Warbler not an obstacle?
Warbler not an obstacle?
By JOHN PEPIN Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Though a rare songbird was found on the Yellow Dog Plains in June, interested parties suggest it’s unlikely the presence of the Kirtland’s warbler will block a Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. underground mining project proposed for the area.
In early June, birdwatchers reported sighting the endangered warbler singing from jack pines at a location about two miles east of the proposed mining operation.
“Whether it’s the Kirtland’s warbler or any other species, the mine plan is designed to protect those species,” said Debbie Muchmore, a Kennecott spokeswoman in Lansing.
The rare songbird, protected by federal and state endangered species laws, is found in greatest numbers in the northern Lower Peninsula, with only a handful known to be in the Upper Peninsula.
Last summer, a record 1,415 singing males were found statewide, with 18 of those birds located across five U.P. counties. This summer, three singing males were found in Marquette County, including the Yellow Dog Plains bird.
Mark Sherman, a resource supervisor with Plum Creek Timber Co. in L’Anse, said that Kirtland’s warbler, which was found in an 8-year-old stand of jack pine on the company’s property, would not effect logging operations.
“The impact on timber management is none,” Sherman said. “It’s actually a good news story for us.”
Sherman said Plum Creek already makes provisions for threatened and endangered species on its properties.
Kirtland’s warblers require young jack pine to nest under, which Sherman said fits with the company’s plans of harvest and regrowth of jack pine.
In the jack pines barrens ecosystem downstate, where the Kirtland’s warblers are largely located, state foresters take several steps to ensure new trees will be available for future nesting areas.
State and federal wildlife biologists and foresters annually manage the forests through a combination of clearcutting, burning, seeding and replanting to promote warbler habitat.
Approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees are planted or seeded annually on state and federal lands. The resulting new plantations will eventually provide the specific habitat — which features trees aged 4 to 20 years — for warblers in the future.
Kennecott officials, environmentalists, landowners and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality agree any potential mining project on the Yellow Dog Plains will have to make allowances for the Kirtland’s warbler, should it ever be discovered on the mining company lands.
Recently, the DEQ asked Kennecott to provide specific information on how the company’s project might impact the Kirtland’s warbler.
In June, Kennecott had a team of survey workers from the Grand Rapids company King and MacGregor looking for Kirtland’s warblers at the mining site and in the acreage directly surrounding it.
The team, which is working for Kennecott, was trying to call the warblers with recordings and was looking in areas the bird may possibly choose for nesting sites. No evidence of the birds was found on mining property by the survey team.
Kennecott is readying a response for the DEQ, Muchmore said.
Cynthia Pryor, executive director of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, said the sighting and documentation of the Kirtland’s warblers “demonstrates again the uniqueness of the Yellow Dog Plains.”
“Any activity of the mining operation will have to take into account the presence of this endangered warbler, ie: noise, light, transportation plans, air particulates from diesel plants and exhaust fans, etcetera,” Pryor said. “The Kennecott application will have to be modified to include all impacts assessments for an endangered bird found within two miles of its proposed operations.”
Dick Huey, co-founder of Save the Wild UP, said the Kirtland’s sighting has wider implications for the area.
“The fact that we have birds like Kirtland’s warblers is a barometer of the health of the ecosystem, which contributes significantly to the quality of life that makes Marquette County an attractive place to those individuals who wish to visit, relocate or retire here,” Huey said. “Tourism, sustainable population growth and the retirement market are significant to our economy and should not be treated lightly.”
In confirming the warbler sighting, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist Christie Deloria-Sheffield said she thought the singing male was a lone Kirtland’s in the area.
No female birds nor young were seen. Sheffield also said she didn’t see the male carrying any food in its mouth, which it would have been doing if an active nest was located nearby.
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