Bill Text: OH HCR9 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: As Introduced 128th General AssemblyRegular Session2009-2010H. C. R. No. 9 Representative Dyer
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-02-24 - To State Government [HCR9 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2009-HCR9-Introduced.html
|
|
Representative Dyer
Cosponsors:
Representatives Williams, B., Letson, Chandler, Bolon
| To designate the Portage Lakes area in Summit County | 1 |
| the Purple Martin Capital of Ohio. | 2 |
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE SENATE CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, The purple martin (Progne subis) is a beautiful, | 3 |
| iridescent blue-black songbird, the largest North American | 4 |
| swallow, and the only species of martin on this continent. Purple | 5 |
| martins spend the nonbreeding season in Brazil, then migrate to | 6 |
| North America to nest, and their diet consists entirely of | 7 |
| insects; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Because of purple martins' attractive | 9 |
| insect-reducing qualities and the beauty of their flight patterns, | 10 |
| plumage, and song, humans in North America traditionally have | 11 |
| constructed houses to attract the nesting birds, beginning with | 12 |
| Native Americans who cut holes in gourds and hung them in their | 13 |
| villages in order to coax the birds there. Gradually, purple | 14 |
| martins abandoned their natural nesting sites in deserted | 15 |
| woodpecker nest cavities and became dependent on human-supplied | 16 |
| nesting houses to the extent that today virtually all purple | 17 |
| martins east of the Rocky Mountains rely on human-supplied nesting | 18 |
| sites; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, People in the Portage Lakes area in this state are | 20 |
| carrying on the tradition of providing nesting houses for purple | 21 |
| martins through an initiative called the Purple Martin Project | 22 |
| that was started in the year 2000 by the Portage Lakes Advisory | 23 |
| Council. The Purple Martin Project offers an environmentally safe | 24 |
| way to control nuisance insects in the Portage Lakes area and to | 25 |
| reduce the need for the spraying of insecticides; and | 26 |
| WHEREAS, As a result of the Purple Martin Project, the | 27 |
| Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association was formed and consists of | 28 |
| over fifty volunteers who built and maintain a Purple Martin | 29 |
| sanctuary at Portage Lakes State Park that includes more than two | 30 |
| hundred nesting sites. The Association has been successful in | 31 |
| attracting purple martins as evidenced by the growth of the purple | 32 |
| martin population in the Portage Lakes area, which increased from | 33 |
| one pair of the birds in 2000 to an estimated eighty pairs in | 34 |
| 2003; and | 35 |
| WHEREAS, Fourteen other states have dedicated purple martin | 36 |
| capitals. Ohio likewise should recognize the value of the | 37 |
| beautiful purple martins and the success of the Portage Lakes | 38 |
| Purple Martin Association in attracting them for the purpose of | 39 |
| insect control; now therefore be it | 40 |
| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the State of Ohio | 41 |
| designates the Portage Lakes area in Summit County the Purple | 42 |
| Martin Capital of Ohio; and be it further | 43 |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives | 44 |
| transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the | 45 |
| Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association, the Portage Lakes | 46 |
| Advisory Council, the Chief of the Division of Wildlife in the | 47 |
| Department of Natural Resources, and the news media of Ohio. | 48 |
