There was a time when the taxpayer had control of his wallet. How did all these enviro-mental cases get unlimited access to our pocket books?
If feral cats are a problem, declare open season on them and be done with it. Besides, feral cats are more of a threat to domestic cats, raccoons, fox and other furry critters with all the diseases they carry like feline leukemia's, parvo virus, mange, etc. they spread around.
As I read the article, two billion is what birdwatchers spend in the state of New Jersey every year, not what the government is spending on the plovers.