As a citizen concerned about the increasing evidence of species endangerment and extinction I urge you to join me in this petition to save 25,000 seabirds who migrate north every spring to their accustomed nesting site in the Chesapeake Bay tidewaters. This spring, however, these birds will face an untimely and avoidable death due to the abandonment by the Virginia Department of Transportation of a plan to build an artificial island to replace their accustomed nesting site at South Island - the largest bird colony in the region - which will be obliterated by the massive Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project now underway. The seabirds will return to find South Island paved over, and themselves homeless. This bird population includes the Gull-billed Tern who is listed as Threatened on Virginia's own endangered species list. Already bird populations are experiencing a precipitous drop in numbers according to a startling scientific report released in September 2019, with nearly 3 billion fewer birds taking wing than 50 years ago! It appears that one reason the plan to build the artificial island was discarded is the Trump administration's weakening of regulations which have been protecting birds from human activity that disturbs their habitat and endangers their lives since the passage of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The governor of Virginia can set a national precedent in bird conservation by using his influence to begin building the artificial island NOW!