rice island is an artificial island. it is the result of dredging
activity in the columbia river to deepen the channel for barges
and other large boats. it isn't as though the caspian terns have
traditionally nested on this island because, after all, without
human activity, this island would not exist in the first place!

Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://students.washington.edu/~nyneve/
<><><>Graduate School: it's not just a job, it's an indenture!<><><>


On Tue, 30 May 2000, Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney wrote:

[stuff elided for brevity's sake]

> Hi Ruth,
>
> Just wanted to mention that 'they' (Feds and University types) have
> banded and color-banded a number of Caspian Terns at the ill-starred
> nesting colony at the mouth of the Columbia. The Federal and State
> governments' 'wildlife' agencies have altered the habitat and hazed the
> birds from their nesting colony on Rice Island in the Columbia River
> to reduce their predation on salmon & steelhead smolts - since 'They,
> are unwilling to modify the Columbia and Snake dams' effects on the
> fish or the other habitat maladies caused by 150 years of human ex-
> istance in the region, the birds are deemed the culprit and suffer the
> consequences.
>
> The birds have relocated to Sand Island, 5 miles below the Megler-
> Astoria bridge, and we can only hope that the terns' expected lower
> predation rates on salmonid smolts at that location will give the agencies
> a reason to lessen their persecution of these birds.

[stuff elided for brevity's sake]