[RP TownTalk] The Field of Dreams and resonsible use

[Don Lynch]

Vern,

I'm glad you're back at the helm!

Things got of hand and now I feel the field will be well managed.

That hawk use to perch high above our yard along the creek and it was a 
great loss to us to see such a magnificent bird die.

We wonder what predator is keeping the (rats and mice) in check in his 
absence!

I think Lou, if he is still living Riverdale, and Jim volunteered for 
that job!

Don

Vernon Archer wrote:
> 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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