Infuriating as environmental regulations can be to people who have the audacity to believe they actually deserve to enjoy property they've purchased, I suppose it's nice to know that we here in Maryland aren't alone.
Courtesy of my buddy Kevin at BfloBlog, it seems the rather pesky Henslow's sparrow is preventing a developer from moving forward with a major housing project in Lancaster, N.Y.
Described by birders as “an uncommon and famously inconspicuous bird,” the small, brownish, black-streaked sparrows are considered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to be threatened. But by the time the birds were discovered in 2000 on open grasslands just south of William Street near Bowen Road, the land already had been approved for development.
Homes now stand on uncontested parts of the property, but preservationists are blocking a new wave of construction of at least 25 homes with an estimated worth of $6 million.
“As long as the site serves as a habitat for these protected birds, disturbance is prohibited,” DEC spokeswoman Lori O’- Connell said.
What madness. All for a bird that's neither common nor noticeable.
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