Florida Girl -- it's clear you've been here longer than most of the people who post here, and clearly you love this place. I'd encourage you to drive by this lot on Silverleaf (from 98 go north on Bay Dr., right on E. Point Washington, then take the third left [at the Grayton Bayou sign], right on Greenbriar, then turn left toward the bay and turn right on Silverleaf) and see what was done for yourself, and then see if you still think I'm being a tree hugging liberal who doesn't understand the ecosystem because I was appalled by what I saw.
I lived in New Orleans for a while, and New Orleans is a textbook study in what happens when you drain wetlands and add a little dirt and build a neighborhood -- see Lakeview, Hollygrove, Holy Cross, Lower 9th Ward, etc. I hope you will understand why I consider it immoral to illegally fill a wetland to build a house to then turn around and sell to someone who doesn't know the swampy history of the lot.
Also, I think if you see Silverleaf, you will see that the person who wreaked all this havoc was not getting rid of a wetland to make the neighborhood safer and more enjoyable for everyone. He/she just bulldozed and piled a bunch of dirt on the piece he/she owned, pushing the water onto other lots and creating standing pools of stagnant water all around the perimeter of the dirt mound.
I am no great lover of swamps and wetlands, I don't find them beautiful and I certainly am not a fan of mosquitoes. I do, however, think God created a delicate balance with the land on the coast and the wetlands serve a purpose. I think when men act to disturb that balance, they can never really predict the consequences of their actions. I think that even if we surrounded the land south of the bay to the beach with seawalls and filled in all the wetlands we'd still have mosquitoes (just as they did in New Orleans). If we really want to do that, though, we should at least expect that people will follow the legal process to do so, so that they don't steal property value from their neighbors by simply diverting the water onto formerly dry land.
Finally, with your connections, do you think you can get the mosquito truck to drive extra slow by my house?
First of all, there are many developers that are just ruthless hogs. I'm not familiar with the property you described, I did look it up on Google Earth, and I don't see much. How large is the lot? I do know that permits are necessary to clear and fill. To say that our fathers were not concerned about, nor protective of our wetlands is seriously in error. The preferable method of "eradication" of the mosquito was "low land" drainage into managed "wetlands", allowing "nature" i.e. minnows, martins, bats, etc. to do their job. There always has been, and always will be those who have no apparent heart, nor consideration for their neighbors, and do horrendous things to the land. Selfishness and greed are the major factors there. However, to think that allowing nature to go uncontrolled will solve the problem is simply incorrect. If so, why call an exterminator to get rid of the bugs in your house? Or why take an antibiotic to cure a disease? I have seen "nature" growing on my roof as trees! Do you think I should have left them there? I have seen "nature" completely take over a house and collapse it to the ground. "Nature" to close to your house will cause you?re siding to rot, and cause ?nature? to come into your house in the form of mildew, roaches, etc.
Secondly, the description of "wetlands" has changed dramatically in the past few years, what was once just a low land, has become a protected wetland. There?s where I have a problem.
Thirdly, there also is the issue of state owned lands in South Walton. Do you know that the state owns more than 19,000 acres in South Walton? If they are so concerned about ?Wetlands?, then why don?t they exchange the privately owned wetland, with an equal share of state owned high ground? But then you get into the issue of the rights of property ownership. Does a property owner have the right to do as they wish with land they pay taxes on? I know an older couple in South Walton that bought 7 acres of land to retire and spend time with their grandchildren, but do to wetland mitigation; they are only able to do anything with half of it. They live in the middle of the woods, and try to maintain the grounds around their home constantly battling mosquitoes, gnats, etc. I don?t believe its right, and these people, as well as others suffer greatly from the decisions made by individuals in government agencies that really have no practical knowledge, they only know what they have learned in college, from biased professors with their own agenda. They believe everything they are told, not questioning its accuracy, nor comparing it with the other side of the story.
Then there is the perception of ?mother earth?. The philosophy that the earth is somehow spiritual, and to be treated as such has always been around, called by different names. With that is the notion of animal spirituality, thus humans are little more than a glob of tissue on the food chain, with no superiority, or authority on this planet.
Concerning New Orleans, it was terrible what happened, but it was inevitable, unfortunately. They built homes on the sinking Mississippi River Basin. It?s been sinking for years. That is not the same category as what I am speaking of here. Mosquitoes can hatch in only a quarter of a cup of water. A lot of trash is to blame in many cases, even leaves.
With my connections? Anyone can call the Mosquito control and ask them to spray the area on their street, you don?t need special connections. The best way to control Mosquitoes? Clean up your yard of anything that holds water, rake the leaves up. Clean out the ditches so that the water is flowing through it and not standing, or getting plugged up anywhere. That?s what I do at my place, and as long as there is vacant land undisturbed, you will have Mosquitoes. Just hope your neighbors don?t have a terrible disease.
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