From Michelle Gale
Greetings:
This is one of my lengthier posts. Please read it all
because even if you don’t attend Tuesday’s meeting at Big Cypress, you will
have an opportunity to participate in a meaningful way in this campaign against
turning a national preserve into an oilfield.
On Tuesday, December 8th, the National Park Service will
hold a public meeting from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Big Cypress Welcome Center,
33000 Tamiami Trail East, in Ochopee in response to two years’ worth of
requests from citizens concerned about Burnett Oil’s proposal to do seismic
testing on 70,454 acres of Big Cypress National Preserve.
Environmental groups are hosting a press conference outside
the Welcome Center beginning at 5:00. There will be an open mic at which
attendees can articulate their comments to the Park Service and a petition
delivery.
The meeting itself will open with a 15-minute presentation
by the National Park Service outlining the three possible alternatives for Big
Cypress:
· Seismic survey
by vibroseis trucks,
· Seismic survey
by dynamite, and
· No seismic
survey
Burnett Oil proposes to use vibroseis trucks. This would
entail 60,000-pound trucks criss-crossing the Preserve in groups of three on
cut lines (essentially, roads) up to 50 feet wide, vibrating large plates
against the ground to generate seismic signals that are indicative of local
geology, while helicopters hover overhead and generators run—in the heart of
pristine wetlands set aside to protect critical habitat for threatened species
and vital watersheds that recharge the aquifers on which South Floridians rely
for drinking water. Roads would be cut, trees and other vegetation removed, and
five staging areas, including two helicopter pads, constructed.
The Preserve is not only the home of the endangered Florida
panther, but a critical rookery for five colonies of endangered wood storks and
home to the shy and diminutive red-cockaded woodpecker, the eastern indigo, and
the gopher turtle.
Seismic testing would have permanent and cumulative impacts
on wildlife, wetlands, recreational areas, and the water supply. The fractures
and fissures created by vibroseis trucks would degrade the wetlands, shallow
limestone strata, and base rock.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior objecting
to the survey, Senator Bill Nelson wrote that the testing “…is troubling as it
represents the first step toward fracking. This activity is distinctly at odds
with the purpose and best use of a national preserve, and it would be reckless
to allow this to move forward.”
Senator Nelson concluded that “federal, state and local
partners have spent billions of dollars working diligently to restore and
protect the Everglades, Big Cypress National Preserve, and other valuable
ecosystems in Florida. With so many resources devoted to protecting these
treasures, approval of oil and gas exploration does not make sense and is a
dangerous step in the wrong direction.”
We’re right behind the Senator. We oppose any seismic
survey, and urge the National Park Service to conduct a full Environmental
Impact Statement including public hearings that will provide it with the
substantiated, documented evidence it needs to reject Burnett Oil’s project
once and for all. It’s up to us to call on the National Park Service to live up
to its stated mission of preserving, conserving, and protecting our natural and
cultural resources.
It has taken two years to get the Park Service to call a
meeting that consists of its making a public statement followed by members of
the audience moving from station to station asking questions and submitting
written comments. That’s how afraid they are of us. And that’s why there will
be an open mic at the press conference, a video of which will be sent to the
Park Service after the meeting.
Comment cards are small, so if you do go to the meeting—and
I can’t urge you strongly enough to do so—please bring your written comment of
up to ten pages in length. And if you can’t possibly attend, you have through
December 20th to submit a written comment up to ten pages long to the Park
Service here.
It’s critical for us to show the Park Service just how
strong opposition to seismic testing and fracking in Big Cypress National
Preserve is, and how utterly committed we are to preserving Florida’s water
supply and wildlands. The DEP has already approved Burnett Oil’s proposal, so
the National Park Service is our last hope. Please don’t sit this one out.
One last word on the significance of your participation: A
while back, I asked you to submit a comment to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission as part of a statewide campaign by the Southern Alliance for Clean
Energy against FPL’s proposal to build two more nuclear reactors at Turkey
Point. It was a last-ditch attempt. The NRC was inundated with over 11,000
comments. It indicated that it was unable to stick to the deadline it had set,
and that it would be at least seven months before anything could be decided.
This is how it went with Keystone XL—it was delayed and delayed again, until
finally it was nixed.
That’s how important your participation in this campaign is.
It could change history.
Thank you,
Michelle Gale
