Beebe Birds and Walmart
by July 20, 2012 2:01 pm 88 views
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has quashed a rumor that its planned 150,000-SF supercenter in Beebe is on hold while an environmental study is done to determine the impact on the red-winged blackbirds in the area.
Wal-Mart said there is no environmental study and the construction project is moving forward as scheduled. It should be opened next summer.
National news outlets took notice when several thousand red-winged blackbirds fell dead from the sky on New Year’s Eve in 2010, a phenomenon ultimately blamed on the birds being startled by fireworks.
Some of the blackbirds make their home in the trees near Wal-Mart’s site. A few trees have been removed and a few more trees will be cut down to make way for the store.
But Wal-Mart tells us that handful of trees that are removed won’t impact the blackbirds, who still can nest in other trees in the area.