HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources February 6 20011
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Natural Resources Committee
February 6, 2001
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Committee Chair Dan
McShane in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Also Present: Absent:
L. Ward Nelson None
Connie Hoag
COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
1. REPORT FROM HENRY BIERLINK ON THE STARLING
PROGRAM (AB2001 -044)
Henry Bierlink, Ag Preservation Administrator, stated the program has been
at it for four years. Starlings eat agricultural food and create messes and
problems. The Audubon Society is interested in this activity because starlings
displace other birds. They came to the County because it is a public and private
concern. The County has always matched the money raised. They took all the
money and contracted with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Wildlife Services, which has been very good. They take care of liability issues and
have the training. They trap from April through October, with 40 traps on various
farms. Every three days they take out birds to euthanize and dispose of them.
They keep the traps baited.
They have not been successful with the winter program and have been
experimenting with methods to eliminate some of the flocks that go in and roost in
dairy barns during the winter. That is something they are trying to do better at.
He was available for questions.
McShane asked what is different with winter trapping and baiting.
John Huben, District Supervisor with USDA Wildlife Services, stated the
difference is the techniques, which are chosen based on weather, bird life cycle,
and how the birds respond to the tools they use. Trapping begins as early as April.
At that time, the traps are not very effective, but it takes manpower to set them
up. They take a month to six weeks to set up. At that time, they may leave them
open. During that time, the starlings are hatching the young. At about the first of
June, the young are grouped en masse and are attracted to their own kind. Also,
that is when agricultural products begin ripening. At that point, trapping is
effective because of the communal nature of young starlings. They don't bait the
birds in the decoy traps. The birds are attracted the to other birds as much as the
bait. As the newly hatched birds start looking for food, they will be attracted to
traps with other young birds in them.
Natural Resources Committee, 2/6/2001, Page 1
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Traps work in winter, but they run into weather problems. Traps can be
destroyed, and it is difficult to keep water in them. In winter, they scale back any
trapping they do. It cannot be done on as wide a scale as is done in the summer.
They will turn to the use of toxicants in the winter, primarily DRC 1339, which is a
more concentrated compound of Starlicide. They can use that in its technical
grade. They also have used Starlicide in a similar program in Skagit County. In
winter, they use a combination of Starlicide where appropriate and the technical
grade of Starlicide, DRC 1339. The advantage is putting it in a number of different
presentations to tailor it to a situation. The difference between the summer and
winter programs is trapping versus toxicants because of the life cycle of the birds,
weather factors, and the birds' response to the different tools.
McShane questioned where the Starlicide works. Huban stated they typically
put it in troughs mounted in agricultural areas such as feed lots. It has to be
protected from the weather. They mount the troughs in dairy barns and feed lot
barns with roofs. The compound 1339 is very vulnerable to moisture and, if
exposed, will break down in a matter of hours. The Starlicide used in the program
in Skagit County is put in a number of places where they traditionally keep the
troughs mounted, and then fill during the winter. Many times the Starlicide just sits
there. During a cold snap, the birds know its there and will eat it. The problem
with Starlicide is not that it's a bad tool, but that it's only part of an integrated
package. It is very dependent upon bad weather, so their success is not as
consistent as with trapping or using 1339. The chemical is called DRC 1339. It is
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) name for it. It's a slow acting avicide.
It is very selective for just birds. There is no effect on cattle if ingested. It is very
specific to birds. There is no documented secondary poisoning on other species,
including owls and hawks. He didn't have information on how the chemical works
on the birds.
Nelson stated it probably affects the nervous system.
McShane asked if a big snowstorm would be helpful. Huben stated it would.
They have continued to use Starlicide up until last year in Skagit County. They
have had years with good success. There has been minimal success in the last two
years. Last year, they used primarily 1339 and had some good takes while the
Starlicide just stood there.
There is no panacea or just one tool. The solution requires an integrated
approach. The biggest danger is relying on one method or approach. They rely
primarily on trapping in the summer. All year long, they are trying to solve the
problem and have to include multiple methods.
Nelson asked how many birds there are in the winter. Bierlink stated they
have not run an effective winter program. The request for an additional $5,000 is
because they are having a tough time raising the base $10,000. It has not been a
good year to ask for contributions from farmers. Another dilemma is that they
hope to get the $10,000 that they normally get from farmers, and use this money
to have an effective winter program. The problem with the DRC 1339 is that it
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takes a lot of manpower to do the pre- baiting program, get the starlings used to
the trough, make sure non - target species don't come in, and do constant
monitoring.
Nelson asked if farmers could handle their starling problems in their own.
Bierlink stated not very well. They don't have the tools. They have hired kids with
shotguns. Now, the Starlicide is another option they haven't used much because it
wasn't sold to them in the past.
Huben stated they dropped their use of Starlicide in Skagit County last year
because the company making it dropped the registration for a couple of years.
There is enough demand now to re- register it and put it back on the market.
Bierlink questioned whether a farmer could apply Starlicide or if he or she
has to have a pesticide license.
Huben said a farmer has to have a special tag on the pesticide license. The
technical grade of 1339 is only to be used by USDA Wildlife Services. Using 1339 is
something only his agency can do.
Nelson asked if the 1339 is for other species. Huben stated it is registered
for other species, such as blackbirds. In Washington, it is only used on starlings.
One of the idiosyncrasies is that they can present the Starlicide to be more
attractive to starlings, but when exposed outside of a barn, it has to be
meticulously monitored to not get non - target species. The major problem he faces
is that it's been a seasonal project. It is tough to find an employee to run a
program like this at the wages they pay. They would put a person on the road by
himself or herself, which takes a fairly responsible person to work for only six
months at a low wage. The challenge is to maintain a good technician in the winter
time.
Bierlink stated the budget doesn't allow them a 12 -month program. The
contract with USDA has been for around $20,000. There are other incidental
expenses. The total budget is approximately $24,000.
Nelson asked how many farmers are affected. Bierlink stated they peaked at
60 traps. Probably 30 farms are affected. People contribute to the program that do
not have a trap. Their philosophy is to go where the birds are. Just because a
farmer contributes, it doesn't mean he or she gets a trap. They have been fairly
successful. About 30 farmers are contributors, but not all farmers have problems
with starlings. There is enough of a problem to keep the program going, and they
hope to put together a winter program at a low budget that really works.
Nelson asked if the starlings are attracted only to agriculture feed lots.
Huben stated he'd noticed that they get more damage reported by blueberry
farmers than from dairy farmers, where the damage is to the silage. The lower
number of damage reports from dairy farmers is primarily due to the season they
work. They work in the summer when blueberries are on. They can readily protect
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that commodity. In the winter, they are not running the trapping program, so the
silage is open fare for the birds. Dairy producers incur a lot of damage.
Nelson asked what the problems are with the traps in the winter. Huben said
one problem is getting to them because of muddy roads. They need to maintain
food and water in them. If there are freezing temperatures, the water bucket
freezes. It is a live trap situation, so there are humane considerations.
Nelson asked if farmers could help maintain the traps. Huben said it is hit
and miss. The agency would put itself in a situation of incurring a complaint if the
farmer doesn't hold up his end of the bargain.
Nelson asked if a farmer could euthanize the birds. Huben said they don't
have the tools. The technician walks into the trap, catches the birds by hand, and
euthanizes the birds with carbon dioxide (CO2). He has to make sure the way they
do business does not draw criticism from those people who are friendly toward
starlings. CO2 works very well. Most producers don't have that set up or the time
to do this. They implement what they can. The farmers pay the agency to
eliminate all predators.
Nelson stated he was hearing that some of the farmers are not paying for
having them removed. Bierlink stated that is true in some cases. They discourage
people to maintain their own traps. He has been sensitive to the issue of keeping
humane conditions for the birds. If a farmer doesn't check the traps and something
happens, it's not a good public relations thing. They want to do this correctly. The
committee includes the Audubon Society. The committee has maintained that they
are not going to do this in a haphazard way and will include the USDA, which has
been an asset.
Nelson asked if they could get a donation from the Audubon society. Bierlink
stated they tried that. The Audubon Society will support the program even though
they don't like it. That's as far as they will go.
McShane asked what cooperation there is if someone sees a very large flock
and a farmer doesn't want the agency to come onto their property. Bierlink stated
he never had anyone deny access. He thanked the committee and the
councilmembers for their continued support over the years.
Huben stated he did have one instance in which a person leasing a farm
didn't want to see the starlings in the trap. That situation was an anomaly. He
thanked the committee for its support.
McShane moved to recommend releasing the full funding that was set aside
in the 2001 budget.
Motion carried unanimously.
Natural Resources Committee, 2/6/2001, Page 4
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Brian Chessler, Curt Mayberry Farm and Jake Mayberry Packing, stated they
have 200 acres in blueberries. Starlings are a problem. He has been involved in
the program for five years. Before that, they had six of their own traps.
Nelson stated he was getting an impression that the farmers are not inclined
to make and maintain their own traps. Chessler stated it is not common for the
farmers to build and maintain their own traps. They tried several different methods
to keep the birds out, such as electronic distress calls, flash tape, pyrotechnics, and
shotguns. No one thing will work continuously. Several methods used together will
work. He worked with local dairies to trap in the winter. The biggest problem is
that the birds don't have a reason to go into the traps unless the ground is frozen.
There are plenty of other places for them to go to eat. When the ground is frozen,
the food supply is limited. The dairy farmers he worked with depended on him to
bait the traps and collect the birds. He hadn't seen a case where the farmer
continuously monitored the traps, kept them baited and watered, and kept decoys
in the traps. The main problem with dairy farmers doing it independently is that
they don't have access to baiting birds, as the USDA does. Another problem was
that one farmer wanted to kill some of the birds. Instead of doing it with a BB or
pellet gun, the farmer used a shotgun and ended up destroying the trap. Also, high
winds will destroy a trap. They are not sturdy traps. They are made with 1 x 2
wood planks and chicken wire. He thanked the Council for its support during the
last five years.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 a.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
ATTEST:
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Dan McShane, Committee Chair
Natural Resources Committee, 2/6/2001, Page 5