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Posted by David La Puma (for Chris Borg) on 16:51:25 10/23/08
In Reply to: Re: FWC...Harvest Falcons from Conservation Areas posted by Angel & Mariel
I'm posting this email which I just received from Chris Bork regarding the issue. I thought everyone might find it interesting.
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Hey folks,
...just got off the phone with Casey (Lott, from HW International) and I thought I'd share some important facts with you. First and foremost it's apparent
that I was mislead by an alarmist on some key facts: First and foremost the proposal allows for capture of 30 young of the year
Peregrines East of the Mississippi... not 30 in Florida alone. This is a comparatively small figure considering that there are
approximately 7,300 to 17,500 young peregrines produced annually Continent wide (4,400-11,000 in Eastern North America).
In the worst case scenario we are talking about fractions of a percent of the juvenile population (even if factoring for mortality)
... miniscule scientifically speaking. Regarding my concern about State protected subpopulations the probability of having an
impact on any one population is incredibly low. Again I was mistakenly under the impression the 'harvest' would be 30 in Florida
alone, with other States having similar quotas. Thus this issue is largely one of ideology and morals... and as a result I'm simply
an arm-waving filthy hippie alarmist. Hey... at least I didn't get kicked off some birding listserv as I have in years past. When you
consider that falconers were some of the first to instigate the recovery process and that many are involved in raptor education
programs... it kind of makes sense to give them some recognition for their efforts by allowing a limiting take of a species deemed
fully recovered. I leave you with some interesting current facts specific to our beloved Florida Keys Hawk watch: On Oct. 11, 2008
638 southbound Peregrines passed over Grassy Key; This year to-date 2650 Peregrines have been tallied. Annually between 8-13% of the
Eastern North American Peregrine population passes over Grassy Key. Continent wide the annual Peregrine population (at its peak)
ranges between 24,000 - 39,000 birds. So, in the end, I apologize for the days diatribe. I've gotta say that I'm rightfully a bit
embarrassed as I typically like getting my facts scientifically straight before the arm-waving (after all in some circles I'm considered a
biologist), but something about this issue struck a raw chord. Rather than getting caught up in issues of the heart it would certainly
be more beneficial if we collectively contacted FWC on matters concerning stop-over habitat conservation.
Peace Out,
CB
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