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<DIV><FONT color=#000200 face=Cambria>Thanks for sharing this - and for copying
the text so people who don't have access to the Strib web page can read this
important info.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000200 face=Cambria></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000200 face=Cambria>J. Baumann</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=mnbird@lists.mnbird.net
href="mailto:mnbird@lists.mnbird.net">J. Brophy via Mnbird</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, November 13, 2019 10:19 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=mnbird@lists.mnbird.net
href="mailto:mnbird@lists.mnbird.net">mnbird@lists.mnbird.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [Mnbird] Study Clear as Glass, Opinion,
StarTribune</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR><A
href="http://www.startribune.com/study-is-clear-as-glass-u-s-bank-stadium-death-trap-must-be-fixed/564823242/">http://www.startribune.com/study-is-clear-as-glass-u-s-bank-stadium-death-trap-must-be-fixed/564823242/</A><BR><BR>And
text placed below if no access:<BR>Study is clear as glass: U.S. Bank Stadium
death trap must be fixed<BR>U.S. Bank Stadium has the third-highest fatality
estimate in downtown <BR>Minneapolis. And it could have been prevented.<BR>By
Steve Greenfield , Wendy Haan and Jerry Bahls NOVEMBER 12, 2019 —
<BR>5:45PM<BR><BR>Years in the making, the three-year study of bird fatalities
at the <BR>glass palace that is U.S. Bank Stadium becomes public.<BR><BR>Seven
years ago, instead of building a new football stadium that is <BR>safe for
birds, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority came up with <BR>a series of
excuses not to do so.<BR><BR>At that time, the cost for bird-safe glass for the
entire stadium <BR>would have added only 0.1% to the $1 billion cost of the
stadium (half <BR>paid by taxpayers). Early design discussions had included
bird-safe <BR>glass, consistent with the wishes of the community. But then MSFA
<BR>changed its mind.<BR><BR>Despite intense public pressure, including a letter
from the <BR>Department of Natural Resources, a resolution from the Minneapolis
<BR>City Council, a petition with tens of thousands of signatures <BR>(including
many football fans) and protests from bird conservation <BR>groups, the MSFA
refused to listen.<BR><BR>Instead of building a bird-safe stadium, the MSFA and
Vikings paid <BR>almost a third of the $1 million cost of bird-safe glass to
fund a <BR>study of bird mortality.<BR><BR>Now that study is out and shows a
significant number of migrating <BR>birds are killed by the stadium glass every
year, just as the Audubon <BR>Chapter of Minneapolis and other groups predicted
and found in their <BR>own study released in 2017. The stadium's highly
reflective glass in <BR>the Mississippi Flyway, a major migration corridor used
by millions of <BR>birds twice a year, virtually guaranteed that the stadium
would rank <BR>among the top bird-killing buildings in the city, as the new
study <BR>confirms.<BR><BR>The study found that U.S. Bank Stadium had the
third-highest fatality <BR>estimate of 21 downtown buildings surveyed. At least
111 bird deaths <BR>occurred annually at the stadium. Estimated fatality rates
at the <BR>stadium and the other three top buildings exceeded all other
buildings <BR>in the study, and also exceed death rates at most U.S. high-rise
<BR>buildings (based on a previous study of 11 cities). The study's
<BR>conclusions "stress the need to prioritize mitigation strategies <BR>related
to reducing window collisions (e.g., window films and markers) <BR>versus those
reducing urban vegetation."<BR><BR>Much has changed since MSFA officials refused
to build a bird-safe <BR>stadium. The news for birds has become even more grim.
Earlier this <BR>year, a study by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology named the Twin
Cities <BR>one of the worst urban areas in the country for migrating birds. Last
<BR>month, a study published in the journal Science found that wild bird
<BR>populations in the continental U.S. and Canada have declined by 3
<BR>billion birds (almost 30%) since 1970.<BR><BR>And a new report from National
Audubon Society estimates that <BR>two-thirds of North American birds face
extinction because of climate <BR>change. At the same time, awareness of the
threat to birds posed by <BR>glass has grown and solutions have been developed
to make glass less <BR>deadly, including film developed by 3M.<BR><BR>Some
people wonder why we should care about an estimated 111 birds <BR>killed at the
stadium every year, but the study acknowledges that the <BR>actual number is
likely higher. And taking these birds from the <BR>breeding population has
exponential effects, greatly contributing to <BR>staggering bird declines
already documented.<BR><BR>Minimizing the importance of any bird deaths in the
Mississippi Flyway <BR>also misses the point that these deaths are entirely
preventable at a <BR>time when we must protect birds to protect our
environment.<BR><BR>Besides window collisions and climate change, birds face
many other <BR>threats, including habitat loss, roaming cats and plummeting
insect <BR>populations, birds' primary food source. These growing dangers and
the <BR>alarming decline in bird populations make immediate protection of
<BR>migratory birds imperative, particularly in the Mississippi
Flyway.<BR><BR>When Minnesota's bird-safe building requirements first took
effect, <BR>U.S. Bank Stadium became the last building funded with state bond
<BR>money that was not required to use bird-safe glass. The intent of this
<BR>wise legislation is "to limit the risk of built environments to birds,
<BR>with special attention to the highest-risk conditions."<BR><BR>MSFA's own
study now confirms that U.S. Bank Stadium is one of the <BR>highest-risk
buildings in Minneapolis. It's time for current MSFA <BR>officials to undo the
bad decision made by their predecessors and fix <BR>the glass.<BR><BR>Steve
Greenfield is president of Friends of Roberts Bird Sanctuary. <BR>Wendy Haan is
co-founder of Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of <BR>Migratory Birds.
Jerry Bahls is past president and current board <BR>member of Audubon Chapter of
Minneapolis.<BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Mnbird
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