Beetle Changes Buschs Wedding Plans

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Something else has been bugging #2-Kurt Busch beyond the fact he's stalled outside of the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 14th place. The tiger beetle! "Those are the insects I guess that have their natural habitat on the Chesapeake Bay in the area we were looking to get married," Busch said in a conference call Tuesday. "Their mating season is the months of June and July. With this being July, the environmentalists said, 'Whoa. Whoa. We can't have a bunch of guys out there building a pier and dock for this wedding because it's going to disrupt the environment.' " Actually, it was the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "In terms of being environmentalist, we are part of the federal government and charged with protecting the public's natural resources, including endangered species," said Karen Mayne, field supervisor for the agency's office in Gloucester, Va. Mayne said the temporary pier Busch wanted constructed on land owned by developer Dan Hoffler on Virginia's Eastern Shore could have harmed the tiger beetles, which are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The wedding of Busch and Eva Bryan will go ahead next weekend — on the porch of Hoffler's house.(USA Today)(7-19-2006)