Latest news with #RoseateTern
Irish Independent
19-07-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Nature Trail: BirdWatch Ireland calls on Government to do more to protect important seabirds
The small, five-page publication does exactly what it says on the cover: it identifies both the coastal and the marine areas in Ireland that are important for seabirds, and it makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing decision-making process aimed at designating areas suitable for offshore energy projects, like windfarms, and heritage sites worthy of designation as marine protected areas (MPAs). Ireland has on the one hand, commitments to rapidly develop offshore energy projects and, on the other hand, to protect 30% of its marine territory by 2030 for both marine and maritime biodiversity. Currently, just shy of 10% of Ireland's marine territory is subject to some form of protection, less than 2% of it specifically for the 24 species of breeding seabird that Ireland's marine territory supports. BirdWatch Ireland uses a traffic light system to assess the conservation status of all wild birds on the island of Ireland. Of the 24 species of seabirds that breed in Ireland, 23 are currently either amber or red listed. Globally one third of seabirds are considered threatened and half of them are declining in population. Ireland is hugely important for seabirds with up to three quarters of a million birds gathering at colonies every year to nest. The island is of internationally importance for breeding Manx Shearwater, Storm Petrel and Roseate Tern. The new BirdWatch Ireland initiative features a map identifying the 73 most important areas for Ireland's seabirds. Of the 73 areas 24 are wholly marine and are important feeding grounds .Forty-nine of the 73 areas are coastal and 41 of them are already designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for wild birds. The remaining eight currently undesignated breeding sites need to be considered for designation BirdWatch is calling on the Irish government to designate all seabird important bird areas as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds under the Birds Directive, to review existing SPA boundaries and revise them as appropriate, to develop management plans for all SPAs, and to develop bird sensitivity maps to inform strategic spatial planning of marine activities. Full details regarding important seabird areas are available at
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mass. Environmental Trust hosting auction to fund protection of aquatic, marine habitats
The Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) is hosting an auction to benefit MET grant funding to support the protection and preservation of aquatic and marine habitats and promote youth environmental stewardship. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the whale plate, MET is launching a 2025-2026 Fundraising Campaign, to raise $1,000,000 for MET's grant programs and endowment. MET will offer a series of live online auctions of license plates with numbers 1-999. On January 30, MET will debut the first of several auctions with 30 license plates to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Right Whale plate. Available license plates depict the fluke of a Northern Right Whale and the Roseate Terns bird, both endangered species in Massachusetts. Over the next two years, more plates 1-999 will be up for auction in both the Right Whale (RW) prefix and the Roseate Tern (RT) prefix. 'Without dedicated citizens purchasing MET license plates and donating to the Trust, the grants that support numerous grassroots conservation efforts and organizations would cease to exist,' said MET Program Manager Kim Tilas. 'Your purchase of Right Whale and Roseate Terns license plates ensures that there are certified disentanglement team members, and trained researchers on-call every day of the year.' Since 1997, funds generated by the whale plate have been given to the disentanglement and rescue operations of the Massachusetts Large Whale and Sea Turtle Conservation Program. 'As a Massachusetts resident you have the choice to select a charitable specialty plate to show your support or raise awareness for many important causes,' said Massachusetts Registrar Colleen Ogilvie. 'The RMV is proud to help facilitate the issuance of a specialty plate during our initial vehicle registration or at your vehicle registration renewal. You can demonstrate your concern about pollution, wildlife, disappearing open space, and the quality of water that sustains Right Whales, Brook Trout, Striped Bass, or the Blackstone Valley by selecting one of these plate options.' There are 30 plates available for auction, to sign up for the auction and purchase plates securely or to donate to MET's grant-making program visit the link here. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
