Local Environmentalist Are Inconsistent

At the Monroe County Plan Commission meeting last Tuesday night the usual group of eco friendly activists provided the Plan Commission with letters of opposition to the Shawnee Bluffs project on Lake Monroe. Even the League of Women Voters weighed in with a letter of opposition. The environmentalist all claim to want to protect this area, an area they have described as sensitive and fragile, which boarders Bloomington’s water source. The focal point of their argument is basically any development on the Shawnee Bluffs site will directly lead to the demise of our drinking water. Not necessarily true but certainly an effective talking point. Similar projects have also drawn a lot of attention but typically they have focused on the removal of trees. All of these concerns are certainly valid and merit the close attention of every citizen.

What I found interesting was at this same meeting another petition was heard and passed without even a mention of the destruction of nearly 19 acres of what has been described by the owner as “mature hardwood trees”. The Shaw petition includes almost 26 acres bordered by the sprawling North Park development and the new section of highway 46. This tree-covered site includes a meandering stream that cuts through it and is a natural habitat for several varieties of wildlife and plant varieties. The Shaw’s proposal included a preservation clause that would allow 25% of the sites trees and green space to remain undeveloped. Their hopes for this site include some type of office complex.

What is interesting to me about this proposal is the inconsistency of the people that call themselves environmentalists. I have witnessed discussions that seemed to have gone on forever about projects that posed a threat to our eco system because of the removal of too many mature trees. During the discussion of the Shaw project Democrat Plan Commission member, Sophia Travis, commented it was a “model project”, one that will hopefully be used as an example and followed by others in the future. Deforesting 19 of the 26 acres of mature hardwoods is her idea of a “model project”? Another Democrat Plan Commission Member, Kevin Enright who on more than one occasion has argued over the destruction of trees in excess of eleven inches in diameter, never uttered a word. Were they so focused on their opposition to the Shawnee Bluffs project that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees?

Even when projects seem to follow all of the applicable ordinances to the letter there are always a few that seem to oppose trees being cut down. What I want to know is what happened to them? This type of inconsistency has got to drive developers crazy. I can’t help but remember when the existing Walmart site was proposed a few years back, people lined up to talk for hours about the removal of trees, the displacement of toads and destruction of indigenous snails. It seems to me that these groups are not as concerned about the protection of our environment as they are using the environment as the basis for their arguments to oppose certain projects. If these people were truly concerned about our local environment they would have surely provided some opposition to the Shaw petition. The message is loud and clear, next time a developer wants to clear trees to make way for a new development they need to remember Shaw petition, the new standard of excellence for development in Monroe County.