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Wild osprey killed by litter By MARK FREEMAN CENTRAL POINT - It has wintered in the warmth of southern Mexico, and perhaps even South America, while returning each spring to Jackson County for yet another go at making babies. Its body was built for rough living and its eyes were once so sharp it could pick out bluegills swimming in the weeds like a military satellite seeking missile sites. But this osprey couldn't tell that a small ball of monofilament fishing line spells trouble. And now its body is doomed to swing like a feathered mobile on a Central Point cottonwood tree in public testimony to how even a little litter can be deadly to wild animals. The dead osprey 70 feet above Peninger Road near the Jackson County Exposition Center is a startling example of how human carelessness can cause unintended catastrophes. "It makes me sick to look at that," says Jori Miller, a 40-year-old Central Point woman after spying the dead bird. "It just makes me furious." It also generates fury within Jenny Valdivia, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose agents know all too well the death-by-litter tale is played out regularly within Oregon's woods and waters. Dozens of raptors, such as ospreys, owls and eagles, and other creatures high on the food chain die annually in Oregon because of litter and other items that people don't properly dispose of, Valdivia says. The deaths range from ducks getting stuck in discarded six-pack containers and drowning to owls eating poisoned rats a rural landowner was too busy not to pick up, according to Valdivia. The Fish and Wildlife Service, however, does not keep records of such deaths because most go undetected. In cases such as that of the dead osprey, whoever discarded the offending fishing line could face federal charges and high fines because their negligence killed a federally protected bird. Likewise, laws require those who believe they accidentally hooked a protected bird while fishing and may have injured it to report the case to state biologists, Valdivia says. However, any criminal cases involving raptors injured or killed by litter are tough to make because it's so difficult to trace the fishing line back to a specific angler, Valdivia says. "People don't think about what they're doing and what kind of effect they have," Valdivia says. "And the unfortunate thing is that it's a common occurrence." Yet finding such a public display of litter's carnage is rare, says state biologist Simon Wray. "Animals tend to go someplace they think of as secure and die in anonymity," Wray says. That's why one photograph of a dead osprey is worth more than a thousand government biologists telling Oregonians to clean up after themselves while fishing, camping or picnicking wherever they go - not only in the wilderness areas. "This is not just Big Brother telling you to pick up after yourself," Valdivia says. "This is what happens when you're not responsible to the environment. And, unfortunately, that happens all too often." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.