They really HAVE Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot

[sm4him]

Last year, one of my very favorite local spots--Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge--was named Tennessee's first State Birding Park. Everyone clamored about it. Except me. I said then, I have a very bad feeling about this…
because I knew that in an attempt to make the area more "accessible" to everyone they would in all likelihood destroy what made it unique.

Sure enough, today I learned that they have bulldozed a huge area at the front of the refuge to make room for…a parking lot. This area always had a HUGE Sunflower field and attracted an enormous variety of birds, along with all sorts of other critters. Now, it will only attract "tourists" in their big SUVs, who want to "see" nature and get out and "enjoy" the refuge, but don't want to actually have to do anything as strenuous as walk more than a few feet in order to do so.

So today's theme song is Joni Mitchell, telling it like it is:


I've probably posted these before, but here's a couple of my favorite views from Seven Islands. These aren't the area they've bulldozed…YET. But I just wonder how long it'll take before this beautiful area is completely destroyed by the efforts to attract tourists to it.


April20_7022editweb by sm4him, on Flickr


7IslandsOct 20 (27)web by sm4him, on Flickr

This is the part where I normally say, "As usual, C&C, general comments and witty banter are greatly appreciated."
But not today. This is a SAD day. So--no C&C, no witty banter…just requiems for the loss of my beloved wilderness spot.

Okay, maybe ONE witty comment. Or two. But mostly, just tears and sadness, m'kay??

 

[tirediron]

 

[pgriz]

What's that saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?

 

[Overread]

yeah stupid people

 

[bribrius]

urban sprawl. everyone hates it, but everyone does it. Its human nature. where you live used to be wildlife too. Imagining you don't live in a tent in the woods.

 

[Dagwood56]

So sad. I live in an area that used to be mostly farmland and woods, and in the last 17 years, way too much of it has been sold off and made into more access roads in to the miles of townhomes built on it for city folk who want to live in the country - then complain about area cow farms smelling bad when they get here. I hate to see wild areas destroyed and in your case its even worse because it a wildlife refuge. I'm sure the numbskull who decided to make the parking lot figured all they were giving up to do so was a patch of flowers, with little thought to the wildlife that feed from those flowers. Hope they don't destroy the entire place.

 

[grafxman]

You'd be bawling your eyes out every day if you lived in Florida. All the places in my neighborhood have been turned into condos and houses. Here's a few samples of animals I recorded about 15 years ago with my old Sony DV video camera:

redhead6 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Red Head WP feeding babies1 d5 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

pileated1 d5 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Cedar Waxwings1 d10 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

yellow bellied sapsucker1 d23 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

None of these birds have been seen in my neighborhood for several years now. All the fields where I used to go snake hunting are gone. The trees are mostly gone. Colonies of feral cats have moved in. Some crazy lady the next street over dumps bags of cat food in her driveway. I've stopped feeding birds because all I get are cats and cat manure. I'm so fed up with what used to be my nice neighborhood that I bought another house 20 miles from here with an acre of ground and I'm in the process of moving. You should be thankful they haven't started building apartment complexes instead of just a parking lot.

 

[wyogirl]

I give you my deepest sympathies. I love Tennessee, but you are right.... it keeps getting destroyed so people can see what makes it beautiful.

 

[bribrius]

wahhhhhhhhhhhh.
look at this thread. of course people don't like to kill wildlife or the planet in general. But im wondering, where do you all park YOUR cars.
It isn't what THEY did. People in general, populate. And spread. EVERYONE takes a part. It is inherent to human breeding. stop acting all innocent. geez......

All these people probably feel the same way. Then they donate to the wildlife fund and go and park their cars. We are all guilty.
View attachment 68040

 

[Rick58]

I live in Berks county Pa, which is an agricultural county. Sooo many farms and prime farmland have been bulldozed over to make room for more and more housing developments.
People see it and people complain about it, yet it continues and it will continue until it's too late and WE are the country having to import our food.
I feel your pain everytime I drive by a cookie cutter housing development that once grew food and raised livestock.

 

[Gavjenks]

where do you all park YOUR cars.

Obviously not at that parking lot, since he said it was his favorite spot long before the parking lot was built...
There is this cool thing called walking, and if you do it for awhile when you want to go see nature anyway, you lose out on nothing (walking in nature was your GOAL), and it requires far fewer more isolated parking lots.

 

[bribrius]

where do you all park YOUR cars.

Obviously not at that parking lot, since he said it was his favorite spot long before the parking lot was built...
There is this cool thing called walking, and if you do it for awhile when you want to go see nature anyway, you lose out on nothing (walking in nature was your GOAL), and it requires far fewer more isolated parking lots.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible and could create a safety concern. potential lawsuit. where would you expect everyone to park their cars? on the road? sounds like a traffic problem in the making. The ones I have been to, having the parking on the designated land. As, the land is designated. They cant park cars for the place on someone elses land they don't own it. The cars have to stay on the designated site (land). so im trying to understand where you are going with this walking thing...

 

[Gavjenks]

where do you all park YOUR cars.

Obviously not at that parking lot, since he said it was his favorite spot long before the parking lot was built...
There is this cool thing called walking, and if you do it for awhile when you want to go see nature anyway, you lose out on nothing (walking in nature was your GOAL), and it requires far fewer more isolated parking lots.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible and could create a safety concern. potential lawsuit. where would you expect everyone to park their cars? on the road? sounds like a traffic problem in the making. The ones I have been to, having the parking on the designated land. As, the land is designated. They cant park cars for the place on someone elses land they don't own it. The cars have to stay on the designated site (land). so im trying to understand where you are going with this walking thing...

Here, I will write it out in a convenient step by step list of instructions:
1) Park at the nearest existing parking lot or other parking area open to you. This might be 5 miles away.
2) Walk to the bird area. This might take an hour or a little more.
3) Shoot some photos of birds / enjoy your destination.
4) Walk back to your car
5) Go home.

Rarely does any government not own some sort of property within 5 miles of something else in pretty and populated regions. Or a local business owner who hopes to sell you some refreshments when you get back.
And if they don't? Boo hoo, walk 7 miles.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible

No, it's not.
But nature is ALSO not handicap accessible if you bulldoze nature to make it accessible to handicapped people, because it doesn't exist anymore.
So handicapped people aren't accessing it either way, and this is a silly excuse.

potential lawsuit.

Driving is significantly more dangerous than walking.

 

[bribrius]

Obviously not at that parking lot, since he said it was his favorite spot long before the parking lot was built...
There is this cool thing called walking, and if you do it for awhile when you want to go see nature anyway, you lose out on nothing (walking in nature was your GOAL), and it requires far fewer more isolated parking lots.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible and could create a safety concern. potential lawsuit. where would you expect everyone to park their cars? on the road? sounds like a traffic problem in the making. The ones I have been to, having the parking on the designated land. As, the land is designated. They cant park cars for the place on someone elses land they don't own it. The cars have to stay on the designated site (land). so im trying to understand where you are going with this walking thing...

Here, I will write it out in a convenient step by step list of instructions:
1) Park at the nearest existing parking lot or other parking area open to you. This might be 5 miles away.
2) Walk to the bird area. This might take an hour or a little more.
3) Shoot some photos of birds / enjoy your destination.
4) Walk back to your car
5) Go home.

Rarely does any government not own some sort of property within 5 miles of something else in pretty and populated regions. Or a local business owner who hopes to sell you some refreshments when you get back.
And if they don't? Boo hoo, walk 7 miles.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible

No, it's not.
But nature is ALSO not handicap accessible if you bulldoze nature to make it accessible to handicapped people, because it doesn't exist anymore.
So handicapped people aren't accessing it either way, and this is a silly excuse.

potential lawsuit.

Driving is significantly more dangerous than walking.

now you know that is dreaming and wont happen. They probably have a designated footage allotment allowed by government regulations on exactly where the parking lot has to be in proximity to the site just to avoid legal issues on handicapped accessibility and for emergency personnel.
what I am wondering, is if the o.p knows it could get worse than this. I seen one wildlife refuge, which not only made parking lots but also came up with opened and closed times of years and hours. His ability to travel on that land may (not definite but may) end up somewhat restricted.

 

[sm4him]

urban sprawl. everyone hates it, but everyone does it. Its human nature. where you live used to be wildlife too. Imagining you don't live in a tent in the woods.

HEY!! That does not sound much like sympathy and solace, which is the appropriate response here. That sounds more like C&C on my refuge spot…
I'm just messing with you. Yes, it happens. At my age, it is certainly not the first time I've witnessed it nor the first time I've been directly affected by it.

As for the tent in the woods…well, how did you THINK I was getting all those bird shots? :lmao:

where do you all park YOUR cars.

Obviously not at that parking lot, since he said it was his favorite spot long before the parking lot was built...
There is this cool thing called walking, and if you do it for awhile when you want to go see nature anyway, you lose out on nothing (walking in nature was your GOAL), and it requires far fewer more isolated parking lots.

^She, but yeah, other than that, what he said…there's also a cool thing called bike riding.

it doesn't sound handicapped accessible and could create a safety concern. potential lawsuit. where would you expect everyone to park their cars? on the road? sounds like a traffic problem in the making. The ones I have been to, having the parking on the designated land. As, the land is designated. They cant park cars for the place on someone elses land they don't own it. The cars have to stay on the designated site (land). so im trying to understand where you are going with this walking thing...

It is absolutely NOT handicapped accessible. Well, there is ONE road that runs through it--a driveway really, more than a road. The road is closed to vehicles but could be used by wheelchairs and the like to at least see SOME of the area.

But you know what? Hiking trails on the AT aren't very handicapped accessible either. Some things you just really CAN'T make "accessible" without destroying them.