Miami Blue ACTION!

[mbpi at juno.com]

Are there no "stewards" of these sacrosanct areas?!  Shouldn't that be
the first implementation of protecting a discovered population of
threatened species?  Someone needs to be "put in charge" of such areas
before broadcasting their existence to the oft well-meaning, though
uneducated and bumbling public.(!)

Granted, it's a big responsibility for the designated individual or group
of individuals, but not an impossible undertaking.  If even one person
can be found to moderate the numbers of visitors to such sites, then that
person can be the liason for allowing "look sees," and the one to contact
if people wish to "observe" whatever the habitat has to offer. 
Generally, the steward is someone who lives within close proximity of the
area and has an invested interest in the occurance of the particular
species or habitat.

It won't curtail all the public marauders, but it would help to keep most
curious visitors under moderation.

In this "information age," you can't stop people from finding out things
they are hell-bent on wanting to know, but you can still exert some
restrictions on how they go about it!  And talking endlessly about it
isn't going to solve the problem...

M.B. Prondzinski

On Thu, 02 May 2002 10:23:10 -0400 Ron Gatrelle <gatrelle at tils-ttr.org>
writes:
> Amid all the retoric and public posturing to the cameras and 
> microphones,
> what is the most important _on site_ action that has occurred 
> relative to
> the Miami Blue situation in south Florida?
> 
> There is a clear and unambiguious answer to that one.  It was Jeff
> Glassberg's announcemnt to the world of exactly where the butterfly 
> _site_
> was located.
> 
> What is the result of this action?  The destruction of the only 
> known
> habitat area for this butterfly by _butterfly watchers_ and likely 
> the
> death of trampled larvae on the plants.    The following is from our 
> MBBRP
> team who visited the location only to find this horror story.  Some
> bracketed remarks for clairity add by me.
> 
> "...But what distresses me [Bob Parcelles] most is that a team 
> [from
> MBBRP]with a complete support staff funded by the Coffy-Mellon 
> Foundation,
> under the auspices of Joe Coffy, went this week to the [state] park 
> and
> found large numbers of sight seeer's,(sp?) photographers and 
> tourists (many
> from Germany) all over the habitat of the Miami Blue with quite a 
> toll
> taken of the plants.  We located bugs in a perilous situations.   
> Several
> "classes" were given and a few individuals were also educated in 
> the
> strongest terms to NOT walk on the remaining individuals of this
> subspecies. Were these the "docents".   Contain this 
> situation.please!!!
> If we had the money we would place armed guards there immediately."
> 
> Since Glassberg's announcement (action), there has evidently  been a 
> steady
> stream of watchers to the area to get their trophy photo of the 
> insect.
> (And this is as expected as this was allegedly the reason the 
> location was
> divulged - so the watchers could go "watch".)  Collectors are often
> inferred to be - evil collectors.   Well, here we have a perfect 
> example
> of - evil watchers.  But they are only following the lead of one who 
> spends
> days in endangered species habitat trampling marsh and (bug?) to get 
> their
> own trophy photograph.
> 
> In the above quote, Bob's remark of "Contain this 
> situation.please!!!"  was
> directed to one Robert Kelley who is apparently now one of Jeff's 
> main
> functionaries in regard to the NABA version of helping this 
> butterfly.
> Here is Dr. Kelley's response.
> 
> "It would seem that the State Park people need to fence off that 
> area ASAP,
> and I will be contacting Renate Skinner, the regional biologist to 
> see if
> that can be done."
> 
> Why a fence?  To keep the _watchers_ out and off the plants.  Why 
> are they
> there?  Because Jeff Glassberg told them exactly where to go.  Who 
> is the
> fence trying to keep out?   NABA members?  Who is wanting a fence?  
> Kelly,
> a NABA leader.
> 
> I seem to remember an old story that went around years ago about 
> another
> fence.  This one was installed by Jeff himself, if my memory serves 
> me
> correctly, to keep "collectors" away from a Mitchell's Satyr colony. 
>   Now
> we need another fence to keep "watchers" (not poachers) off the only 
> known
> Miami Blue site.   Lesson.  It is people in general who are bad, not 
> the
> avenue they choose to interact with leps.   There are just as many 
> "evil
> watchers" as there are "evil collectors".   Actually, that is likely 
> not
> true as there are 4 or 5 or 10 times as many watchers as collectors. 
>   By
> sheer expediential numbers there are more bad apples in any bigger 
> bunch.
> Conversely, there are as many good guy collectors, breeders, etc as 
> there
> are good buy watchers.  However, at this point the reality is that 
> the main
> thing (by far) butterfly needs help being protected from are those 
> who want
> to watch them.
> 
> Ron Gatrelle
> 
> PS  Listing this butterfly as "endangered" will not stop this 
> watching
> danger.  The colony is already protected from collectors as it is 
> located
> in a Fl State Park.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
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