By Gloria Pacheco Hernandez
My name is Gloria Pacheco Hernandez, and I am the President of the Las Palmas Neighborhood Association, which is part of the larger Westside Neighborhood Association Coalition.
I come before you to advocate the need for a sensible and mutually agreeable plan to save the Cattle Egrets birds, who were near extinction at one time, as well as other bird species of Bird Island in Elmendorf Lake Park.
The Egrets and other birds love to roost at Elmendorf Lake, especially on Bird Island, adjacent to the Our Lady of the Lake campus. They also like to eat at the Covel Gardens Landfill, because there are a lot of insects there. They are constantly flying back and forth between the two locations. But flying between the two locations causes problems when the birds interfere with aircraft. Therefore, many local officials and area military officials see the birds as a problem, threatening aviation in the area. What to do
about the birds has become a combative issue, especially for bird advocates and those of us who live in the area and do not see the birds as a major problem. Right now, the birds are contained in their natural habitat, and they are not causing any great damage.
The park, lake, birds, and other natural wildlife, add to the beauty of the neighborhood as well as affords researches and students an opportunity to study this unique inner-city area, the birds and other wildlife. Elmendorf has become a hot spot for area residents and bird watchers, who have a chance to see and study as many as 40 varieties of birds. Destroying the birds present habitat could result in them moving onto other public property and causing thousands and even millions of dollars in damage. It could also
put the Egrets once again at danger of becoming extinct. We want to be a bird-friendly community. Birds like and deserve healthy living environments, just as we as humans like and deserve healthy environments.
Presently, the community/public has not been provided with sufficient
documented information and data to support the birds are a severe threat to the airspace near Lackland AFB and Port San Antonio. Which leads me to believe there has not been an actual, in depth study of the situation. Therefore, I am requesting that the military and local officials and agencies involved work together to find an alternate solution to this matter and not relocate the birds from their natural habitat.
Where the birds will go is an unanswered question. The fact that the public was brought in at the last minute, is another instance of exclusion and opaque deals and has caused an outcry of the public that could have been avoided. No one wants pilots to be unsafe, but there are more thoughtful ways of handling this issue.
I have birded for 20 years at the treasure that is the rookery that is in Elmendorf Lake. I attended both public meetings and heard the pros and cons of eliminating the 3-5 species use of the island as a rookery. The removal arguments have existed for 20+ years and the way the problem was solved was to schedule flights around the birds’ schedule. There was no answer to my question “Where will the birds go?” No answer. At the end of the meetings, instead the base commander said,”we ARE going to get rid of them!” That shows me he could care less what we said regarding keeping the rookery.