Jun 7, 2014 6 min read

WASHINGTON BORO – The least sandpipers and greater yellowlegs can’t speak up.

Nor can the thousands of other shorebirds that rely on the rare Susquehanna River mud flats off of Washington Boro each year on their incredible long-distance migration.

But Jerry Book can, and has.

The Manheim Township birdwatcher has engaged the Safe Harbor Water Power Corp. in a tussle over whether the dam operator should be allowed to flood more of the Conejohela Flats.

The dispute is being aired before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C.

Book was the protagonist, joined by Lancaster County government and birding groups, back in 1998 when Safe Harbor wanted to raise maximum water levels dramatically by 10 inches that would have inundated much of the exposed mud flats. By raising water levels, the utility can generate more hydroelectric power.

FERC forced a settlement between Book and the Lancaster County Bird Club and Safe Harbor which guaranteed that a portion of the Flats would remain uncovered during the shorebird migration period from spring into fall.

That’s when thousands of the shorebirds stop over on their long journey from Arctic breeding grounds to winter spots in the southern U.S., Central America and South America.

The Susquehanna is a major route in the flyway for the migrating shorebirds. And the Conejohela Flats, along with other flats at Presque Isle, near Erie, are two important pit stops.

In fact, the Flats is one of the most significant stopover sites on the East Coast for shorebirds. It’s been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.

The birds drop out of the sky, probe the constantly covered and uncovered mud flats for worms and insects, and rest for a day or two before continuing their journey.

After the 1998 agreement, Safe Harbor vigorously maintained the Flats and islands to keep that prime habitat from being taken over by willow trees and invasive purple loosestrife.

Everyone was happy. Counts of shorebirds by consultants hired by Safe Harbor estimated 18,326 used the Flats in 2006. In 2010, the count was 11,803. Book thinks the actual numbers were much higher.

Under the agreement, as long as there was a certain percentage of mud flats exposed during the migration months, the dam could raise the water levels during the migration half of the year.

Safe Harbor started doing that on Lake Clarke in 2011, eventually raising the water level by nearly 5 inches.

Now, Safe Harbor has applied to FERC for permission to permanently keep the higher level.

But since 2011, the shorebird count has plummeted by 46 percent.

Book, who has intervened in the application, thinks he knows why the shorebirds are decreasing on the Flats.

The shorebirds have traditionally used two main areas for their stops. But they were eroded by extreme flooding after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.

Book discovered through documents that Safe Harbor is now counting smaller mudflats that were created in three other spots to meet the mudflats total in the agreement.

But those new, small mudflats are not of the same quality or favored as the two larger, traditional spots, Book says. “They don’t want small pieces of land. They have a certain comfort zone.”

Book wrote FERC: “What we have now is five areas that are smaller and fragmented. “The drop in shorebird numbers over the last three years coincides with higher Lake Clarke elevations and fragmented habitat being used to determine required resting habitat.

“The shorebirds, in large part, are forced to keep on migrating. We know shorebirds have been using the Flats since at least 1950. Since 2011 we’ve been closing the door on this habitat option for them.”

Book has suggested to Safe Harbor that the company return the migratory season water levels to what they were before 2011, and to work to expose more mudflats in the two original areas altered by flooding.

But he has not gotten a personal response to his latest suggestions from Safe Harbor. Spokesman Ted Rineer said Friday that the company would have no response to my questions because the matter was in the hands of FERC.

But Safe Harbor has disputed some of Book’s comments to FERC.

Safe Harbor officials and their consultants, the Louis Berger Group, said they rarely achieve the top higher level on a regular basis due to operational restraints.

And they criticize Book and the bird club for failing to consider that shorebird populations are declining all along the East Coast.

Not true, responds Book. He points out that there was a “banner year” of shorebird numbers last year at Presque Isle, the other Pennsylvania birding stop.

Safe Harbor also suggests increasing recreational use of the sand bars on the Conejohela Flats, as well as increased numbers of eagles and other raptors, may be discouraging shorebird use.

The company says it has lived up to the settlement agreement and has ensured that there is 1.3 acres of shorebird resting habitat and 6.3 acres of feeding habitat remaining on the Flats.

“We believe increased energy production is valuable in the PJM region and should not be denied based on limited data or conjecture with respect to shorebird use of Lake Clarke.”

Book is quick to say he is not accusing Safe Harbor of trying to sabotage the habitat agreement.

“They’re not violating anything. I think they got some bad advice about fragmented habitat and should have discussed it with us. Once they saw the declining numbers, they should have reversed course.”

So what if the Flats gets drowned? Won’t the shorebirds just find another place to rest and eat?

“On the East Coast, as we expand, we’re just cutting back on traditional shorebird habitat,” Book replies. “They are being pressured by the declining amount of habitat and the quality of it has been slipping away.

“This has been our history for shorebirds and waterfowl. We lose habitat but we rarely make gains.

“It’s important to have a lot of different areas that they can utilize if we lose one here or there. The Flats is one of them. And that deserves to be protected.”