By ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News

McKINNEY – The birds are gone, but sadness, bitterness and
questions linger about what's happened at the Heard Natural
Science Museum.

The firing of an employee and the resignation of another
worker forced the McKinney museum to close its raptor center
earlier this month. Empty cages now stand where hawks,
vultures and other birds of prey long lived for exhibit and
rehabilitation.

A clash of authority, a dispute over control, has cost the
museum and North Texas a prized educational resource and
silenced a shelter for state and federally protected birds.

As the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department considers charges
against two Heard board members for wildlife permit
violations, and as the fired employee now cares for some of
the birds elsewhere, the conflict and loss have dragged down
museum morale, prompted volunteer resignations and left the
Heard board with some decisions to make.

"Do we want to stay in the business of rehabilitating birds?"
said John Valencia, an eight-year member and former chairman
of the board. "This gives us a chance to step back and
evaluate where we want to go."

For 37 years, the Heard has been bringing people and nature
together while preserving a piece of Collin County now
surrounded by development. Since its opening in 1986, the
Heard raptor center has taken in more than 5,000 sick, injured
and orphaned birds, releasing about 60 percent back to the
wild. Others unable to live on their own have found homes at
the museum and elsewhere with roles in wildlife education.

One such exhibit bird, a black vulture named Dante, was at the
center of the recent turmoil. Tim Gottleber, a museum
volunteer and now a board member, began working with the bird
in early 2003, at times using a clicker to teach him preferred
behavior. The computer science professor drew close to Dante,
whose upbringing by humans had left him confused and unable to
survive alone. "I was part of his flock," Dr. Gottleber said.

But over time, Dee Ann Armstrong, a museum employee with
federal and state authority to oversee its exhibit birds,
became concerned that the vulture was acting too aggressively.
She told Dr. Gottleber and other volunteers to leave the bird
alone while his behavior was evaluated.

Dr. Gottleber said he complied, but questioned the decision.
And in time he was back with Dante, after board Chairwoman
Cindy Johnson overruled Ms. Armstrong.

"I told Dee Ann, 'You can't just ban a volunteer,' " said Ms.
Johnson, who intervened one Sunday at the museum when told
that Dr. Gottleber wouldn't be allowed to present a public
program with the bird. "We had publicized it. We had guests. I
told Tim to go ahead and do the program," she said.

Ms. Johnson said there was no proof that Dr. Gottleber's
interactions with the bird were detrimental and that Ms.
Armstrong refused to explain why he had been banned from the
cage. But Ms. Armstrong said the move was her call and that
she had discussed her concerns and authority with Dr.
Gottleber and museum officials.

Wildlife agencies give individuals, not institutions, permits
to display, rehabilitate, conduct research with and otherwise
handle protected birds. In March, Ms. Armstrong obtained
permits to oversee the care and display of the Heard's exhibit
birds, after working with state and federal approval while her
applications were pending.

"I am personally responsible for the birds. I, not the Heard,
could be fined, and I underlined the fact that I had final
say. It's the law," said Ms. Armstrong, who ultimately
presented Ms. Johnson and Dr. Gottleber with a
cease-and-desist order, barring them from the museum's
raptors.

Days later, on April 5, Ms. Armstrong was fired. Dr. Ken
Steigman, the museum's natural science director, and Erich
Neupert, the raptor center director, later resigned after
supporting Ms. Armstrong. Mr. Neupert had permits to
rehabilitate sick and wounded birds, and with his departure
the Heard had no one with authority to keep the raptor center
open. And the birds, which are owned by no one and protected
in public trust, had to be placed elsewhere. Dante now lives
in San Antonio.

Investigation launched

Complaints prompted an investigation that found two violations
of state law at the Heard, said Maj. Dick Herzog of the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department. In one case, a volunteer
handled a bird without a permit, while a board member "helped
this person commit the offense," he said, declining to name
the two.

Maj. Herzog, who directs state wildlife law enforcement for
Northeast Texas, said he might file Class C misdemeanor
complaints punishable with fines of $50 to $500. But first he
wants to meet with the museum board, likely next month, to
discuss the situation and wildlife regulations.

"It depends on the reception of the board," he said. "If
they're willing to work with us, we're willing to work with
them."

Maj. Herzog said he hopes Heard employees can get the permits
required to again care for animals. "They serve a good
purpose," he said. "We just want to educate them about their
responsibilities."

Ms. Armstrong and her husband, Steve, say they too hope the
Heard or a cooperative group reopens the center. The demand
for raptor rehabilitation, they and others say, is far from
being met.

"The center took care of a lot of birds. There's a big hole
now that it's gone," Ms. Armstrong said.

The Armstrongs are preparing to address the problem with an
operation in Fannin County. Their Blackland Prairie Raptor
Center is starting with eight birds removed from the Heard,
which are available for educational presentations. Rehab is a
goal.

"When they get their regulatory problems solved, we hope to
work with them," Mr. Armstrong said.

The center's closing has angered many of its former
volunteers, some of whom say Ms. Johnson and Dr. Gottleber
should leave the board. Dr. Gottleber, who has a college
degree in wildlife management, said he joined the museum board
as an advocate for the raptor center. He said he believed he
had the required authority to work with Dante and was only
trying to "make his world a little better."

Ms. Johnson said she offered her resignation, but the board
asked her to stay on. And she said the center's closing and
negative publicity have no doubt damaged the museum's
reputation at a time when attendance and successful fund
raising are needed to address its persistent operating
deficit, totaling almost $545,000 last year.

"A lot of people have been hurt," Ms. Johnson said. "The Heard
has been hurt."

The raptor center's closing removes a longtime drain on the
museum budget, but the loss of display birds has closed an
exhibit and ended outreach programs that brought in money and
furthered the Heard's educational mission.

Preserving a foundation

The museum opened in 1967 to house the late Bessie Heard's
collection of butterflies, nature prints and seashells and to
preserve a piece of North Texas from the development that now
surrounds it.

Today it uses that growing collection, wildlife and 289 acres
of remnant prairie, wetlands and hardwood forest to educate
young and old about the diversity and interplay of the natural
world.

Ms. Armstrong's successor has applied for permits to handle
exhibit birds and resume the education programs. And the
museum board and new executive director John Ernst will decide
whether raptor rehabilitation will again be part of the mix,
Ms. Johnson said. Whatever direction the museum takes, Heard
leaders, employees and volunteers, past and present, remain
concerned.

"It is tragic, something that never had to happen," said
Carolyn Brueggeman, a longtime raptor center volunteer.

"It's sad how a situation can get out of control, all because
of some petty bickering," Dr. Gottleber said.

Said Mr. Valencia, "There's enough blame to go around on both
sides. And there's no winners."