|
COPYRIGHT 2001 Hiaring Company
"Vineyards threat to cranes?" This October 23rd Sacramento Bee headline caught my eye. The article focused on the potential negative impact that vineyards in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta region could have on the greater sandhill crane. The sandhill crane is a magnificent bird that breeds in parts of California, eastern Oregon, Washington and British Columbia and over-winters in the western part of San Joaquin County and southwestern part of Sacramento County. The article began by stating that cranes cannot find enough to eat in vineyards and, due to their 7-foot wingspan, need running room to take off. Something they would not find among trellises and vines. It then went on to describe a Nature Conservancy report warning that "if the shift from rice, corn and other row crops and pastures to the more profitable vineyards continues rapidly, little crane habitat soon may exist in the Sacramento River Delta." I finished the article with a sense of frustration. Are vineyards the major problem here? Loss of habitat for wildlife is an increasingly common and complex problem. Lately, much of the blame has been laid squarely at the feet of winegrape growers. However, articles like the one above are...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
