Mississippi Outdoors

Written by The Commercial Appeal

Sunday, July 19, 2009

No joy riding, please: Joy riders and trespassers this summer have been destroying nests of a federally endangered bird on islands and sandbars of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. People riding off-road vehicles in protected areas destroyed numerous nests of the interior subspecies of the least tern in recent weeks. Yellow signs posted prominently at each location identify it as a least tern nesting site and warn against trespassing.

Least terns are small, sparrow-sized birds that begin nesting on open sand and gravel islands or sandbars as soon as water levels in the rivers drop low enough to expose these areas in summer. Birds lay a clutch of eggs directly on the ground. The tiny eggs and chicks that emerge from them are remarkably camouflaged to match the coloration of the sand. They are easily overlooked. Only 10,960 of these birds were found in a survey of 770 miles of the lower Mississippi River in 2005.

Source: http://www.commercialappeal.com/

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State by State Momentum

Community Voices

“We’ve had success bringing illegal riders to justice by snapping photos of their ID stickers. The problem in California is that they’re too darn small to see from far away or at high speeds. While I’m normally not in favor of the government getting involved in things, requiring all ORVs to have a visible ID with a minimum size and standard location would make them an even better tool for property owners to identify trespassing riders. We should also look to Wyoming’s lead and make trespassing penalties clear so riders think twice before they head off designated trails and onto my land.”

- Mesonika Piecuch, private property owner, Kern County, CA