Hello All,

What an outstanding event to have a Ross's Gull discovered at Palmer Lake. On 28 November 1994 Phil Bartley discovered a beautiful adult Ross's just below McNary Dam on the Columbia River. All the lands around the discovery site were DOD/public lands. You talk about a circus put on by the Corps of Engineers over all the birders that showed up to observe this first Washington State record. The ACE ( Army Corps of Engineers) went regulatory quick and threatened to chase everyone off and away from the public viewing area of the dam. Instead of using the event of this rare gulls arrival as an opportunity for great PR. I would suggest that someone talk to the landowners that they set up a hot coffee/hot chocolate stand and charge a dollar a cup and make the best of a fleeting situation. What an opportunity for some great PR with this conservative community. I don't know if the arrival of Ross's Gulls specifically cause the worst in landowners/ managers to come out or if its just large numbers of birders in general?
Later Mike Denny
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Mike & MerryLynn Denny
Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley

"If you haven't birded, you haven't lived"