Patricia Schroeder: “I do not think the birds have a union. I have been listening to this debate thinking it is not worth getting into…”

“I do not think the birds have a union. I have been listening to this debate thinking it is not worth getting into because it does not make any sense. My understanding is all this debate is about is an amendment to allow volunteers to be used to monitor migratory birds and then there is an amendment to the amendment saying they have to be competent volunteers. I think that is what it is about. All of this is modified by the fact that you cannot go on private property without the owner's permission and now we are hearing that some of them might be biased or birds may be getting a union. People are wondering what is going on with us. They are going to want volunteers to be in here carrying on this debate. I have a letter from a woman in Colorado. Her name is Pauline Ritz. She is with the Denver Audubon society. She points out that she is considered perfectly competent to volunteer in her children's schools, as many of us do. She was considered perfectly competent to volunteer at the Denver Arsenal, when we were busy trying to make it into a wildlife refuge, even though that arsenal had some of the most polluted land in the world. People were able to figure out how to utilize volunteers very well to move that forward and create something very exciting. And she goes on to point out many other things. So I think this is a wonderful use of resources. America is about volunteerism.”