Barn swallows will continue to be barred from entering the Goss Farm barn after voters passed conflicting citizen petition warrant articles in a special election, town officials announced Sept. 11.
The barn will remain a wildlife-free building, despite a push from some residents for the town to unseal the structure and allow the birds to return indoors to nest this year. The swallows were blocked this year from entering following a Conservation Commission vote. The migratory birds arrive each spring and could be seen flying around the barn in May 2026.
Two dueling special petitions in the town’s Sept. 8 election were put forth by voters. Article 1 sought approval for the historic barn to be deemed a “wildlife-free municipal building in perpetuity for public use, educational programs, agricultural interpretation, community activities, and preservation of Town property.” Article 2 requested a new bird conservation ordinance “to protect birds and bird habitat in the care, protection, preservation, and use of Town-owned lands and structures.”
Rye statement points to wording of petitions
The opposite initiatives were both approved by voters in Tuesday’s election, setting up a review of the articles by town officials. Upon assessment, the town has ruled that both can be enforced, and since Article 2 did not call for a reversal of the decision to block the birds from the Goss Farm barn, all wildlife will be kept out of the building.
“In short, the Town reconciles Articles 1 and 2 by considering Article 2 as being subordinate to Article 1 when applied specifically to the barn at Goss Farm,” a Friday, Sept. 11 statement from the town says. “Therefore, the Town will continue to keep the Goss Farm barn as a ‘wildlife-free zone,’ while adhering to the bird conservation ordinance as it relates to all other ‘town-owned conservation land.’”
“Consistent with the bird conservation ordinance, the Town will continue to maintain the bird nesting structures constructed outside the Goss Farm barn in 2026, as those structures have now established ‘bird colonies,’ as that term is defined in the ordinance. It is in this way that the Town gives due respect and effect to the decisions of the voters,” the town statement adds.
Article 1 passed in a 1,248-1,113 vote, according to the town, while Article 2 was approved in a 1,232-1,122 vote. Tuesday’s special vote in Rye coincided with the state’s primary election.
Town clerk Amy Thibodeau reported a record primary election turnout.
Last year, the barn at Goss Farm was closed off from public use for months due to a buildup of bird feces inside. Concerned about health hazards, the Conservation Commission voted in February to seal off the barn to the swallows and instead opted to authorize funding for wooden nesting structures to be built on the farm outside the barn.
The decision was the catalyst for a civil lawsuit filed against the town by four residents, including former Conservation Commission chairperson Sally King.
The citizens warned the eviction could spell the end of the longtime bird colony at the barn if the swallows were not able to reproduce. However, their complaint was withdrawn after a Rockingham County Superior Court judge denied the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction request in June.
“Upon review, the Court rules that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated an imminent danger of irreparable harm,” Judge Jacalyn Colburn wrote in her decision.
Servpro estimated fecal remediation would cost the town north of $13,000 each year if the birds were let back into the barn, an attorney wrote in Rye’s response to the lawsuit.
In recent months, the barn swallow decision led to Conservation Commission and Select Board meeting public comment sessions reaching their boiling point.
The barn swallow species is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, though its population has declined in New Hampshire.
Shawn Joyce, chairperson of the Conservation Commission, could not be immediately reached for comment.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Ian Lenahan
