Portland International Airport is a bleak place for most birds, and airport officials have been at pains to keep it that way. Underground pipes drain the soil to prevent water-loving birds from taking up residence their. Geese and other fowl are systematically discouraged by landscape management practices that aim at no living organic material above an inch in height.
However, nature is resourceful, and one bird has thrived and nested in the airport's wasteland buffer zone: the streaked horned lark. Displaced from its original grasslands, this lark has found a niche at PDX. Where sonic boom would drive most humans mad, four pairs of larks mate and raise families. The resilient streaked horn has also found refuge in dredge spoil sites and a Washington artillery range.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is rightfully considering this tough natured little lark for listing on the Endangered Species List--to protect it from airport expansions and other projects that would decimate the lark's last foothold on survival. Tell USFWS you think this stubborn little trooper deserves a break and should be listed in the ESA!
We the undersigned are amazed at how the streaked horned lark has adapted to some of the most unsavory places known to man: an airport buffer, an artillery range, dredge spoil sites.
It appears this tough little survivor has found a niche where many birds and most humans would not be happy. Four mated pairs of larks nest and raise their young in the arid buffer zone of Portland International Airport. Other streaked horned larks are thriving in sites that have become dumping grounds for dredging projects.
Clearly all animals are equally worthy of protection, but this little lark has captured our hearts for its tenacious grip on survival. Please list the streaked horned larks on the Endangered Species List.
