[DVOC] Significant Pelagic Boundary Changes Announced

[Bert Filemyr]

    This past weekend, the state listing committees from various
Mid-Atlantic states held an unusual joint meeting to discuss pelagic
boundaries and specifically how these boundaries affect the listing of state
birds. In an unprecedented and breakthrough decision, previous rules related
to birds seen on or over water have been significantly liberalized. 
 
    The committees jointly released the following statement:  

"Rule change - Beginning today, any bird seen on or over "any body of water"
within 50 miles of the political boundary of a state can be counted for that
state. The term "any body of water" includes offshore waters, inshore
waters, lakes, ponds, rivers, etc.
 
Comments by the committees
- The committees are aware that the ramifications of this change will be
monumental. While this will certainly change offshore pelagic listing, it
will have a greater effect on general birding. For instance, a bird seen on
or over Lilly Lake (Cape May County, NJ) could previously only be counted on
a birder's New Jersey list. But now, since Lilly Lake is "body of water" and
is less than 50 miles from Delaware, a bird seen on or over Lilly Lake can
now be counted on a birder's Delaware list.  In the same way a bird sighted
on or over Lake Nockamixon (Buck County, PA) can now be counted on a
birder's New Jersey list.  An extreme example of this rule change is that
the impoundments at John Heinz NWR at Tinicum (Delaware County and
Philadelphia County, PA) are in Pennsylvania and are within 50 miles of New
Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Thus a bird seen on or over those
impoundments is now countable in four states.
- The committees urge birders restrain themselves and only count a single
sighting on one state's list, but there is nothing in the new rules
preventing a single sighting from being counted on multiple states lists if
a birder wishes. It is up to the individual birder to determine what state
or states he or she wants to use to list any particular bird when it is seen
in a location where multiple states overlap.
- Obviously this change will be confusing at first but after the appropriate
maps are made available, the new boundaries will be clear. 
- This change takes affect today - 4/1/2008"

 
 
 
 
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