Here we go again

I just got notice that AT&T is proposing a cell tower for Beaver Bay, right along the shoreline. This is in the same migration path as the tower proposed for my neighborhood. They also have the one proposed for the shore down in the Riverside neighborhood (which may be on a council agenda as early as April 12.) Now really folks, do we want a line of towers along the lakeshore just like the unsightly line of towers down I-35 to the cities? The tower will be proposed at a Lake County planning commission meeting on April 19 at 6:30pm at the Silver Bay Service Center, 99 Edison Blvd, Silver Bay, MN 55614. They will accept written comments at the Planning and Zoning office until April 15th, 2010. The address is: Lake County Planning and Zoning, 601 Third Avenue, Lake County Courthouse, Two Harbors MN 55616.

If you've read my blog, you know that these towers are being proposed in a very unique migration path. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has spoken out in opposition to the one proposed for my neighborhood. Because they are under 199 feet, USFWS has no control over them, but in this type of migration path it is believed that they may cause significant kills.

Write a letter or go to the meetings. We need support to oppose both of these proposals before they are approved. Ask Lake County to require AT&T PROVE, by paying for a third party evaluation of their proposal, that they must have this tower at this site and at this height!

AT&T should be told to co-locate on another tower at the Riverside site, there is another tower within 1 mile which was approved with the understanding that they would allow co-location.

AT&T advertises good coverage on their coverage maps but comes to planning boards saying they have poor or no coverage, why do we allow them to lie to us?

Read my blog posts below for more information about the migration area and about these towers.

Spring Means Garden Planning

In February we got a new dog, Buster. I’m really hoping that he is the ticket to deer control! He certainly pays attention to them, but so far it looks like he’s a deer chaser. I don’t want that, I just want him to bark them out of the yard. So far he is absolutely perfect. He’s a rescue pit bull, and has had a hard life up to now. He’s 2 years old and loves us and the cat. He’s wonderful to walk on a leash and very friendly to other dogs. He’s a great companion for our daughter and she’s being very responsible about his care. I think she’s pretty happy with him!

It is spring in Duluth, and my thoughts have turned to the gardens. My husband has been very busy with plant starts. We have tomatoes, basil, peppers and tomatillos started. We started everything a bit earlier this year, the beginning of March. In the past we would start plants on St. Patrick’s Day. Last year we found that things just didn’t mature in time. We had to bring in most of the tomatoes and didn’t really get many hot peppers at all. One can get very discouraged when you’ve put in so much time!
We are still eating from last years’ harvest. We have pickles, relish, and jam, rhubarb, strawberries, salsa, pickled beets, and a couple jars of pickled green beans. In the freezer are bags of zucchini and peas. Our squash was getting soft, so I cooked and froze the few that were left. We will be making butternut squash ravioli with that…yum. Our potatoes are sprouting and will become seed for the 2010 crop.
I plan on uncovering the strawberries this weekend. We may be on the last year of these everbearing plants. I’ll have to devise a way to let some of the plants sprout so that we can regenerate more plants. This would be a good way to save money by not having to buy more plants.
I have to go take a peek at my currant bushes, hopefully they have survived the winter. The raspberries need to be moved, they are in a shady spot and not doing so well.
Our cell tower battle is not over yet. Richard planned on filing the injunction against AT&T yesterday. This will begin a new chapter in this process. He really has put an incredible amount of time into building our justification for asking that this tower be placed elsewhere or lowered to treetop level. Not only are we arguing danger to birds in an extraordinary migration area, but also the aesthetic detriment to the north shore area and the scenic drive. I will keep you posted!

Update on Cell Tower

I haven't blogged in awhile as I've been very busy with research and preparation for the filing of an injunction against AT&T. I'm very grateful to have a knowledgeable and willing team member who has taken on the task of writing the documents necessary for this action. I play the role of researcher, helping to find what he needs to support our argument. I'm becoming very adept at finding things on Google, and the various websites it leads me to. I think it's pretty amazing to be able to sit at a computer and have a world of information at your fingertips. I've read quite a few studies on tower kills. I have found much information on how cell signals work and the technology involved in towers and antennas. I've spent time with weather data. I've researched the scenic and esthetic North Shore. I've learned a ton about how birds migrate within this corridor and how geology, weather, instinct, topography and winds can influence the migration. I've also come to realize that we should not argue one obstacle against another. It doesn't matter that window strikes or cats kill more birds than cell tower collisions, these all have a cumulative effect. All are killing birds, and we have to do what we can to reduce the deaths, or one day we won't be waking up to the sound of birds.