© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Virginia Offers New Plan To Protect Migratory Birds After Federal Rollback

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Bird lovers are celebrating a big win in Virginia. The governor there has stepped in to defend migratory birds that no longer have federal protection. A colony of 25,000 seabirds was under threat after the state's Department of Transportation paved over parts of their nesting home on an island. Sandy Hausman from member station WVTF explains.

(SOUNDBITE OF SEABIRDS CAWING)

SANDY HAUSMAN, BYLINE: Each spring, flocks of gulls, terns and other seabirds nest on Virginia's South Island, located next to a busy highway-and-tunnel complex that connects cities along the coast. The state plans to expand the roadway and add new tunnels. So last fall, after the birds headed south, crews paved six acres for use as a staging area. The news alarmed Jim Fraser, a professor of wildlife conservation at Virginia Tech.

JIM FRASER: Our seabirds have been declining for 25 years, 60% since 1993.

HAUSMAN: That's because people keep developing islands where these birds like to nest - far from predators, but close to their food, fish. Fraser and other bird lovers called a political insider, William Leighty, former chief of staff for two governors, who was happy to help organize the opposition.

WILLIAM LEIGHTY: I am quite an avid birder, and I served nine years on the American Bird Conservancy national board.

HAUSMAN: Letters and emails poured in, and crowds showed up at public meetings to demand protection for the birds. That used to come from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a law the Trump administration says it won't enforce. Professor Fraser called on the state to build the birds their own island. And late last week, Governor Ralph Northam stepped in, designating a five-acre site near South Island for gulls, terns and skimmers. Now, says Fraser, some home improvements are needed to get rid of rodents that eat eggs and to eliminate perches for predators.

FRASER: Right now, there's trees and other things that would discourage seabirds, and I guess they're going to take the trees down. The other issue that has to be dealt with is the place is crawling with rats.

HAUSMAN: Fraser hopes the birds will be attracted to the new habitat by decoys and recorded birdcalls when they start returning to the area next month.

For NPR News, I'm Sandy Hausman.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Sandy Hausman joined our news team in 2008 after honing her radio skills in Chicago. Since then, she's won several national awards for her reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Radio, Television and Digital News Association and the Public Radio News Directors' Association.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.