It?s been a whirlwind couple of weeks with great news for the herons.
Right now, the score is Herons 10, developer 0. With your help, it will
stay that way.

Hearing Examiner Reverses City?s approval of development
First, the big news. The Hearing Examiner has reversed the City?s
approval of the 65-house development adjacent to the colony. He is
requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before any construction
can take place.

With this decision, we have scaled the peaks of Mount Everest. It's not
over yet. But for now, we should congratulate ourselves for a job very
well done.

This is indeed an extraordinary victory for the herons and Puget Sound
residents. It's the most stringent decision that could have been
rendered, leveling the playing field and giving the herons a fighting
chance to survive here. The people know this is a special place, as do
the herons. Now if only the developer and a handful of Renton officials
and administrators can realize how special this place is.

Let me know if you would like a copy of the 62-page decision. Write to
info at heronsforever.com or szkrom at juno.com.


Examiner?s decision appealed by the developer
The developer appealed the decision last week. We expect to see a copy of
the appeal any day now. This appeal will be heard by the Renton City
Council (date to be determined). Unfortunately, the Council is a
political venue. We?ll see if they allow politics to influence their
decision. If they do, then we will be forced to take this to Superior
Court, where our attorney tells us the Examiner?s decision has a 100%
chance of being reinstated.


News coverage of the decision
The Seattle Post Intelligencer, King County Journal, and Q13 News covered
this issue. The Seattle PI article can be found at
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/186456_herons16.html. The reporter?s
story needs to be corrected on two points:
While it's true that a development was recently constructed approximately
500 feet from the colony, the developer failed to tell the reporter that
the herons have since abandoned this part of the colony. It was a topic
they unsuccessfully tried to deny at the hearing.
The site is 93 acres, not 60.
The King County Journal article can be found at
http://kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/170282. In this article,
the developer claims that our subspecies of great blue heron is thriving.
The facts do not support this claim. In fact, the health of our local
herons is of real concern to biologists. The developer?s claim was denied
in the Examiner?s decision.


The herons need your support
In order to continue protecting our Black River herons, we very much need
your financial support. 100% of all gifts made to Herons Forever goes
toward our legal effort to make sure the Hearing Examiner?s decision is
retained. Please consider a contribution of at least $25. If you are able
to give more, we would be very grateful, as it will help make up for
those who cannot.

All of us with Herons Forever are volunteers. There is no overhead.

Herons Forever is the only environmental organization dedicated solely to
protecting the Black River Riparian Forest and great blue heron colony,
the largest heron colony in the tri-county region (King, Snohomish, and
Pierce). We are an incorporated non-profit with over 450 members.


******************


Dear Herons Forever, Seattle Audubon Society, and Rainier Audubon
Society,
I want to join you in helping to make sure the Black River Riparian
Forest is protected. My tax-deductible contribution to help support this
work is:

_____ $25 _____ $50 _____ $100 _____ $250 _____ Other

To contribute to Herons Forever, please make your check or money order to
Rainier Audubon Society/Black River herons* and in the memo section,
write Black River.

Send your check to: Jim Tooley, Treasurer, Rainier Audubon Society, P.O.
Box 778, Auburn, WA 98071. You will receive a receipt from the Rainier
Audubon Society.

Your name: ______________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________________________ Zip:
_________________
Telephone (with area code): ____________________ E-mail:
________________________

* Please be sure to write Black River Riparian Forest on your check. It
is the only way that your contribution will go to support our Black River
herons.

*Rainier Audubon Society is a 501c3 organization.



We will keep you posted as this process unfolds. The herons thank you for
your support.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Krom, President
Herons Forever


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