Minn. Vikings new stadium a death trap for migrating birds

And Vikings ownership refuses to make the building safe for the birds.

Problem Explained and an Image of the Stadium that is along the Mississippi Flyway:
http://www.startribune.com/local/268319662.html



Please sign this petition:
https://secure.audubon.org/site/Advocac ... JUL14_ATD2


Robert King
www.itsaboutnature.net

Thanks for posting this. I have signed.

And this issue really pisses me off!

The cost to save these birds is just a fraction of the salaries that some of the players earn. Pretty screwed up priorities, in my opinion, when the $1 million cost of saving migrating birds (many species of which are suffering precipitous populations declines) is deemed unaffordable while some of the players earn 15X that amount in a single year, the entire project is 1000X that amount - and the public is funding much of this project anyway!

What is wrong with people when a sports game is more important than real things, like birds struggling to survive?

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

Same feelings here....your words taken right from my heart.

The satisfaction we have is exposing such people and their actions.  If enough people see this issue,  the Vikings will be forced to change.  And they will!

I believe the Vikings will either change it now or be forced to change it later, because it is going to become a bigger issue as time passes.   The more people that see this issue....... the better. 

Just think of this:  Lot's of people are going to witness those dead or the even more pitiful......dying birds....... flapping around on the ground.  That will make the people angry.   And you know that Audubon is going to continue pointing the finger at the problem.  It's not going away. 
  

Thank you much
Robert King
www.itsaboutnature.net

Well, I hope people are attentive enough to notice the dead birds. But I also expect they will have someone pick up the dead birds early in the AM (many migrate at night), before people are much around to notice. If Audubon were smart, they'd get out there and collect the dead birds and display them to the public to make the point. And take the living ones to animal rescue.

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

Good points you made.

Don't you think, that once brought to public attention through the news, these kinds of things don't go away until they are corrected ?

We will see more on this.

Robert King
www.itsaboutnature.net

We have problems with birds colliding into glass buildings here as well. I think every spring during migration, people go and check at the base of the buildings and count the number and species of dead birds. There is an org called the Fatal Light Program located in Toronto, Ontario.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fatal-Lig ... 2639934005

Took me all of 30 seconds to send off the email from the Audubon page.


But nothing like reports and pics of dead birds at the base of the building to get peoples attention (if the wall of the stadium is not on public property it may be hard to get close enough to check).



Article on bird collisions with buildings published in the Globe and Mail. Click on that photo to the left in the article.  "Brian Banks, writing in Ontario Nature magazine, estimates that “one- to ten-million birds [are] killed every year in Toronto due to collisions with buildings and other structures.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hom ... e17914645/

Depends on how local people in Minnesota feel, to some extent - and how Viking's fans feel. And it can take a lot of concerted and repeated effort on the part of Audubon etc to keep this issue in the public eye. People have short memories and a lot of media things competing for their attention. To keep something like this in the media might require some creativity to generate new news stories related to it. If there is no new angle, the media might just stop reporting on it, figuring they have already done that story. So maybe people dressed up like songbirds parading around the construction site will keep in the media for one week. And maybe calling for a boycott against buying tickets to Viking's games will work for a few weeks. Be great if Audubon could get a couple of the key players on board and speaking to the media - or if that is too risky for them, maybe some retired popular players who have less to lose. That could garner coverage for a week or so. Then maybe it's time to get a player from an opposing team that has a better environmental record to challenge the Viking to not only beat them on the playing field but also beat them at being green, a friendly challenge of sorts. That could keep things going for a few weeks.And then local politicians or celebrities or non-local celebrities speaking out against the destructive glass and for birds could be another story from another angle or two or three. But all that takes someone or an organization committed to orchestrating all this. Maybe there is a legal aspect - is this project a violation of the Migratory Birds Treaty between Canada and the US that could lead to an effective lawsuit to stop the destructive aspects of the project - there are eNGOs like Earthjustice and NRDC that take cases like that pro bono. A court case can generate a lot of coverage - and also a legal victory hopefully in favour of the birds.

Without an assortment of stories related to an issue spread out over time, and some strong strategy in place, media coverage and public outrage about any issue tends to peter out. I am sure the people behind this Viking project are hoping that will happen and the birds will be forgotten and supplanted with some other news story. Hopefully Audubon etc won't let that happen.

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

Our Vikings season tickets have been in the family since 1964 and I've told them I'm pissed about this.  One million dollars is chump change to these guys.  Let's keep up the pressure.

Hi Charlie,

If you get really pissed off and if they don't smarten up any time soon and you want to get the media to give this more attention, send out a news release announcing a place and time where you will hold a ceremonial ripping up and burning of your tickets to protest their lack of concern for birds. Be sure to tell the media how long you have had the tickets. Better yet, get a few or a bunch of other season ticket holders to join you. Get a spokesperson from Audubon there as well. Encourage people not to attend games at the new Stadium. A stadium empty of fans would send the message pretty quick that saving a few bucks at the expense of birds is just not on. (I can help you some with how to orchestrate this if you decide to do it - I've had a bit of experience organizing media events as an activist for various environmental groups.) I can see the headlines now - "Former Vikings fans fly into fury over bird deaths".

Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com