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Dan Victor, Wallingford district, Seattle ___.-////
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SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/hern30.shtml

Destruction of heron nests puzzling

Wednesday, November 29, 2000

By DAVID FELD
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Department of Fish and Wildlife investigators want to know who destroyed
18 great blue heron nests by cutting down trees at a private trout
hatchery near Tacoma.

The trees, which were on Troutlodge Inc. property on Pioneer Avenue near
the Puyallup River, probably were cut during the first week of November,
said Kelly McAllister, a district wildlife biologist with the state
department.

"It is truly a loss that is pretty disturbing and we're trying to
determine the correct course of action," McAllister said.

Officials are concerned because the state population of the tall birds,
which are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Act, has been
declining. Biologists blame an increase in natural predators, such as bald
eagles, and habitats harmed by factors such as pollution, logging and
development.

Investigators have been unable to prove who cut down the trees.

McAllister said there appeared to be signs of forced entry at the hatchery
when an investigator visited, but that he was skeptical of the company's
claim of trespass logging.

"I don't know about the reasonableness of that scenario," he said. "It's
hard to imagine that someone could go in with a chain saw and cut down
this many trees within view of the hatchery without raising someone's
attention."

Because heron love fish, their colonies are often found near hatcheries,
much to the ire of hatchery owners, said biologist Don Norman, who studies
the effects of urban environments on wildlife.

"I think if the environmental community knew how many birds were shot by
people at hatcheries, they'd freak out. They'd just freak out. There would
be lawsuits," he said.

A Troutlodge manager told the state the company didn't know who was
responsible. A person who answered the phone at Troutlodge referred all
inquiries to a lawyer, who did not return calls.

Founded in 1945, the company ships more than 350 million trout eggs
annually throughout the United States and 26 foreign countries, according
to the company's Web site. In May 1988, the company received the
Governor's Export Award for "outstanding contributions to the export
expansion of the state of Washington."

McAllister said it was unclear whether the trees with the birds' nests
were intentionally targeted. Other trees also were cut down.

"They could have been cut down without any thought as to whether there
were nests in them," he said.

But McAllister said it is likely the birds were well known in the area,
because the nests were near a high-traffic road.

"In the course of logging practices, heronries are occasionally cut down
without someone knowing there were nests in those trees. But it is very
rare for that scenario to happen on a busy street. In fact, it's virtually
unprecedented," he said.

Those who destroy nests of protected birds are subject to penalties. But
more important than the penalties is the principle of the matter,
McAllister said.

"It's certainly something we don't want to see happening and would like to
see the law be a deterrent to these sorts of things," he said. "It doesn't
matter if it's $100 or $10,000 paid in a fine after the fact. We just
don't want it to happen."

Norman said there are "fewer and fewer options of where the birds can go."
Better legislation is needed to protect heron nesting and foraging areas,
he said.

"It's an ongoing issue," he said. "There are probably somewhere around 40
to 60 active heron colonies in Western Washington. But that's really
misleading because six to seven colonies make up over half the birds, and
a lot of those colonies are still unprotected. The property owners can
develop those properties if they want."

On the other hand, Norman said, herons can adapt easily to urban
environments.

"They can raise their young in people's back yards if they had to," he
said. "It's not like a lose-lose situation. There are ways to work with
developers to figure out a way to develop the land and protect the heron
at the same time."

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