The Sarasota Herald-Tribune breaks with its environmentalist roots in their editorial, "Time to let go of Midnight Pass: Evidence weighs against prolonging the battle for a new channel." Kudos to the editorial board.

I moved to Sarasota, Florida in 1990. Upon arriving I noticed bumper stickers that proclaimed "Open Midnight Pass". When I saw them it reminded me of "Free Tibet" stickers on cars. You know keep a movement alive even though it makes no sense, costs millions, and is environmentally a disaster. But that is what activists do.

For twenty-five years a small but vocal group, which included the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, convinced our county commissioners to do whatever it takes to open Midnight Pass. Midnight Pass had all the bogeymen attached to it. Rich beach property owners allegedly closed the pass so they could have more beach front property and not have the common man running his little fishing boat by their homes. The group demanded we re-open Midnight Pass by creating a man made channel a mile long and keep that channel open in perpetuity. Cost - millions.

Well, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, "Midnight Pass closed in 1983 due to the 'earlier dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway significantly decreased hydraulic flow through the inlet.' Midnight Pass did NOT close due to the efforts of property owners to relocate the inlet."

Well this is blasphemy.

There are comments on the article by local residents. Comments like "This article, time to let go of Midnight Pass is a kind of "newthink" that rationalizes inaction and a caving of public opinion. Alright people, who is in charge here, you and I or a far-off bureaucratic. If you want something to happen here, visit your local representative or senator and demand that they take action on your behalf. This is government 101., from Onstagetheatre.

Scott Lewis, a.k.a. purenrg100, states, "I agree "anonymous commentary", what and who is this jerk and how do they get their comments into this faux newspaper rag, the Sarasota Herald Tribune! The Trib is owned by an out of state conglomerate, and probably overseas investors--would or should we expect anything less? How come I am not asked -- anonymously?"

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune points out that millions have already been spent on this issue, all for naught. According to the editorial, "The County Commission recently voted, 3-2, to seek an extension and hire a lawyer to evaluate an appeal."

Those who want to keep fighting on the board of county commission want to hire a lawyer at an estimated cost of $250,000 to $500,000. This when the county is facing serious long term budget cuts. Does ideology trump common sense?

It is time for local, state, and federal government to stop pushing a radical environmentalist agenda and use some common sense. Let nature run its course. Trying to overturn nature makes no sense. Time to move on.

UPDATE: Since writing this column I have recieved an e-mail from Jon Thaxton, a Sarasota County Commissioner. Jon is a fantastic commissioner, knowledgeable, and passionate about his role representing the citizens of Sarasota County, Florida. Here are Jon's comments and my reply:

Rich:

In this case you are on the same side as the environments.  The Sierra Club, Audubon Society and Manasota-88 have all opposed the reopening of Midnight Pass for decades.  By the way, if phosphate mining permits were held to the same standard as all other environmental resource permits, four thing would happen: first, phosphate mining would continue; second, the damage to the environment would be greatly reduced, three, the economics of phosphate mining would be largely unaffected and finally, the law suits would end. There is your win-win-win.
 
By the way Florida phosphate accounts for 80% of the phosphate mined in the entire USA.  We ship over half of the phosphate mined in FL to China.  There is only 15 year supply of phosphate left in Florida.  My plan is to treat phosphate as if it were a national security interest, because it is (this does not include nationalizing the industry).  What would you suggest we do 15 years from now when we have exported all of our food producing capacity to a hostile nation and the only remaining sources of phosphate, A.K.A. cheap foods, are in hostile nations?
 
Jon

My reply:

Jon,
 
I am trying to understand this issue. It looks like the equivalent of an environmental Hatfield's and McCoy's feud.
 
On the one side you have the Sierra Club, Manasota 88, and Audubon Society in Sarasota and on the other you have the Midnight Pass Society, Inc. Both are concerned about the environment but they fundamentally disagree on opening Midnight Pass. The Midnight Pass Society says the pass closure was caused by human intervention (dredging of the intracoastal waterway) and therefore requires human intervention to correct the environment damage caused. The Sierra Club, Manasota 88, and Audubon Society disagree and resist any further human intervention to save the environment.
 
The Midnight Pass Society appears to be made up of, in part, property owners from Casey Key. I believe property owners are the best stewards of our land because they have a vested interest in their property. Property owners maintain their property to insure its value rises. The Sierra Club, Manasota 88 and Audubon Society own no property in Sarasota and work via government and legal fiat to cause property owners to meet requirements that may either endanger their land, the wild life on that land, and their homes (e.g. wild fires in California where you cannot clear dead brush near your home or in our national forests with logging to thin forests).
 
The purpose of my column was to point out that opening Midnight Pass and then maintaining that opening in the long term in these difficult financial times is a bad idea. If my take on this is wrong please advise.
 
As for mining for phosphates or any other natural mineral, I believe Mosaic has a property right to all that lies on its lands. Individual property ownership is what this nation was built upon. Our fore fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, " He [King George] has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance".
 
We have created over 130 federal agencies, including the EPA, that are "eating out our substance". This stands whether it is a farmer, home owner, or company formed by share holders. When they own the land they own the rights to everything on it, above it or under it. To take that right away is taking away a fundamental right of all Americans. American companies and our people have been good stewards of the land when compared to governments.
 
As for phosphates being a national security issue, I can see your point. However, did not the County Commission restrict the use of fertilizers due to concerns about phosphate run-off?
 
This is from your county web site:
 
The most important requirements of Sarasota County's fertilizer ordinance:

-- Don't exceed annual limits on nitrogen and phosphorus, and make sure that fertilizer is at least 50 percent slow-release.
-- Don't apply nitrogen or phosphorus at all during the rainy months (June through September).
-- Keep grass clippings out of gutters and ditches that lead to waterways and wetlands.
-- When applying fertilizer, use a deflector to keep it off streets and gutters. Sweep up all spills.
-- If you live near a waterway or wetland, use no fertilizer within 10 feet of it. A voluntary 6-foot, low-maintenance buffer zone is also recommended.
 
For more information go online: http://www.scgov.net/EnvironmentalServices/Water/
 
By restricting the use of fertilizers, for environmental reasons, you then reduce the amount of fertilizer sold locally. So companies like Mosaic will sell to those who will use their phosphates.  Making a profit is not evil. Selling your products to the highest bidder is not a national security issue, necessarily. My greater concern is we are still importing foreign oil when we have, just fifty miles off-shore, billions of barrels of oil, trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and tens of thousands of jobs.
 
Rich