Inbox Trash Gordon Andersson <gordonandersso...@gmail.com> Jul 14, 2025, 3:06 PM (3 days ago) to MOU-NET Final-June-July-2025-Cardinal.pdf <https://saintpaulbirdalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Final-June-July-2025-Cardinal.pdf>
and SPBA article by Kiki Sonnen SPBA President about preventing glass bird strikes in development of St Paul downtown waterfront. The provision was removed from plan by City staff. Bird strikes kill 1 billion birds a year in US. New buildings with public funding in MN should meet "green" criteria that include prevention of killing of birds--- the counter example is what happened in construction of the US Bank stadium. Over 1000 birds were killed in one night in downtown Chicago a few years ago. The glass building (McCormick Place Lakeside Center) has since been retrofitted to bird-safe the glass. For four decades volunteers had picked up dead birds at this building during spring and fall migrations. ------------------------------------------- *Bird’s Eye View - Kiki Sonnen* Protect Our Birds: Stop Window Collisions Protecting the Mississippi River's natural, cultural and scenic resources was prioritized in the 1970's. Then Governor Wendell Anderson thru Executive order and soon after the State Legislature created the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA), which required localities in the metropolitan area to create coordinated land planning and zoning regulations. In 2017 new MRCCA rules required the localities to update and adopt new zoning provisions. Environmental groups, neighborhood district councils, and civic groups see this as an opportunity to improve bird safety measures along the Mississippi Flyway. We now know that a billion birds in the United States alone are killed by window strikes each year. We also know that habitat loss, collapse of the insect population, and climate change have a deep negative effect on our birds. Simple building and zoning design changes can reduce window collisions by 95% The birds need our help now. Four years ago at the public hearing, the St Paul Planning Commission heard our pleas for bird safe glass, bird safe lighting, improved landscaping, tiered building heights and clear setback rules for new development. The Commission directed zoning staff to draft the language for those measures. The staff wrote the new language, but city administrators left the matter sit for four years. Finally, the matter was returned to the Planning Commission. But all the bird safe measures have been stricken! Again neighbors, environmental groups, bird advocates and concerned community members testified before the Planning Commission on May 2, 2025. We repeated our concerns and our desire to have bird safety measures returned to the zoning ordinance. The issue will soon be heard at a public hearing before the City Council maybe mid-August or September. You can help the birds by contacting the *Mayor <https://saintpaulbirdalliance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c307ea60261319c6315696a60&id=ec09d5f22b&e=a7459c2560>* and the *City Council <https://saintpaulbirdalliance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c307ea60261319c6315696a60&id=6930841f02&e=a7459c2560>*. Tell them you want bird-safe glass returned to the MRCCA zoning ordinance. Let them know some facts about the issue: - The cost of bird safe glass is less than 1% of total new construction costs. - State law requires bird safe glass in all projects using state bonding funds. - Bird safe zoning ordinances are working throughout North America including Berkeley CA, Toronto, Madison WI, Middleton WI, Minneapolis (new skyways), Mountain View CA, New York, Portland ME, Sacramento, Seattle, Washington DC, and more. - Bird safe glass is already installed in these local buildings: Allianz Field (glass doors), Bell Museum, Hamline-Midway Library, Higher Ground St. Paul Shelter (Catholic Charities), Macalester College–Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Theater and Dance Building, Minnesota National Wildlife Visitor Center, North End Community Center, Playwrights’ Center, UMN Bee and Pollinator Research Lab. - Bird safe glass is also slated for these planned buildings: Mississippi River Learning Center, The Park at Riversedge, Wakan Tipi Center - For more information, see: Friends of the Mississippi River at *https://FMR.org <https://saintpaulbirdalliance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c307ea60261319c6315696a60&id=eb820280f5&e=a7459c2560>* Check out these tips on how you can *prevent birdstrikes here <https://saintpaulbirdalliance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c307ea60261319c6315696a60&id=6c96a5208d&e=a7459c2560>* . ------------------- GAndersson St Paul ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
