Birdsafe Press Release

Lewis & Clark Law School is taking the first steps to solve an often unrecognized but serious environmental problem on the law school campus and across the United States: bird strikes.

Experts estimate that at least 100 million birds die from striking windows each year in the U.S., and some experts place that number at closer to 1 billion. Research shows that birds do not recognize glass as a barrier. Upon seeing trees and sky reflected in windows, birds often fly right into them, leaving the bird stunned or dead.

Many students, faculty, and staff have witnessed this problem on the law school campus. Dan Rohlf, professor of law and director of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), says “Window strikes are a significant — though often overlooked — source of avian mortality. For many years I have heard birds hit the law school’s windows, as well as observed the deadly results of these collisions. Our efforts to do something about this problem can help local birds and, through our example, encourage others do likewise.”

Bob Sallinger, second year law student and Urban Conservation Director at the Portland Audubon Society, recognizes the seriousness of the issue. “Window strikes take a huge toll on native bird populations. At the Audubon Wildlife Care Center 4-6% of the injured birds that we see each year are the victims of window strikes. We are just beginning to get a handle on how big of a problem this really is.” He notes that “The dynamics that cause certain sites to be more hazardous to birds than others are still far from entirely understood. The first step is to get a good handle on the actual impacts at any given site and then tailor solutions to address the specific problems.”

The Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) has been working with David Kelley, Assistant Dean of Administrative Affairs at Lewis & Clark Law School, to take this first step in determining the scope of the problem. Dean Kelley says, “As the leading environmental law school in the country and home of the National Center for Animal Law we are concerned about the issue of birds flying into the windows of our buildings. We want to explore all options to find the best possible way to reduce the number of bird strikes. Documenting where the birds are hitting the windows is the first step and I would encourage all students, faculty and staff to report it any time they witness an event like this.” SALDF has set up a form on its webpage to allow students, faculty, and staff to report bird strikes. Visit http://new.lclark.edu/law/student_groups/student_animal_legal_defense_fund/campus_projects/birdsave/ or email reports to birdsave@lclark.edu.

After this initial survey process, SALDF and the law school will work to implement feasible, effective solutions at the areas of the campus that are most problematic for birds.