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Ralph Gardner Jr: Let The Birds Be

Male Wood Duck, Reifel Refuge, British Columbia.
Judy Gallagher
/
Wikimedia Commons - Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Male Wood Duck, Reifel Refuge, British Columbia.

For those of us who were apparently under the misconception that America was pretty great before the current occupant of the White House came along and in no need of being restored to its former glory behind fortress walls, picking up the morning newspaper, or these days more likely your electronic device, can be a sullen and depressing exercise.

One could almost believe that our President is not the most, but among the least patriotic of its 300 million plus citizens. I grew up during the Cold War so have trouble thinking of Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a role model.

I get angry when I think of the stupidity behind tariffs that hurt our farmers and manufacturers far more than they do our competitors. Or picking fights with our allies while cozying up to dictators. Or self-destructive moves such as withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership, creating a vacuum for China, our greatest competitor, to swoop in and help itself to the spoils.

Or the immigration rules that leave fruits and vegetables rotting on the vine because immigrant workers are denied visas to harvest them.

And then there’s the harassment of immigrants by a nation – if you want to talk about greatness – that was built by them in the belief that they’d be judged not by the color of their skin or their religion but their belief in freedom and enterprise.

By the way, there are no more patriotic Americans than those fleeing oppression, who don’t take for granted, as many of us do, the rights articulated in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in the Constitution.

But there’s an entire category of insults perpetrated by the Trump Administration that seem almost recreational in their wantonness, that seem to designed to convince you that up is down, that good is evil, and vice versa.

A lot of them involve the environment, as if the preservation of this planet and its denizens is a partisan issue. That healthy air and clean drinking water is for sissies.

What prompts this rant is a headline I read in the Washington Post recently. Here it is: “Eight States are fighting Trump’s attempt to declaw the Migratory Bird Treaty.”

The story goes on to report that the Administration wants to dramatically weaken the century-old law. It came about because the demand for feathers in 19th century hats and other accessories was so extreme that bird populations were being decimated in the name of fashion. As many as five million birds a year were being slaughtered and some species, such as the passenger pigeon, even became extinct.

The 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act – Happy Hundredth Birthday by the way! – made it illegal to capture, hunt or kill over 1,000 species of migratory birds without a permit. According to the Sierra Club – I know, I know, they’re just a bunch of fake news tree huggers – the act helped save the snowy egret and the wood duck, among other species.

I don’t know about you but I consider it a privilege and a blessing to be able to walk out to our small pond during migratory season and spot wood ducks floating on its surface. For those unfamiliar with the species, the males are about as handsome as you can get.

They have iridescent green crested heads, speckled chestnut breasts and blazing red eyes, among other arresting features. The first time I observed one through my binoculars I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

So why would anybody want to jeopardize their survival? What has a wood duck done to hurt you lately? Are they stealing jobs that ought to be reserved for red-blooded American Homo sapiens?

However, according to the Post, the Interior Department in April informed its wildlife police that the slaughter of birds is no longer prohibited just as long as the purpose of the activity that killed them wasn’t meant to kill them.

For example, the Trump Administration deemed that the act would no longer apply to disasters such as Deepwater Horizon that killed around a million birds.

In a statement related to the lawsuit, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, one of four Democratic and four Republican state Attorneys General that joined the challenge, noted that birdwatchers poured $4.2 billion into the state’s economy in 2011.

Talk about throwing out the baby with the bathwater. And speaking of glossy surfaces one of the leading killers of migratory birds are uncovered oil field waste pits that the birds mistake for bodies of water. Any guess who was behind lobbying efforts to reverse the Migratory Bird Act?

Oil companies, which are responsible for ninety percent of the incidental killings of birds. In the name of doing away with burdensome government regulations.

For the sake of the birds, and every other living thing, we need to get rid of these jokers now. Your first chance comes Tuesday November 6th, election day. Don’t miss the opportunity.

Ralph Gardner, Jr. is a journalist who divides his time between New York City and Columbia County. More of his work can be found at ralphgardner.com

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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