Friends,

I know this is not typically a site where controversial subjects get weighed daily.

However, I can’t help myself from posting this.  I think this is of concern especially to birders.  I spent Saturday cheerfully bird watching from my kayak on the Des Moines River in the city of Des Moines .  I got lucky to catch a mink bounding across a cement deck near the 2^nd Ave Bridge, and golden crowned kinglets were everywhere, as I’m sure they were in many places.  See:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=19496&id=1080652791

Incidentally, if you are like me, you probably watch birds in many places besides on your home turf.  The Des Moines River Greenbelt needs your help—natural areas where wildlife viewing, bird watching, bike riding, hiking, and walking trails are common recreational activities are being threatened by a proposed 4-lane road that would extend north from MLK & Euclid, run parallel with the Des Moines River, cross over the river and connect with an interchange at I80/35.  Loss of natural habitat on which wildlife and birds depend will be lost forever.

Please, if you feel so moved, sign an online petition opposing this unplanned growth.  Money so often dictates projects like these, and it shouldn’t.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-road

For more detailed information on this project go to www.nnrpp.org

Thanks!

John Wenck

NW Des Moines

www.nnrpp.org