Brantford City Council voted unanimously this week to temporarily close a stretch of trail near the Wilkes Dam to protect a pair of bald eagles nesting nearby.
The issue had been before council on a number of occasions in the past few months, but each time, councillors were divided on how best to protect the nesting pair.
This week, Councillor Dan McCreary moved a resolution that would see the trail closed from now until the end of March in order to provide quiet to the birds during one of the most critical times in their life cycle.
According to Brad Bricker, principal of Plan B Natural Heritage, the most sensitive period for bald eagles is from December to March, when courtship and nest building takes place. During this time, he says, birds have the tendency to respond negatively to human disturbances and “nest abandonment is common.”
Councillor Ceschi-Smith argued that closing the trail would only serve to highlight the bird’s nesting point and attract more people to the site.
“I guess I’m concerned about how much publicity these eagles have received,” she said. “By blocking [the trail] off, you’re actually putting a flag up to say, ‘Here we are, but don’t come by.’”
Others added that the birds selected this specific location for a reason, and were fully aware of the amount of trail traffic when they decided to nest at the current site.
According to the report by Plan B Natural Heritage prepared for the city, bald eagles have a “moderate to high tolerance to human activity.” In addition, the report states that the birds will nest in areas in urban centres where they have fidelity (site loyalty) and can tolerate the conditions present.
It is believed that the first pair of bald eagles attempted to nest in a large Cottonwood tree along the Grand River in December 2008. Though this attempt failed, and no offspring were produced, Plan B’s report states that if the appropriate steps are taken to protect the habitat, another nesting attempt by the in the city is “highly probable.”
Another nest has been built this year, and community members are concerned that if the trail isn’t re-routed soon, the eagles won’t reproduce.
In a written statement Monday night, Brantford resident Bill LaSalle urged council to close the trail.
“Can those who are against the trail closing guarantee 100% that the eagles will not suffer any ill effects by our intrusiveness?” he asked.
“Can they absolutely say that there’s not any chance at all that the birds will be driven off by any activity on that trail?
“I can guarantee 100% that no trail user will be permanently harmed or have any lasting effects from having to use one of the parallel trails for that short of a time and distance that will only be required during the critical nesting period.”
“The priority should be the eagles,” he said. “We must err on the side of caution to be sure that these birds have every chance of success.”
Though no councillors were opposed to the idea of protecting the eagles, they stated that even with a trail barricade, patrolling the area 24/7 would be next to impossible.
Councillor Carpenter offered a different suggestion.
“I don’t think we need to put up barricade or fences; I think that’s the wrong approach. I think signage is what’s important, and education. You can close the trail by putting up a sign saying the trail is closed from this time to this time, and I think that’s probably appropriate.
“So just some signage, and hopefully now that people know where [the eagles] are, they’ll accept that. You do have to hope that people in your community will do the right thing. We can’t let those that do the wrong thing on a regular basis, those few that do the wrong thing on a regular basis, make our decisions on the directions we go and say, ‘Well, they’re going to ignore it anyways, so let’s not do it.’ I think it is the right approach. It doesn’t have to be as aggressive as maybe things in the past, but just some signage and let’s move on.”
“I like the idea… of the signage,” said Mayor Hancock. “I think it will do as much as trying to close a trail that can’t be closed or enforced. I think it’s a very good point, if you want to put signage in, I think that’s probably a good idea. I bet you 70, 80, maybe more per cent of people…will in fact, observe that sign and not go wandering off.”
In a motion considered “friendly,” Councillor Mark Littell amended Resolution 6.4 to reflect the posting of signs, and council voted unanimously to pass the resolution.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment