Commentary: Loss of egrets and herons points up need to come to an understanding with arborists

The tree demolition event May 28 at the Balboa Peninsula Point, which resulted in the deaths of nesting egrets and herons, outraged neighborhood residents and bird advocates, who view the act as unthinkable and avoidable.

We expect those responsible to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and have sent letters stating this to the Newport Beach city manager, City Council, superintendent of trees and parks and Animal Control.

We also contacted Balboa Peninsula Point resident Shelley Ervin, who worked with other neighborhood activists to hold a memorial for the birds. Our shared grief enables us to work together to bring pressure for justice, better education about the laws that protect birds and well-defined protocols for tree management while birds nest.

But the work is just beginning. I am the program director for the Cavity Conservation Initiative, a volunteer-run nonprofit in Orange County whose emphasis is the protection of birds that nest in dead trees — a contentious issue for understandable reasons.

When this recent egregious action occurred, spring was at its peak, and so were nesting birds, and I already knew that few species would be safe from chain saws and bulldozers. The stories I hear heap higher every year. They come from pedestrians, bird watchers, the Songbird Care and Education Center in Fountain Valley and the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

Coincidentally, news of the event reached me on the heels of yet another incident involving two immature woodpeckers that tree trimmers had ejected from their tree cavities. But following the Newport Beach news, an emotional tug of war in my mind ensued. I was grieved and enraged over the needless loss of the birds, but grateful that the tragedy would deliver more ammunition for the task force that the Cavity Conservation Initiative and its umbrella organization, the Southern California Bluebird Club, were organizing to address the issue of pruning in spring.

In recent months, after a welcome conversation with West Coast Arborists, a large regional tree contractor, the Cavity Conservation Initiative and Sea and Sage Audubon linked arms to address this problem. Representatives of the Urban Forest Council, Southern California Edison and several civic and community groups will begin the conversation in mid-July.

Arriving at a good outcome will take time, mutual respect and painstaking compromise. Tree pruners see no way of shutting down their businesses for seven months of the year while birds are nesting, and bird advocates are sensitive to this.

They know they need to strike a compromise so that more birds can be saved while arborists continue to do their work in a responsible way. Together, we hope to reach a consensus that will work for everyone. Discussion will not only include certification requirements and a new set of best management practices for arborists, but the need to educate.

Why does America have laws that protect birds? Why is bird watching a fast-growing hobby in our country? Why do we call for uncompromising justice?

When you learn about birds you understand that they seed forests and ensure plant diversity. They put fruit and flowers on our table. They keep insects and rodents from overrunning our world. Birds are living poems about freedom and dawn, and about sunsets closing in song. About hope. And when our soil, air and water are unhealthy, they are the first to give their lives to tell us so.

Laguna Niguel resident GILLIAN MARTIN is the program director for the Cavity Conservation Initiative.