I would like to address a couple points raised by Mr. Wood for the larger
MDOsprey membership.  I can't speak to what happens in Texas, but I am well
versed in Maryland wildlife management issues and feels there needs to be a
little clarification.

Maryland DNR-Wildlife and Heritage and USDA-Wildlife Services cooperatively
respond to thousands of wildlife damage complaints annually.  Additionally,
we license several hundred wildlife control cooperators, who provide
wildlife damage remediation services (for a fee) to the public and private
sectors.  I am greatly involved with all these activities through my
position at the DNR.  Wildlife damage management is both an art and a
science.  It involves the manipulation of human behavior, habitat, and
wildlife, to eliminate or resolve problems.  The first tool is always
education.  Many people are not well versed in the habits of our native
wildlife, and a little education is all that is needed.  The second tool of
choice is nonlethal alteration of human behavior.  If the raccoons are
getting in the garbage, the answer is to do something different with the
garbage, not get rid of the raccoons (as we know, nature will soon replace
them).  Lethal control is much farther down on the list.  To suggest we
employ a "shoot first" mentality is a gross mischaracterization.  That is
not to suggest that lethal control is never used - in some circumstances it
is the only practical, effective and efficient solution, but we don't make
this decision in a trivial manner.

As for the deer management point, I don't think too many suburban homeowners
who feed deer (which we certainly do not recommend) allow deer hunters to
come upon there property and kill what they perceive as their "pets".
However, Marylanders do increasing recognize the problems (including impacts
to various bird species) from deer overabundance and are increasingly
willing to allow hunting in closer proximity to their homes and within their
parks.  It has become clear that this can be done in a safe and effective
manner.

As for the waterfowl hunting seasons, they are based on a multitude of
scientific surveys and studies that are conducted on an annual basis.
Waterfowl populations have suffered from wetland alteration, but have also
benefited from the hundreds of millions of dollars waterfowl hunters
continue to put into wetland conservation, that benefits game and nongame
species alike.  Because they are hunted, and have a strong constituency to
support them, and they are very unlikely to end up on the endangered species
list.  If populations decline below certain levels (usually due to weather),
the hunting seasons are closed or shortened.  The same can not be said for
many species pursued by birders.

As to the point raised in the last sentence of Mr. Wood's post, I would
suggest for those who have not seen it, to read Pete Dunn's article is the
Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Birding magazine (available at
http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/birding/archives/2005.html) related to
hunters and birders.  It is a good piece and better addresses this issue
than I can.  Plus I think this is one of those MDOsprey-prohibited topics,
and I need to keep Norm happy, since I'm his new neighbor!

Mark L Hoffman
Associate Director, Administration
Wildlife and Heritage Service




-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Richard Wood
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:02 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Ornithophobia strikes again

Go to Texas.  They have a "program" there to wipe out TV's, which are deemed
to be a "problem" in state parks.  It seems that they eat the garbage left
in the parks by humans, which isn't being properly disposed of by the park
people.  So, naturally, the DNR people catch and kill the poor Turkey
Vultures, who are only doing what comes natural to them, namely trying to
survive.
 
 Face it, we live in a "shoot first, ask questions later" society.
 
 In Utah, they just drive over nature with their SUV's and ATV's.  One would
think it would be different in a more urban setting like Maryland.  But no,
this is a land where they feed deer and then gun them down after the deer
befriend the people feeding them.  It's also a place where any duck species
is fair game, even though all ducks will be endangered in a few years.  What
will the hunters hunt when there are no more ducks to shoot?  Each other?
 
 Good birding,
 Richard
 
 
Richard L. Wood, Ph. D. 
 Computational Chemist 
 Cockeysville, MD 21030 
 

----- Original Message ----
From: Frank Boyle <>
To: 
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:31:23
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Ornithophobia strikes again

Janet, 

I couldn't agree more.  From the article:

 "Before everyone gets into a major tizzy over the bird 'problem,' and
starts blasting birds off the roof, may I suggest that you all take a deep
breath and relax. What harm are they doing?" Lee wrote in an e-mail to the
board. "Get a grip, put away your shotguns, and worry about more important
things."


************************
Frank Boyle

Rohrersville, MD
************************


-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Janet Millenson
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 9:02 PM
To: 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Ornithophobia strikes again

Curse you, Alfred Hitchcock!

The front page of Friday's Metro section in the Washington Post has a large
photo of black vultures on a rooftop, with the headline "Ravaging a
Neighborhood's Peace." The subhead is "Columbia Enclave Weighs Its
Nonviolent Options." Makes you envision brave residents comforting their
weeping families and stocking up on canned food and duct tape, doesn't it? 
After all, "ravage" means "cause extensive damage; devastate." Apparently
this avian devastation consists primarily of stomping around, defecating on
cars, and alarming the young and/or foolish by their very presence. The
online version of the article, at http://tinyurl.com/8tf2l ,  tones down the
headline to "Raptors Prey on Neighbors' Nerves," but retains the first
sentence: "Ted Hart isn't too fond of the flesh-eating vultures that live on
his roof."

The rest of the article is balanced and informative, and the drawings of
vultures are nicely done. Unfortunately a lot of people are going to just
glance at the photo and headline, which will reinforce their belief that
there's something inherently threatening about a large gathering of
vultures.

Howard County is full of awesome, dynamic birders. You'd better get to work
on educating those wimps at the Washington Post.

Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)

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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot