What I just sent to my newspaper....
Jul. 23rd, 2004 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kayreEditor,
When I read that Riverview Park would charge for admission this year, I was pleased, since the revenue was to be spent on improvements to the park. I'm a township resident, and quite cheerfully paid for two annual passes.
Nearly three months later, I'm disappointed. Not one improvement has been made. Even the platform built last fall by a civic organization still sits bare, without the promised park benches. Damage to the trails caused by the storms in April hasn't been repaired.
Today I discovered that brush along the riverbank has been chopped down. Wildlife habitat was destroyed, probably just to "look prettier." Hundreds of milkweed plants were destroyed-- the only food of the Monarch caterpillar. Worse, virtually the only plants left standing are clumps of purple loosestrife. Though the purple blooms are pretty, loosestrife is a non-native invasive plant that crowds out native plants. In fact, the orange ladybugs that have been driving us crazy for the last few years were introduced to control purple loosestrife. Once the loosestrife is gone, the bugs will die away too-- but at Riverview Park, the balance has been tipped in favor of the loosestrife.
Maybe it's time to ask some questions. How many extra passes were sold this year? How much money has been collected at the park? What improvements will be made, and when? Why is native habitat being destroyed rather than protected?
When I read that Riverview Park would charge for admission this year, I was pleased, since the revenue was to be spent on improvements to the park. I'm a township resident, and quite cheerfully paid for two annual passes.
Nearly three months later, I'm disappointed. Not one improvement has been made. Even the platform built last fall by a civic organization still sits bare, without the promised park benches. Damage to the trails caused by the storms in April hasn't been repaired.
Today I discovered that brush along the riverbank has been chopped down. Wildlife habitat was destroyed, probably just to "look prettier." Hundreds of milkweed plants were destroyed-- the only food of the Monarch caterpillar. Worse, virtually the only plants left standing are clumps of purple loosestrife. Though the purple blooms are pretty, loosestrife is a non-native invasive plant that crowds out native plants. In fact, the orange ladybugs that have been driving us crazy for the last few years were introduced to control purple loosestrife. Once the loosestrife is gone, the bugs will die away too-- but at Riverview Park, the balance has been tipped in favor of the loosestrife.
Maybe it's time to ask some questions. How many extra passes were sold this year? How much money has been collected at the park? What improvements will be made, and when? Why is native habitat being destroyed rather than protected?
