Untitled Document

President’s Message

By Tom Atkinson

The older I get, the less I like surprises. When I was younger, I think I looked forward to surprises. At the present, I kind of dread them. Let me give you an example.

Earlier in the summer, an announcement appeared in the newspaper of the remarkable progress being made on construction of the Education Pavilion at the Enchanted Forest. You’ll recall that the Enchanted Forest was the first property acquired under the Brevard County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program. This little bit of heaven is unique to say the least. It is where the plants of the temperate climate overlap the plants of the subtropics providing a truly unique habitat. When this exceptional mixture of plants was acquired by the ELL program, spending taxpayers’ money with your consent, it was the general understanding that it would be protected forever. Quoting from the ELL mission statement, “The EEL Program protects the rich biological diversity of Brevard County for future generations.” The emphasis is mine.

Two weeks later I hear that the TICO airport folk want to cut down the trees in the Enchanted Forest. Now that was a surprise! What do you suppose harming the trees in the Enchanted Forest would do to the unique mixture of plants being preserved there? It made me wonder what part of forever the airport folk did not understand. I have since learned that there was such a public outcry that the airport folk may find other ways of carrying on their dealings without disturbing the Enchanted Forest. Chalk up one for citizens’ getting involved, but keep your eyes peeled. Nowadays, hardly anything is forever.

I would also like to call your attention to an opportunity that does not come along everyday. The National Audubon Society is currently seeking nominations for the Federal Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) priorities for the next Fiscal Year (FY04). Land acquisition funding for federal lands is a critical component of preserving valuable wildlife areas and protecting threatened and fragile ecosystems.

Congress established the LWCF in 1964. The $900 million deposited into the Fund each year is derived primarily from off-shore drilling royalties. Each year, Audubon submits to the U.S. Congress a list of priority sites in need of LWCF funding. Our lobbyists and grassroots advocates actively work with Congress each year to see that they fund a majority, if not all, of these priority sites. We have until October 25 to file a nomination. There is no reason that some of this money can’t come to central Florida. Let me know if you have a site in mind, or if you would like to help complete the application.

After Doug Stuckey’s heart-felt piece on cats running loose in wildlife areas published in last month’s Limpkin, we bird lovers should be concerned about Brevard County’s public hearings on the feral cat problem. As I understand it the County is spending (or proposes to spend) your tax dollars to continue to have feral cats running loose. I can’t believe that there are people who won’t see the danger to bird and animal life that cats pose when they are allowed to run loose. I have been informed that the “cat people” out numbered the “wildlife” people at the most recent hearing. There will be two public hearings in October, on the 8th in Titusville, and on the 9th at the Central Library in Cocoa beginning at 6:00 p.m. I urge everyone of you who loves birds to be at one or both of these public hearings. Don Garettson is our representative to the county committee.

I’d like to close on an up-beat note. I hope that you are as excited as I am about our new education program headed by Julie Seberry and Barbara Venuto. Your chapter is donating two magnificent books, Florida’s Fabulous Birds and Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds, Winston Williams, World Publication, 2001, to every elementary school in Brevard County. The books will be placed in the Libraries of each school. To call attention to the books, the Education Committee will be sponsoring a poster contest in grades 1 through 4 with prizes throughout the year. Thus, the educational mission of Audubon will be carried out here in our home area. Please consider making a donation to your chapter to defray the cost of this ambitious program.

Thank you for your continued efforts to provide our bird friends a place to live. Happy birding.