____________ “If we surrendered to the earth’s intelligence, we could rise up rooted, like trees.” Rainer Maria Rilke
Begin forwarded message: > From: Regi Teasley <rltcay...@gmail.com> > Date: June 16, 2021 at 10:27:53 AM EDT > To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" <k...@cornell.edu> > Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. > > Thank you for this. But, please don’t let the passion dissipate. We must > begin to change our priorities and approach to the natural world while we can > still make a difference. Activism matters in the switch from “business as > usual” to truly sustainable practices. > Regi > > ____________ > “If we surrendered to the earth’s intelligence, we could rise up rooted, like > trees.” Rainer Maria Rilke > > >>> On Jun 15, 2021, at 11:33 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: >>> >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> Having fueled some of the passion about hay-cutting and grassland bird >> conservation, I wanted to clarify a few points. Thanks to the many who >> provided resources and links to additional information. I am not an expert >> on farming or legal issues, but I can provide a bit more perspective on the >> grassland bird issues. What is happening today has happened for decades and >> is standard agricultural practice over most of the eastern U.S. The >> challenges are complex, both for the farmers and those interested in >> conservation. >> >> Most importantly, it is not fair or correct to blame the local farmers, or >> even those at Cornell trying to manage the hayfields along Freese and >> Hanshaw Roads – these are indeed hayfields, grown for the horses at the >> Equine Research Lab, and the growers are under the same constraints >> regarding timing and nutritional value of the hay (the horses won’t eat it >> if it’s mowed too late). Individual farmers trying to eek out a living and >> keep their farms in production cannot be expected to sacrifice economically >> for the sake of birds or other wildlife – a common resource for us all. This >> is the fundamental problem. >> >> The solutions, therefore, need to come at the societal and policy levels. If >> more of society puts greater value on birds and other nature, then this can >> become part of the economic structure that supports both agriculture and >> biodiversity conservation. Much easier said than done! There is a >> complicated array of Farm Bill and other incentive programs that encourage >> farmers to create or set aside wildlife habitat, but these programs are >> obscure to most farmers – including the program managers at Cornell we met >> with last year. Here is a link to a guide that was just released about the >> latest Farm Bill programs: >> https://nabci-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2018-2023-Farm-Bill-Guide-FINAL-LOW-RES-052621.pdf >> >> As Geo and others point out, the bird part is pretty well known and several >> good resources exist – the timing of breeding, safe dates for mowing, field >> size requirements for each species, preferred grass types, etc. The >> economic side is much more difficult, with pressures to produce on every >> acre and less and less room for nature in the agricultural matrix. And as >> Geo stated, without viable farming there would be no “grassland” or >> grassland birds in the Northeast. (the lost potential for managing >> state-owned lands for these disappearing species has also been noted). >> >> As for our local situation with the Cornell University fields, I was not >> quite correct to say earlier that the managers of these particular fields >> were not interested in conservation options – but they did not have the >> option to make those decisions and could not afford to make short-term >> changes in their management. This is where our local bird community can help >> – both in terms of providing specific information on the birds and >> guidelines for mowing, etc., but more importantly, to let the university and >> town leaders know that we value the birds and the habitats on these lands. >> As a land-grant university, and with the lead by-line on the Science article >> documenting the loss of 3 billion birds, it is not unreasonable to ask >> Cornell to be part of the solution -- finding ways that ensure agricultural >> productivity while helping to stem the plummeting populations of grassland >> birds. And it would be great for Cornell to model these solutions on its >> own extensive farmland. >> >> I hope some of the passion expressed today will have a positive impact. >> >> KEN >> >> >> >> >> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) >> Applied Conservation Scientist >> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >> American Bird Conservancy >> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future >> k...@cornell.edu >> Wk: 607-254-2412 >> Cell: 607-342-4594 >> >> >> From: bounce-125714597-3493...@list.cornell.edu >> <bounce-125714597-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Geo Kloppel >> <geoklop...@gmail.com> >> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 9:53 PM >> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> >> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. >> >> I was about to say that anyone who wants to discuss the matter cogently >> with actual farmers and hayfield managers would do well to consult the >> Resources page on the Cayuga Bird Club website, where this link lives: >> Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a very helpful document on >> Hayfield Management and Grassland Bird Conservation. >> >> Alas! That link is broken. But here’s one that still works: >> >> https://www.nyfoa.org/application/files/6314/7948/6092/HayfieldsGrassland_Birds_3MB.pdf >> >> More generally, let’s remember that without field culture and haymaking, >> most of what we call grassland in this part of the country would revert to >> forest cover, where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks would not be found. >> >> >> -Geo >> >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> >> On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka <s...@cornell.edu> wrote: >> >> Ken and all, >> >> Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some >> friends I am trying to convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words >> there, too. >> >> Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for mowing? Until when should I >> ask them to delay? >> >> Thanks, >> Sandy Podulka >> >> At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote: >> >> >> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a >> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire >> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other >> grassland bird populations. >> >> >> >> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along >> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting >> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. >> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck >> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various >> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, >> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns >> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female >> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills >> filled food for their almost-fledged young. >> >> >> >> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an >> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently >> hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire >> region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued >> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether >> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly >> supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody >> and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of >> fields owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model >> for conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other >> biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very >> interested in these options. >> >> >> >> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland >> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges >> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird >> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and >> maybe someone will listen. >> >> >> >> KEN >> >> >> >> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) >> >> Applied Conservation Scientist >> >> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >> >> American Bird Conservancy >> >> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future >> >> k...@cornell.edu >> >> Wk: 607-254-2412 >> >> Cell: 607-342-4594 >> >> >> >> >> >> From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu >> <bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Linda Orkin >> <wingmagi...@gmail.com> >> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM >> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> >> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. >> >> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the >> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be >> done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false >> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing >> meadowlarks for the first time in years, Cornell has returned to early >> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes >> of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass >> while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. >> Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient >> process turning to food for humans. >> >> Linda Orkin >> Ithaca NY >> -- >> >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >> >> ARCHIVES: >> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird: >> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >> >> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
