Breaking News: Wild Parrot Expert Travels to Yacolt; Allegations Continue Over Utility Company Misconduct

Today, bad news is mixed with the good in the continuing Wild Parrot Crisis of Yacolt, Washington. While residents of Yacolt struggle mightily to erect alternative nest platforms for the wild parrots of Yacolt, there is reason to question the behavior of the Clark County Public Utilities Department. Wild parrot advocate Alison Evans-Fragale, who is following the situation closely, sent the following two emergency e-mail updates to wild parrot conservation groups noting some of these allegations, which are highly troubling. At the same time, internationally renowned Quaker Parrot expert Jon-Mark Davey is travelling from Florida to Yacolt in an effort to moderate the situation.

Update 1/21/07: An online petition has been uploaded; it petitions the Town of Yacolt and the Clark County Public Utilities Department to spare the wild parrots' lives. Please sign it and pass it on if you would like to see these innocent creatures granted clemency.

(E-mails from Alison Evans-Fragale, of EdgewaterParrots.com)

The "(parrots') stay of execution" ends on March 27th, at which time Clark PUD is expected to resume their efforts to slaughter the wild Monk Parakeets that call Yacolt their home.

Clark PUD claims they have stopped killing for now, yet today they were videotaped removing nests from utility poles in a blizzard with temperatures below 30 degrees. Additionally, I was sent photos of the poor parakeets soaking wet and freezing, watching as their homes were destroyed. Clark PUD may claim that they are not killing the birds, but the inhumane treatment they are inflicting on the birds by rendering them homeless and exposing them to severe cold will ultimately cause each bird to die a slow and uncomfortable death.

The utility company continues to lie to the public, adhering to the mantra that the birds are pests and pose a threat to their equipment. This has to stop. There are humane alternatives, and we need to join together to put an end to Clark PUD's inhumanity.

Below is the letter I sent to the local newspapers, as well as Yacolt's Mayor and Council, and Dean Sutherland at Clark PUD.

I encourage you to send your comments in defense of the Yacolt parakeets to:

• Tom Vogt at the newspaper, The Columbian: tom.vogt@columbian.com


• The Oregonian newspaper: holleygilbert@news.oregonian.com


• The Reflector newspaper: staff@thereflector.com


• The Mayor and Council of Yacolt, Washington at: TownOfYacolt@aol.com


• Dean Sutherland at Clark Public Utility: DSutherland@clarkpud.com

Kindly forward this message to bird boards or anyone you think may want to help the wild parakeets. We are the only hope they have.

Alison

Alison Evans-Fragale alison@edgewaterparrots.com wrote:

Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:45:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Alison Evans-Fragale
Subject: Letter on Behalf of Yacolt's Wild Monk Parakeets
To: undisclosed recipients

Dean Sutherland, Director of Community Affairs for Clark Public Utilities, recently stated, "Clark Public Utilities is not involved in the design or implementation of the recovery or preservation efforts related to the parakeets in Yacolt".

Not involved?! Clark PUD established the parameters and deadlines for the slaughter of the Yacolt's wild Monk Parakeets, and they are responsible for the reason things are the way they are today! They failed to maintain the nests, and now they are trying to pass the buck to the local Mayor and Council.

If Clark PUD CARES, as they claim to, they should be working night and day to find a solution. If not, they have no right to demand the birds are killed or relocated!

No one knows more about what can work on the wires or poles, and individuals involved in the attempt to save the birds need input from Clark PUD to come up with a viable solution. In Edgewater, New Jersey, PSE&G and the Edgewater Parrots team developed a successful strategy to humanely manage Edgewater's population of over 200 Monk Parakeets. We were successful because we worked together. Monk Parakeet rescuers in Yacolt should DEMAND that Clark PU work with them for the very same reason!

Clark PUD should be working WITH rescuers in Yacolt -- period -- for so many reasons, including:

Every single effort to eradicate the wild Monks has proven unsuccessful. That would leave them holding the bag for the unnecessary murder of innocent birds AND having to deal with bad PR. Any benefit they think they might gain by exterminating the birds would be lost in a sea of bad PR for them -- not just locally, but nationwide!

Working with the community is excellent PR for the utility company— -- murdering innocent birds while they sleep and submitting them for research is not. At a minimum, Clark PU should realize that they are creating a public relations problem that exceeds any benefit they think they might gain by slaughtering the birds.

There are many alternatives to killing. Public discussion with the community and with other power companies who face the same situation, will result in viable and cost effective solutions to this problem, while affording protection to Monk Parakeets, and allowing the community of Yacolt to continue to enjoy and respect wildlife.

I can't help but wonder why Clark PUD has chosen to kill instead of re-engineering its assets to dissuade the parrots from building their nests in utility poles.

Evidently, Clark PUD imbibed the USDA Kool-Aid. Despite their statement that the wild Monk Parakeets pose no threat, the USDA, and other companies, including one named Pandion, hold seminars to teach utility companies how to kill the birds, as well as seminars on how to "manage" public opinion. The false information fed to the residents of Yacolt by Clark PUD is the same "lesson" taught to utility companies and released to the public in CT, NY, and Florida. It is released to the public with the hope that the information will convince the public to see the birds as pests and tolerate the senseless killing.

Clark PUD is lying to residents of Yacolt. The truth is that the birds not pose a threat to agriculture or other birds. Their nests do not weigh 2,400 pounds. The nests do not cause pole fires.

Additionally, Clark PUD did not remove the nests after the breeding season in an effort to be humane. They employed a strategy utilized by all utility companies: to remove the nests when it is cold to insure that the ones they don't catch will die from exposure and stall when removing the nests until it is so late that no one will be around to see what they do.

Clark PUD released a statement that they are not killing the birds, yet they were caught on video-tape removing a nest just today! Nest removals at this time of year exposes the birds to extreme weather, including sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures, and this on-going practice of removing nests as they are being re-built is certain to result in a slow and cruel death for the few Monk Parakeets that survived the attempted eradication a few weeks ago.

The "euthanasia" they employ is far from humane. The birds that are trapped in their nets suffer multiple crush injuries, broken wings and limbs, and severed extremities before they are thrown into a gas chamber or sent to a research facility in Florida or Colorado.

There are humane solutions. In New Jersey, PSE&G successfully manages a population of over 200 wild Monk parakeets by utilizing humane solutions, including bi-annual nest removals during temperate weather, both before and after the breeding season. They also install orange insulating sleeves on utility poles after removing the nests, which deter re-building efforts. PSE&G has offered to discuss their efforts with Clark PU, but, to date, Clark has not made any effort to contact PSE&G.

Yacolt residents deserve to be told the truth by Clark PUD. They should be angry that they are being manipulated and should demand that and that Clark PU work with rescuers and consult with other utility companies in an effort to provide humane treatment of the parakeets as well as to preserve nature in their town.

Anyone wishing proof of anything I have stated in my letter, please contact me by e-mail at: alison@edgewaterparrots.com. I stand by my words and am more than happy to share my evidence with any individual who wants to know the truth and help save the Monk Parakeets of Yacolt.

Alison Evans-Fragale RN, MSN, CFNP, CLNC
Founder
EdgewaterParrots.com
Edgewater, New Jersey