To the Editor: Those Eagles, Is It Us or Them?

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This article was prepared for the February 19, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.

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To the Editor: Those Eagles, Is It Us or Them?

I enjoyed Richard K. Rein’s little piece (U.S. 1, January

22) about the eagles (bald) and me (not bald) . . . I think. Although

I laughed, I came away with a feeling that somehow you had marginalized

the importance of bald eagles in our back yard. In fact, it came across

as a "nimby" article: eagles are OK over there, but not here

where they might slow down sprawl. A zillion people walk the towpath

every year, and now there is a chance to see the most majestic bird

in North America during this stroll. I think that’s a lot different

than gathering up the kids in the SUV and heading off to Cape May

for a wild eagle chase.

Also, I think you did a bit of a disservice to the now two-year process

called the Penns Neck Area EIS. Did you know that what you call the

"Millstone Bypass", which is a possible roadway section along

the Millstone River and through the habitat that the bald eagles find

inviting, is only one alternative available for improving traffic

mobility across Route 1 at Washington Road? It is thus not "either/or"

as implied in your column. We can have not only improved mobility

on Washington Road but also keep the habitat for the eagles and other

species. That is the goal of this "muckraker".

Yes, bald eagles are coming back. I hope we can continue to have a

habitat hospitable to them so that the residents of central New Jersey

will be able to experience the grandeur of our national emblem as

it joins ospreys and cormorants and egrets and herons in feeding along

the lower Millstone River. Everyone who has seen this habitat sees

it as a real gem, a wilderness in the midst of New Jersey sprawl.

When the ice breaks, I invite you for a canoe ride up the Millstone

River.

Lincoln Hollister

<I>Richard K. Rein replies: It is true that on Super

Bowl weekend I was having a little fun at the expense of our resurgent

national emblem and our region’s now-defeated professional football

team. But Lincoln Hollister and I agree that roadways and wildlife

are not and should not be an "either/or" proposition. That’s

why the public and its administrators place confidence in the exhaustive

research, study, and reporting process now under way to alleviate

congestion along Route 1.

In fact, I am not surprised that the eagles (bald ones) are makinig

their way back to central New Jersey. Much of the constantly maligned

new development in towns like West Windsor and Plainsboro turns out

to be tightly clustered, and anything but sprawling. Both of those

townships have aggressive open space programs, which is good news

for the eagles. Now these towns especially want some better highways

to link their developments to the rest of the community. That would

be good news for people.

As for the canoe ride up the Millstone, I will join you, Lincoln,

if you will take a ride with me through some of those clustered developments.

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