VOLUME 34, NUMBER 10 JULY 2003

 

The annual Warioto Audubon Chapter’s summer picnic will be held Saturday, July 12 at Dunbar Cave State Natural Area. We plan to gather at the cave mouth about 6:00 p.m. and with the intention of eating at 6:30. This is a potluck picnic, so you are asked to bring food (main course, salad, dessert) to share with others. Please bring serving utensils for the dishes you bring. Drinks, plates, eating utensils, and napkins will be provided. Hope to see YOU there!!

I drive around various areas of the county and see new subdivisions popping up everywhere. I read in the newspaper about new TVA powerlines and meetings about I-840. It is becoming increasingly apparent that urban sprawl, development and loss of scenic farmland, and reductions in wildlife habitat are not just problems that occur in big cities. We are living in the midst of these problems. As in other places that have experienced rapid growth and development, important infrastructure such as schools lags behind and thus suffers. For example, has anyone noticed that the school system will be cutting its budget again. If you look around the city and county and wonder who is going to stand up and address these problems, you will be sadly disappointed by the apathy. Truly, the Warioto Chapter of the National Audubon Society is probably the only group that considers these diverse issues and cares enough to discuss them. How can we tackle such a broad and complicated problem? I don't know that I have the answer to that question, but I do have some suggestions. First we need to learn about and discuss these issues among ourselves. Next we need to educate others. I will leave you with something to consider over the summer break. Our chapter could sponsor a regional seminar with business, educational and political leaders to identify and discuss issues of sprawl and develop some concrete solutions. In the meantime, enjoy your summer and also the beauty of Montgomery County.

Logan Snyder (along with the whole Snyder family) provided some wonderful reptilian entertainment for our June 5^th program! Logan brought some snakes and one lizard from his personal herp collection to show and discuss with the crowd, delighting the kids and adults alike. Typical snake behaviors, morphology, and snake care were the main topics covered in his show. A python, Red-tailed boa, African tree boa, corn snake and others were available for handling and/or touching on a volunteer basis, while the copperhead remained in the cage! The fun and informal program was a big hit with the group and we thank Logan for his outstanding knowledge and showmanship, his brother Jared (for providing audiovisual help), and Dr. and Mrs. Snyder for their witty banter with their son.

Many of you receiving this letter may, like me, have TVA on your mind this day. I am one of the unfortunate landowners whose farm lies in the path of one of the remaining power line paths TVA is still considering. I’ve heard of others who have experienced similar trials and it seems as if people tend to respond in one of two ways. They either succumb to despair and give up, or find strength in the companionship of their friends, neighbors, and other individuals who have endured similar experiences and work together to resist as best they can. I intend to remain planted firmly in the latter camp.

I have learned much from this experience so far, some of it good, some of it discouraging. The proposed power line has brought many neighbors together that have never met previously. It has caused me to realize what an incredible reservoir of talent and energy there is in our community. It unfortunately takes a "common threat" to bring us to this realization. One of the most discouraging things I have learned from this process is the extent to which large powerful economic interests have been able to subvert the spirit, if not the letter, of the law in the pursuit of their goals.

The Law to which I refer is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The implementation of this law requires that any federal government project, or any project using in any part federal funds, must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to consider all reasonable alternatives that accomplish the goal of the project. The law also stipulates that the EIS be presented to the public for evaluation and comment, and that this comment be considered in the final implementation of the project. The project need not pursue the alternative with the least environmental impact, but that impact must be explicitly acknowledged. Politically, since these projects involve federal dollars, it is difficult to proceed with an alternative that has more environmental impact than necessary.

So, it did not take long for project planners to realize the key to doing what they want lies in how they frame the alternatives. They must take care that only those they want are considered. In the case of the proposed TVA power line this involved putting forward three main alternatives in their draft EIS: 1. A new 500 kV power line from the Cumberland Steam Plant to the Clarksville substation. 2. A new 500 kV power line from the Cumberland Steam Plant to the Davidson substation, And 3. no action. However, alternatives 1 & 2 are obviously variations on the same theme, and alternative 3, the no action alternative is required by NEPA and TVA never had any intent of seriously considering it. Conspicuously missing from the list of "reasonable" alternatives was the choice of upgrading an existing lower voltage power line to the new proposed higher voltage power line. It is easy to demonstrate that this alternative would have the least environmental impact and affect the fewest landowners. It would certainly have garnered the most public support.

TVA stated from the beginning that alternative 1 was their preferred alternative and all their actions to date have been directed at achieving that goal. TVA provided little publicity about the new power line until only a few weeks before the end of the official comment period. Then, they announced two weeks prior to the closure of the official comment period on the draft EIS, that only two of the four possible routes in alternative one would be considered further in the final EIS. This clearly signaled to all involved that their comments were never seriously considered by TVA in choosing among the alternatives presented in the draft EIS. TVA invited only landowners within the two remaining corridors of alterative 1 to the public information workshops they held, thus giving the impression to the remaining members of the Montgomery Co. community that they had no role in the process. The fact is, every citizen of Montgomery County has a legal right and a civic obligation to participate in the EIS process. It is clearly in TVA’s interest to limit the range of alternatives considered, to limit public awareness of them, and to limit the public’s ability to comment upon them. If TVA is allowed to succeed in this strategy the ability to shape sound environmental policy will be further eroded.

The construction of an entirely new right of way for a new power line will clearly have a negative effect on forest interior bird species in our region. It will clearly render these forest interior species more vulnerable to nest parasitism by brown headed cowbirds. It will create permanent strips of disturbed land that will serve as conduits for the spread of aggressive, invasive exotics such as Ailanthus, Milk thistle, and Johnson grass. Upgrading an existing powerline right of way will not be without impacts, but they will be greatly reduced. No new existing forest blocks will have to be fragmented. Most of the people living near these existing power lines located there after they were already in existence and chose to do so. Why then does TVA refuse to consider the alternative of upgrading an existing power line? Cost. They want the cheapest path they can build. This goal is not without merit, but cost is not so objective as it may first appear.

Sometimes when I get especially down I turn to natural philosophers for inspiration. Lately, I find myself gravitating towards Thoreau. Consider the issue of cost. To TVA cost is a relatively straightforward function of the length of the new power line. To those whose land the power line will cross it is not so simple. In his essay On the cost of anything, Thoreau had this to say about cost:

"The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run."

Many of the landowners have invested their life’s energy into shaping their land to realize whatever dreams they held for it. A 500 kV power line running across their land and near to their dwelling was probably not part of that dream. One small example from my own experience is the walnut grove I have been nurturing for almost six years now. I discovered in a part of my property a large number of walnut trees sprouting from stumps that had been mowed annually prior to our purchase of the land. I stopped mowing them and started nurturing them. Selecting the best leads, pruning the bad branches, transplanting more walnuts to fill in the gaps. I fought off late frosts, deer, honeysuckle and brambles. Finally, many of the trees attained sufficient size to be unaffected by these pests and I started thinning the stand to promote the growth of the best. The new TVA power line may pass directly over this grove, in which case it will have to be cut down. Sure, I will receive some compensation, but not "... the amount of what I call life that is required to be exchanged for it..."

This is not the only cost for which I and my family will not be "fairly" compensated and I am certain that almost all of the affected landowners could think of their own examples.

More importantly, the new TVA power line will cost everyone in Montgomery Co. something, whether they are aware of it or not. For Audubon members it will cost us some of the birds we love. Most of us probably relate to this quote from Thoreau On Being a Loafer or a Speculator:

"If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!"

For others it will be one more eyesore in an increasingly degraded landscape. I would urge all Audubon members to exercise their right and duty to contact their federal congressional delegation (Sens. Frist and Alexander and Reps. Tanner and Blackburn) and express your concern. Please ask them to make TVA restart the EIS process and to provide all reasonable alternatives for consideration this time.

Many will say this TVA power line is essential for the common good. While I do not agree this is so, for the sake of argument I am willing to concede such an assertion. However, keep in mind that the next time you could find yourself in the path of a project for the common good. We must make the government live up to the grand rhetoric of NEPA and conduct the EIS process in a fair and effective manner. Consider what Thoreau had to say on the topic of the railroad, the great public works projects of his day in his essay On Work:

Polly Rooker has informed us that Tory Ettel, State Ornithologist for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, has resigned after serving three years in the position. Beginning September 2^nd, Troy will be the Director of Conservation with New Jersey Audubon. I have heard many compliments about his contribution to the non-game program and to ornithological activity in the state. Join me in wishing Troy success in his new position.

Warioto Audubon held its Montgomery County spring bird count in conjunction with International Migratory Bird Day, May 10, 2003. Gloria Milliken compiled the count.

This year we recorded 117 species on the count day and three more during count week. This is the lowest count in recent years. The following are the species totals (incl. count week) for last several years: 132 in 2002, 135 in 2001, 122 in 2000, 132 in 1999 and 135 in 1998. A total of only 5,717 individual were observed. Still, there were some interesting observations. The reports of Cerulean and Swainson’s Warblers was surprising as was the Willow Flycatcher and Gray-cheeked Thrush. It was interesting to find a Winter Wren still around but not the White-throated or White-crowned sparrows. The absence of sandpipers this year may be related to the very high water during the count. Oddly, there were not records of a common raptor, the Red-shoulder Hawk.

So that you can compare this count to the 2002 count, I have bolded the species found this year, but not last year and struck through those found in 2002, but not seen in this year’s count.

Double-crested Cormorant 1

Great Blue Heron 22

Green Heron 6

Canada Goose 26

Wood Duck 9

Mallard 24

Black Vulture 40

Turkey Vulture 56

Bald Eagle 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk 2

Cooper’s Hawk 3

Red-tailed Hawk 14

American Kestrel 2

Wild Turkey 30

Northern Bobwhite 33

Killdeer 50

American Woodcock 1

Ring-billed Gull 3

Rock Dove 60

Mourning Dove 175

Yellow-billed Cuckoo 5

Great-horned Owl 1

Barred Owl 6

Common Nighthawk 5

Chuck-will’s-widow 3

Whip-poor-will 4-CW

Chimney Swift 178

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 14

Belted Kingfisher 9

Red-headed Woodpecker 9

Red-bellied Woodpecker 43

Downy Woodpecker 16

Hairy Woodpecker 6

Northern Flicker 18

Pileated Woodpecker 8

Eastern Wood-Peewee 50

Acadian Flycatcher 12

Eastern Phoebe 22

Great Crested Flycatcher 32

Eastern Kingbird 67

Purple Martin 54

Tree Swallow 2-CW

Northern Rough-winged Swallow 52

Cliff Swallow 165

Barn Swallow 218

Blue Jay 134

American Crow 243

Carolina Chickadee 79

Tufted Titmouse 91

White-breasted Nuthatch 16

Carolina Wren 82

House Wren 4

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 42

Eastern Bluebird 98

Swainson’s Thrush 8

Wood Thrush 15

American Robin 225

Gray Catbird 3

Northern Mockingbird 127

Brown Thrasher 32

Cedar Waxwing 36

Loggerhead Shrike 1

European Starling 398

White-eyed Vireo 48

Yellow-throated Vireo 8

Warbling Vireo 12

Red-eyed Vireo 39

Blue-winged Warbler 1

Tennessee Warbler 55

Northern Parula 19

Yellow Warbler 26

Chestnut-sided Warbler 2

Magnolia Warbler 3

Black-throated Blue Warbler 2

Cape May Warbler 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler 1

Black-throated Green Warbler 2

Yellow-throated Warbler 10

Pine Warbler 1

Prairie Warbler 26

Palm Warbler 2

Blackpoll Warbler 2

Black-and-white Warbler 2

American Redstart 9

Prothonotary Warbler 11

Ovenbird 4

Louisiana Waterthrush 4

Kentucky Warbler 35

Common Yellowthroat 55

Yellow-breasted Chat 36

Summer Tanager 23

Scarlet Tanager 3

Northern Cardinal 360

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2

Blue Grosbeak 6

Indigo Bunting 208

Dickcissel 28

Eastern Towhee 86

Chipping Sparrow 34

Field Sparrow 92

Grasshopper Sparrow 20

Henslow’s Sparrow 23

Song Sparrow 7

Bobolink 6

Red-winged Blackbird 350

Eastern Meadowlark 152

Common Grackle 291

Brown-headed Cowbird 57

Orchard Oriole 21

Baltimore Oriole 1-CW

House Finch 38

American Goldfinch 155

House Sparrow 131