Cell Tower, You Have A Vulture Problem…

If you live near Devil’s Lake State Park’s north shore, love camping or visiting the park, what would you think of seasonal pyrotechnics going off at the park entrance? Would you enjoy seeing dead bird effigies hanging by wires as you drive-in? These are just some of the ways folks try to keep vultures off of cell phone towers! And at Devil’s Lake, we’re all about vultures!

Now, I’m not against a proposed new cell tower near the park per se, but we’ve got to understand the complexity of this issue now and make good decisions before we end up with another big and possibly “gross” problem.

Vultures Love Cell Towers & Love Devil’s Lake!

Everyone knows that cell towers kill birds. (One study estimates 6.8 million per year!* ) But what I doubt many people realize is that cell towers have a very unique vulture problem. Vultures love cell towers! (One town in east-central Florida recorded as many as 130 vultures on one microwave tower!**) A tall tower makes a great roost! Thing is, Turkey vultures LOVE Devil’s Lake all summer, and during the fall migration, Devil’s Lake State Park is a Turkey vulture convention center! This annual invasion can bring hundreds of turkey vultures to the park. Oh, and guess where they roost now? The north-west corner of the park. Putting that proposed new cell phone tower right at Turkey Vulture ground zero!

Messy, Overflowing & Gross

Without even talking about bird kills, this 180-foot cell tower has the potential of being a Turkey Vulture Hampton Inn. Sort of cool to see, but you wouldn’t want to live under it, or near it! The folks in Cherokee County, Iowa are struggling with their own Turkey Vulture tower. Last year, according to their local paper, (See references below.) a City Administrator described it as “messy and overflowing”. So their solution? Well, try and kill a vulture and hang it from the tower! (Which would require a permit.) They say, “From all accounts, this is effective, although repulsive..” ***

Imagine that view outside the park!

I’m going to tell you a bit more about Greenville, Texas below but it’s worth mentioning here that one woman who lives under the Greenville tower reported that the vultures “made checking her mailbox and greeting friends and family when they’ve come to visit a scary proposition as the vultures have overfilled the tower, forcing some to roost atop her home’s pitched roof.” ****

Greenville, Texas

So cities around the country have to deal with this turkey vulture problem. You can spend your day Googling the issue. It’s all too common. Greenville, TX, Animal Control began using specially-designed pyrotechnics to try to scare away the vultures. (Insert, BOOM, POW, KABLAMO! here.) The problem with this, (In addition to the noise.) was that the folks who lived next to the tower discovered they were coming right back as soon as the noise stopped. ****

We Love Our Vultures But…

Now, we love our vultures at Devil’s Lake State Park. Every year more and more people are coming to enjoy the annual fall “Gathering”. And we know that turkey vultures are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, state laws, and regulations. Turkey Vultures, their nests, and eggs cannot be killed or destroyed without a Migratory Bird Depredation Permit. But, we also realize that when gathered in large numbers they can cause damage. According to the USDA, “Both black and turkey vultures also affect the quality of life for area residents. The birds’ feces and vomit can accumulate, especially on roofs of houses, office buildings, communication towers, and electrical transmission structures. When this happens on electrical transmission towers, arcing and power outages may occur, at great expense to utility companies. When this happens on communication towers often used as roosting sites by vultures, it hampers maintenance activities and impacts the longevity of the structure. “

In addition, “The bacteria, fungal agents and parasites found in turkey vulture droppings and nests can carry a host of serious diseases, including histoplasmosis, encephalitis, salmonella, meningitis, toxoplasmosis and more. As an unpleasant bonus, turkey vultures often leave bones and carcasses to feed on around their roosting areas as well!”******

It’s fair to say, as much as we love our vultures, No one would want to live under a turkey vulture roost!

Our vultures are livin’ the good life right now. After a day of surfing the air currents around Devil’s Lake, they disperse to the northwest into the bluff and out into the trees along highway 123 just north of the park to roost. Dispersed, they don’t do much damage. But once the cell tower offers the vultures this one perfect roost at the gateway to Devil’s Lake State Park and the damage begins… How long will it be before someone applies for a permit to kill them?

Living Together

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not personally anti-tower. As someone who used to do a lot of radio dispatch for the rangers within the park, I know there’s a need. The location, on the other hand, may not be right and there are other concerns beyond the vulture problem. I think local resident and former Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park president, Todd Persche, has covered this well in his opinion piece for the Baraboo News Republic. (Read here.)

IF, we let that tower in, we need to demand a very clear plan to protect all birds and especially address our unique Devil’s Lake Turkey Vulture community. We need to know that folks will keep coming to see our vultures as well as our fall colors. (Heck, in our community we make money that way!) I certainly don’t want to see dead vulture effigies hanging on the tower while I’m dining nearby!

We also need to know who will be responsible for the nearby homes and businesses that may in time, have more messy vulture neighbors than they like? Who would pay for the damage that they will enviably do when gathered on properties around the tower?

FAA approved lighting and proper markers to deter collision with guy wires are all part of the solution. Still, if you look around the country you see that vultures are not only a unique issue but they can be darned persistent as well.

Maybe there are great solutions out there, and total cell coverage would be great, but until we have clear assurances, we need to take our time and think this through or we’ll be cleaning up the mess for years.

Local Meeting

The Land Resources and Environment Committee of the Sauk County Board of Supervisors will be holding this meeting on:

Tuesday, October 22, 2019
9:15am (or as soon thereafter) in the County Board Room.

Sauk County West Square Building
505 Broadway St, Baraboo, WI 53913
Telephone: (608) 355-3285

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References

*Towers Kill 6.8 Million Birds a Year, Study Estimates
**Dispersing Vulture Roosts on Communication Towers (PDF)
***Pesky turkey vultures expand roosting spots
****Buzzards resume roosting in cell tower
***** USDA Managing Vulture Damage Fact Sheet
******Damage Caused By Turkey Vultures (BirdFighter.com)