[RP TownTalk] The Field of Dreams and resonsible use

[Vernon Archer]

 Friends and neighbors,

After reviewing the unfortunate incident in which a raptor lost its life in
a sports net at the Field of Dreams, along with a review of town policy,
practices in the Parks and Recreation Office of MNCPPC and state/federal
regulation with the Fiscal, Legislation, and Regulations Office within
Maryland Department of Natural Resources I have some information to share.

First, I want to make plain that it is the goal of the Town to see that the
Field of Dreams, and all public property within the town is used responsibly
and this includes, but is not limited to, making sure that all are managed
foremost to minimize the chance of: 1) loss of human life, 2) damage to any
persons' health; or 3) damage to any other persons' or entities property.
This, being said, we clearly do not want to cause undue risk to wildlife
while protecting persons in their activities.  We clearly want to minimize
the chances of future accidental deaths or injuries to animals while
still keeping our top priority off maintaining human safety on and around
the field.

While preparing to put up nets at the field we did examine what we thought
were standard nets and uses of such nets.  After the incident of this month,
we have dug much deeper into these questions and found out important and
reassuring information.

When MNCPPC Park and Recreation uses netting, whether "sport" netting such
as we have installed at the Field of Dreams or any other variety, they leave
the net up for the entire season and will only take them down during the off
season.  Our plan from the beginning to bring the nets up only for play
periods then is more cautious of unintended consequences than is the case
for the organization of the largest operator of recreational fields in our
region.

It was further brought to our attention that we might be in violation of
some form of federal or state statute that prevents us from utilizing nets
so we contacted Maryland Department of Natural Resources in order to
determine what regulations we might inadvertently be in violation of.  After
discussing our existing situation, the death of a raptor (which we
assume was a member of a protected species), and our proposed means of
proceeding we were informed by Steve Bittner, Associate Director, Fiscal,
Legislation, and Regulations that 1) putting up netting as MNCPPC does and
leaving it up for a whole season is standard practice and not a violation of
any state or federal rule; 2) the death of the raptor in our nets was an
"incidental catch" and not the responsibility of the town to mitigate; 3)
that retracting nets while not in actual use is a best practice and
commended the town for doing so.

Therefore, as we move forward on this we are confident that the town is
implementing a practice that goes far beyond what is common and/or required
by law; but of course we always try to get beyond OK and aim for excellence.

What we plan to do at this point to both insure responsible use, and
minimize incidental impact on wild life is:

1) a much tightened up permitting process, that will include among other
things, formal training of all applicants of how to operate the nets prior
to issuance of a permit;
2) increased enforcement of the permitting requirement for all organized
play on the field;
3) new signage on both the parking entrance to the field and the baseball
backstop that explains the expanded rules of usage in both Spanish as well
as English;
4) have a backup response telephone number(s) for permitted users or
residents to call for assistance should the nets not function properly or
the nets be left up (one of those numbers will be, and you are free to use
starting immediately police dispatch at 301-927-4343 as this is a 24-7
staffed telephone);
5) review the mechanical operation of the nets to ensure that it is as easy
as possible to operate by users (we believe at this time that there was at
least one problem with the initial installation that makes it more difficult
to handle the nets than should be the case); and
6) review of other types of nets that might be able to use that is less
likely to cause damage to wildlife.

I apologize in advance if I have not been able to catch or answer every
aspect of this issue. I believe that we have a model management plan for the
field and soon will have it in place that will be a best practices model for
other municipalities and regional entities to follow. Our plan allows and
promotes healthy community sports and protects the interests of wildlife and
environmental stewardship.

Best wishes,

Vern

-- 
Vernon Archer, Mayor
Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
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