Idiots-R-Them

So we get this email:

To Fellow Environmental Advocates and Nature Lovers, YOU can help Stop this project before it's too late. Please send a brief email now. Choose any helpful talking point below and personalize it to make it your own... REMEMBER--You're either a voter or a visitor, either way you have a stake in this. ***Please Send emails to: fredcoyle@gov.net, jimcoletta@colliergov.net, DonnaFiala@colliergov.net, FrankHalas@colliergov.net, TomHenning@colliergov.net TALKING POINTS: **Installation of powerboat markers in the Clam Pass Preserve waters is a Taking of Public Benefit and Jeopardizes the Safety for all who swim, snorkel, wade, fish kayak or canoe, and otherwise enjoy the waters up close and personal without damaging it. **Clam Pass Preserve is suited for PASSIVE recreation, the only inlet on Collier County Coastline where you can safely swim. **Clam Pass Preserve waters are only temporarily navigable at high tides/heavy rains and is otherwise very shallow with extensive mudflats (non-navigable conditions). **This great place to kayak or canoe and see all the marine, bird and other wildlife. It isn't good for powerboats because the natural habitats are hazards for powerboat navigation. **Additional Safety signage should only be Mariner Warnings such as "Caution/Swimming Area"; "Hazards to Navigation/Shallow Water and Shifting Shoals Present"; "Hazards to Navigation/Mangrove Roots and Branches Present"; "Natural Resources Present/Local Knowledge Required" ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS: **You value and enjoy the natural resources of the Preserve just as they exist now: Shallow waters and sandy shoals are where most of the seagrasses thrive. Adjacent waters provide foraging access to manatee and various finfish. Mudflats are where most of the invertebrates, shellfish and clams thrive. Red Mangrove roots are where oysters, barnacles and many types of algae thrive and where juvenile fish take refuge. Red, White and Black Mangroves tree branches shade the waters and provide resting and rookery sites for many birds. Ebb tides reduce the waters in some areas to narrow ribbons--essential for waterbirds to concentrate the fish they forage on. **Installation of red/green markers gives the Clam Pass waters an official designation that misrepresents it to be more navigable for powerboats than it is. Those types of markers are meant for waterways that have moderate to heavy powerboat use in waterways that are uniformly, consistently and permanently navigable for powerboat vessels--a situation that does NOT exist in Clam Pass. ***Sign the Mangrove Action Group's "Save Clam Bay Wetlands-Keep It Natural petition- link below Thank-you for taking action and helping preserve a beautiful, tranquil area, full of wildlife. Mangrove Action Group -----
So we email this response:

i'm sorry - but who are you people? and where were you when the mangroves were being contaminated by toxic-laced effluent being dumped [into the mangroves] by the city of marco island?
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So we get this reply:

As a member of multiple environmental advocacy groups--I can only say that if I had been aware of such problems on
Marco--I would have added my voice to others to try and halt such practices. I do sign petitions and attend meetings,
and advocate for responsible use, conservation and preservation of those few places that are not paved or dredged.
There are coalitions of environmental groups now--with members reaching across to each other for mutual support.
Certainly, when there are issues to address--put the word out in every possible way--I learned about an issue on Marco
some time past about an Eagle I think needing protection (don't remember all the details) I was happy to help and
sent an email in support of the issue. I hope you will send an email in support of keeping the Clam Pass system just
as it is....If you are not familiar with it--come and see for yourself--you can swim, float, or kayak .without getting swamped
Marcia

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So we DONT reply -