Julie Hauserman's article, "Beauty vs. the beast," (Other Views, Feb. 28) hit the nail on the head. As a native Floridian, I've watched for about 57 years as environmental conditions in the state have drastically deteriorated in the face of the onslaught of development. As a professional wildlife biologist and natural resource manager, I constantly see ecosystems losing their components and, therefore, their functions.
In line with her allusions to Florida's urban sprawl problem, I would like to nominate U.S. Highway 27 from about Lake Wales to Clermont as one of the ugliest traffic corridors in the state. This is virtually a 50-mile strip mall where hills have been leveled and stripped, hydrology altered and mass acreages paved and developed.
Traffic lights, entrance roads and other impediments are crowded together to cause almost gridlock conditions that allow stalled drivers to look out at a devastated landscape. It's a good example of what's wrong with state growth management and planning but far from the only example.
If there's ever a reason to vote "yes" on Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4, this is it. Much damage has already been done, but let's at least try to save something.
