Dr. Gerry Niemi comments on EAW
MNBBA [Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas] never said anything about the Great Blue Heron having breeding or nesting activity in 13 of 18 townships in Olmsted County. In fact, there is a statement in the text - "As a result, unless birds are seen on the nest, other observations cannot reasonably be assumed to indicate possible or probable breeding status." Hence, the "observations" in townships of Olmsted County were just that - observations of birds, so the statement is false because there is no inference to breeding activity.
Also, the statement about 2,443 townships in MN were sampled has little reference to Great Blue Herons because it is well-known that the species is not sampled effectively by the point counts used to sample the townships. In addition, detection of any Great Blue Herons using point counts were simply observations and not of birds on the nest. Therefore, no breeding activity can be associated with these observations. As stated in the MNBBA, Great Blue Herons are known to range within 30 km of the colony site.
The MNBBA did not state that the Great Blue Heron was ubiquitous.
They erroneously state: "GBH breeding is reported and mapped in 83 of 87 Minnesota Counties."
Yet, the MNBBA clearly states that - " The birds were reported in all 87 Minnesota counties and were confirmed breeding in 47 counties."
The Conservation Section on the Great Blue Heron summary in the Breeding Bird Atlas stated the following - "The biggest concerns for the future of the species are the protection of wetlands and the availability of secure nesting sites."
Finally, it would appear that whoever wrote these statements was not very familiar with herons nor with birds in general.
For these reasons, I feel it is imperative that the Rochester Town Board require an Environmental Impact Statement regarding the Pavilion Estates proposal.
Comments submitted by Dr. Gerry Niemi
Co-author of the MNBBA website
Professor Emeritus in Biology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
Photo by Rick Kollmeyer