Wetlands, birds, and wildlife vanishing quickly in Ohio
Two of my neighbors have emailed me about a critical issue facing our state. Read more here. I have already mentioned it once a few days ago, but it deserves another mention. We are faced with allowing developers to again decide the road that we are traveling in Ohio. We need to sit down, take a deep breath, and decide as Ohioans if this is what we want in our future.
The question facing Ohioans on the creation of a “new and improved” Middle Bass Island Marina is Is it really the direction to take?
The other question facing us here in Ohio is can we afford this continuous attack on nature. Here in Cuyahoga County we are trying to turn back “progress” on the banks of the Cuyahoga River to bring back a more natural habitat, and at the same time we are destroying one of the few natural habitats left in our state. We have lost much of what made our state a unique place to live over the years and now we are faced with the results. Is it time to say “no more?”
Please take a few moments over the next few days to consider the fate of Middle Bass Island, and then take the time to let your state government know how you want our state to proceed. Remember all Ohioans can hike through the wetlands, sit on the banks of a pond, drink in the view and watch as birds fly overhead, but only a select few, 360 to be exact will be able to use the new marina. I think I just told you which side I am backing on this issue. Who will you back, nature or development? The last date that the Ohio EPA is accepting comments on this marina proposal is January 28th.
Hi Gloria,
timely, timely post. We here in Lorain have been fighting and will continue to fight the same things. Recently, we had 63 acres – 63 acres of wooded and wet lands declared “blighted” because they were “underutilized”.
We tried to fight the rezoning for development via a petition drive – got more than enough signatures to force a referendum vote – only to have the Lorain law director, say in an opinion, that the rezoning was unnecessary – thereby making the petitions useless. This plot of land is currently being clear-cut, even though an injunction hearing was held yesterday, so that we can have another Home Depot and an IHOP…
A 200 year old “Public Square” park in Downtown Lorain, has been added to a recent bight study for TIF funding – the developer wants to build retirement condos on it. He has told us publicly, “there is NOTHING you can do to stop this”.
I hope MBI fairs better. In Lorain, Ohio money is the only thing that talks.
scott
21 Jan 06 at 10:16 am
Scott:
How sad. The very things that made our towns and areas of Ohio desirable to our ancestors are being ripped apart in the name of “progress”. We as Ohioans need to stop, take a deep breath, and decide for ourselves what we want in our future. Citzens of a state have more at stake than developers who move in for the quick buck, make it, and move on to the next “underutlized area”. We should be looking at development in the light of a much longer time frame that what is used now.
Thanks for visiting. Good luck, to you and Lorain.
Gloria Ferris
21 Jan 06 at 12:27 pm