Developers of the Isle Casino have filed an application with the state to pay a $9,500 fee not to relocate the burrowing owls and their habitats as conservationists have been urging.

The permit as filed has raised questions with these residents, one of them Kelly Heffernan, a member of Project Perch, an organization dedicated to preserving owl environments.

One statement in the application particularly confounds her. “. . . there is not a location on the property that would meet the requirements for a 33’ radius” from construction areas. In 223 acres of green space, there is no way to accommodate the owls?”

A survey of the site done by the Chappell Group identified seven active owl burrows and five owls.