[texbirds] Re: unwelcome news from Laguna Atascosa
- From: Tim Brush <txbrush5@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: mtwoman@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2013 08:55:07 -0500
to seek a solution, which was missing from the USFWS web-site (at least
that I could see; I am sometimes guilty of skimming). That is somewhat
reassuring and I hope some access compromise can be worked out. However, I
still feel that the public should have been consulted and options explored,
before announcing a closure to take effect in less than 2 months. What I am
most afraid of is that what folks do not see/experience they will not be as
interested in protecting (or adding to). Yes, some folks will take guided
tours, a few will bicycle (actually, I have serious concerns about bicycle
access and possible ocelot collisions, and almost no-one will
walk. Lakeside Drive can be okay-good (sometimes excellent) for birds and
other wildlife, but doesn't usually offer a lot for the visitor to see.
An interesting comparison is Santa Ana NWR, whose refuge drive was
formerly opened during daylight hours (was it 9 AM to 4 PM?) in low-usage
months. There was some concern about access when the drive was closed, but
the difference is that the vast majority of good birding areas at Santa Ana
are an easy to pretty easy walk from the visitors center, and there is
shade along many of the trails, extending effective usage times. I realize
that Laguna Atascosa is in a different ecosystem (and can't manufacture
shade) and is on a different scale, but would very much hope that some kind
of compromise can be reached.
Regards and good birding,
Tim Brush
Edinburg, TX
On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 8:30 AM, mtwoman <mtwoman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I have never been there, so I cannot speak to that particular place or
> situation. But I have to ditto "Paul D. and Georgean Z. Kyle" and their
> position, and in fact, add to it: I wish ALL traffic would be stopped.
> Places without human impact are becoming exceedingly rare. I relish the
> idea of there being such places, and that is saying something coming from
> me...who has spent countless hours trudging offroad through wilderness and
> natural areas, and who feels that I "do it right", with awareness and
> respect for it, and that because of that, I have a "right" to do it.
> One has to look at the big picture and what's happening. When I came to
> that, I made a decision to stop going to those places where no-one else
> went, and leave them be.
>
> It doesn't matter to me when or how the Ocelots were killed..it only
> matters that they were, and if stopping vehicle traffic is a way to
> eliminate that, so be it.
>
> It's coming a time when we HAVE to step back, sometimes, in some places,
> from our selfish naturalist endeavors, and if we are truly appreciators of
> Nature, give it room to be.
>
> As far as "educating" people by having them drive through a place so they
> can have an appreciation of it: if it is NOT guided touring, how are they
> educated? To just drive through a place, without any information about it
> to begin with or some along the way does not, imo, lend knowledge,
> understanding, or appreciation.
>
> My 2×...or maybe 20× with the current inflation.....................
>
> Tzila "Z" Duenzl
> Weatherford, Texas, USA
>
> PS: If, as was stated in a post, there is Border Patrol traffic there, that
> changes my position. Then, we NEED to be there to try to keep THEM from
> harming the place.
>
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