Date: 5/24/13 2:40 am
From: K. Michael Lathroum <kmlathroum...>
Subject: RE: [MDBirding] Black Rail - Howard County
I think Rick does a great job at differentiating between private land and
public land with restricted access. I have been doing conservation law
enforcement for almost the last 24 years over half of that time in our State
Parks alone and have been tasked with enforcing just these issues. I don't
think anyone will argue that State Parks are public land, however, within
those management units there are various areas which are restricted and or
closed to public use e.g. the actual cliffs at Calvert Cliffs, the are
immediately surrounding Bloede's Dam at Avalon etc., the old Henryton
Hospital Center is state owned and managed but access is currently
restricted to that property for safety and health reasons. The Swan Creek
dredge site is probably the best example that most birders will be familiar
with and it would be great if a similar system for bird watchers could be
instituted at this piece of property. Obviously federal public land
holdings also follow the same trend I know Blackwater restricts access to
certain areas at various times of the year for nesting eagles etc.

If I were patrolling that area at night and observed lights in the field
etc, I would also be checking to see what the person(s) were doing in that
area.

Just my $0.02 worth and I certainly think that these allegations of lying
etc, could be resolved easily by simply referring to the land as restricted
access.

Mike Lathroum

-----Original Message-----
From: <mdbirding...> [mailto:<mdbirding...>] On
Behalf Of Rick Borchelt
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2013 8:48 PM
Cc: <mdbirding...>
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Black Rail - Howard County

If I could offer a perspective from someone with no dog in this hunt but
with a lot of experience navigating land access issues in the lep community
...

I think the fundamental disconnect in these discussions is over the use of
the term "private land." This term, in the lep community, means land held
by a private individual or corporate entity that has no responsibility to,
or expectation that it will, provide access to anyone except as their whims
dictate. If I understand correctly, this is not the case with the Central
Farm. It is, legally, "public land with restricted access," and some one or
ones responsible to public governance makes decisions about granting said
access.

The implicit understanding about decisions regarding access to "public land
with restricted access" is that access decisions be made on an equitable
basis to all parties who petition with good cause for access. This does not
mean that the land manager must open up the property to anyone who requests
it. It means that the rules about access are transparent, that the petition
process is public, and that decisions to allow or disallow access are based
in some articulated and accessible set of guidelines, and are communicated
to the requester within a reasonable amount of time. This does not seem to
be the case with management at Central Farm or in the discussion about
access to this property (or some other properties discussed from time to
time) on the listserv.

The members of this list are in a good position to help Central Farm develop
and publicize those guidelines for the benefit of the Maryland birding
community. With respect to those who enjoy access currently, I can
understand the desire to retain that access if the decision of the land
manager is to restrict access to limited numbers of visitors under
controlled conditions (which may well be warranted by the environmental or
cultural conditions of the property -- I can't speak to that). A caring and
sharing community, however, might graciously opt to let others enjoy access
as well under rotating or other equitable guidelines, even if it means this
is no longer exclusively "their" spot.

I speak from experience in saying that occasional field trips for those in
the know does not substitute for a fair and open access policy, and only
deepens the perception of "clubhouse" privilege, to use a country club term
from my (distinctly unprivileged) youth.

My recommendation -- if i could presume to offer one -- would be that on
this list the use of the term "private land" be restricted to property under
private, not governmental (local, regional, state, federal) control. And if
the sighting is from land under some version of public ownership, the name
of the location be announced along with contact information others could use
to request access, if known. This approach has worked well on a number of
the lep listservs I moderate or belong to, and generally relieved a lot of
the kinds of tension this discussion has engendered.

Rick Borchelt

http://www.leplog.com
College Park, MD

On May 23, 2013, at 6:54 PM, Russ Ruffing <ruff2...> wrote:

> Well, I am a very recent Howard County birder so I can't lay claim to
perpetrating any myth. However, I am familiar with how the farm is run by
the University of Maryland, and I can say without any hesitation that if
birders begin to indiscriminately show up at the farm site in numbers, it
will most definitely result in the curtailment of access for everyone in
short order. The idea that it is property owned by the citizens of Maryland
and therefore that infers open access to everyone is faulty in my opinion. I
remember in my college days a student or two trespassing at night at PSU's
Beaver Stadium - also a facility ostensibly "owned by the citizens" - and
promptly getting arrested for trespass and spending a night in jail. The
farm is no different. It is managed by the Farm Manager and we (and anyone
else) visit at his pleasure.
>
> Now maybe Jim got access the times he went to the Farm. So be it. Others
might just be able to do that too - at first. When numbers of people just
start showing up wanting access, it will evaporate for all of us in short
order. That's my opinion. If the Farm Manager wants to weigh in on this and
contradict what we believe to be true, GREAT! Then we can all have access at
any time. We shall see. Nobody is trying to restrict other birders. It's
just a desire to protect access to a great site. Haven't we lost access at
enough sites in the past to at least give pause before rushing headlong into
this?
>
> I also take a bit of offense at the insinuation that Howard Birders have
some personal agenda and try to restrict other birders access to sites and
opportunities at rarities when they show up in County. I have heard this
purported now in this forum and from personal communications to me in the
past. I couldn't find that to be farther from the truth. They are all good
people, actively engaged in our hobby, and genuinely concerned first about
the birds we all love and chase, and second about what somebody else wants
or needs on their year/county/life list. Isn't that how it should be for all
of us?
>
> Russ Ruffing
>
> On 05/23/13, <Jlstasz...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Folks!
>
> The rail was not on private property, but on the
> University of Maryland Central Farm. This land is owned by the citizens of

> Maryland. The Howard County birders have perpetuated the myth that it is
private
> property. In the past I specifically asked the local field trip
coordinator how
> one obtains permission to bird there. My request was never answered. I
since
> went to the location on my own and had no problem getting permission to
bird
> there.
>
> Getting ready to be flamed....
>
> Jim Stasz
> North Beach
> MD
> Jlstasz @aol.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 5/23/2013 4:05:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> <auk1844...> writes:
>
>
>
>
>
> On Saturday, 5/18 we found a Black Rail in Howard County. This was a
> first record for Howard County. It called constantly in the middle of the
day
> for at least 15 minutes. Unfortunately, when we tried to get another group
on
> it, it remained silent and was not heard or seen again. Then there was a
rain
> storm and the rail was never relocated. We tried again Sunday evening and
> conditions were very good for listening, but no rails called, so I assume
it
> has moved on.
>
> Obviously, playback would not be appropriate for this species.
>
>
>
> The BLRA was on private property so access is very limited. There are
> several No Trespassing signs and on our return visit we were questioned by
the
> Howard County Police but fortunately we had permission.
>
>
>
> I wish it had stayed around longer for more people to have had a chance
> to hear it. It was not in a location where a person could look for it on
their
> own.
>
>
>
>
>
> Many videos and recordings were taken. Here is a link to a small
> sample.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/55023563@N08/8805992850/
>
>
>
> --
>
>
> Joe Hanfman
>
> Columbia, MD
>
>
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