We never knew what to believe:
his tall stories and epic fish tales,
cliffhangers woven into tapestries.
This man who helped to ban DDT.
After the dinner guests had departed,
the falconer shuffled off to bed, sated—
but an inferno raged, a river of fire
swept though Larkfield and Wikiup,
flooding the vast Santa Rosa plain.
No time to escape with his bird, still caged,
while my own kin fled a funereal pyre.
May the lone pern in the gyre
lead him onward to ride
the thermal updrafts
of those wide
open skies.
Oct 20, 2017
Much love to Brian Kirven during this time of grief and sorrow.
Noted falcon preservationist killed in Tubbs Fire
Perfect predators: California expert on peregrine falcons to speakSF Chronicle Facebook page
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Facebook page
Industrial Pollutants (PCBs) Worry Fish Researchers Ann Arbor News, July 12, 1970
PCBs were first detected in North American wildlife in 1967 when Monte Kirven of the San Diego Natural History Museum...
Monte Kirven, who helped ensure peregrine falcon population, a fire victim Press Democrat
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| Dr. Monte Kirven banding birds in San Diego Bay 1966 |
The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan · Page 31August 15, 1988
(this was messed up via OCR, so I massaged it back into some semblance of order)
Artificial hatching program preserves peregrines
By CHRISTOPHER WOODARD
Gannett News Service
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif.
Soaring 2,000 feet above the rolling Pacific Coast Range was a rare peregrine falcon, a brown hawk-like creature with a spectacular 45-inch wing span. The sight had veteran wildlife biologists Dr. Monte Kirven, 51, and Geoff Monk, 34, fawning like first-time fathers in a maternity ward.
"That's a brand new bird," said Kirven, as he grinned and followed the bird with his binoculars. "Every feather's perfect." The two have reason to play the proud papa. They're part of a five-agency team of biologists headed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that has helped spur a significant recovery of the North American peregrine, added to the endangered species list when it was all but wiped out by the pesticide DDT.
In 1978, there were 19 known pairs of peregrine falcons in California. Today, because of a program of hatching chicks in laboratories and returning them to the wild, there are 80 pairs. There are an estimated 300 to 500 pairs in the continental United States.
Each spring, biologists from across the state trek to the known peregrine nests to see which are occupied. By mid-May, Kirven and Monk fly over the nests by helicopter for a closer look. Peregrines lay up to four eggs per nest. If some eggs break due to DDT weakening or if the nest has a history of reproductive failure, the biologists will remove the wild eggs and hatch them in a lab.
Monk, with Kirven working safety, will rappel by rope down the cliffs and remove the eggs, replacing them with porcelain fakes. The real eggs are placed in a portable incubator and taken to the Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The eggs from the wild as well as those from 12 captive pairs of peregrines kept at the lab are hatched in temperature- and humidity-controlled incubators.
Monk and Kirven return the nestlings to the mothers in the wild. Five hundred young have been released statewide this way. However, a 60 percent to 70 percent mortality rate helps explain the modest gain in the bird's population.
"I think we're guardedly optimistic that we will be able to (remove the peregrine from the endangered species list) in the foreseeable future," said Dr. Richard Olendorff , who oversees the BLM's effort. These bird-eating predators are a favorite of falconers because they're the cheetahs of the sky.
Peregrines have been clocked in 240-mile-an-hour dives, and their eyes are so sharp they can see a robin three miles away. "They'll go so high the other birds can't see them, like two to three thousand feet, and then just come down out of the sun like a Japanese fighter pilot," said Kirven. "Before the bird sees it, it's dead."
"This is one of the species we think we can recover," said Monk. Joining the BLM in monitoring and managing the falcon are the U.S Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.
"Humans brought these birds to near extinction," Kirven said. "And we have a moral obligation to bring them back."
Gleaned from Facebook:
June Dillinger said:
He saved a little piece of our world in a dynamic way. Monte was my best friend's Kathy father and died in the Santa Rosa fire. I remember him well. As a little girl entering into their yard in a wealthy residential area of La Jolla CA, with Peregrine Falcons sitting on their perches, was a tip-toeing experience to say the least. We used the "hawk house" when the birds were out, to make a haunted mansion at Halloween and invited neighbor kids over to scare them. On occasion we'd go Natural History Museum which seemed so boring at the time! Monte Kirven was a great man who saved a part of our planet and left the world a better place. Touched by an angel, we were. I was.
Gregg Mangan said: I occasionally assisted Dr. Kirven during the time we were both employed as wildlife biologists with BLM in Ukiah. I can vouch that Monte was a major player and had the utmost passion for turning around the plight of the endangered peregrine falcon. He risked his life on numerous occasions accessing numerous cliff nesting sites, all to preserve this species.
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory shared Susan Sullivan's post.
Nestled among a week of great sadness in Sonoma County was the loss of one our pillars of raptor conservation, Dr. Monte Kirven. As a young biologist, Monte was in the middle of the circle of biologists who deciphered the Peregrine DDT connection, and then he worked hard to monitor nests in California especially in the North Bay. As a teacher, and just a kind human being, he brought many people closer to raptors. I was fortunate to meet him on Hawk Hill where he annually hauled a group of Santa Rosa JC undergrads to see the fall migration. I will never forget his exuberance for each bird. He also did everything he could to create support for the GGRO. Thank you Monte -
Susan Sullivan wrote: Monte Neil Kirven, Recently identified victim of the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County, he played a major role in saving peregrine falcons from extinction .
Brian Wilson wrote: Monte Neil Kirven, 81, perished early Monday morning, October 9, when the Tubbs Fire roared through his home.
He lived on Linda Lane a half mile northeast of the intersection of Mark West Springs and Riebli. Forensic dogs found his bones approximately where his bed was.
Dr Kirven taught biology and natural resource management at both SRJC campuses for many years, and was a raptor specialist. His research is partially responsible for banning DDT due to eggshell thinning, and he played a major role in saving peregrine falcons from extinction. He and his prarie falcon both perished in the flames. Some students called him Swervin’ Kervin when he would abruptly pull the field trip van to the side of the road for us all to get a better view of a raptor.
Monte had entertained dinner guests in his home Sunday evening and turned in for the night. No smoke in the air, no firetruck sounds. Three hours later his whole neighborhood was burned to the ground.
First draftDear, dear Monte. One of a kind. Old man of the sea. The man who helped ban DDT. I will miss you terribly. Your tall tales and epic fish stories. Gnarly adventures. I always meant to collect your folklore. May the pern in the gyre lead you safely onward on the updrafts of the wide open skies. Much love to your son, Brian Kirven during this profound time of grief and sorrow.
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