Bombs Give Way to Birds in Indiana

[Center for Public Environmental Oversight <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

> Full Story at
>
> http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1998/03/033098/jpg_henslow.shtm
>
> Bombs give way to birds in Indiana
> Monday, March 30, 1998
> Environmental News Network
>
> Summary
>
> Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG), a former U.S. Army ordnance testing
> site in southeast Indiana was named a Globally Important Bird Area by
> the American Bird Conservancy because it is home to Henslow's sparrows
> and other birds. The long term natural resource management of this area
> is a joint effort of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
> Service, which assists the Army in managing fish and wildlife resources
> at the 51,000-acre area. Within this area is 11,000 acres of continuos
> forest area which is the largest area in the Midwest portion of the U.S.
>
> The grassland-dependent Henslow's sparrow has suffered drastic
> population declines over the past three decades. JPG provides a
> breeding habitat for one of the five largest remaining Henslow's sparrow
> populations in the world.
>
> Despite the rich natural resources, portions of JPG are off limits
> to most uses due to danger from unexploded ordnance and 4,000 acres at
> the south end of the area have been turned over for industrial and
> commercial uses. Up until 1994 JPG was an active Army munitions testing
> facility for cartridges, propellants, bombs, grenades, and high
> explosives. Ironically, the Army's ordnance testing practices at
> Jefferson Proving Ground proved to be beneficial to the natural
> wildlife habitat because of the periodical open area fires. The burns
> mimicked the natural fires that normally occurred in the Midwest.
>
> John Blankenship, assistant regional Director for the U.S. Fish and
> Wildlife Service says, "This agreement represents a one-of-a-kind
> opportunity to conserve and manage some of the Midwest's finest forest
> and grassland habitats."