The other side of the coin
 
(Note: This is a must-read for all resource providers, all recreationists, everyone, everywhere!)
 
April 1, 2004

By Ed Clark
 
Excerpted by permission from the Brevard Insider
 
Malabar, Florida
 
 
To submit a Letter to the Editor: ESCMC@aol.com
         
For several years, I wrote a weekly column by that name.  It got a lot of attention, and once in a while, a hate letter.
         
Why?  I reminded people that certain things are unavoidable. 
 
They found it painful to confront the awful facts:  If you love panthers, you must, perforce, hate deer, which are their natural food. 
 
If you like owls, then you must be against the bunnies, which they feed on.
         
And if you're a fisherman, you must feel a little thoughtful remorse at seeing the Osprey swoop down on that trout or mullet that you might have caught.
         
These thoughts on the yin and yang of existence were brought back to me by a remark made by Assistant Editor Dan Warrensford about his attempts to promote Florida wildlife. 
 
"I caught heck for having 'Florida Landscaping," (this from his homeowners' association) Dan said.

"I'm probably the most environmentally friendly owner in Diana Shores. When Code Enforcement forced me to trim, I put several generations of squirrels, birds, et al, out of their homes."
         
Right.  When you trim the trees or mow the grass, you destroy "habitat".  Some think that's bad; others think a neatly trimmed lawn is an absolute necessity, to heck with the squirrels, bunnies and bugs.
         
"Native" vs "non-native" landscaping is much the same way.  If you want to see 'Real Florida', just look at areas on our highway shoulders that have "Do Not Mow" signs on them. 
 
They are some of the most unsightly, poor and least productive areas we pass. 
 
How would you like your yard composed of that kind of weed mixture?
         
The late Sylvester Rose, retired long-time agriculture extension agent in Brevard County, once told me vis-a-vis native plants, "What does it mean? [It means, i]f you move a plant a half mile, it's no longer native!"
         
The unavoidable fact is, if you want independence, you have to leave your school of fish and wander off by yourself.  But when you do, you leave the protection of the school behind.  That's the other side of the coin.
 
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The Brevard Insider is published 5 times a week except holidays at 1106 Ramblebrook St., Malabar, Fl. 32950. 321-956-0815.  Fax: 321-956-8762.  ESCMC@aol.com  Copyright 2004.  Publisher Pond Press, Inc.  Editor:  Edward S. Clark.  Assistant editor:  Dan Warrensford.  Contributing editors Doug Doudney, J. D. Tucker, Michael Moehle, Bob Brewster, David Russell, Chuck Morley, Bill Love, Julie Kay Smithson.  Contrarian:  Robert D. Clark. Webmaster and  Electronic distribution:  Tim Wooley.  Subscription price $6.50 per month.