New rules for shorebird habitat could have local effect
New rules for shorebird habitat could have local effect
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
Proposed new rules that would relax restrictions on buffer zones for migrating coastal birds have a direct impact on Scarborough, its marsh and its beaches.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is proposing a bill in the Maine Legislature that would reduce the buffer for the shoreland birds’ feeding areas from 250 feet to 75 feet.
The state legislature approved the provision for the 250-foot buffer last summer, but the Maine DEP began to rethink the rules after hearing from property owners.
“We received a lot of complaints from property owners and the real estate community and decided to take a closer look at the issue,” Scott Cowger, director of outreach and communications for the Maine DEP, said. “What we found is that we could change the buffer zone and still protect wildlife while not unreasonably restricting someone who wants to build on land.”
Cowger said the DEP has spoken with property owners and conservationists to try and find a balance between their opinions.
The new legislation would create different rules for roosting areas and feeding areas for migrating shorebirds. While the buffer for the roosting areas would remain at 250 feet, the buffer for feeding areas would be 75 feet.
In Scarborough, roosting and feeding areas are present for migrating shorebirds both in the Scarborough Marsh and at its beaches.
Cowger said another part of the legislation would be more restrictive on clearing of land near roosting and feeding areas for migrating coastal birds, specifically clearing for views.
Cowger said current rules do not necessarily prohibit landowners from building in a buffer zone for migrating shorebirds, because those landowners can try to get a special permit from the DEP, which he said reviews the plans on a “site by site” basis.
Jody Jones, a wildlife ecologist with Maine Audubon, said her organization is supportive for the proposed changes. She said while birds that stay on the Maine coast before migrating across the Atlantic are susceptible to disturbance in their roosting areas, feeding areas change with the tide and are “more flexible.”
“Roosting areas are places where these birds congregate at high tide and they need a safe place to rest,” Jones said. “Feeding areas are places where the birds feed as the tide goes out.”
According to Jones, roosting areas are where migrating coastal birds build up their fat supply for their long journey ahead. She said if the birds are disturbed in those places, they have to move around, which burns their fat and could prohibit them from making their migration. She said the birds that stop in Maine during their migration do so every year and, more times than not, make their stop in the same place.
Cowger said that there are several proposals regarding the buffer for migrating shoreland birds. He said they range from bills proposing a different distance to bills that totally do away with the buffer zones entirely. The legislation being sponsored by the DEP will soon be taken up by a legislative committee and then, if needed, by the Maine Legislature as a whole.
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
Proposed new rules that would relax restrictions on buffer zones for migrating coastal birds have a direct impact on Scarborough, its marsh and its beaches.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is proposing a bill in the Maine Legislature that would reduce the buffer for the shoreland birds’ feeding areas from 250 feet to 75 feet.
The state legislature approved the provision for the 250-foot buffer last summer, but the Maine DEP began to rethink the rules after hearing from property owners.
“We received a lot of complaints from property owners and the real estate community and decided to take a closer look at the issue,” Scott Cowger, director of outreach and communications for the Maine DEP, said. “What we found is that we could change the buffer zone and still protect wildlife while not unreasonably restricting someone who wants to build on land.”
Cowger said the DEP has spoken with property owners and conservationists to try and find a balance between their opinions.
The new legislation would create different rules for roosting areas and feeding areas for migrating shorebirds. While the buffer for the roosting areas would remain at 250 feet, the buffer for feeding areas would be 75 feet.
In Scarborough, roosting and feeding areas are present for migrating shorebirds both in the Scarborough Marsh and at its beaches.
Cowger said another part of the legislation would be more restrictive on clearing of land near roosting and feeding areas for migrating coastal birds, specifically clearing for views.
Cowger said current rules do not necessarily prohibit landowners from building in a buffer zone for migrating shorebirds, because those landowners can try to get a special permit from the DEP, which he said reviews the plans on a “site by site” basis.
Jody Jones, a wildlife ecologist with Maine Audubon, said her organization is supportive for the proposed changes. She said while birds that stay on the Maine coast before migrating across the Atlantic are susceptible to disturbance in their roosting areas, feeding areas change with the tide and are “more flexible.”
“Roosting areas are places where these birds congregate at high tide and they need a safe place to rest,” Jones said. “Feeding areas are places where the birds feed as the tide goes out.”
According to Jones, roosting areas are where migrating coastal birds build up their fat supply for their long journey ahead. She said if the birds are disturbed in those places, they have to move around, which burns their fat and could prohibit them from making their migration. She said the birds that stop in Maine during their migration do so every year and, more times than not, make their stop in the same place.
Cowger said that there are several proposals regarding the buffer for migrating shoreland birds. He said they range from bills proposing a different distance to bills that totally do away with the buffer zones entirely. The legislation being sponsored by the DEP will soon be taken up by a legislative committee and then, if needed, by the Maine Legislature as a whole.
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