Henry said officials plan to keep the ecosystem alive and thriving and recognize the importance of migration and birding tourism — they even market it.
“It’s very important for us going forward,” Henry said.
Still, at the meeting and through the petition, birders are expressing concerns and reservations about the proposal.
Javier Gonzalez, a naturalist at the South Padre Island Birding Center, which is right next door to the convention center, attended the April 17 meeting in an individual capacity to express his concerns.
“I can speak pretty confidently that this area … is a critically important stopping site for the birds,” he said.
Gonzalez said habitat on the Island is slowly becoming condos and buildings.
“More now than ever, these little lots are extremely important … the convention center for decades has attracted birders to South Padre Island,” he said.
He described the area as the most mature on the Island.
“If you wipe that out, it takes a long time to recover, to recuperate something like this,” he said.
Gonzalez also said how interest in birding — a major economic driver for the Island — has grown post-pandemic, asking councilmembers to be mindful of all of these points.
“Please preserve any habitat that we may have left for the birds and for the people … that come down here,” he said.
After the firm’s presentation, South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty said that if they did take out any habitat they would find areas to replace that habitat and officials with the firm said employees with landscape expertise would come to the Island and interact with interested parties.
Henry reiterated at the end of the meeting that they market the Island to birders and realizes the value in that, adding that “we’ll work together to build a world class facility” and not compromise existing areas for birds.
News Source: https://myrgv.com
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