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<TITLE>IL DNR threat to Rusty Blackbird </TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Lucida Grande">It is ironic to me that one of the birds in Jeff’s letter to the SunTimes listed as declining over 97%, the rusty blackbird, is one of the birds that our IL DNR is listing as a target for "controlling" aka killing without a permit.<BR>
<BR>
This is part of an addition to our IL DNR's nuisance animal provision<BR>
ad rule Section 525.35 under consideration right now at DNR.<BR>
I learned of this late in the game and had hoped to get it out to everyone and then got sick. It could be worth sending a quick e-mail to the address below even though we are just out of the official comment period.<BR>
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quote from proposed provision 525.35 IL <BR>
“ b) Any person may remove or destroy, by use of a shotgun, air gun or traps and only on or over the threatened area, any red-winged blackbirds, <B>rusty blackbirds</B>, Brewer's blackbirds, cowbirds, grackles and crows when found committing or <B><U>about to commit</U></B> depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or <B>when concentrated in such numbers</B> and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance, <B>without a permit</B>, so long as they have written permission from the landowner or tenant.”<BR>
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One hand doing one thing and the other going in the opposite direction unfortunately.<BR>
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Please do what you can- sorry I couldn’t get this out sooner-<BR>
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Robbie<BR>
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e-mail can be sent to Barb Frey<BR>
Barb Frey <bfrey@dnrmail.state.il.us><BR>
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the full addendum is at this website<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><FONT SIZE="2"><U>http://www.dnr.state.il.us/legal/Proposed/525-Proposed.htm<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">> The following appeared as a letter-to-the-editor/guest editorial in Monday's<BR>
> Chicago Sun-Times.<BR>
> <BR>
> http://www.suntimes.com/output/letters/cst-edt-vox27a.html<BR>
> <BR>
> How you can help save a billion birds<BR>
> December 27, 2004<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> Four calling birds,<BR>
> three French hens,<BR>
> two turtle doves,<BR>
> and a partridge in a pear tree . . .<BR>
> <BR>
> So goes the familiar holiday tune. Unfortunately, this holiday season,<BR>
> scientists are heralding bad news for birds. New research indicates that<BR>
> one-quarter of all bird species will likely disappear or be critically<BR>
> endangered by the end of this century due to habitat loss, global warming<BR>
> and invasive species. The National Audubon Society's recent ''State of the<BR>
> Birds'' report further confirms that we are not gaining ground but losing<BR>
> it.<BR>
> <BR>
> Audubon's study highlights America's most rapidly declining birds. Topping<BR>
> the list are two species that raise their young in Canadian Boreal forests<BR>
> but winter here in the United States. The rusty blackbird, a cousin to the<BR>
> abundant red-winged blackbird, has declined by a staggering 97.9 percent<BR>
> since 1966. Millions of these birds have just disappeared over the last<BR>
> three decades. The lesser yellowleg, a long-legged shorebird that nests far<BR>
> to our north, has declined by 97.3 percent.<BR>
> <BR>
> These birds and more than 200 other species nest in the 1.4 billion-acre<BR>
> Boreal forest that stretches from Alaska to Newfoundland. The forest is one<BR>
> of the last great wilderness regions left on Earth. One-third of the birds<BR>
> visiting the tens of millions of backyard bird feeders in the United States<BR>
> may have been born in Canada's Boreal region.<BR>
> <BR>
> Chicago regularly hosts about 25 boreal bird species each winter. Many other<BR>
> species pass through during spring and fall migrations.<BR>
> <BR>
> Here in Chicago, the red-breasted nuthatches, white-throated sparrows and<BR>
> dark-eyed juncos have likely come from the distant Boreal forest. Additional<BR>
> Boreal birds in the Chicago area can be found at a new interactive Boreal<BR>
> Bird Guide at < www.boreal birds.org > .<BR>
> <BR>
> Since 1975, about 60 million acres of Canadian Boreal forest have been<BR>
> logged, and development in the region is rapidly escalating.<BR>
> <BR>
> Much of the logging supplies newsprint, catalogs, mail solicitations and<BR>
> tissue paper used in the United States. Associated habitat loss could very<BR>
> well be contributing to abrupt declines in at least 40 bird species.<BR>
> <BR>
> In November, the World Conservation Union formally called for increased<BR>
> Boreal conservation. Fortunately, leading conservationists, resource<BR>
> companies and First Nations tribal peoples are crafting the Boreal<BR>
> Conservation Framework. This initiative envisions protecting half the region<BR>
> as vast tracts of wild land while sustainably developing the remainder.<BR>
> <BR>
> What can you do closer to home to ensure that Boreal birds keep coming to<BR>
> your backyard? Buy recycled paper products. Write letters urging mail-order<BR>
> companies and tissue manufacturers to stop using paper made from virgin<BR>
> Boreal forest when better options are available.<BR>
> <BR>
> You can also participate in the world's longest-running winter bird survey,<BR>
> the 105th Audubon Christmas Bird Count, www. audubon .org/bird/cbc , which<BR>
> started Dec. 14 and continues to Jan. 5.<BR>
> <BR>
> About 55,000 volunteers count birds at nearly 2,000 locations. Their counts<BR>
> inform vital efforts to conserve the Boreal forest and the birds that depend<BR>
> on it -- not to mention it's a great excuse to spend a day outside in<BR>
> nature.<BR>
> <BR>
> Whatever way you choose to help, just do it, and tell your kids you are<BR>
> helping to save a billion birds.<BR>
> <BR>
> Jeff Wells, former director<BR>
> of bird conservation,<BR>
> National Audubon Society<BR>
> <BR>
> {Jeff is currently Senior Scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative -<BR>
> pers. comm.}<BR>
> <BR>
> Alan B. Anderson<BR>
> casresearch@comcast.net<BR>
> <BR>
> Des Plaines, Cook Co.<BR>
> <BR>
> www.chicagoaudubon.org<BR>
> <BR>
> _______________________________________________<BR>
> bcnnet mailing list<BR>
> bcnnet@ece.iit.edu<BR>
> http://www.ece.iit.edu/mailman/listinfo/bcnnet<BR>
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