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Friday, October 24, 1997

Pipeline could be delayed by endangered waterfowls' mating season

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) -- An endangered breed of waterfowl and its need for a patch of standing rainwater could delay completion of a Coastal Bend water pipeline.

The 104-mile pipeline is planned to bring fresh water from Lake Texana to Corpus Christi, about 90 miles to the southwest.

However, crews must install an eight-mile section of the pipeline in northern Refugio County before Dec. 31 or run afoul of the mating season of the Attwater's lesser prairie chicken.

The problem is a patch of 18 inches of standing rainwater that the pipeline is to cross. Construction crews are having to wait for the puddles to dry up before they can move in.

"As soon as it dries up, the crews will be able to get in and start working," said project director Frank Brogan.

Like most endangered species, the Attwater's lesser prairie chicken covets its privacy during mating season.

The noise bulldozers and the humans operating them would drive the chickens from their nests and hurt their chances of reproducing, said Johnny French, senior staff biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Office in Corpus Christi.

Because the pipeline is close to major highways, it runs through an area that's heavily used by humans, but not necessarily by prairie chickens, he said.

"They could be there, but nobody's told the birds that the pipeline's coming through," French said. "We are simply trying to assure that we don't make things worse."

Biologists suspect the bird already is in the area, French said. However, they aren't sure whether its habitat crosses the pipeline's path.

If all goes well, construction crews will leave before the first male chicken puffs his throat, contorts his body and spreads his tail feathers in hopes of attracting a mate.

The plan for the eight-mile link will take about 1-1/2 months to finish, Brogan predicted.

French said the project actually could benefit the bird's habitat in the long run by creating an area with short grass, free of brush.

The $125 million pipeline is intended to solve Corpus Christi's perennial water supply problem. The underground line will cross five counties and at least seven rivers.