Sorry, but your information is incorrect. A lawsuit by the Seattle Audubon
Society prevented any alteration of habitat or hazing of the Rice Island
Caspian Terns by anyone. The majority of this colony moved of it's own
volition (they may have been aided in that decision by some decoy work
funded by the Corps of Engineers, but I suspect that would be a tough one to
prove) and the minority that remained were harrassed only by nonhuman
predators. I'll grant that the newspapers west of the Cascades did make it
sound for a while there as if war to annihilation was being waged against
this colony, but no "persecution" actually happened.

Dennis Rockwell Kennewick, WA dennis.rockwell at gte.net

"I love mankind -- it's people I can't stand."
Charles Schultz 1922-2000

----Original Message-----
From: Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney <festuca at olywa.net>
To: 'tweeters at u.washington.edu'
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2000 9:19 PM
Subject: Re - Caspian Terns


>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.
>
>If we birders can help, I saw a flyer requesting observations of marked
>Caspian Terns. I hope that we can get some observations of terns to
>the researchers. "Birding with a Purpose"
>
>Jon. Anderson
>Olympia, Washington
>festuca at olywa.net