there are so many in Alaska.
Some context first: As recently as the 1920s, this small semi-diurnal ground-dwelling owl was described as a “fairly common resident in the drier, unsettled parts of the [bay] region; most numerous in parts of Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.” Whatever their status may have been in the other Bay Area counties, they’re mostly gone. Surveys in 1992-93 found no breeding burrowing owls in Napa, Marin, and San Francisco counties, and only a few in San Mateo and Sonoma. The Santa Clara County population is declining and restricted to a few breeding locations. That leaves Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano as the remnant breeding range.
Got that? “Help me Contra Costa County! You’re my only Hope!” Time is running out for the owls. The Mayor of Antioch is sticking his heels in and taking care of the developer. I wrote him an imploring letter asking him to do the right thing and just happening to mention that Antioch has been in the news cycle for exactly two reasons this year, and wouldn’t he like to forget the other one by doing the noble thing this time? Funny what gets a mayor’s attention. He wrote back within seconds saying that Jaycee Drugard had been held on unincorporated land so technically it wasn’t an Antioch story. Gosh, I guess he told me.
Although their presence would appear to require a fresh environmental analysis, Kiper is now moving to clear the site by blocking the owls’ burrows with one-way doors. Once the birds are gone, the burrows will be collapsed and backfilled and the burrow architects—the ground squirrels—will be gassed. There’s a standard protocol for passively relocating burrowing owls from development sites, which involves providing alternate habitat nearby. Kiper is not following the protocol. This is eviction pure and simple, not relocation. One of the developer’s hired guns told the Contra Costa Times the owls “will all find happy homes.” That’s nonsense. Burrowing owls are remarkably site-tenacious. The displaced birds will probably hang around until they’re picked off by predators.
Cheryl’s lovely photo adorns the article. If you want to support the owls in their increasingly less likely quest for salvation, drop a note or a phone call in the Mayor’s and council’s direction.
Mayor James D. Davis (925) 757-2020
Mayor Pro Tem Mary Helen Rocha (925)207-7220
Councilmember Brian Kalinowski (925) 584-5430
Councilmember Reginald L. Moore (925)706-7040
Councilmember Martha Parsons (925)890-2665
