By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
The Bergen County town of Fair Lawn just got Cliven Bundy-ed, Save Jerseyans.
All local officials wanted to do is paint their water tower. That was before the discovery of a bird’s nest fouled (or fowled?) things up in an episode that Republican Mayor John Cosgrove told Fox News falls into the category of “you can’t make it up” if you tried:
“The project, which was slated to be completed by the end of summer, could now be delayed up to six weeks, since it takes between 4-6 weeks for the raven hatchlings to fly, Cosgrove said.
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has asked the Bergen County Audobon Society to monitor the situation and to inform borough officials as to when construction can resume. Cosgrove said he’s considering asking state officials to help with the additional expenditures.
“My problem with it is, it’s going to cost us another $20,000, which we don’t have in the budget,” Cosgrove continued. “Something’s going to have to be sacrificed to accommodate this thing.”
The official explanation:
“New Jersey DEP spokesman Bob Considine said active raven nests, with eggs or young, are protected by federal law through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act.”
Is it any wonder why so many residents of Bergen – and the rest of the state – are flying south for the winter and staying put?