Photo by Brad Bumgardner. Virginia Rails are low altitude migrants and thus vulnerable to collisions with the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons.
On. Oct. 15, a coalition of the state’s leading bird conservation leaders – led by WSO and Bird City Wisconsin -- sent a letter to Northwestern Mutual executives that flowed out of the growing public anger over the bird collision deaths occurring at the company’s new 550-foot tower in downtown Milwaukee. The letter made two requests:
- A public commitment from the company to address this problem in a serious, urgent, and transparent fashion, with a willingness to spend what it takes to retrofit the building and take other appropriate measures to deter bird collisions.
- That this commitment includes reaching out for expert advice on the needed solutions. It commended to the company’s attention a nationally recognized expert on this issue, ABC’s national collisions campaign manager, Dr. Bryan Lenz, who helped make Fiserv Forum bird-friendly and lives in the Milwaukee area.
The signatories said they stood ready to offer their own counsel on this matter and pledged to share results with members of their organizations across the state. The letter was signed by:
Charles Hagner
State Director, Bird City Wisconsin
Board Chair, Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory
Karen Etter Hale
Chair, Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership
Glen Fredlund, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Marge Gibson
Executive Director, Raptor Education Group, Inc.
Erin Giese
President, Northeastern Wisconsin Audubon Society
Shawn Graff
Vice President, Great Lakes Region, American Bird Conservancy
Mary Korkor
President, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology
Matt Mendenhall
Editor, BirdWatching Magazine
William P. Mueller
Director Emeritus, Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory
Dr. Jennifer Phillips-Vanderberg
Science Director, Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory
Carl Schwartz
Editor, The Badger Birder, Past President, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology
Board Member, Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory
Andrew Struck
President, Wisconsin Audubon Council
-- This is one of several timely articles in this month's Badger Birder newsletter; don't miss out on the latest birding and conservation news. Become a WSO member today! --
