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ASNH Environmental Policy

Save the Eagles; Save the Land By Richard W. Moore, President of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire The discovery by Audubon volunteers of a nesting pair of Bald Eagles in Bedford has catapulted us into a controversy that goes beyond the eagles. The discovery takes us into the larger issues of development and transportation that is Audubonšs core concern. Audubon agrees that there is an access problem to the Manchester Airport and steps must be taken to solve this problem. However, the solutions must protect the environment beyond what is currently proposed. An eagle at the nest in Bedford, NH Photo by JoAnn O'Shaughnessy It begins with the eagles. The simple presence of nesting eagles in what has, until now, been only wintering eagle habitat requires that the habitat receive a higher level of protection. Nesting is critical to the reproductive success of this threatened species in a state that has only five known nests. Because of our historic concern for birds, Audubon must advocate for the highest level of protection possible. Our members expect this. Protecting the nesting eagles is only a beginning. We have long known that protecting habitat is the most effective way to protect species. The area chosen by the eagles is the last unfragmented natural land along the lower Merrimack River. Construction of a bridge in this location would both reduce and fragment this remaining piece of prime habitat. Cumulative impacts of development along the lower Merrimack affect not only Bald Eagles, but every other plant and animal that lives there, including the multitude of migratory songbirds that depend on riverside habitat for food and shelter during their twice-annual journeys between northern breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. Therefore Audubon opposes the bridge in its current proposed location. Two years ago, during the planning process, Audubon neither opposed nor supported the bridge, but expressed concerns over its location, where wintering eagles gather. The presence of breeding eagles changes everything, including the importance of protecting the remaining habitat. Audubon has twenty years of data on eagles in the Merrimack River Valley. In recent years we have seen the eagles pushed out of several upstream roosts as development has increased along the river. The eagles then began to congregate in the area where the pair has now nested an where the new bridge accessing the Manchester Airport is proposed. Construction of the bridge and its access road would lead to additional development of adjacent currently open lands. This would increase local traffic on the bridge as well as traffic to the airport and increase local air and water pollution. We should learn from the experiences of every major city in the United States that has built more roads and bridges in unsuccessful attempts to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. Audubon is not an organization blindly opposed to development and human progress. We are investing significant effort in the New Hampshire Minimum Impact Development Partnership, a collaborative of development professionals and ecologists working to promote good development practices in New Hampshire. We have a long history of collaboration with businesses and industries that understand the value of New Hampshirešs natural environment for both wildlife and for people. From the industrial forests of the north to the developing communities of the south, Audubon has a history of cooperation and problem solving. This will continue. We need to revisit some of the suggested alternatives to address the airport access issue. We propose several ways to approach this controversy launched by a pair of wild birds that happen to be the symbol of our country and our wild heritage: Build on developed land. New development is best focused where development is already present, not in areas that in another generation will be the only wild lands left. There are bridge locations that Audubon could support that are adjacent to existing development. Explore alternatives. There are alternatives to a bridge that have not been thoroughly explored. For instance, the Manchester Airport's initiative in promoting bus service from Woburn is praiseworthy. Why can't New Hampshire residents have the same service? One can get on a bus in Concord and be delivered to the door of the desired terminal in Boston, but such service is not available to our own airport. Public bus or private limousine service from satellite parking sites in strategic New Hampshire locations would not only reduce traffic but also make using the airport much more convenient for New Hampshire residents. Keep talking. Encourage public discussion of the impact of transportation on remaining natural areas along the Merrimack River. Audubon is committed to full and open exploration of all potential bridge locations, alternatives, mitigation, and creative solutions. Dare to be New Hampshire. We need new ways to think about transportation. The business of transportation is moving people and goods efficiently, not just accommodating increasing numbers of cars. New Hampshire has the opportunity to be different. We can avoid the overdeveloped snarls that extend for five hundred miles to the south of us. A system of public transportation will require public subsidy, just as the system for moving millions of individual cars benefits from the enormous public subsidy of a massive road system. The results will be better for the environment, better for public health, and better for human quality of life, as well as for eagles and other wildlife.