Kelp gulls and the Maryland House of Delegates

Ellen Paul (epaul@dclink.com)
Fri, 05 Mar 1999 08:08:45 -0500 

I told Gail Mackiernan that I was going to wait a while before sending
this post that I wrote last night, and I have toned it down.  Still,
I've got my flame-retardant suit on in preparation for the inevitable
replies.   And what the hell - most of you already think I'm
an opinionated loud-mouth anyway.  The fact of the matter is that if
they vote to allow hunting on Sundays, well you deserve what you get. 
Bear in mind that I'm not criticizing any individual, but rather birders
at large, so no one should take this personally:

I am really, truly happy for everyone who has seen the Kelp Gull. 
Although gulls aren't my thing (and we saw plenty of Kelp Gulls in South
Africa), I certainly know the joy of seeing something so wonderful.  So,
I really am glad for all of you.

But how many Marylanders have now been to see that gull?  Would 500 be a
reasonable guess?   Well, guess how many birders showed up at today's
hearing in the Maryland House of Delegates to testify against the bill
to allow Sunday hunting?

TWO.  Just TWO.  Me and George Wilmot.  

That is absolutely pitiful.  If even 1/100 of the Kelp Gull folks (who
had to drive all the way to St. Mary's City) had shown up in Annapolis,
that would have been five more birders.  Heck, if even 1/100 of those of
you who have written on MdOsprey on the Kelp Gull had shown up, there
would have been a couple more birders.

If I could take off six hours from work, so could at least one or two
other birders. Surely some of you are retired, or have some flexibility
in your schedules.  Surely some of you could have at least submitted
written testimony.

Yes, I know it was short notice.  But it was short notice for me and 
for George Wilmot.  It was short notice for every one of the several
dozen people who testified against the bill.

There were at least nine equestrian people.  Surely there are at least
as many birders as there are equestrians.  One orienteering group was
represented.  Surely there are far more birders than orienteering
enthusiasts.
One DOG-WALKER showed up.  But only two birders.  Pretty
hard to convince people that birding is such a big deal in Maryland when
only two of you show up.  Yes, I had the FWS data, which is impressive. 
But not nearly as impressive as a dozen people showing up and
testifying!  Montgomery County chapter has something like 300 members. 
Surely one other person from Montgomery County could have attended (Gail
is going tomorrow, as is Leslie Fischer).  Surely ONE person from Howard
County could have been there.  Rich Dolesh of MOS sent the written
testimony to me and I submitted it on both the House and Senate sides. 

I think we should also be concerned that ANS hasn't taken a stand on
this.
They didn't show up and didn't submit written testimony.  I know that 
ANS isn't a birding organization per se, but most members are birders,
and this isn't a birding issue anyway - it's about anyone who wants to
go out in the woods on Sundays - butterfly people, plant people, and 
folks who just plain like to walk in the woods - and ANS DOES represent
all of these folks too.  And it represents LOTS of people.  And they
have
a full-time paid staffer to do this kind of thing.  

Well, in closing, all I can say is that I hope this stimulates some
productive discussion about the need for birders to take action to
protect their own interests.  

Ellen

-- 
Ellen Paul           
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Mailto:epaul@dclink.com
Ornithological Council Website:  http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"