I posted this on my local Democratic Party's website, but I want others around the state to know about this.
President Bush's immoral 2007 budget, among cuts in critical social programs, and an incredible hike in an already bloated military budget, is selling VITAL national forest land in the Ocala National Forest.
I'll give you the link to the full story in a bit, but let me explain the vital importance of the Ocala National Forest.
- The Ocala National Forest has the largest block of natural scrub left in the entire state of Florida.
-Unique bleached white sand (originally from ancient Lake Wales Ridge, which was a small group of islands that existed while most of Florida was underwater.)
- As a part of the Lake Wales Ridge, according to "Wildlife Issues", "has one of the highest concentrations of endangered plants and animals in the United States."
-Unique Rosemary bushes which allow scrub to grow the way it grows.
- It is also one of the very few areas left in Florida with native dry prairies.
To be fair, the Ocala National Forest is very big, and this sale of land is not terribly large. However, as we have seen in other endangered environmental areas, once selling and development is allowed, it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to stop (look no further than South Florida and the Everglades.) Also, we must realize that no matter how "small" of an impact is said to occur in such a move as this one, everything in the environment is connected. Sometimes all it takes to distablize an ecosystem is a very small action.
Here's the link to the full story in the Ocala Star Banner:
http://ocala.com/...
The President has said that he will use the funds from the sale to pay for "schools and roads in counties with federal forest land." There are plenty of better ways to fund such ventures. Threatening a critical ecosystem isn't one of them.