Stiffen the penalties for illegally removing habitat
EDITOR:
I’m happy to see that the county is considering stronger fines to
discourage the illegal clearing of native habitat here in the Keys. The
pirating of out natural lands has gone on long enough, and stricter
enforcement is a must if we are to save these beautiful Keys from
further destruction.
I do not think increasing the fines will be enough. Here are a few
suggestions that may discourage illegal clearing in the future. It is
time to get serious. Too much has been lost already.
- If you do illegally clear native habitat, then
you should not be eligible for an after-the-fact permit or, for that
matter, any sort of permit to build on that land or fence it. The
offender’s name should go on a black list and stay there for, say, 20
years.
- The fine for clearing native habitat illegally
should be around $10,000, and the law should be enforced, with money
going to purchase native lots and acreage from people wanting to sell.
- The person or persons clearing illegally should
be required to restore the devastated hammock to its natural state. If
a commercial company assisted in the clearing of the lot or helped
haul off the vegetation knowing this clearing was not permitted, then
all machinery used for this illegal action should be confiscated as
evidence and not returned until all fines are paid in full.
- Anyone caught illegally clearing lands should
have to do at least 50 hours of community service helping one of our
many nonprofit organizations in their efforts to remove exotics from
natural habitat, or perhaps helping with the replanting of natives in
restoration areas.
- All persons caught illegally clearing native
habitat should be required to attend a course on the ecosystem of the
Keys, and why it is considered an Area of Critical State Concern and
needs our care and protection.
Do these seem too strict? I think not. We have been too careless for
too long and the Keys have suffered greatly because of our lack of
enforcement of the laws in place. They have not worked.
It’s time for everyone to do their part in taking care of our
endangered Keys and protect these lands we are blessed to live in. After
all, it is the very beauty and uniqueness of these special Keys that
attracted us here in the first place. Every little bit counts and every
little bit is important. Once its gone, it’s gone.
Katie Lyons
Big Pine Key |
