The natural habitat found in Florida is unparalleled across the globe. We have natural springs, gushing rivers, white beaches and land that can foster growth with no other necessity than sunshine and rain. Growing up in lush Florida, surrounded by alligators, green banana trees and the sparkling gulf, I take some of it for granted. And it looks like I’m not the only one.
I remember the mountainous dunes on Pensacola Beach, playing hide-and-go-seek among the trees and weeds that sunk deep into the sand. The hurricanes destroyed those. I remember happily trudging through undeveloped land with my father, enjoying an untouched spot of nature and harmony. Developers are slowly destroying this pleasure as well, and, paired with the Florida Legislature’s reckless disregard for undeveloped beauty, the possibility for new nature preserves looks slim. Whether through natural or human force, the beauty found in Florida is slowly dwindling, and we need to do what we can to stop the threat facing the Florida habitat.
Florida Forever, defined on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Web site as “Florida’s conservation and recreation lands acquisition program, a blueprint for conserving our natural resources and renewing our commitment to conserve our natural and cultural heritage,” is looking at an untimely death. The Florida House and Senate budget writers have snapped the bear trap on the program, allocating zero funding to the program thus far in the budget-writing process, but proponent Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, is in favor of reallocating funds that would go to a CSX commuter rail project to “Florida Forever,” but this initiative may face too much flack and lose momentum.
Too much development, not enough care.
Developers are also building another hotel, Hotel Indigo, on Pensacola Beach, and construction of the Grand Marlin Restaurant and Yacht Club is underway at the foot of the Bob Sikes Bridge.
Yes, Pensacola must start making economic progress, and Florida as a whole would do well to give attention to the prospect of luring more tourists here, but what should we sacrifice in the name of economic advancement? After all, if our beaches are so crowded with condos and our preserves sacrificed, what kind of people will Florida be trying to entertain? Do we only want Disney tourists and corporate higher-ups who don’t care about a view as long as there’s Wi-Fi?
Money comes and goes, but Florida’s beautiful environment is forever. Changing the unique Floridian nature for the sake of tourists who prefer the bright colors of developed land more than the muted beauty of a Florida sunset is a tragedy. I hope the social and governmental agencies who control development and ignore consequences realize that superficial motives are not more important then the majesty one understands when a Great Blue Heron is spotted stalking through the Gulf, because I don’t want to lose that beauty forever.
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