BREAKING
NEWS:
NJ
Wild Parrot Nest Teardowns
Postponed
Until 2006
In
a surprising last-minute compromise, reached
between Public Service Electric & Gas and
www.EdgewaterParrots.com , the utility company agreed
to postpone planned nest teardowns in the town of
Edgewater until March of 2006.
Pro-Parrot
Cheers!
Wild parrots in Edgewater signalled their
pleasure that their homes will be safe through
the winter.
|
The teardowns, originally scheduled for
this Thursday, would have affected pole-dwelling
parrots living on River Road and on connecting
roads in the Borough’s north end.
PSE&G, much to its credit, paid heed to
Edgewater Parrots team member, Marc Johnson.
Johnson, a wild parrot expert and the Director
of a Boston-based parrot-rescue called
www.FosterParrots.com , suggested that the most humane
way to control Edgewater's wild parrot population
is for the utility company to remove nests in
March, after the cold weather has passed but
before the breeding season begins.
The victory is testament to the extraordinary
efforts of EdgewaterParrots.com, who lobbied long
and hard for a postponement, local political
officials, and an enlightened management at
PSE&G, which approached this difficult issue
with an open mind.
Alison Evans-Fragale, Founder of
EdgewaterParrots.com, is hoping for another
victory in the State Assembly this fall, when the
NJ Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
will hear bill # A4260. The bill, sponsored by
Assemblywoman Joan
Voss and
Assemblyman Robert
Gordon, seeks to remove the parrots
from New Jersey’s list of “potentially dangerous”
species.
This bill would provide that the Monk Parakeet
(aka Quaker Parrot) shall not be considered or
listed by the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), or any other state agency, as a
“potentially dangerous species". The bill would
also provide that any wild Monk/Quaker, including
any nest or egg thereof, must be protected by the
DEP, any other state agency, and any local
government entity in the same manner, and to the
same extent as any non game species of bird
indigenous to the state.
EdgewaterParrots.com has an
on-line
petition in support of Voss and
Gordon’s bill. The petition can be found on the
home page of the Edgewater Parrots website:
www.EdgewaterParrots.com
or more info, contact Ms. Evans-Fragale by
e-mail at:
Alison@EdgewaterParrots.com
