A Benton Township woman who has been working to rid the community of gulls that can often be found at the Orchards Mall is calling on the township to approve an ordinance against feeding the birds.
Christina Castaneda is a former manager at the mall who has told us previously about her efforts to rid the property of the gulls when she worked there. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Benton Township Board of Trustees, she pitched her proposed ordinance.
“As it’s written right now, it would warn people the first time around and then it would require a $250 fine the second time that they were caught feeding the birds or watering them,” Castaneda told us.
Castaneda told us the recent issue with dead gulls being found around Napier Avenue and Pipestone by the mall shows action is needed. She says those dead birds could pose a threat to the environment.
“The Ox Creek Watershed is right there and all this bacteria is going right into it. It hooks up to the Paw Paw Watershed. There’s some pretty significant bodies of water that are involved.”
Castaneda also presented trustees with a petition signed by 28 business owners asking for action.
Benton Township Supervisor Kathy Yates told us the township has worked with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to deal with the birds. She wasn’t impressed with the ordinance proposal.
“My only comment is that she’s so geared up on these birds now,” Yates said. “When she was there with the birds, she did nothing. Because they migrated to the mall, and it really became a nuisance. I contacted her frequently, she did nothing. And now that she’s running for political office, the birds are important. Well, the birds are important, but people are more important to me. I want to keep them safe, and I want to make sure that the birds have no contamination that people can get sick from.”
Castaneda is running for Benton Township Supervisor. She says the gulls aren’t just a mall problem, but a communitywide issue.
Yates said the DNR has been testing the dead gulls found all around the mall area in recent weeks to ensure they’re not a threat to the community. The DNR did confirm they don’t have avian flu.
Meanwhile, Castaneda says she has been talking with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the gull problem with one field supervisor telling her that until the feeding of the gulls has been addressed, efforts to get rid of them will be unsuccessful.
