THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507080438
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
It's made of sticks and mud, but land developers at Kingsmill on the James River have given up a potential $780,000 to stay out of its way.
Since 1987, Kingsmill has been home to one of the most productive bald eagle nests in the Chesapeake Bay area. The nest has spawned 15 chicks, including its current occupants, two 12-week-olds about to fly for the first time.
Under pressure from federal and state wildlife agencies, Busch Properties Inc., which manages Kingsmill, has left a large buffer zone around the nest.
The buffer zone includes six lots, valued at about $130,000 apiece, which were to have been part of a subdivision now under construction.
``It's kind of an unusual situation,'' said Keith Cline, a biologist with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, who has monitored the nest. ``It's not often that eagle nests and developers come into such close contact.''
The bald eagle has been on the federal Endangered Species List since 1978. Large numbers of the majestic birds died in the 1950s and 1960s of poisoning from DDT and other pesticides.
Federal law prohibits anyone from directly harming an eagle, but does not stipulate how large a buffer zone there should be around nests, Cline said.
``Individual regions have developed guidelines and provided them to landowners,'' he said. ``Generally, it's recommended that development not come within 750 feet of a nest. People are usually pretty cooperative.''
According to Bill Voliva, vice president of Kingsmill, the decision to protect the area around the nest was simple - but balancing development with preservation has been more complicated.
``Obviously, if the eagles weren't there, we'd be working on the land,'' Voliva said. ``The nest is in the central part of the remaining property to develop. But we've been preserving wildlife in Kingsmill from day one. Most of the wildlife here got here before we did.''
The Kingsmill nest, a bowl-shaped mass of sticks about 5 feet across the top, sits near the top of a tall pine along the James River. In 1993, Busch Properties began working on the new subdivision as part of the expanding Kingsmill East development of single- and multi-family homes, and originally planned to clear 23 lots.
Some of the lots came within 660 feet of the nest, which at one time was the recommended buffer zone.
But in 1994, officials with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries informed developers that the recommended buffer had been extended to 750 feet. Busch Properties responded by overhauling its plan, redesigning lot placement and cutting the number of lots to 17.
The nest was discovered about eight years ago during one of the biannual flyovers of the area conducted by Byrd and other wildlife experts. Its yearly production has been well above average for the 170 nests in Virginia. by CNB