Rossmoor Acorn Woodpeckers

Rossmoor News bemoans the trampling presence of media onto their private woodpecker shooting party. They feel the permit obtained through Fish & Game was a last resort by very beleaguered property owners who had spent 170,000 dollars dealing with this problem in the past decade. They had painstakingly tried nonlethal methods including squirt guns and mechanical spiders. Why didn’t the media understand that shooting nearly three score of these birds is the only option?

The article also makes sure to point fingers at those pesky beaver lovers.

The News published three letters from residents upset about the woodpeckers being shot. The Martinez women, whose mother lives in Rossmoor, read the letters and contacted the outside press, according to the reporters. The reporters said that the woman is the president of Worth a Dam, an organization that spent a year saving the Martinez beavers.

For the record, the president of Worth A Dam’s mother does not live in Rossmoor, she lives in the Sierras where pileated woodpeckers sometimes grace her porch. The member of worth a dam whose mother lives in Rossmoor does not herself live in Martinez. Beyond this confusion it might behoove Rossmoor to do a head count of how many residents of Rossmoor are active members of the audobon society or volunteers at the Lindsay Museum. It is not the environment where these things happen without notice, regardless of some pesky beaver people.

The goodnews is that all the unwanted media scrutiny has slowed down the process and given some smart minds room to suggest real solutions. Mt Diablo Audobon Society reports that there will be a task force meeting between the permit holders and Audobon appointees.

MDAS has made a decision based on the meeting we had with the Maintenance and Mutuals that are involved to form a task group and assist with this wildlife issue. We have an opportunity to make a partnership and keep the integrity of the biodiversity that should not be lost. The meeting at Rossmoor went well and they seemed to accept the offer of help. As we enter Thanksgiving week we have tabled until the Dec 1.

Problem solving. Working Minds. Happy Endings. Good Press. When are the permit-pursuers of this world going to realize that public concern and outcry can actually help improve their decision-making and keep them from making very bad choices?