HADLEY — Within a few weeks, barn swallows will migrate back to the region from Central and South America. Many are expected to return to a large, abandoned horse stable owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge System.
On Saturday, March 30, members of the grassroots organization Save Our Swallows stood outside the wildlife service office on Route 9 with signs to bring to the public’s attention the possibility of the barn swallows losing their prominent nesting site. A recent environmental assessment by the wildlife service states that the prospective action for the horse stable would be to close down parts of the barn in two phases before demolishing the structure in 2020.
“The problem is that they are saying it’s going to be a minimal impact,” said Mara Silver, of Shelburne Falls, an ornithologist and a member of Save Our Swallows, on the tentative plan by the wildlife service to raze the structure. “We feel like, no, it could be detrimental.”
Per the environmental assessment, the former BriMar Stables on Moody Bridge Road, known as Alternative A, would close the western side of the 22,500-square-foot building before this year’s nesting season in the spring, with the middle section shut prior to the 2020 nesting season and then demolished in late 2020.
Andrew French, project leader for the refuge, told the Gazette last week that the phased closure and delayed demolition would give the colony of barn swallows the opportunity to find suitable nesting sites elsewhere on the refuge or on surrounding public and private lands.
Silver said there are approximately 37 pairs of barn swallows that nest in the barn, which is “rare,” and she said it is probably the largest colony in the state. Barn swallows typically return to the region in the second and third weeks of April and remain until the end of September before migrating to the southern hemisphere.
In New England, barn swallow populations have declined by about 50 percent since the 1980s, and recent data shows a steeper decline since the 1990s, according to Silver. “It’s alarming,” she said.
In the United States, barn swallows are not listed as threatened or endangered. In Ontario, Canada, barn swallows are listed as threatened, and in Nova Scotia they are listed as endangered.
“We’re doing this to be proactive,” Silver said. “We are not out here to fight. We just want a transparent process and we want a data-based EA (environmental assessment) and for the process to be followed legally.”
The wildlife service has claimed that the building has deteriorated to a point that it has become a safety and security concern that could adversely impact other refuge structures, equipment, and refuge visitors and staff.
Nancy Goodman, a Hadley resident and member of Save Our Swallows, disagrees with that claim. She said the organization commissioned a structural engineer and two independent contractors to assess the structure, and all reported the building as structurally sound with only repairs to the roof required.
Save Our Swallows argues that the wildlife service has violated the National Environmental Policy Act through its previous gutting and closing off access to the stables, before the completion of the environmental assessment. French has denied any policy violations.
A public information session is scheduled for April 9 at 6 p.m. at the Northeast Regional Office at 300 Westgate Center Drive in Hadley for the wildlife service’s environmental assessment.
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com