THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130286
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY AMY GOEBELBECKER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
If you ever thought Craney Island is just for the birds, think again. The landfill also has become a useful classroom for high school students who are interested in science.
Twenty-seven biology students visited Craney Island this summer under a program of special study through the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg and the Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Governor's School for the Gifted in Science brought 200 of Virginia's top high school students to William and Mary for four weeks of in-depth exploration of science.
Part of their study included a field trip to the Corps' Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area. A 2,500-acre manmade peninsula adjacent to Portsmouth, Craney Island was created by materials dredged from navigation channels. The students were studying how the functional aspect of Craney Island's operation and bird preservation can co-exist.
Craney Island is the perfect study site because it not only provides a cheaper alternative for dredged material but it also simulates the ideal breeding conditions for bird species that are endangered, threatened or of special concern. Some of the birds are piping plovers, least terns and black-necked stilts.
Ruth Beck, a biology professor at William and Mary, suspects that pelicans will join the flocks at Craney soon.
``The purpose of the field study is to provide students with an opportunity to observe and participate in actual field experience. And in the case of Craney Island, you have a functional dredged material management area that also provides the biological requirements of avian species that have been attracted to Craney because it simulates natural beach nesting habitat,'' Beck said. ``We want them to look at both the biological and economic considerations of a working facility.''
According to Beck, Craney also is an attractive staging and feeding area for migratory shore birds and waterfowl. Before Craney was built, only straight shoreline existed; the area now offers 2,500 acres of prime waterfront property for birds, less disturbed than a public beach where the breeding birds normally nest.
The student tours began with an introduction to the island by Tom Friberg, acting chief of the Operations and Readiness Branch of the Corps and soon to be named Craney Island project manager.
``All of the dredging at Craney Island is highly regulated,'' said Friberg. ``The dredging is monitored by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the state, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal committees.''
At one stop on the dusty island road, the group spotted a pair of least terns, who were enjoying the beautiful summer day together. Beck said that 125 pairs of least terns inhabit the island and live in sub-colonies of 30 to 40 pairs.
``You can hear the terns, if you listen, sometimes. They make a sound like ``ga-deek, ga-deek,'' she told the students. ``The terns migrate here from Costa Rica in April. We search the island to determine where they're nesting.''
The terns prefer the areas of the island with light-colored sand and insist upon settling there.
``The terns like the pristine areas,'' Beck said.
Ruth Beck began coming to Craney Island in 1974. A mandate was imposed on the island that the birds must be protected. She encouraged the Corps and William and Mary to work together in the preservation of the birds and their habitat and they have been working together under a cooperative agreement since 1984.
In 1990, Beck received the Commander's Award for Public Service from the Norfolk District for her work with the shore nesting birds at Craney Island.
Craney is open to the public for free visits. In fact, it is frequently visited by fishermen, crabbers, and bird watchers. According to Friberg, about 9,000 bird watchers and 500 fishermen visit Craney Island per year.
``You never know from one week to the next what you're going to find here,'' Beck said. MEMO: Amy Goebelbecker is a writer/editor for the Norfolk District of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
by CNB