FEDS MAY CHARGE NEWHALL LAND.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer VALENCIA - Electronic noisemakers that The Newhall Land and Farming Company The Newhall Land and Farming Company is a land management company based in Valencia, California, United States. The company is responsible for the master community planning of Valencia, as well as the management of farm land elsewhere in the state. installed to ward off an endangered songbird songbird Any oscine passerine (suborder Passere), all of which have a complex vocal organ, the syrinx. Some species (e.g., thrushes) produce melodious songs; others (e.g., crows) have a harsh voice; and some do little or no singing. See also birdsong. from two of its developments may have violated the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. , a federal official said. The machines produced loud chirping chirp n. A short, high-pitched sound, such as that made by a small bird or an insect. intr.v. chirped, chirp·ing, chirps To make a short, high-pitched sound. noises to scare off the least Bell's vireo vireo, small, migratory songbird of the New World. Some species nest in the United States, but the majority are tropical. Vireos (also called greenlets) range from 4 to 6 1/2 in. (10.2–16. , which makes its home along the Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
Newhall Land says a 1998 opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permitted the company to use the 30-foot noisemakers to scare the birds from the two construction sites, but the federal officials rejected that argument. ``These machines do not promote the conservation of endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. ,'' said Rick Farris, an ecologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service. ``We never would have approved it.'' Now Fish and Wildlife is weighing whether to file charges against Newhall Land, and officials are concerned that environmental studies for the two developments are flawed if any information was gathered while the noisemakers were effectively altering the environment. Farris said Newhall officials may have misinterpreted the opinion, which required the company to survey for active songbird nests and halt all construction if an active nest was discovered. Newhall Land said the noise was designed to keep the endangered bird from nesting in areas that might be disrupted by construction. ``We believe (Newhall has) concluded that if they kept the least Bell's vireo away from the construction zone by using noisemakers, they could avoid construction delays,'' reads an internal Fish and Wildlife memo, dated May 16. ``Also, they may believe that if they prevented direct mortality by scaring the birds away, there will be no ... violation,'' The noisemakers would make it impossible to monitor the bird population in the area, Farris said. It is a violation of the Endangered Species Act to make a natural environment unsuitable for habitation HABITATION, civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of another without prejudice to the property. 2. It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas by an endangered species. The law enforcement division of the Fish and Wildlife Service is weighing whether to pursue criminal or civil charges against Newhall Land and Farming for its use of the machines. Farris said the process is taking a long time because the agency has never come across a situation like this before. The 35 bird-hazing machines were discovered last May by Teresa Savaikie, a Saugus resident and bird watcher. Newhall removed the machines soon after Savaikie's complaint was received by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Newhall spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer said the company was permitted to install the machines along the Bridgeport construction site. In anticipation of construction of the Decoro Bridge, the company installed more in the San Francisquito Creek. ``We thought it was the proper thing to do, based on our experience at Bridgeport,'' Lauffer said. The bird-hazing machines may have been installed along the Santa Clara River as early as 1996, according to Dan Guthrie, a biological consultant for Newhall. That would seem to bolster the claims of the Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity combines conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the , a Berkeley-based wildlife protection group that is poised to file suit against Newhall, arguing that the West Creek environmental impact report is invalid because it's based on information gathered while the noisemakers were scaring the birds away. ``If there were no birds, that means they would have to do nothing to be in compliance and spend no money and have an easier time getting a permit,'' said Peter Galvin, an ecologist. ``It is a sinister effort to eradicate wildlife along the Santa Clara River and the San Francisquito Creek.'' Newhall spokeswoman Lauffer said the West Creek environmental impact reports were completed in 1998, before the machines were installed. She added that the reports are valid and are based on solid information. Farris agreed any environmental report done while the bird hazing machines were present would be worthless. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
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