Subject: [Tweeters] Renton airport anti-bird measures question
Date: Nov 27 19:44:58 2016
From: Diane Weinstein - Diane_Weinstein at msn.com


The city/airport is probably using USDA Wildlife Services to haze and kill the birds.


Renton is a paying member of an interlocal agreement with other cities and agencies that hire Wildlife (dis)Services to kill Canada geese in parks and other public areas throughout the region. In addition to rounding up geese and gassing them to death, Wildlife Services shoots geese on Lake Washington, which to me is also a public safety hazard. According to a Wildlife Services report, they have rounded up and gassed geese at Renton's Gene Coulon Park (across from the airport), however, the city denies it.


I agree that it is important to protect planes from colliding with birds, but as Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger has said "There's always this constant tension between doing what's easiest, what's quickest, what's least costly, versus taking the time, making the effort, to doing it right."


In 2015 Wildlife Services killed over 3.2 million animals. It is time to stop the war on wildlife.


Diane Weinstein

Issaquah


________________________________

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu <tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> on behalf of pan <panmail at fastmail.fm>
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2016 5:58 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: falconresearch at gmail.com
Subject: [Tweeters] Renton airport anti-bird measures question

Hey, Tweets,

A couple friends and I were just at the Renton airport looking at birds
this afternoon. I know they have programs to scare birds away to avoid
collisions with airplanes. I?ve seen them use noisemakers many times
over many years. Today was different. We were watching the gulls, and
they all took flight. We saw a truck (a little before 3 p. m., license
plate A363002, looked like a government vehicle) had pulled onto the
bridge at the end of the runway, and figured the gulls recognize it and
know the noise is about to begin, so they left. The then 23 Snow Geese
flew overhead. A man gets out of the truck, and starts shooting what I
figure is usual noisemakers. Then he points a gun up and shoots at the
Snow Geese, and one tumbles down into the Cedar River. Now there are
22. The downed one flows out under the bridge, struggling and drowning,
into the lake. There?s no attempt to retrieve it. Then the man points
the gun up and shoots a gull (looked like Glaucous-winged). It, too,
drops into the river, then flows under the bridge out into the lake,
struggling for awhile before drowning and floating out. No attempt is
made to retrieve it. Then the man shoots the more traditional fireworks
type flares out over the lake. All this was before and between two
small planes landing.

I repeat: I know airports have permits and programs to haze birds for
aviation safety. But I?ve never seen them randomly shoot birds ? and I
doubt they know they were shooting an unusual bird, the species we?d
come there to see. I don?t think killing a migratory goose and a gull
will make any reduction in their collision probability that their
noisemakers and flares don?t already achieve. It seems amazing shooting
with lethal projectiles in the city and so close to the public could
even be allowed. (At least a couple other park visitors were even
closer than we were.)

So. To whom do I address concerns and questions in some
governing/regulatory authority? Should it just be one of these folks,
or do I find a wildlife law enforcement person? Renton Parks? City
offices?
<http://rentonwa.gov/living/default.aspx?id=14550>
Renton Municipal Airport - City of Renton Home page<http://rentonwa.gov/living/default.aspx?id=14550>
rentonwa.gov
Contact Us Renton Municipal Airport, Clayton Scott Field. 616 W Perimeter Rd, Unit A Renton, WA 98057. Open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday



Office: 425-430-7471

Airport Manager
Jonathan Wilson: jrwilson at rentonwa.gov
Phone: 425-430-7477

Assistant Airport Manager
Harry Barrett Jr.: hbarrett at rentonwa.gov
Phone: 425-430-7476

Airport Civil Engineer
Kamran Yazdidoost: kyazdidoost at rentonwa.gov
Phone: 425-430-7473

Airport Program Specialist
Susan Campbell-Hehr: scampbel at rentonwa.gov
Phone: 425-430-7471

Thanks,

Alan Grenon
Seattle
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pan
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