For the same reason some of us call Edwards Air Force Base "Muroc Air Base".
Sometimes the first name describes best what we are looking at, and reminds us of the true roots and heritage of the areas.

Clarence
Cinebar, WA.
----- Original Message -----
From: Brett Wolfe
To: Tweeters
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 6:38 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] OT - Why do birders insist on using outdated info?


Hiya tweets,

This question is not meant to upset folks, but to try to understand why so many people insist on using outdated information.

The Union Bay Natural Area (aka UBNA) has zero signs which mention that it used to be called the Montlake Fill. I know it is a nice short name, but it isn't right, not anymore. I find it amazing that if one was to ask anyone at the University of Washington, which is the entity that manages the UBNA, I doubt any of them would even know the term Montlake Fill, much less use it in everyday language. The folks at the Center for Urban Horticulture were, in their words, "appalled" that anyone still called it 'the Fill'.

To take it a step further, for those that insist on calling the UBNA by the old name, why do you still say Dime Lot for the E-5 parking lot? Anyone who hasn't lived in Seattle for 20 years has no idea what the heck the "Dime lot" is unless it is explained that it is an old, dilapidated name for the E-5 lot.

It actually bothered me that when I reported the Lapland Longspur there a few weeks back, I had at least 3 different people ask me where the UBNA was located. In every case, they were some old-time Seattleite who still called it the Fill. Everyone else knew what I was talking about, but it bothered me that so many people had never updated and upgraded to a name that was more appropos of what the place is now - a naturalized area that just happens to sit on top of an old landfill. Can't we celebrate it as a natural area instead of as an old dump?

Alright, I'm going to end my rant, but this is soimething that has bothered me for a while. There might be a couple of folks who spend as much time at the Union Bay Natural Area as I do, but they are few and far between. I for one would just like to see my favorite place in Seattle accorded the respect that it has earned as the top birding place in Seattle. Is that too much to ask?

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com
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