Good Grief, Fireworks Canceled in Oregen Town Not Because of Heat & Dry Conditions … Canceled Amid Concearns for Sea Birds, Brandt’s Cormorant

UNREAL … FIREWORKS CANCELED BECAUSE THEY ARE SCARING BIRDS.

Fireworks in the coastal town of Depoe Bay were canceled this year for the first time in 19 years since the town started the tradition in 1993. Were the fireworks canceled because of the dry conditions and fires like what has plagued Colorado? Nope. Were they canceled like many towns and cities in the mid-Atlantic states due to damage from recent extreme weather? Nope. The fireworks were actually canceled amid concerns for sea birds.

 The coastal town of Depoe Bay is about to experience its quietest July 3 in 19 years.

Town officials this year reluctantly announced they were cancelling the annual pre-Independence Day fireworks show, following pressure from federal wildlife managers who said the noise disrupts protected sea birds.

Business owners, dependent on the popular show for foot traffic, are not happy.

“It’s a great loss to our community,” said Peggy Leoni, co-owner of Trollers Lodge, a small motel in Depoe Bay.

But Rebecca Chuck, deputy project leader with the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said the move was necessary to protect species such as the Brandt’s cormorant that nest at Pirates Cove. The cove is less than a mile south of Boiler Bay, where the fireworks show is held, and seabird colonies on the north coast face intensifying pressure from bald eagles and other predators.

The event at Boiler Bay has been a tradition since 1993.

Phil Taunton, one of the original organizers, said July 3 was chosen as the date to avoid competition with better-funded fireworks shows on the Fourth. The location was an easy shuttle ride just north of town.

But once again we have an over-intrusive federal government and crazed envirowackos taking away people’s liberties in lieu of birds.The federal agency stepped in and affected local commerce by their decision. Brilliant move in the midst of the Obama recession.

City officials put up a fierce resistance to the study’s conclusions, questioning its methodology.

But because the location where the fireworks are launched is on state park land, state officials were warned they could be liable for violating the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that makes it illegal to harm or kill protected bird species.

When Oregon Parks and Recreation decided not to issue a permit for the event this year, the city had no choice but to cancel.

Local business owners, facing the reality that this year’s show won’t go on, have spent the last two weeks coming up with other ways to draw tourists into town.