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Monday's letters: Cattle and conservation don't mix

 
Published May 8, 2015

Good stewards of the land | May 7, letter

Conservation, cattle don't mix

This letter's assessment that opening state parks to cattle grazing is an "opportunity to further protect" these pristine lands is at best an overreach.

The premises that cattle grazing operations control invasive/exotic species and support habitat for endangered species are not true. Cattle are not native to Florida. They are themselves an exotic/invasive species that we happen to find desirable. In fact, were the Florida ecosystem to support a true native bovine grazer, such as bison, cattle would be in competition with it.

Cattle grazing is not and never has been a benign activity that exists without significant impacts to the ecosystem. It presents very serious risks to water quality and soil conservation. It is deleterious to biodiversity, and rather than reducing exotic/invasive species, in reality it creates greater opportunity for the introduction of undesirable plants and animals.

While it is possible for sustainable ranching and grazing operations to exist with minimal impacts to the native ecosystem, to propose that they are more beneficial than existing land conservation management practices is untrue. That is the lesson learned over the past century with our nation's experience with cattle grazing on the vast public lands of the West.

Opening our state parks to cattle grazing is a bad proposal and is not in the best interests of the public. State parks are meant to be reservations of unique landscapes maintained and sustained for all to enjoy. I for one do not see how introducing cattle, fences, roads, locked gates and all the other necessary infrastructure involved will enhance my experience at any of our lovely state parks.

Anthony J. D'Aquila, Tampa

Building projects to provide training | May 8

Government overreach

While the federal government continues to ram thousands of ridiculous regulations down companies' throats, the truth is that many local governments are far worse. We have become a nation that is run and dominated by bureaucrats. Take the city of St. Petersburg, for example.

Associated Builders and Contractors has a fundamental disagreement with the St. Petersburg City Council over its attempts to mandate the hiring practices of private construction firms. The council passed an apprenticeship mandate and now will attempt to pass a disadvantaged worker mandate on public construction projects.

ABC is one of the largest apprenticeship training providers in the state. We believe contractors, in order to deliver a quality product, are better equipped to make hiring decisions for their companies than the city of St. Petersburg. These mandatory hiring requirements increase the amount of red tape and ultimately will yield higher construction costs and less competitive bids.

The City Council is setting a dangerous precedent by mandating contractors hire from unfamiliar labor sources without taking on any of the liability for safety or quality of work. If these hiring ordinances are such a top priority for the city, why are these mandated requirements not adopted within their own hiring practices? How many disadvantaged workers or sponsored apprentices does the city of St. Petersburg currently employ? Is it a mandated 20 percent of its workforce?

As citizens we need to be very cautious of local government overreach wrapped up in warm and fuzzy initiatives.

Steve Cona III, president/CEO, Associated Builders and Contractors, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, Tampa