Birds need bond issue

To the editor, Audubon Pennsylvania and our 30,000 statewide members are proud to join the Alliance to Keep Pike Green and ask the citizens of Pike County to vote “yes” for the $10 million open space bond question on November 8. We all know Pike County is a special place for people. It’s also a special place for birds. Pike County is home to three of Pennsylvania’s eighty-two Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The Upper Delaware River, the Shohola Waterfowl Management Area, and Promise Land State Park’s Bruce Lake Natural Area are part of an international network of sites recognized for their outstanding value to bird conservation. Habitat loss and fragmentation are two of the most serious threats facing birds around the world, across the U.S., and right here in Pennsylvania. The IBA program was established to help reverse declining tends in bird populations and to conserve the habitats upon which those birds depend. This bond question will help ensure the future of the IBAs, as well as the critical land and water that surround and link these unique places. Birds can’t vote, but people can. Please vote “yes” to Keep Pike Green on November 8. Timothy D. Schaeffer, Ph.D. Executive Director Audubon Pennsylvania