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San Fran Subway System Under Fire After 2 Pigeon Eggs Halt Construction

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A California subway system with an already poor reputation is now under fire for protecting two pigeon eggs at commuters’ expense.

Earlier this month, Bay Area Rapid Transit shuttered an escalator for repairs. Soon, the projected date on a repair sign was inexplicably pushed out another thirty days.

Residents started to question the move, which prompted BART to respond.

“During repairs on the 24th St Mission escalator, a pigeon set up a nest by the escalator and laid two eggs,” BART tweeted. “By federal law, we can’t disturb an active nest and monitored the nest every day.”

Most pigeons are considered vermin, not species protected enough to shut down a major repair operation. It didn’t take long before BART was called out on their claim of a federal law protecting nesting pigeons.

“Wondering why the escalator at 24th Mission BART was closed for weeks? A pigeon nested in it, & BART thought (wrongly!) they couldn’t legally move a nest,” wrote one San Francisco-based reporter.

BART made it clear to those that called them out on the nonexistent regulation that they “aren’t experts in pigeon breeds or in bird law.”

Although you don’t need to be a bird expert to know a pigeon when you see one, BART maintained that the nest was protected and their hands were still tied by regulation.

Northern California’s KQED confirmed that although the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act does protect some nesting species, the common and non-native rock pigeon is not one that enjoys federal protection.

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What’s worse, BART seemingly even paid someone to monitor the nest daily until the two hatchlings and their mother left the nest for good.

Do you think BART should have repaired the escalator?

According to a map of the 24th St Mission station, it appears that there are only two entrances, both with escalators.

One of those escalators going out of commission no doubt hindered travel plans, especially for those who needed the motorized access.

Whether this failure was due to miscommunication, confusing regulation, or California workers simply too terrified of environmental laws to get rid of a pigeon, BART’s going to have a hard time explaining this one away.

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Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard and is a husband, dad and aspiring farmer.
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He is a husband, dad, and aspiring farmer. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard. If he's not with his wife and son, then he's either shooting guns or working on his motorcycle.
Location
Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Military, firearms, history




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