Jerry,

Thanks for your post about the transition in Texas to a more birder
friendly Game Department. Having just come back from a bad experience at
the Skagit Game Refuge it was timely. The government official we ran
into (perhaps the same one who talked to Ruth) was not happy about all
the birders on the refuge. He was obviously biased toward the needs of
the hunters and couldn't understand why we just didn't go bird somewhere
else. Explaining that the Green tailed Towhee was here and not at some
other destination in Skagit got no where with him. He implied that he
has gotten so many complaints from hunters about birders disrupting their
hunting by chasing their birds away, that the department would probably
just have to close the area to everybody but hunters during hunting
season.

I got quite depressed after that encounter. I think you are right that
it will take a few active and vocal birders to begin to turn this around.

Ileen Weber




Seattle WA
duncanweber at seanet.com