Vasquez Says His Letter Didn’t Oppose Bird’s Endangered Tag
Regarding the threat posed to house and road builders by such local inhabitants as the California gnatcatcher and least Bell’s vireo:
As pristine land becomes ever more scarce in Orange County, it grieves me to hear the Building Industry Assn., the Transportation Corridor Agency and even some government officials characterize those who care about the environment in which we live as uncompromising extremists.
When more than 90% of what were once characteristic Orange County ecosystems (such as wetlands or coastal sage scrub) have been lost to developments, how dare they call someone who wants to save all of that last 5% or 10% an extremist!
Should our motto be, “If it’s buildable, build upon it?†Does the wildlife of this county deserve no better than the dregs? Is it the fault of environmentalists that the building industry is in a state of contraction?
Such is the unavoidable fate of any industry that too rapidly uses a non-renewable resource.
It’s ludicrous to say there is plenty of natural habitat remaining. For an Orange County resident to find something wilder than the local park, the drive is indeed becoming a long one.
MARY ROSCZYK, Huntington Beach
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