Rhinelander Daily News, WI – 3 hours ago
TIGERTON, Wis. – A handful of swallow nests might hold up construction work on a Shawano County bridge indefinitely.
Work on the Tigerton bridge was scheduled to begin Monday. But on Friday the contractor found a number of nests on the structure’s underside, causing a delay until state officials could decide how to work around the federally protected nests.
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Officials didn’t expect to find nests because county workers had installed nets in early April to prevent birds from nesting there, said County Highway Commissioner Randy Zastrow.
“It’s an unusual situation,” he said. “There was a hole in the netting, but whether it was weather-related or vandalism, we don’t know.”
Federal law prohibits destruction of the nests. So construction has been delayed until the county gets permission from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“It’s day by day,” Zastrow said. “I’ve been checking my e-mails every half hour to find out.”
Officials could have several options. Adult birds will usually leave on their own once construction begins, Zastrow said, but if there are young birds in the nests, workers may need to wait for them to fly out.
Baby birds could also be removed to a shelter, he added.
“There’s probably three or four alternative ways that they can go,” Zastrow said. “Unless politically someone gets involved, I don’t foresee a big delay.”
Even if the $580,000 project is held up, the contractor might still be able to make progress.
“They can’t disturb the swallows, but they’ve got other work that they can do,” Zastrow said.
Information from: Shawano Leader, http://www.shawanoleader.com
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
