It's too bad the terns were displaced from Bellingham. I wonder if pressure can be put on the Port of Bellingham to allow the terns to nest there until the property has a realistic potential for being developed, which in this current economic recession may be a long time from now.

Bill, et al,

I attended two meetings with B'ham Port officials and urged them to include the terns in their comprehensive plan by setting aside a small corner of the property. I spoke to them of the economic boost that bird watchers would bring to the community just to observe an active and accessible CATE nesting colony.
I told them that North Cascades Audubon would provide volunteers to help manage the viewing, clean up the mess, etc. They were not interested in anything I had to say in favor of encouraging the terns to nest anywhere on the Bellingham waterfront. I even presented a couple of alternative sites which were shot down as well.

The colony was spectacular last year and it's really too bad that the Port will not budge on this issue; but they are in the real estate business and could not care less about wildlife management.
Even a few citizens see the terns as a nuisance....go figure.

To everything, tern, tern, tern....
Joe Meche
Bellingham