Yup!..Don Baccus is right. When it comes to raptors, I need a 12 step
program. sigh-h-h-h...

Here's a little clip from the WA Employees newsletter FTE (full-time
equivalency, I guess)..

About 3,000 technical rock climbers annually scale 848-foot Beacon Rock
in Beacon Rock State Park east of Vancouver. But the rock will be closed
to climbing from Mar.1 through Aug.31 in anticipation of nesting
falcons. If none nest by May 1, the area will be reopened.
The rock was temporarily closed to climbing in 1994 after a pair
of peregrine falcons trying to protect their baby chicks, dive-bombed
nearby climbers. The peregrine falcons, on the state's threatened and
endangered species list, raised their chicks to maturity on Beacon Rock.
Said Paul Malmberg, southwest regional manager, Parks and
Recreation Commission,"We want to make sure rock climbers aren't injured,
and that falcons have peace and quiet to raise their chicks."



Tom Foote footet at elwha.evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College 866-6000 x6118
Olympia, WA 98505