Travis Audubon friends and members, we need your help!

On December 1, Austin City Council will meet with the redevelopment of the former Austin American-Statesman property high on their agenda. The Statesman PUD, as it’s known, will change the downtown Austin skyline, and we need our members to contact City Council to make sure it includes glass designed to reduce bird collisions.

The developer of the Statesman PUD wants to use bird-friendly glazing with 15 percent reflectivity only on the lower floors of their building. Birds need better protection. Please write to your Council Member asking for them to require 15 percent reflective glass for all building glazing systems at the Statesman PUD project, no matter the height, as recommended by the American Bird Conservancy. You can copy and paste or customize from the talking points below; brief, clear comments will be the most effective. Be sure to email or call with your comments before November 30.

Find which City Council District you reside in using this map. Below is a list of City Council members and their email addresses:

• Mayor Steve Adler: Steve.Adler@austintexas.gov
• Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter (D10): Alison.Alter@austintexas.gov
• D1 – Natasha Harper-Madison: Natasha.Madison@austintexas.gov
• D2 – Vanessa Fuentes: Vanessa.Fuentes@austintexas.gov
• D3 – Sabino Renteria: Sabino.Renteria@austintexas.gov
• D4 – José Chito Vela: Chito.Vela@austintexas.gov
• D5 – Ann Kitchen: Ann.Kitchen@austintexas.gov
• D6 – Mackenzie Kelly: Mackenzie.Kelly@austintexas.gov
• D7 – Leslie Pool: Leslie.Pool@austintexas.gov
• D8 – Paige Ellis: Paige.Ellis@austintexas.gov
• D9 – Kathie Tovo: Kathie.Tovo@austintexas.gov

Dear Council Member NAME,

I am a member of Travis Audubon and am writing to ask for your support regarding the Statesman PUD project. Please require all glazing for this development to have no more than 15% reflectivity, regardless of height .

Biodiversity in general and bird populations in particular are plummeting worldwide, and glass collisions are among the leading causes. An estimated one billion birds die in collisions with windows in North America annually, and these are all avoidable deaths. As Austin reshapes its skyline, we have an opportunity make our city a leader in bird-friendly design, and it does not need to be difficult. Low-reflective glass is a big part of the answer.

The 15 percent reflectivity limit has been described by the American Bird Conservancy as what is needed to safeguard birds from window collisions. The technology exists for buildings to be both energy efficient and safe for birds. The location of the Statesman PUD both in the Central Flyway and near the Colorado River means that the developers must take all precautions to avoid bird-building collisions.

Austin developers should be leading in protecting our amazing biodiversity. As our community grows, embracing safe and smart development is entirely consistent with what people want and what wildlife need. It’s time to do more than the minimum for birds to be safe in our city. Please require no more than 15 percent reflectivity for this project.

Sincerely,

CONSTITUENT NAME

Statesman PUD Talking Points:

• Bird populations worldwide are plummeting, and glass collisions are among the leading causes. An estimated one billion birds die in collisions with windows in North America annually, and these are all avoidable deaths. As Austin reshapes its skyline, we have an opportunity make our city a leader a city in bird-friendly design, and it does not need to be difficult. Low-reflective glass is a big part of the answer.

• The 15 percent number has been described by the American Bird Conservancy as the limit needed to safeguard birds from window collisions, which are estimated to kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States.
• Austin carries a unique position along the Central Flyway extending from South America to the Arctic. Each spring and fall, an estimated 2 billion birds use the flyway to move between their breeding grounds and their winter resting places. Many others remain in Texas throughout the year. Both migrating and resident birds have this in common: they are both drawn to light and confused by reflection.They fly toward reflection, thinking it is open space. And the consequences are nearly always fatal.
• Along the flyway, birds use landmarks to help them navigate. One of those landmarks is the Colorado River. Because The Statesman PUD project is situated so near to the river, it is essential that the developers use materials and practices that meet or exceed standards concerning glass reflectivity, exterior lighting, and light trespass. Collisions happen most when birds are most active, and with the Statesman PUD site so near to water and food resources, this will be almost all the time. In addition, different species of birds migrate at different altitudes, so protecting birds only at the lower portion of the building will not be enough to deter collisions.
• We encourage the developers to look to examples of innovation for bird-friendly glass buildings. For example, in 2015 at the Javits Center in New York City, bird-friendly architects renovated a notorious “bird-killer” façade with low reflectivity glass containing a dot pattern that is hardly visible to humans. This decreased bird collisions at their site by more than 90 percent. Philadelphia has taken drastic steps to protect migrating birds after a tragic mass collision took the lives of thousands of birds on a single night. Toronto, Minneapolis and Portland are among a growing list of communities working to make their cities safer for birds.
• Austin developers should be leading in this area. As our community grows, embracing safe and smart development is entirely consistent with what people want and what wildlife need.
• Birds are connected to humans in complex ways that all of our lives depend on. We have the knowledge, resources, and technological ability to make the Statesman PUD as bird friendly as possible from the start.
• It’s time to do more than the minimum for birds to be safe in our city. Please require no more than 15 percent reflectivity for this project.