>What money? This just modifies a document on a web server.
>

Not.

Actually, even such a minor change will require schoolbooks to be updated
and repurchased to reflect the changes. That kind of expenditure is
unnecessary now and any time.





Scott R
Yakima, WA
mryakima at gmail dot com






On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 2:22 PM, Kevin Purcell <kevinpurcell at pobox.com>wrote:

> On Feb 7, 2011, at 9:01 PM, Michael Brown wrote:
>
> > The problem with swifts is, I believe, that the average citizen wouldn't
> know the difference between a swift and a swallow. For a state bird, I think
> John Q. Public needs to be able to identify with it, or maybe just be able
> identify the species. :-)
>
> Perhaps the American Crow should be a candidate?
>
> Perhaps 95% of the population live alongside it.
>
> It's a synanthrope, a lawn-o-phile and a generalist. Maybe this choice
> would say more about the direction on life on this planet (and in WA state)
> than anything else.
>
> We even have a leading researcher at a state university who works (well,
> worked) on crows.
>
> I'm not sure what's behind the current change but I do note that the
> previous change from Western Meadowlark (a good choice in both wet and dry
> WA) to American Goldfinch in 1951 seems to map the change from rural to
> urban. Maybe this is just a 50 year itch.
>
> Or the house reps keeping some local schoolkids entertained.
>
> > What's the real impetus behind spending time and money on this....lark?
> (No pun intended.)
>
> What money? This just modifies a document on a web server. I'm sure the
> proposers are hoping it goes through on "the nod".
>
> Bottom line: write to the proposers of the bill and tell them this is a
> silly idea. And write your own rep too. Write the papers. Write to the TV
> stations. Make fun of them. Point out it's a cheap way to keep their voters
> happy. They won't like that. (I see this has already started in the times).
>
> On another note I'm note sure why we still have a "indigenous" bird
> distinction with European Starting and House Sparrow being unprotected.
> They're part of our ecosystem now. They're not going away. Unless, given
> their numerical decline over the past 30 years which matches declines in
> Europe, we also loose a lot of other "more indigenous" songbirds too.
>
> Hmmm, the starling for state bird. Now there's an idea.
> --
> Kevin Purcell (Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA)
> kevinpurcell at pobox.com
> http://kevinpurcell.posterous.com
> http://twitter.com/kevinpurcell
>
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