Cerulean Warbler: Logging is continuing at Weldon Spring C.A. not far from Lost Valley Trail, a nesting site for Cerulean Warbler. WGNSS has received permission from the Mo. Dept. of Conservation to expand our Lost Valley Trail Breeding Bird Survey into the section that has been closed off to the public for the logging operations. In addition, we are asking that MDC stop logging activities entirely during breeding season. Last fall, 26 environmental organizations petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Cerulean Warbler as "Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Please report ALL Cerulean Warblers to Jim Ziebol (314-781-7372), with particular emphasis on Ceruleans found at Weldon Spring C.A.

Environmental Impact Statement: Concern about Holnam's proposed cement plant in Jefferson & Ste. Genevieve Counties is spreading. WGNSS met with the Governor's office in March and we have had contact with Sen. Carnahan, Sen. Bond, Rep. Gephardt, Rep. Clay, and several state legislators. It is critical that each of us begin contacting our elected officials on both sides of the river. That includes governors, federal and state representatives and senators, and local county officials. Ask each person to contact Col. Morrow and request that the Corps of Engineers prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). (The EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are also asking the Corps to prepare an EIS, and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation is opposed to the project.) In addition to habitat destruction and impacts to wildlife, the proposed Holnam cement plant would emit huge quantities of air pollutants, which affect our health and are especially bad for people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses. If the Holnam cement plant were built, it would add to our regional air quality problem. Existing businesses could be subjected to increased restrictions and new businesses might choose to go elsewhere. This proposed project spells "environmental impact" in every sense of the word. Ask your elected officials to contact Col. Morrow and request an Environmental Impact Statement:

Col. Michael Morrow U.S. Corps of Engineers 1222 Spruce Street St. Louis, Mo. 63103

More on Holnam: The Post-Dispatch and the Ste. Genevieve Herald both reported on our victory at the Land Reclamation Commission meeting on March 22. Holnam was asking for a second permit, this time to mine 35 acres. Instead, the Commissioners voted to consolidate the second application with Holnam's third application to mine an additional 1748 acres (both applications are still pending). Significantly, the Land Reclamation Commission also decided that its investigation of Holnam's record of environmental compliance should be expanded from just Missouri to include ALL the states in which Holnam's 12 U.S. cement plants are located. Therefore, it could be several months before there is any further action on Holnam's quarry applications. WGNSS was represented by Jill Witkowski, a law student at the Environmental Law Clinic, who persuaded the Commissioners with well-researched legal arguments to take the above steps. The Clinic students also presented a chart of Holnam's record of noncompliance in Missouri and read affidavits of nearby landowners concerned about the water, air and noise impacts of the proposed strip-mining operations. WGNSS member Nancy Havicon, who lives near the Holnam property, spoke of her concerns, and Yvonne Homeyer talked about the disastrous effects of forest fragmentation on Neotropical migrants. Other organizations present included Endangered Species Coalition, American Bottom Conservancy, Coalition for the Environment, and Sierra Club.

Besides the Holnam proposal, another company, Continental Cement, has now applied to DNR for permission to build a second cement plant between the Holnam site and the town of Ste. Genevieve. We are looking into this proposed project also.

Conservation Focus: Jim Ziebol, Jack Harris, Sue Gustafson, Yvonne Homeyer, Charles Burwick, Edge Wade, Susan Hazelwood, Dave Bedan, Roy Hengerson, Charles Phillips, Bea Covington and other representatives of birding and environmental organizations attended the Mo. Dept. of Conservation's 2nd annual Conservation Focus on April 7. Our concerns about forest fragmentation, chip mills, clear-cutting, the disappearance of wetlands and the steep decline of Neotropical migrant populations were effectively voiced throughout the day. WGNSS met many Mo. Dept. of Conservation officials and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with these individuals.

Contact Yvonne Homeyer at homeyer@earthlink.net for the date of the next meeting of the Conservation Committee and/or the Holnam Task Force.

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