There are so many details that I’d like to share regarding the Blue Ridge development burrowing owls, but I must refrain from exposing much of the information in an effort to prevent undermining the cause.  In short, eviction doors continue to appear and have infiltrated one of the few remaining sections.   Just this morning I spotted an individual owl (part of a pair) crouching in a still viable burrow while the other 3 in their network  are now blocked with one-way doors.

As I stood in the middle of the street I exchanged glances with the wintering owl and tried to block the disturbing chatter of a handheld compression tool being fired up directly behind me.  And following the directions of the human operator, the jackhammer-like piece of equipment compacted the soil and collapsed what I believe were already cleared burrows.

I was also approached by a fellow neighbor who was looking for an update to the situation…and was longing for the establishment of some kind of park in which owls could thrive and residents  could enjoy.  As we traded contact information he inquired as to the possibility of residents banding together and purchasing some of the land.  But I fear that the process has already extended well beyond such a noble cause, would be hampered by a still struggling economy, and although is worthy of exploration is not something we could feasibly arrange in the little time these owls have left.

We have already begun a letter writing campaign to Director McCamman of the Department of Fish & Game, to our State Senators & Assembly Members, and to the Attorney General.  If you have not yet participated please visit Friends of East Bay Owls for sample letters and contact details.

But one obvious organization that should be contacted is Kiper Homes.  And with the help of WildCare Bay Area, an action alert was dispatched on January 12th to 8,000 members asking for their assistance.  It is an appeal to the developer directly to take responsibility for disturbing the habitat of these owls and purposely withdrawing discretionary approvals that would trigger a CEQA review and mitigation.  Just because they were able to perform a legal sidestep does not mean it is the right thing to do for a declining species or for the community in which they seek to profit.

So if you have already taken action by contacting state officials, please take one more moment to visit WildCare Bay Area and appeal to the developer to make an environmentally friendly decision.

Thanks WildCare Bay Area!

Tags: Antioch Burrowing Owls, Blue Ridge Development, burrowing owls, Kiper Homes

This entry was posted by Scott on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Human Threats, Migratory Birds, Owls, Urban sprawl, Wildlife, Wildlife management, birds, conservation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.