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31.7.2020
7.7.2020
USA: Bird-Safe Buildings
Every
year in the U.S., about one million birds die as a consequence of collisions
with buildings. Now House Passes Bill To Retrofit Federal Buildings To
Reduce Bird Collisions.
Bird-safety
enthusiasts, including ENR 2014 Newsmaker Christine Sheppard, are hailing the
passage last week, by the U.S. House of Representatives, of H.R. 919 –
Bird-Safe Buildings Act.
Sheppard,
director of the glass collisions program at the American Bird Conservancy
(ABC), calls the recognition of the issue at the federal level a momentous
achievement because, if passed by the Senate and put into law, it will set an
example for the entire nation.
The
bipartisan bill is designed to reduce bird mortality by calling for federal
buildings to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features. As
many as 1 billion (?) birds a year die in collisions with buildings in the U.S.
alone, according to ABC. Congressman
Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) has been the driving force behind the legislation for
more than a decade. The bill will soon be introduced in the Senate, and
conservationists are optimistic about its passage, says ABC.
Design
Techniques
Many
bird-friendly design techniques—such as installing screens or grills on windows
and minimizing the use of glass on lower floors—are already used in some
federal buildings to control heat and light, or for security. The bill would
require the U.S. General Services Administration to apply similar measures,
where practicable, to all new and existing federal buildings.
In
2008, ABC founded the only national-level program dedicated to reducing bird
deaths from collisions with glass, says Sheppard. Since then, more than 20
states, counties and municipalities have passed bird-friendly legislation.
Last
December 2019, the New York City Council passed the nation’s most comprehensive
bird-friendly buildings law. According to New York City Audubon's Project Safe
Flight, 90,000 to 230,000 birds die after colliding with glass each year during
their migrations through New York City alone. [enr]
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