Voters in Rye sent a mixed message on Tuesday, passing a measure that prohibits a migratory flock of barn swallows from entering a town-owned barn, while also approving a separate measure that forbids the disturbance of bird colonies. It’s the latest move in an ongoing saga that has resulted in heated public meetings and a lawsuit.
By a 1,248 to 1,113 vote, Rye approved a warrant article calling for the historic Goss Barn to remain a “wildlife-free municipal building in perpetuity.”
Complicating matters, though, is a second article that voters also approved prohibiting town officials from disrupting bird colonies on town-owned land unless the birds pose a risk to public health. That measure passed by a similar margin, 1,232 to 1,122.
Confused?
“We don’t understand it either,” said Vic Odryna, a member of the Rye Conservation Commission, on Wednesday morning. The commission is scheduled to next meet in public session on Thursday, where the conflicting votes are likely to be further dissected.
"The Town will review the language of the articles and determine the appropriate next steps following their passage," Matt Scruton, the town's administrator, said.
Earlier this year, Rye's conservation commission voted to seal up the barn, citing accumulating health risks from bird droppings.
The issue turned into a flashpoint in town, raising questions about the role of a town body that’s meant to champion natural resources, versus the very real problems of bird waste.
Backers of reopening the barn gathered enough signatures to bring the issue to a town-wide vote in the form of a "Bird Conservation Ordinance." That measure, which became Article 2, called for broad protections for migratory birds in Rye. A dueling measure, Article 1, specifically sought to ban birds from living inside of the Goss Barn, a well-preserved structure that has housed several dozen pairs of visiting barn swallows for decades.
Sheridan Brown, an attorney who brought an unsuccessful lawsuit on behalf of some residents to reopen the barn earlier this year, said the inclusion of the alternative warrant article by supporters of sealing up the barn was done to “create confusion.”
He said the issue may ultimately now require further litigation.
Birds of a feather
The town purchased the barn from the Goss family in 2010, using it to primarily store tools for a community garden space and a tenant farmer. Members of the conservation commission have said they hope to see the space used for other purposes, including private events or farmers markets.
Though the barn swallows have spent their summers nesting and raising their young in Goss Barn for decades, concerns about their impact arose after volunteers, who usually scrub the facility down at year’s end, skipped a season of cleaning. Members of the conservation commission then paid more than $13,000 to have the barn professionally cleaned, including the removal of considerable bird waste in the rafters.
Outside of the polling place on Tuesday, supporters and opponents of reopening the barn held dueling signs.
Rye resident Debra Andrews, who opposed opening the barn, said it was about more than tax dollars.
“I hope we'll give the birds the freedom to habitat in the caves and the trees and the places that God intended them to be,” she said. “I don't think they need to be in a man-made barn."
'We can coexist'
The birds developed something of a cult following this year in Rye, as supporters flocked to the barn, and many a driveway hosted a sign supporting the barn’s re-opening. Migratory birds like the swallow face considerable environmental pressures, but are not considered endangered.
Tony Rodriguez held a sign outside of Rye Elementary School in support of Article 2 on Tuesday. He says volunteers can clean up the bird waste at the end of the season: “I think we can coexist.”
Barn swallows largely nest and raise their young inside of man-made structures. The commission sealed the barn’s windows and locked other entry ways, while also installing wooden umbrella-like structures outside of the barn to try and entice the birds to consider an alternative area for nesting.
Experts said this summer’s eviction wouldn’t immediately lead to the birds’ doom, but it would likely mean they wouldn’t reproduce.
A previous lawsuit filed by supporters for the barn swallows to immediately reopen the structure was rejected by a judge, who said that “the harm to the town outweighs the alleged threat to the plaintiffs,” specifically that the town of Rye invested time and money for cleaning the barn “to remediate the bird fecal matter and safely open the barn to the public.”
