Lake Apopka Airport Expansion Could be Disastrous for Millions of Birds

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, has called on the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRMD) to reject the West Orange Airport Authority proposal to expand an existing airport adjacent to Lake Apopka, saying the proposal could have disastrous consequences for the area’s birds.

“The expansion would negatively impact millions of birds, be a significant loss for the growing thousands of Americans who travel to the area each year and contribute to the local economy by their bird watching activities, and would imperil taxpayers’ substantial investment in managing water resources for the benefit of Florida’s citizens and wildlife,” said ABC Vice President for Conservation Advocacy, Darin Schroeder in a letter to Lad Daniels, Governing Board Member and Hans G. Tanzler , Executive Director of SJRWD.

In 1998, ABC designated the Lake Apopka Restoration Area as a Globally Important Bird Area (IBA) for its importance to federally endangered species that include a pair of resident endangered Whooping Cranes, Wood Storks, and Florida Scrub-Jays, all of which have a limited population range, as well as to million of birds that migrate through or winter at this location.

Read full article which was written and published by American Bird Conservancy