Nice going Kim.
Fred
 
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> From: Kim C. Hutsell <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Back to the Conservation Issue - Sanibel
> Date: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 12:25 PM
>
> Just out of curiosity...why is it that the COA, the
biggest mollusk
> oriented organization in the United States, is letting
itself be
> legislated out of existance? I hear a lot about being
blamed for declines
> in molluscan populations, but nothing about an active
defense? Do we
> really want to go the same way as fresh-water mussel
collectors and bird
> egg collectors?
>
> Specimens and data in old collections can be informative
and fascinating
> but only tells us about the past. These tell us little
about the present
> state of our environment if we can't get out and take new
samples to
> study it.
>
> We continually sit by and let ourselves and our
activities be blamed for
> anything and everything. We talk amongst ourselves, get
each other all
> worked up, pat each other on the back because we all
recognize the
> problems and, then, let it go.  It reminds me of bitching
about being in
> a bad marriage, but being too lazy to do anything about
it.
>
> I get so frustrated with some of the attitudes I
encounter, I can hardly
> stand it. Mostly it's people who believe that they can go
on about their
> business...collecting responsibly, or studying their
clades, or drawing
> their trees, or writing their articles, or dealing their
shells...and
> hoping someone else take care of defending their (our)
> hobby/avocation/profession. When are we going to wake up
and pull our
> heads out of the sand? There ISN'T anyone else! We're it!
And if we don't
> start standing up against bad legislation, we might as
well start hunting
> plastic seashells in our bath tubs!
>
> Kim Hutsell
> San Diego
>
> Bobbi Cordy wrote:
> >
> > I stated several times that one of the big problems in
FL is the
> > renourishment of beaches where hundreds of shells and
being pumped out
> > of the ocean onto the beaches....well here is what was
in yesterdays
> > paper:
> >
> > "Panama City Beach - A renourishment project is
providing beachcombers
> > with a bonanza of shells of all kinds and calibers.
> > In addition, dredges are bringing up gun shells
expended during military
> > training exercises in or over the Gulf of Mexico.
> > Beachcombers usually have to wait until low tides after
storms to find
> > fresh seashells, but the dredging is providing them
with relatively
> > untouched specimens in the sand being pumped from
offshore to restore
> > severely eroded beaches.
> > The $21.5 million renourishment is about 40percent
complete and on
> > schedule, said Rafael Castillo, a quality control
official with Great
> > lakes Dredge and Dock Co. which has been doing the
dredging work."
> > Florida Today, Tuesday, December 1, 1998.
> >
> > AND very soon the scientific shell collector will be
told it is their
> > fault because the shells are gone.  What a crock!!!
> >
> > --
> > Jim and Bobbi Cordy
> > of Merritt Island, Florida.
> > Specializing in Self-Collected
> > Caribbean & Florida Shells