Robert Leffel, December 4, 2006, Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR, Grounded!

Amanda Hackney, November 10, 2006, Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR, Timber!!

A communication tower that was built nearly 50-years ago is being dismantled and removed from the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge.  The tower served the military and general communications when it was built in 1957.  The tower was under a 50-year lease, with ownership changing hands several times over the years.  Presently Verizon Virginia, Inc. is the owner.  However, no cell phone repeaters have been allowed to be installed during the past 9 years dispite requests for the additions. 

The refuge is located at the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula and is hemispherically important as a migratory bird funnel during migration with an estimated 10-12 million temperant and 4-5 million Neotropical bird migrants passing through the area each year. 

During the Comprehensive Conservation Plan process it was determined that the tower should be removed in order to better fulfill the refuge's "wildlife first" mission.  It is well known that towers can be a hazard to migrating birds, and it was this data that assisted in making the determination to remove the tower.