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November 29, 2004
Idiotic?
The Federally protected piping plover winters in Dauphin Island and part of the island is a designated habitat for the bird. Now efforts to rebuild the protective sand wall on part of the island are blocked by this, because the Army Corps of Engineers isn't allowed to dump sand in the water where the plovers feed unless Fish & Wildlife grants a waiver. (I'm guessing it will.) Homeowners are upset:
"Because a little bird eats down here a few months out of the year, these houses could fall in the water?" asked... a west-end homeowner. "It's idiotic. These people need the sand more badly than the bird."
Leaving aside that the bird doesn't need the sand but rather to keep the sand away, you know what's idiotic? Building a house on an island that's all sand in the middle of a hurricane zone.
Posted by Mac Thomason at November 29, 2004 09:11 AM
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Comments
I think the homeowner meant the people need the sand more than the people need the bird. Seems reasonable to me. I'd never heard of a piping plover before, I wouldn't miss it.
Posted by: Mark at November 29, 2004 02:47 PM
Yeah, but I'd never heard of [the name deleted homeowner] before either, so would I miss her if she was blown away by a hurricane? More seriously... we're talking a relative few houses -- most of which are seasonal rentals rather than actual homes -- against the survival of a species, and potentially an entire ecosystem.
Posted by: Mac Thomason at November 29, 2004 03:07 PM
I would miss the piping plover. A lot. Dauphin Island is one of the only places in Alabama to see it. As usual, Dauphin Island's residents fail to realize just how much of the island's income comes from birdwatchers. DI is one of the top birding hotspots in the US during spring & fall migration.
Having said that, a berm from St Stephens to the end of the main paved road might not affect the bird too badly, since there is a lot of uninhabitable land past the last houses.
Wonder if those homeowners would change their tune if they had to pay for the stupid thing themselves. It will be washed away again within a year or two, and then taxpayers will have to foot the bill for yet another one.
Posted by: KW at November 29, 2004 04:05 PM
The entire concept of living on the beach is based upon not having to pay for that sort of upkeep. They're all subsidized by the rest of us.
Posted by: Mac Thomason at November 29, 2004 04:21 PM