Perhaps he was a volunteer, but it seems to me as if he was using his guise as a volunteer to pursue his personal photography hobby. By driving off the runways he was giving visitors the impression that this was somehow permissible, and he gave this impression to the 20- something visitors on the warmest Sunday of this winter. If he wants to drive around on the grass then tell walkers that they shouldn't approach too closely, he is sending "do as I say not as I do" message. And if he wants to engage in this behavior, he should do it during the week when the refuge isn't crowded with people.
Christine Guarino New Paltz, NY On Jan 20, 2010, at 9:07 AM, Peter Relson wrote: > Nadine Scarpa forwarded to me a post from nysbirds which you might > not have seen: > > <<start-post>> > Subject: RE: [nysbirds-l] about SGNWR regs/he was a volunteer > > The person was a volunteer at the grasslands as I spoke to him as he > was leaving the grasslands. He showed me his identification and id > numbers that indicated he was a volunteer. He stated he used his > own vehicle b/c his truck was large enough for all his photography > equipment. I said the vehicle should have an identifiying seal even > if was a magnetic one. However he had the id on him plus a USFW > hat. I said he could cause ill will among birders by him just > driving around without identifying himself or other volunteers. He > said his role was to monitor the grasslands and the wildlife as well > as the people on the grasslands. If I recall the conversation he > said birders and others gave him a hard time when he suggested not > flushing the owls or approaching too closely. He did say something > or someone did flush the owls early on Saturday. > Diana teta > Long island, ny > <<end-post>> > > The refuge folks told me that, while the volunteer is permitted to > drive within the refuge, he is not permitted to drive off of the > runway and they will be dealing with that issue. > > Peter Relson > Ulster Park > From: christine guarino <[email protected]> To: Peter Relson <[email protected]> Cc: nysbirds-l <[email protected]>; [email protected] Sent: Sun, January 17, 2010 6:45:03 PM Subject: [Mearnsbirdclub] Re: [MidHudsonBirds] SGNWR - Ulster County At least 6 Short-eared owls were present at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR on Saturday and many N Harriers as well. I haven't seen any Rough- legged Hawks since January 9th. There were at least 20 birders, all of whom should have gotten nice looks at the Owls. I also wondered about the photographer (see Peter Relson's post below) driving all over the refuge in his blue Dodge Ram 1500 truck with a utility cap. The gate was locked and I don't know how he got in, unless he somehow was there with permission of the refuge managers. He was not driving on the runways and I saw his wheels spinning in the soft ground on a number of occasions. He drove very close to a group of 3 Short-ears sitting on the same branch of a deciduous tree. We'll see how long the Owls hang around after this evening's weather and the recent photographic encroachment. Christine Guarino New Paltz, NY > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To visit the Mid-Hudson Birds web site go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidHudsonBirds Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] List owner: [email protected] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidHudsonBirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidHudsonBirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
