San Francisco Approves New Bird Safe Standards
excerpted from American Bird Conservancy website
(Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, CA., July 14 2011) American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Golden Gate Audubon hailed the passage by the San Francisco Planning Commission of new Bird Safe Building Standards Thursday evening by a 5-1 vote. The standards would greatly reduce bird deaths and injuries resulting from collisions with buildings in the city. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to consider the proposal at its August or September meeting.
“In considering city-wide building standards to protect birds, the San Francisco Planning Commission is showing national leadership on this tragic wildlife issue. American Bird Conservancy is pleased to have partnered with Golden Gate Audubon to provide expertise to help develop this very forward-thinking and wildlife-friendly approach to a problem that is plaguing cities today – how to prevent up to one billion birds from dying each year in building collisions nationwide,” said Dr. Christine Sheppard, manager of ABC’s Bird Collisions Campaign.
“Bird deaths from building strikes, one of the main causes of bird mortality in the U.S., can often be prevented with reasonable, affordable measures. The City of San Francisco can take a bold and positive approach to the problem by adopting the Standards for Bird Safe Buildings that will identify hazards and reduce bird collisions.” said Mark Welther, Executive Director of Golden Gate Audubon.
