Here is an article of interest to birders from the Minneapolis newspaper

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>To: gsbssstg at msn.com
>Subject: Star Tribune Article
>Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 15:24:05 -0500 (CDT)
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>BYLINE:
>CREDITLINE: Associated Press
>HEADLINE: Wisconsin town gets OK for seagull hunt
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> MANITOWOC, Wis. -- The state Department of Natural Resources has dropped
>its opposition to a plan to shoot gulls near the city's marina.
> Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford says about 50,000 gulls infested an
>impoundment along the Lake Michigan marina last year. This year, the number
>has dropped to about 10,000 because of federally approved shooting and
>other efforts to annoy the birds.
> The city hopes - now with the DNR's approval - to kill up to 100 gulls a
>month by shooting them.
> ``My plea to the DNR was that they recognize the damage by the gulls to
>humans, to the water and to the beaches,'' Crawford said after meeting with
>the DNR in Manitowoc Thursday.
> Until it lapsed this month, the city had a federal permit to shoot the
>gulls, but the DNR expressed opposition to a renewal. The DNR was worried
>that Caspian terns, an endangered species that also inhabits the marina,
>would be shot as well.
> After Thursday's meeting, the DNR was convinced the terns will not be
>harmed. The agency also said the city's management plan to turn a 10-acre
>impoundment area from rock spoils to grass will make the area less
>hospitable to gulls.
> ``We really hope that the city will be able to control the gulls with
>their management plan,'' said Jean Rombeck-Bartels, who oversees lands,
>parks and wildlife for the Green Bay office of the DNR.
> Federal agencies must still approve the new shooting plan.
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Gary Sogard
University Place, WA

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