July 02, 2013
By Karl Wickstrom
Photo courtesy of FWS.gov.
You wouldn't think for a second of wanting to see a private industry plopped down in the middle of a beloved public park.
Give over priceless property that we all own together to a few?
We're referring to a little publicized, spacey land grab at Cape Kennedy that would needlessly intrude on the wondrous Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Home to 500 species of wildlife, including what's called the redfish capital of the world, the refuge and adjoining seashore is the longest remaining stretch of virgin Florida Atlantic coastline. Need we pave over a bunch of it?
What's planned is to hand over acreage in the heart of the refuge to the private SpaceX venture and the state's Space Florida booster agency (as in promoting, not rocketry).
Two or more new launch pads would send booming missiles into space every so many weeks, if plans should work out, to the consternation of existing wildlife, and to the befuddlement of two-legged animals carrying binocs, tackle or nothing more than a desire for quietude.
“I go out there just because it's so peaceful,“ said our restaurant waitress during a recent trip exploring the area. She and 1,100,000 others visit the pristine area every year. Their purpose is to view the launching not of missiles but of new life, perhaps of a juvenile roseate spoonbill or baby alligator.
Like many if not most residents, the waitress hadn't heard much about the proposed privatization of public land. And, unfortunately, many of the Cape area people who do know something about it tend to accept the venture because of a propaganda blitz based on a single word: Jobs.
The Space Florida and SpaceXers claim that hundreds of jobs would be created at the refuge launch sites. The employment prospect makes many a politician understandably salivate during these tough economic times.
But wait.
We're as much for jobs creation as anyone, but there's something a little screwy going on with this one. Two key points, in our view, are:
1.There already is an over-abundance of existing sites within the Kennedy Space Center, where the private venture could be located without invading the refuge.
2.The added-jobs claim ignores the what-should-be-obvious factor that the same number of jobs would be generated if the new venture utilized the NASA locations, not the refuge.
Equally important, or more so, on the jobs front is to weigh the large economic value of the refuge as a wildlife attraction fostering millions of dollars worth of supporting and related activity.
So, we conclude that keeping the private missile sites out of the refuge is the best route
for all, jobs included.
Environmentalists mostly agree. We urge you to join the fray. Active groups include CCA Florida, Audubon and United Waterfowlers of Florida.
Put your nearest search engine to work to find worlds more information about Shiloh, which is the public area in question in the refuge, bearing the name of a onetime settlement. And Florida Sportsman will provide continuing coverage of deliberations over the months ahead.
Let's keep this public land public. May the ghost of Shiloh rest in peace.
