Today's Oregonian reports that the Bush administration is moving to de-list the Marbled Murrelet in California, Oregon and Washington. The administration has once again decided to ignore the overwhelming evidence that the species is in a free-fall decline due almost exclusively to habitat loss from clear-cut logging of old-growth forests.
Their rationale? There's not been a significant enough decline in Canada and Alaska, yet.
This is perfectly consistent with previous Bush administration policies. Ignore the evidence that runs contrary to policy. Manufacture evidence that supports policy.
And as far as endangered species are concerned, the only species worth listing are the ones that are too far gone to save. That way a clear case can be made for why the endangered species act is a failure and should be abandoned.
About three weeks ago I finally bought a new bicycle. I've been riding the same Ross 10-speed since 1972. I love that bike and have put a lot of miles on it, but the hills of Astoria and a buy-in to the American car culture have kept it in the basement for long stretches of the last 10 years or so. Several things ran together to drive my decision to spend $605 on a fancy new bike. I'm carrying around a middle-aged spread that I'd like to get under control. My daughter has learned to ride her bike and wants to go touring. There have been several instances when I needed to do work beyond locked gates where having a bicycle would have made entry more efficient than walking in....
But the clincher has been the recent rise in gasoline prices (and the politics around that increase). Those in other countries undoubtedly have little sympathy for a country where people will spend $3.00 for a cup of coffee, but go into seizures at the thought of paying that much for a gallon of gas. Most other countries haven't seen $3.00 per gallon since the 70's.
There's been a low grumble all summer about gas prices among birders, that has finally broken out to a genuine discussion in the last several days. A significant subset of birders routinely hop in their cars and drive several hundred miles to get to a bird or birding spot. Chasing rarities is part of the birder lifestyle for many and a 50% rise in fuel prices is no small thing for that group. It's actually surprising that the whining has taken this long to rise above a whisper.
I've never been much of a chaser. I chased the CURLEW SANDPIPER that turned up at Nehalem Sewage ponds last week, but only because I was already as far as Cannon Beach (about 15 miles away from the bird) on work related business. Even so, that 30 mile round-trip detour cost me $2.90.
My new bike is a fancy hybrid, beefed up to take the stress of off-pavement riding, but with large larger diameter, narrower wheels for greater efficiency on streets. I also sprang for the disc brakes; I actually feel like I'm in control going downhill. I'm hoping to use my new bicycle on my regular, local patrols of birding spots. Birding by bicycle combines intimacy of walking with the efficiency of a car across distances. I'm less likely to miss birds on bike compared to a car and I can cover more ground on a bike than I would walking. I'm also hoping to reduce my fuel bill in the process, effectively paying for the bike without a substantial reduction in birding hours.
Those curious about these new hybrid bicycles can check out this site.
Rare Bird: pursuing the mystery of the Marbled Murrelet (Ruth, Maria M. 2005. Rodale Inc. pp.298).
The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird related to the puffins and auks. It is, in at least one respect, unique among seabirds in that it builds its nest in the tops of old-growth conifers. This has placed it dead center in the middle of the forest management debate right next to the Northern Spotted Owl. Unlike the Spotted Owl, the Marbled Murrelet is not instantly recognizable by the public. It lacks the flash of a falcon, the symbolism of a Bald Eagle or the obvious socio-economic importance of a Coho Salmon. It is non-descript, unassuming and has been largely misunderstood from the time when it was encountered by Captain Cook's surgeon William Anderson in 1778 until the 1970's when its habit of nesting in large conifers was finally demonstrated.
Maria Mudd Ruth attempts to change the Marbled Murrelet's public face by introducing us to the history and mystery of the species in Rare Bird: pursuing the mystery of the Marbled Murrelet. She made a personal connection while researching old-growth forests for another project. She found herself frustrated by how little information was available about murrelets. As she dug into the literature, her frustration turned to a fascination that eventually led her to move her family from Virginia to California where she began a four-year quest to learn everything she could about murrelets. Rare Bird is a layman's synthesis of what she discovered.
Other people's obsessions are never easy to understand or explain, and Rare Bird never really gets us into the author's head. She does not succeed in making her obsession our obsession. What we get instead is a travelogue, some of it back in time to the earliest recorded encounters with Marbled Murrelets, and much of it a present-day account of Marbled Murrelet research. Ms. Ruth spends time learning the protocols for inventorying murrelets, helps hunt for nests and takes a ride on a zodiac to catch and band murrelets at sea.
Ms Ruth is not a scientist, and this is both a strength and weakness. She lays out the historical record with a jargon free, light touch. She pieces together the threads of 18th, 19th and early 20th century murrelet history into a clear narrative that explains why the biology of Marbled Murrelets remained such a mystery for so long. But when she gets to the present and spends field time with biologists working on murrelets, her objectivity flags. She lays on the self-deprecation a little too thickly. The running themes about layered clothing and getting up before dawn become redundant and tiring.
Perhaps most aggravating is how Ms Ruth approaches the controversy surrounding the protection of Marbled Murrelet habitat. In a time when most objective research indicates that Marbled Murrelets are on a clear path to extinction and there is a full-frontal assault on the Endangered Species Act, it seems a bit surprising how timid Ms Ruth is in confronting issues of habitat protection. Her treatment of those opposed to old-growth forest protection is remarkably cursory. Given her efforts at finding murrelet researchers and making personal connections with them, it seems surprising that we are told mostly secondhand stories about angry loggers and illegal tree cutting. She visits a single biologist working for a small timber company, lets him state without challenge that there is no evidence that murrelets are endangered, that the destruction of old-growth forests is a consequence of our consumer culture and all our fault, then calls it good. We get neither a grown up discussion of the controversies or any real insight into why habitat protection is so complicated.
Those who have never heard of Marbled Murrelets or only know what they've read in the paper will probably enjoy this non-technical introduction to a bird unique to the world of seabirds and the Pacific Northwest. Those who are already acquainted with the species may welcome the synthesis, but find themselves wanting a deeper treatment. And those hoping to change minds with this book will probably be disappointed.