Debate rages as warbler count goes on

It's nesting season, and Kirtland's warblers are fending off rival males and attracting mates with their loud, persistent singing.

Then there are the critics, who are upset that the Huron National Forest is being clear cut and is restricted from visitors during the summer months. The Bay City Times reports this unique environmental debate where the environmental group involved in saving the wabler is pro-clear cut. Debate rages as warbler count goes on:

Kirtland's warblers are habitat specialists, only nesting in young jack pine forests in the northern Lower Peninsula. Numbers of the bird are directly related to the amount of available habitat. As the birds' habitat decreased populations dwindled, and in the 1970s the warbler was close to extinction.

But not everyone is enchanted by the warbler. Because each Kirtland's warbler prefers at least 80 acres of land for an individual nest, Huber says, clear cuts can be blocks of 300 to 1,000 acres. The large clear cuts needed to restore the species can be controversial with the public.

"From May to September there's areas that the public is not welcome and it's unlawful to enter," said Kathy VanLuven, a St. Helen resident who enjoys taking drives through the woods. "And they are cutting down our forest and planting jack pines, which are not a very pretty tree."

"If it wasn't for Michigan they would be extinct," said Len Stuttman, co-chair of the Michigan Audubon Society's Kirtland's Warbler Initiative.

This is an interesting article. If you have the time read the whole article as it gives a nice history of this bird and the fight to save it.