Please Ask Gov. Northam to Save the Terns!

Dear Friend,

We urgently need your help to protect migratory birds in Hampton Roads. A large colony of terns and other waterbirds will be displaced by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project. More than 20,000 Royal Terns and other waterbirds will return to the area this spring to find they have nowhere to nest — unless Virginia acts now to create new breeding habitat.

In preparation for this multibillion-dollar project, South Island, which has hosted the Commonwealth's largest waterbird colony since the 1980s, has already been paved. Furthermore, against the backdrop of severely weakened federal migratory bird protections, it’s up to the Commonwealth to save the terns.

It's going to take action from Virginians like you to protect birds in Hampton Roads.

Habitat loss from intense development leaves no other available breeding grounds in the area, and the Commonwealth has refused to act. Virginia must create an alternate nesting island for these birds, a sustainable and proven solution enacted by neighboring states throughout the region.

Act now to protect these nesting waterbirds by asking Governor Northam to save the terns and build the island now before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

Steve Holmer
Vice President of Policy
American Bird Conservancy