On today's Whatcom Report on KGMI, Ken Oplinger devoted a segment of his program to the issue of the Caspian Tern colony that made a stop over at the old Georgia Pacific site in 2010.
And since the Caspian Terns don't shoehorn themselves neatly into the development plans for the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham, they want to get rid of the Caspian Terns.
And Ken Oplinger, of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce, described this doctrine on his show...
Bravo to the Sierra.
I have a better term for the Caspian Terns.
Flying Cash Cows.
Unlike "squatters" who actually impede economic development and are of no interest to anyone but themselves, Caspian Terns are a potential source of economic stimulus for the local economy.
The Caspian Tern colony that stopped over in Bellingham in 2010 was reputed to be the second largest tern colony on the West Coast of the Continental United States. There really is no other place for them to go. If there was, they would already be going there.
But what I take issue with most sharply is the notion that the only way to achieve an economic benefit from the G-P site is to build stuff on every square foot of the entire place.
The annual appearance of the Caspian Terns in Bellingham represent a promising economic potential for the City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham to exploit. By encouraging the terns to make a visit to Bellingham an annual tradition, the Port and the City could generate substantial economic benefit to the local economy.
I offer as an example, the many shorebirds who make an annual visit to Gray's Harbor.
In Gray's Harbor county, there is an annual Shorebird Festival during the migration season. Shorebirds by the thousands stop over at Gray's Harbor during their migratory journey. Instead of driving the shorebirds away and developing the land where the shorebirds "squat", Gray's Harbor has made the shorebirds' annual visit to the area a component of their local economy. Because not only do shorebirds go to Gray's Harbor by the thousands, but birders come to Gray's Harbor by the hundreds. And they bring their cameras. And they bring their children. And they bring their binoculars. And they bring their bird field manuals.
But most importantly, they bring their money.
And birders are a well-coined group of tourists. And they are [nocturnal flying mammal]-[body function] crazy about seeing birds. They will travel across the country and across the globe to catch a glance at a single species of bird.
Unlike Gray's Harbor, we have an international airport in Bellingham. Birders can fly right into Bellingham and look at the Caspian Terns every year when they visit. We could establish an annual Caspian Tern Festival in Bellingham that would generate untold amounts of tourism revenue for the local economy in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
And unlike Gray's Harbor, which is a hot mess of urban blight and a poster child for the Growth Management Act (no offense to Gray's Harbor... nice clearcutting by the way... *eyeroll*) Bellingham and Whatcom County have a much larger array of other attractive things for tourists to see once they have had their fill of the Caspian Terns. Get the tourists here looking at the Terns, and they will find a lot of other stuff worth seeing in Bellingham and Whatcom County. And they will leave a trail of money behind them as they do so.
But instead of preserving a natural (and virtually free) tourist attraction, the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham apparently would rather spend money getting rid of an economic tourism opportunity that literally has flown into Bellingham without costing the local taxpayers a dime.
Those Caspian Tern represent potential seasonal tourism revenue for the local economy, and our local Chamber of Commerce wants to get rid of it.
That's not just bad for the birds. It's bad for our local economy.
To the idea of calling the Caspian Terns "squatter birds" I offer this retort...
Flap-flap. Moo. Cha-Ching.
Here is the actual audio of the unedited segment of Mr Oplinger's show...
And since the Caspian Terns don't shoehorn themselves neatly into the development plans for the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham, they want to get rid of the Caspian Terns.
And Ken Oplinger, of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce, described this doctrine on his show...
...these are "squatter birds"... they are birds who have squatted on our land... they were not here before... we really don't want them here now because we'd like to redevelop the land and so they are squatters...
Bravo to the Sierra.
I have a better term for the Caspian Terns.
Flying Cash Cows.
Unlike "squatters" who actually impede economic development and are of no interest to anyone but themselves, Caspian Terns are a potential source of economic stimulus for the local economy.
The Caspian Tern colony that stopped over in Bellingham in 2010 was reputed to be the second largest tern colony on the West Coast of the Continental United States. There really is no other place for them to go. If there was, they would already be going there.
But what I take issue with most sharply is the notion that the only way to achieve an economic benefit from the G-P site is to build stuff on every square foot of the entire place.
The annual appearance of the Caspian Terns in Bellingham represent a promising economic potential for the City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham to exploit. By encouraging the terns to make a visit to Bellingham an annual tradition, the Port and the City could generate substantial economic benefit to the local economy.
I offer as an example, the many shorebirds who make an annual visit to Gray's Harbor.
In Gray's Harbor county, there is an annual Shorebird Festival during the migration season. Shorebirds by the thousands stop over at Gray's Harbor during their migratory journey. Instead of driving the shorebirds away and developing the land where the shorebirds "squat", Gray's Harbor has made the shorebirds' annual visit to the area a component of their local economy. Because not only do shorebirds go to Gray's Harbor by the thousands, but birders come to Gray's Harbor by the hundreds. And they bring their cameras. And they bring their children. And they bring their binoculars. And they bring their bird field manuals.
But most importantly, they bring their money.
And birders are a well-coined group of tourists. And they are [nocturnal flying mammal]-[body function] crazy about seeing birds. They will travel across the country and across the globe to catch a glance at a single species of bird.
Unlike Gray's Harbor, we have an international airport in Bellingham. Birders can fly right into Bellingham and look at the Caspian Terns every year when they visit. We could establish an annual Caspian Tern Festival in Bellingham that would generate untold amounts of tourism revenue for the local economy in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
And unlike Gray's Harbor, which is a hot mess of urban blight and a poster child for the Growth Management Act (no offense to Gray's Harbor... nice clearcutting by the way... *eyeroll*) Bellingham and Whatcom County have a much larger array of other attractive things for tourists to see once they have had their fill of the Caspian Terns. Get the tourists here looking at the Terns, and they will find a lot of other stuff worth seeing in Bellingham and Whatcom County. And they will leave a trail of money behind them as they do so.
But instead of preserving a natural (and virtually free) tourist attraction, the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham apparently would rather spend money getting rid of an economic tourism opportunity that literally has flown into Bellingham without costing the local taxpayers a dime.
Those Caspian Tern represent potential seasonal tourism revenue for the local economy, and our local Chamber of Commerce wants to get rid of it.
That's not just bad for the birds. It's bad for our local economy.
To the idea of calling the Caspian Terns "squatter birds" I offer this retort...
Flap-flap. Moo. Cha-Ching.
Here is the actual audio of the unedited segment of Mr Oplinger's show...
"Issue number 800 put together by the anti-redevelopment folks"? Who are those "folks," Ken? Show me this shadowy gang of squatter-bird-lovers!
ReplyDeleteHeaven forbid that Bellingham should have something "like Stanley Park," because Stanley Park has been so bad for Vancouver.
Anon: Its absolutely not a shadowy gang of squatter bird lovers, it's a not so shadowy gang of BANANA's (Build Absolutely Nothing Absolutely Nowhere At all) who are using this issue as their next reason to kill off the redevelopment of the GP site.
ReplyDeleteKen, you have too many As in your acronym. The actual acronym is Build Absolutely Nothing Anyplace Near Anything, which is a pretty apt descriptor for the kind of low density crap leaching into the county.
ReplyDeleteApexnerd: Thanks for publicizing The Whatcom Report. Much appreciated. It is on every Sunday from 8 - 9 am.
ReplyDeleteTwo thoughts on your editorial:
1) I don't recall ever saying: "the only way to achieve an economic benefit from the G-P site is to build stuff on every square foot of the entire place." I'm very supportive of the current plans, which call for a substantial amount of park land. I'd refer you and your readers to those plans here: http://www.portofbellingham.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=215
2) Please expand on your comment that, "(t)here really is no other place for them [the squatter birds] to go". Did they spontaneously appear here last year out of thin air? Did their previous habitat get paved over for a parking lot in 2009, prompting their move to Bellingham? Would be useful information to have.
Thanks again for listening and sharing your thoughts.
- Ken Oplinger
Ken, who are the BANANAs? If they're not "shadowy," then identify them.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I think they're the same ones who worship Mao and Stalin and who crave sharia law. They hate our freedoms, and our children learning, and they are fanatically dedicated to ending all life on this planet.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think those are the ones Ken is talking about.
Ken, still waiting. Who are the BANANAs?
ReplyDeleteNo word from Ken. Therefore, it's reasonable to reach the conclusion that BANANAs are straw men. Ken made them up. They're anyone who doesn't agree with Ken.
ReplyDelete"AWDAWK."
Sounds like something a Caspian term might say.
I witnessed the port security driving through the colony. They were driving at high speeds, and doing "donuts" through the colony. When I called 911, there was no response. So I guess I am one of those invisible people.
ReplyDelete