Photo: Tern Colony, VA DWR
Betsy Martin
It’s cold as I write this, and more snow is expected. It’s no time to venture outdoors for planting or even invasive weed-pulling. It’s time for keeping feeders full and watching the birds from inside a warm house. See this month’s Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac for some tips on using bird feeders and maintaining a fresh, unfrozen water supply.
While we’re hunkered down inside during the cold winter months, it’s also a good time to support habitat creation beyond the boundaries of our backyards. Virginia’s legislative session began in January, and your representatives will consider a number of bills that would conserve or create habitat for wildlife. Here are two examples:
Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act (House Bill 2059), sponsored by Delegate Paul Krizek (D-Fairfax), would dedicate $230 million in annual funding toward protecting vulnerable natural lands and waters, working farms and forests, drinking water resources, and historic and cultural sites. It would expand habitat for birds and other wildlife and also improve public access and promote outdoor recreation by developing new trails, parks, and other public lands.
In 2020, Virginia’s largest colony of nesting seabirds was displaced by a construction project at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources created temporary nesting habitat for the birds by filling barges with sand and gravel to create an artificial floating island. In this year’s session, representatives will vote on the Governor’s proposal to commit $4,431,141 as Virginia’s share to fund construction of permanent habitat for the colony by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (this is one of many proposed amendments included in SB800 and HB1600).
Passing bills such as these can create wildlife sanctuaries on a grander scale than we can do individually on our own properties (as important as our individual efforts are).
If you think you’d like to advocate for wildlife and conservation but are new to the idea, you might consider joining NVBA’s Advocacy Committee. Send an email to advocacy@nvbirdalliance.org to join a team of volunteers who advocate for these and other conservation measures. See the Committee’s issue positions here.